The dulcet tones of the Canucks defeating the Bruins (4-3) on 1040 am
"Piste 1" by Galaxie
"Lose It" by Austra
"We Used to Wait" by Arcade Fire
"Since When" by 54-40
We've been lobbying Miguel's parents for years to come and visit us. First, when we lived in Saskatoon ("you'll be amazed at how flat it is here!"), then when we lived in Calgary ("you'll be amazed with how slightly bumpy it is here!"), and now, as we live in Scotland ("you'll be amazed with how watery it is here!"). Finally, late this past November, Miguel's parents came for a week-long stay at the Ivory Tower.
Looking back, I think our first mistake was booking the flights for late November. These people are madrileños. For them, November weather is a brisk 12-15ºC. November is not hovering below 10ºC with a gale coming off of the North Sea and damp cold that comes up through your feet and doesn't leave. No matter how amazing the Firth of Forth looked with the waves kicking up over the breakwater, there was no escaping the icy wind, cold rain, and overwhelmingly dreich sky.
And the Firth of Forth did look amazing.
The Isle of May
On the afternoon we came back from St. Andrews, I noticed that the tide seemed to be pretty high. Peering into the harbour, I saw that the usually dry walkway was under a few inches of water. The Forth had surged up a few extra feet. No one thought to warn the locals of Shore Street, who had already put their laundry out for the day.
Miguel's dad made the best of his vacation. Every afternoon he walked into town, ordered a coffee at the local shop, found someone who spoke a smattering of Spanish, and preceded to spend the next hour chatting. Miguel's mom, who does not like the wind at all, spent most her time indoors with me, making croquetas and other Spanish delicacies, and catching up on her reading. And I learned a new Spanish word: Vendaval = gale. Or windstorm, for you Vancouver Islanders.
Although they had a lovely time visiting, I do wonder if we'll ever be able to persuade them to travel back up to Scotland again. Still, it could have been worse - they could have visited us in Saskatoon during the annual cold snap in February. At least there was never any risk of people going home with frostbite. A little windblown and damp, sure, but with all their fingers and toes.
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