Hinterland

It's been too long since the Minx I had a road trip together, certainly seems ages since we went to see a band or an exhibition. But a couple of weeks ago, she came across this extraordinary event called 'Hinterland' that is part of Scotland's 'Festival of Architecture', and today we drove up to see it.

We stopped off in Glasgow for drinks with a couple of friends of ours - Andrea and David - which was exactly as delightful as we'd hoped it would be, and then headed up to Helensburgh, where we dropped our stuff off at the B&B and then walked down to the waterfront to get the bus out to St Peter’s Seminary, stopping for some rather good fish and chips on the way.

The building itself is insane. It does, admittedly, make more sense when you see photos of it in its prime but now, pared back to its concrete skeleton, seen at night, it seems like Brutalism on LSD. Walking up through the woods with the other visitors, the huge building emerges in glimpses according to the varied illumination throughout the structure. 

And once inside, it's hard to make sense of the layout. We ended up, with a lot of other people, standing in a large hall, looking down on some tiered seats and pool of water with a large censer swinging over it. (The Minx took an amazing photo, which you can see here.) We all stood in silence for what seemed like an age, although my normal impatience was nowhere to be seen: it was totally tranquil.

If I have one criticism, it's that the music was a bit naff; some unimaginative brass and choir. What would have been perfect would have been something like Brian Eno's 'An Ending (Ascent)'; something a little more subtle and ethereal. 

But that grumble aside, it was a great evening out and lovely back to be out and about with the Minx again. If you can get to see 'Hinterland' I'd highly recommend it.