Here is St. Andrews
Andrew Mellvile Hall, temporary accomodations in St. Andrews, lacking every amenity of home. Its architect fashioned the Hall from a painting of two ships that had collided. The grass mounds are supposed to be waves. We were housed in block D, much like prisoners in their cells. The "ship" on the right is slowly sinking into the bog it was built upon. Food here closely resembled what one would expect in a turn of the century castle dungeon. There were numerous written assurances posted on the dining room walls informing us that their beef was free from mad cow disease, although they would be happy to offer a vegetarian alternative for those who wished it.
The inmates of the Hall were rudely awakened to the fresh air of the Fife coast by an unplanned fire alarm. Our first morning in St. Andrews.
Martin went to an air show in Leuchars. These are the Red Arrows, RAF planes. Nicole explored St. Andrews.
A British Spitfire.
Here is a Globemaster transport plane from Charleston, SC. The guys getting on are big shots from the Royal Air Force and Navy. They want to buy these kind of planes.
This was the most interesting plane here. Can you tell its nationality from the markings??
The sign says it all. Notice the man in the forward observation platform. He was a ham, stationed to wave at all the little kids.
The open engine of the German Navy plane, exhibiting characteristic graceful German engineering. Fifty years ago, this plane would have been shot down if seen anywhere near the Leuchars base.
A Lancaster Bomber flying over a pig farm. Look out piggies!
Our favorite sight so far- lady lawnbowlers! They were all over 60. Lawnbowling sure is an exciting sport to watch! Nicole would like to join their team.
The tall square one is St. Rules' tower. The other one is part of the cathedral ruins. The cathedral was catholic, but when the Reformation happened, the protestants ransacked it and left it to ruin.
The cathedral seen from the shore, next to the St. Andrews castle ruins. The bit of water at the bottom of the picture is a bathing pool used by castle inhabitants when the weather was permitting. It is still used today, in a bizarre sort of May Day celebration involving a few laps in the pool early in the morning, whatever the weather. During the day, people bring their dogs down to swim in it.
Here's looking the other direction at the castle ruins.
The entrance to the Bottle Dungeon in the castle. Only the worst were kept in it. It is a giant hole in the ground, opening at the top in a bottleneck, through wich prisoners were lowered into the dungeon below.