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Stu | all galleries >> Daily Bowl of Stu >> February 2007 > 888. Alma Mater
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Glasgow Stu

888. Alma Mater

2 February 2007

He was excited. He was like a child who knew he was getting a special treat; like the cat that got the cream. He drove up Eldon Street and prayed for the lights to turn red. He wanted to stop; he wanted to savour every minute. He wanted it to last. The lights turned red and he stopped the car, holding it in place by riding the clutch - a bad habit that he couldn't shake. In front of him was Gibson Street, as steep and narrow as he remembered it. That wasn't his destination, though: he was going up University Avenue. Turn left and past the University Union, the GUU, which would be full of law, science and medical students drinking their yards of ale, singing their rugby songs or honing their debating skills. Follow the road round to the right and up the hill, up Gilmourhill, past the Gilbert-Scott building and its iconic tower: home to the quads and the cloister and the examination halls and the graduation ceremonies. Past the Reading Room and the library where he spent hours without measure trying to extract knowledge from the dry tomes back in the days before the internet was a distraction. On his left he saw the Students' Representative Council and remembered his year on its executive council: VP Services - responsible for the student shop and the Nestle boycott! Now past the pelican crossing that the students continue to ignore and down the broad sweep past the Boyd Orr Building - in which he had his first university lecture: Ordinary Politics - to the junction with Byres Road. He noticed that Tenants Bar was now painted red: it had always been green. He turned right onto Byres Road and its wall to wall coffee shops, and took the first left up the narrow Dowanside Road to Crown Road South. He always parked there outside his old flat. It was once a bedsit, but sometime in the intervening years it had been restored to a family home: a very large and expensive family home. He found a parking space immediately. He was back: his West End; his alma mater; his Glasgow. And he loved it. She asked him if he would like to move back to Glasgow. 'In a heartbeat', he replied, 'In a heartbeat'. He was home again.

Nikon D70 ,Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG ASP DF
1/20s f/9.0 at 42.0mm iso200 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time02-Feb-2007 11:18:01
MakeNikon
ModelNIKON D70
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length42 mm
Exposure Time1/20 sec
Aperturef/9
ISO Equivalent200
Exposure Bias
White Balance
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programaperture priority (3)
Focus Distance

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Victoria03-Feb-2007 17:52
What a great story here, wish i am there walking on Eldon Street and dropping shops ....cool
Faye White03-Feb-2007 13:35
beautiful light and deep, rich color
Katie Chew03-Feb-2007 02:58
Very nice light!
Michael Weinberg02-Feb-2007 23:16
Hi Enny. Excellent architectural composition with great details. I especially like the subdued foreground yielding to the lighted background all at very strong dof. Nicely done. Best regards, Michael.
Guest 02-Feb-2007 21:18
beautiful done, great light.