Sabbatical Day 6: Glasgow Museums on a Rainy Day

 Day 6, August 3: I had a good night of sleep last night, the least restless sleep I have had. I had my usual coffee concoction and plain yogurt with fruit compote. I read for a bit until it was late enough that I could walk to the museum and get there about the time it opened. It was very drizzly this morning, but not terribly cold. I came prepared for drizzly weather with a light weight water proof jacket and waterproof walking shoes, both had been comfortable and well used on this trip. 

Google maps told me that the walk to Glasgow University and the Hunterian Museum was about 45 minutes. The walk was mostly residential but I had to cross a major thoroughfare, the M8. Thankfully there’s a bridge over it, so that was easy. Google maps is a little confused, can’t seem to quite get its bearing in Scotland. But I’ve learned to look for street names instead of just trying to follow the map on my phone. It was definitely confused when it tried to have me walk through a fenced off construction area, but I don’t expect it to know all those details. As I navigated around the construction I saw some cool buildings, including the Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre. That made me wonder about the history of Jewish people in Scotland. I’ll need to look that up. 

I also walked past a bunch of other churches, Church of Scotland, an Episcopal Church that was obvious because of its red doors, and a Methodist church. The University grounds are lovely, tree lined, old and new buildings. Finding the entrance to the museum was just a little tricky, not too bad though, good signage. 

The museum is full of fascinating artifacts, many of them part of the collection of a Dr. Hunter, who lived in the 18 &19th centuries. He was a doctor, and a collector of coins and art and a lot of other stuff. I loved the Roman archeology pieces from the Antonine Wall - built in the 2nd century during one of the brief periods that Rome had successfully conquered Scotland. These periods never lasted long and the wall. The collection includes many other interesting artifacts for Roman Britannia: altars built to the gods, pottery and daily living objects. 

Other sections of the museum were dedicated to science and work that Dr. Hunter did as a doctor and scientist. Fascinating studies of obstetrics, with plaster molds of a pregnant woman’s body. The woman had died in her 9th month of pregnancy and Dr. Hunter did an autopsy and had plaster molds made to show the anatomy of the woman’s body, her uterus, her fetus. Knowing that this was an image of what had been a real woman made the display tragic. There was also a small exhibit dedicated to midwifery in Scotland and nursing. 

After this part of the museum I found my way to another part of the university, a few blocks away, where the Hunterian art museum is located along with the Rennie Macintosh rooms. The art museum was lovely, interesting paintings. And the Macintosh rooms are a gorgeous display, with helpful docents filling in details. I absolutely loved the furniture designs, but I kept thinking that it had to have been very uncomfortable furniture to sit in for long. 

Leaving the Hunterian museum I walked down a long, tree-lined road to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. This old gothic structure building made a statement all on its own. 

Inside I paid the “concession” rate (senior citizens discount) to go into an exhibit of plays,  paintings and other art of John Patrick Byrne. I admit that I have never heard of this artist, though he is big in the UK and comes from Glasgow. He wrote the Slab Boys Trilogy, and 1980’s cult TV dramas like Tutti Frutti and Your Cheatin’ Heart (which used country-western music as the backdrop to a comedy about life in Glasgow). I don’t know any of these, but I do know Billy Collins. He did the art work for a number of Billy Collin’s albums. They grew up together and have been friends.  It was a terrific exhibit. 

I left that exhibit and planned to wander a bit more around the museum, but it was mobbed with people, so I left. I wandered back into Glasgow City Center, even with google maps trying to take me in circles a few times, and found my way to the Willow Tea Rooms on Buchannon. 

There I had a hearty lunch and some delicious tea. Now I’m back in my room, probably for the day. Tomorrow I pack up and take the bus and ferry to Belfast where I join the retreat that started this whole journey. 8 days with Gareth Higgins and Kathleen Norris, story-telling and some wandering around the country side, in the fashion of John O’Donohue.