"This is our lives."

Hello to you all! Sandy and I made a day trip to Glasgow yesterday to attend Charley Boorman Live, and, as I put in my Facebook status, I'm not certain if you'll believe me when I tell you all what happened yesterday. So I'm going to preface this by saying all of what follows below is complete fact, not fiction, and just know that as Sandy says, "This would happen to us."

We left St. Andrews yesterday around 12:40PM, taking the bus from St. Andrews to the Leuchars rail station. Sandy and I both have BritRail passes making train travel extremely easy for us both. Basically, a BritRail pass is something you purchase while still in the States and it allows you to effectively jump on and off the train for a certain number of days in a 60 day period. You can get go as low as 2 days and I believe as high as 15 days. Sandy and I were nervous using it the first time, but we showed our ticket to Alisdair, the train man, and he waved us on. We took the express train from Leuchars directly to Haymarket which is near Edinburgh and then transferred trains to a train headed for Glasgow. Getting off at Queen Street Station we were literally right in the middle of the city. We walked out onto St. George's Sqaure, which is where city hall is located.

Sandy in the Glasgow train station.

Glasgow city hall.

We walked all over the central part of town ... IN THE SNOW. It was snowing / sleeting / raining / at times hailing while we were in Glasgow, but that didn't stop us. We're two intrepid travelers; weather is the last thing to stop us (well, I take that back. A tornado would stop me. But little else.) Glasgow has a lot of high end shopping around St. George Square, so Sandy and I went through a bunch of different stores. We stopped in Urban Outfitters and ended up trying on a pretty cool looking hat.

Sandy with said hat. She think it looked better on me ....

I disagree. I think it looks better on this guy ...

Yes ... I tried on a hat because it looked like a hat Bono wore in the 80s.

Anyway, we also found Nelson Mandela Square and I had to get my picture made with a street named after Madiba!

After walking around for a bit and grabbing at bite to eat at Subway, we walked to the Pavilion Theatre where the Charley Boorman show was happening. We got there about an hour before the show started. I had reserved tickets for us back when I was still in the States and the theatre was kind enough to hold the tickets for us until we arrived. When I was at the ticket window, I gave them my surname and said I had two tickets reserved for tonight and the girl said, "Did you reserve them from America?", "Yes ..." Picked up the tickets and then we moved to another side of the atrium so I could put my wallet back in my backpack and get myself a little organized. As I was replacing the contents of my back, I hear Sandy say, "Catie ... Catie ... Catie ... CATIE!" I looked at her and said, "WHAT?!?!?!" And she said, "Turn around RIGHT NOW!" I turn around and in walks Charley Boorman himself, carrying a box of merchandise. "Oh! Hi!" I said to him, he smiled and said hello back and then Sandy and I walked out of the theatre and just started laughing. We thought we played it pretty cool for being ambushed like that by Charley, and we decided to not be creepers and hang around the theatre and instead go to the bookstore that was open near by.

Sandy and I had both brought copies of books Charley had written to get signed, but they had all gotten damp because of the horrendous weather conditions and being inside our bags that were absolutely soaked on the outside. So we went to the bookstore with the intent of buying books for Charley to sign. Unfortunately for me, the last time Sandy and I went book shopping together, I found a 1967 edition of "A Bear Called Paddington" by Michael Bond. Sandy was really mad that I found it before she did (especially because it was only £1.25). When we were in the bookshop, Sandy found the illustrated version of "Long Way Down", the story that first drew me to Charley and his adventures. I had been wanting that for a long time but have never found one and I said in vain, "IS THERE ANOTHER ONE?!?!?" Unfortunately there wasn't. And Sandy reminded me that I had Paddington Bear, so it was her turn to get something that we both wanted. I wanted a hardback for him to sign and they only had hardbacks of his newest book, "Right to the Edge: Sydney to Tokyo BY ANY MEANS". I was a little bummed because a.) the illustrated version of "Long Way Down" is INCREDIBLE (Christmas present anyone? here's the link. This is also a nice idea.) and Sydney to Tokyo is not as epic as some of his other adventures. For those of you who aren't familiar with Mr. Boorman's previous endeavors, they include "Long Way Round" where he and Ewan McGregor rode their motorbikes from London to New York through Europe, Russia and Canada, "Long Way Down" where he and Ewan rode their motorbikes again this time from the top of Scotland to the toe of Africa, and "By Any Means" where he used any means of transport to get from Ireland to Australia through Europe, Central / South Asia, the Middle East and South East Asia / SE Asian islands. So Sydney to Tokyo is literally nothing on Boorman standards. But, the book was mislabeled as half price so I only paid £9 for it as opposed to £18.

When we got back to the theatre, I saw that they were selling hardback copies of all Charley's books. As I had a bad paperback copy of "Long Way Round" and that was the original journey that started it all, I decided to get that for him to sign. The set up for the show was really cool. Charley had his "Race to Dakar" bike and the bike he used on "Long Way Round" on stage. There was a couch and a computer chair with a computer terminal on stage which led us to believe that Charley and Si Pavey, 7-time Dakar racer who was also speaking, would be on the couch moderated by someone in the chair who would play clips from the shows. (We were right).

The set up with the bike Charley rode on Long Way Round.

Anyways, they brought out a local comedian for a few minutes, and then brought out Si Pavey for an interview for a bit, and then Charley came out. We were having a blast, hearing fantastic stories until Billy, who was moderating, said they were going to take a 15-minute intermission and then come back to finish the interview portion and then move into Q&A. Sandy said, "Catie, it's 8:45PM right now. The show started at 7:30, and if they've still got the other half of the show and Q&A we may be cutting it close on the train." So we called Amanda and asked her to look at the train timetables again for us. Good thing, because Sandy and I had both thought there was a train leaving at 10:30PM and at 11:30PM. Turns out the last direct train left at 10:00PM and the 11:30 train would be a six hour ride (I still don't understand how that's possible). We realized that we couldn't stay until the end of the show and we had to leave at 9:30PM. Then came the realization that we would miss the book signing. I had been talking with a guy from BMW Motorbikes in the atrium before the show, and Sandy said, "Well, I don't we go talk to your BMW friend and see if we can get the books backstage for Charley to sign during intermission." So we grabbed our books and headed off. When we were in the atrium, we saw Billy Ward who was moderating the whole show and we both looked at each other and made a B-line for Billy. Sandy went up to him and said, very politely,

"Hi Billy. We're really enjoying the show so far, so thank you very much. Listen, we're American exchange students who are studying at St. Andrews for the semester and we came down here to Glasgow to see the show and hopefully get Charley to sign our books. Unfortunately the last train leaves at 10PM so we can't stay much longer and we were just wondering if there was any way you could get Charley to sign our books."

Billy said, "Sure thing! Give me your books and I'll take them back!" He then began to ask what our names were and said, "You know what, come with me, I'll take you backstage."

Sandy and I looked at each other. WHAT. WE'RE GOING BACKSTAGE TO MEET CHARLEY?!?!?!?! WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!?!? We followed Billy all over the theatre looking for Charley and Billy finally found him and said, "Charley! We've got two lovely American girls here who can't stay but really want to meet you!"

So Charley came over to speak with us. He was such a lovely person. He asked where we were studying how long we'd be in the UK. I told him I took mom and Jim to see Long Way Down before I went to Africa to try to show them that Africa wasn't that bad, which he found hilarious. And we talked about how we're going to Spain and doing a day trip to Morocco for spring break and he said, "Oh! What a wonderful trip you girls will love it! Especially Morocco, you should try to go to Marrakech if you can!" He signed our books for us and spoke a little longer before we had to get back to our seats. We shook hands and he said, "Thank you so much for coming all this way to the show." And we just expressed our gratitude to him for having us. We also thanked Billy and considered offering up relatives to him as he mentioned three times in the earlier bit of the show that he was divorced. How else could we pay him back? Then as we exited the stage area Charley grabbed my shoulder as I walked down the steps. I may not wash that shirt again. Or my right hand for that matter.

We got back to our seats and we were like giddy school children. "What just happened?" I asked Sandy. And she just looked at me and said, "This is our lives, Catie. THIS is our lives." It was hard to contain our excitement, but out of deference to the people around us who didn't get backstage to have a personal meet and greet with Charley, we contained ourselves. They showed some footage from the Dakar at which point we left to catch the train. I was jumping up and down and clicking my heels all the way back to the station. I had just met Charley Boorman, one of my favorite authors / adventurers. And he was one of the kindest people I've ever met. If the rest of my time here is awful, it will be okay, because I met Charley and he was everything I'd hoped he'd be and more.

Sandy's book signed by Charley. It says "To Sandy - Thanks for coming. All the Best. Charley"

Me and my book! It says, "To Catie - Thank you for coming. Be good. Charley"

BUT OUR STORY DOESN'T END HERE.

Oh no, there's more.

Sandy and I got on the train high as kites and headed back to Haymarket. We then caught the last train from Haymarket to Leuchars. Now, this train left at 11:13PM, and the last bus to St. Andrews left Leuchars at 12:03AM. As it only took us 30 minutes to get from Leuchars to Haymarket last time, we thought we'd be good. But we forgot we'd taken the express train, and this train made multiple (and unnecessary in my opinion) stops along the way. As we went on, we came to the realization that we would miss the bus. Not a problem. We could take a taxi. On our train was a man who was, well, BEYOND inebriated. He had his headphones on so loud that not only could I hear them from three rows ahead, I knew what song was playing. But that wasn't the best part. He felt compelled to sign, in a loud, drunk manner, the words to certain songs, one of which being "Take A Bow" by Muse. Now, I love Muse. They're in my top 20 bands (U2 occupies the first 10 slots). But this is one of my least favorite songs of theirs, mainly because of the chorus line that says "You will burn in hell for your sins." It's just a weird song. So, the plastered guy is singing as loud as he can "YOU WILL BURN IN HELL FOR YOUR SINS." And Sandy and I couldn't stop laughing. Because it was just so strange. And I kept telling Sandy, "If he sings Starlight (the next track on the CD) or Supermassive Blackhole (follow Starlight), I may lose it." Fortunately, he didn't. "Starlight" has been saved for the masses. I've posted "Starlight" below to redeem them for the lyrics to "Take A Bow". They're really good!

BUT WE'RE STILL NOT DONE.

Sandy and I got in the cab and "Somebody to Love" by Queen was on the radio. This song was recently used in a TV show Sandy and I love called "Glee" about a high school glee club. We were talking about how great the Glee version of the song was and how the girl who plays Mercedes blew Freddy Mercury out of the waters on vocals. And just as "Somebody to Love" ended, "Don't Stop Believing" sung by the cast of Glee came on the radio. "Epic end to an epic day." I said. And we sang along, probably annoying the cab driver all the way back to Market Street.

Glee's version of "Don't Stop Believing". I think Charley would like this! And what a way to cap off the day!

And it was an epic day. All that I've told you is complete fact, none of it fiction, and it only happened because Sandy and I were traveling together. We're going to London next weekend and Spain/Morocco together for spring break. I can't wait. Because if it's anything like our day trip, I may have more stories that you may not believe when I tell you.

We're contemplating writing a book ...