I’ve been really busy these last three weeks. I’m finishing my MA dissertation, which is due in on the second of October (wish me luck!) and starting my PhD, which is at the University of Glasgow. I’ve finished working for the charity I was working part-time for, and going for job interviews in Scotland to find a part-time job to pay for the doctorate. In the meantime, I have also been on a crazy hen weekend in the Scottish Highlands and to a lovely wedding in the Cotswolds in south-west England. Here are some of the things I’ve seen on my travels.

The journey by train from London to Edinburgh gets very pretty once you cross the Scottish border - I’m not just saying that because I’m Scottish! Here are a couple of views from the window:

After a really promising interview at an advertising agency in Edinburgh (I am a planner if that means anything to anyone) I went through to Glasgow to meet with my new supervisors at the University. I am very excited about my thesis, which is going to be about feminists in the 1980s. I am a very modern historian. I was also very happy because they asked me if I wanted to have a tutor group, so I will probably be teaching European history to first years from the beginning of the second semester! Here are Glasgow’s dreaming spires:

That night I stayed with a friend who lives in Glasgow and we went to a party. The people were very friendly and it was great to meet new folk. I promptly invited them all to my housewarming party (whenever that may be - I haven’t even got a job there or sold my house in London yet…) The next morning my friend and another friend and I drove up to the Highlands for the hen weekend. Here are a few of the sights on the way:

Going over the Clyde in the centre of Glasgow:

Some lovely hills as we crossed over into the Highlands:

The bunkhouse we stayed at was excellent, and it had a hot tub outside!

The weekend had a horse theme, so we went pony trekking and dressed the bride-to-be up as a horse and embarrassed her with a succession of terrible forfeits. One of the highlights was what she did to the pinata. I can only show you the aftermath…

Here I am at the end of the night in my cowgirl outfit:

The next day we were exhausted, so we went for a pub lunch and sat outside in the sunshine. The weather was excellent, which is weird for Scotland.

Going home over the Forth Road Bridge, here’s the famous Forth Bridge on the left - they were still painting it.

Back in London I had a quick rest and worked, etc, but soon it was time to go to a wedding - my husband’s brother was getting married. It was in the Cotswolds, where I’d never been before. It is picture-postcard pretty, they make all the houses out of a very pretty yellow stone. Here is the cottage we stayed in:

They got married in a barn, and we had lamb cooked on a fire:

Oh, I should have warned the vegetarians to look away… But it was delicious!

Unfortunately, the DJs didn’t turn up, but I plugged my iPod into the PA and we danced to lots of things from that.

There was lots of room and by the end of the night I was trying some new contemporary moves…

I ached rather a lot the next day - I was doing things I should have saved up for a sprung floor!

I’ve been in London for about six years now, but I’m moving back up north soon and I’m really looking forward to it, and not just because the scenery is so lovely. People are generally much friendlier in Scotland than they are here. I’m a bit tired of having to book my social life six weeks in advance! Glasgow also has a great arts scene, and I’m hoping to join the University’s contemporary dance group which performs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival every summer. Plus, I will be up and down to London a lot, because I know I will miss the Royal Ballet and Sadlers Wells too much!