Gift shops and damned spots

You may have noticed that as much as I like to do so-called "local" things when travelling, I still derive quite a bit of enjoyment from a certain type of touristy thing: those that are so tacky that they become hilariously ridiculous because of their tackiness. Kilt towels are one such example (I'll have to get a photo of one of those puppies up here). Stirling Castle provided a few more examples. Behold:


They are all about the whisky here, or at least tourists are all about buying the overpriced whisky in bottles of various shapes and sizes, affiliated with certain clans and whatnot. I suppose I shouldn't knock whisky til I have a "wee dram", but... really? You need a one-stop shop (in a castle, no less) for both your booze and your biography of William Wallace? Only in Scotland...

The following pic is a stealth, no flash, pretend-I'm-looking-at-photos-I've-already-taken-on-my-digi gift shop shot (they tend to dislike it when you photograph the merchandise):

Please note the fine music available for sale: Ceilidh Minogue, and next to that, Deaf Sheppard. My favourite, though, is the Red Hot Chilli Pipers. Ah, how I love a good (or even bad) pun.

Tomorrow night we're going to see "the Scottish play" itself, Macbeth. Having read Macbeth and also having seen it performed a few times now, I have to admit that it's not my favourite Shakespeare play (sorry, Will). That being said - I'm in Scotland. I really can't pass up this chance. I'm too much of a lit nerd not to go - the other day while looking at a map of Scotland I spotted Cawdor and got all excited. What I am also really excited about is the possibility of seeing Hamlet in London's West End next summer - Kenneth Branaugh is directing, and Jude Law will play the Prince of Denmark. Also on my list of places to go: the Globe Theatre (didn't get the chance to go inside when I was in London this past February) and the real Stratford-Upon-Avon.

I'll let you know how this production compares to Stratford, Ontario one I saw a couple years ago. I'll warn you in advance, however, that my next post may not be til next week - this weekend I have to read all of D.H.Lawrence's Women in Love (550 pages) and as much as possible of A Scots Quair (600+ pages), as well as a Canadian Thanksgiving Potluck on Saturday (for which I am making my speciality, mashed potatoes) and our castle bus tour day trip on Sunday. Busy weekend ahead! And in one final bit of news - my special ballot finally came today - hopefully I can FedEx it or something and get it to Ottawa in time for the Tuesday at 6pm deadline!