Contrasts

What a long day that's been! Fun, though - meeting my cousin and his wife for our customary pre-Christmas lunch in Glasgow, we decided to go by bus so that we could both be properly festive; we also decided to go early enough to do the odd thing in town before subsiding into indulgence. This involved  pounding through the deserted streets to catch a bus at the pier at 8am; we stayed on the bus as it crossed the Firth on the ferry and then stopped and started its way through Gourock, Greenock and Port Glasgow, picking up passengers before hitting the motorway and picking up speed. The journey takes 2 hours, but it's actually relaxing and - for us ancients - completely free. 

The weather was ghastly - cold and gently raining - but Buchanan Galleries were warm and cheerful (my extra photo is of a rather attractive decoration outside John Lewis: I can see mini-me in each of the shiny gold balls on the floor) and lunch was delicious and convivial. And then it was back into the bus station by way of the Subway - such a speedy way to get about Glasgow if you're able to be near one of the stations - through the Galleries again and out the back into the bus station. Two (very hot) hours later, we emerged in Dunoon - and that's when I took this photo. 

Argyll Street - the main thoroughfare - is even quieter than it was in the morning, though the rain has stopped again and the wind is slight. The decorations are bright but sparse, and the darkness seems even denser because of them. The contrast with Glasgow couldn't have been greater. But this Glasgwegian born and bred was glad to walk up the silent road home ...