Dundee part 2 - Graduation Day! (Thursday 21st)
Graduation day!
My graduation wasn't until the afternoon, so we had a few hours to kill after breakfast and went for a walk down to the riverside/City Quay.
Our hotel staircase had a rather cool infinity effect with its mirrors
a rather photogenic rusty old lightship in the City Quay
moored in the City Quay was the Unicorn, rather bizarre looking with its roof and lack of sails, allegedly the oldest British built ship still afloat. The roof, surprisingly, was not a modern addition but something which used to be constructed when the boat was in dock after service and for this boat, it was never removed again.
Rob and I decided to pop in to explore, whilst my parents strolled back to the hotel - the boat was just a tad steep and clambery to get around!
how she would have looked, pre roof!
exploring the upper deck
down to the lower deck - slightly low ceiling!
yes, it did smell rather mouldy and musty down here
And then the bottom deck. I didn't stay down here long, far too claustrophobic, having to bend double to walk around!
Back on top deck, the rather luxurious Captain's quarters
One of the elderly staff members/crew/volunteers decided to bend our ear for a little while - very friendly but a stereotypical old Scot (the real Rab C Nesbitt!) - mostly unintelligable other than the word "feck" littered throughout the conversation. I got the impression he was mainly complaining about the "improvements" made ot Dundee waterfront.
We made our excuses and escaped, as I had a graduation to get ready for!
got dressed and met with my parents in the hotel lobby - managed to persuade my mum that I really should have a photo of her!
quite nervous - a gin would have gone down well around this time
got to Caird Hall early enough to get a few photos, me nervous as hell! The weather was sunny but a bit breezy
more sensible
we were quite amused by this bird cooling down on the fountain, spraying everyone who was sitting underneath!
getting ready to go into Caird Hall
inside Caird Hall (Rob's view)
and my view
me getting doffed on the head by an old rolled up hat
The ceremony was carried out with a good balance of formality and celebration. Nothing too stiff and it was over pretty quickly. Nothing to be nervous about after all!
we were greated by a fanfare of pipers when we left the hall, a rather nice touch!
this was then followed by a rather stressful 10 minutes trying to find CAIS staff and fellow students, as they asked us to meet up so the tutors could give us a personal congratulations. To be honest, I could have done without that stress. I should have been celebrating with my family but instead getting a slight anxiety attack trying to work my way through crowds to try to spot familiar faces that I'd not seen for three years. Finally found our group and the only tutor there was Pat, the head of the course. She did get a photo of those of us who did find the meeting point but I've not seen it. This was the only disappointment of the day, kind of felt let down by the lack of support from the Archives staff; given that distance learning is somewhat isolating, an occasion like this is what makes it real, so it would have been nice to have had a better reunion.
Rob managed to find me amongst the melee and I managed to get a few traditional "I've graduated" photos!
found my parents and we set off to the University for the Garden Party. The penguins had been traditionally dressed for Graduation week. :-)
by the time we got to the Garden Party it was rather busy but we managed to comandeer a few chairs near the entertainment marquee where we drank prosecco and grabbed any canapes and cakes which went past us! Instead of the usual naff party band, this was a Scottish style party with a Ceildh. The dances were called out and instructed for all us non-Scots who had no idea what to do. Rob and I had a go at one dance which was great fun, even if we were pretty rubbish!
look - blue sky! (little were we to know that Scotland was about to experience a 30C heatwave over the next few weeks)
kilts!
After a few proseccos and a cocktail, I was a bit tipsy and bemoaning the fact that I wasn't Scottish - my tenuous link to this wonderful country now at an end. The party ended all too soon and we had to return our robes to the Dalhousie building - where my studies started 3 years ago, that was a rather poignant feeling, realisation that my studenting was officially over.
My parents had a head start back to the hotel, to have a rest before dinner but I wanted a celebratory cocktail at the Malmaison Hotel. Decor typically fab of this hotel chain - what wasn't so typical was the price of the drinks! I got a fantasticly made margarita for a paltry £6.
Met up with my parents and went for a meal at a nearby Thai restaurant. The food was fantastic, although a tad expensive, and fiery as hell! And that was the end of my graduation day, which was a lovely, memorable experience.
Full gallery of the first two days' pics here
My graduation wasn't until the afternoon, so we had a few hours to kill after breakfast and went for a walk down to the riverside/City Quay.
Our hotel staircase had a rather cool infinity effect with its mirrors
a rather photogenic rusty old lightship in the City Quay
moored in the City Quay was the Unicorn, rather bizarre looking with its roof and lack of sails, allegedly the oldest British built ship still afloat. The roof, surprisingly, was not a modern addition but something which used to be constructed when the boat was in dock after service and for this boat, it was never removed again.
Rob and I decided to pop in to explore, whilst my parents strolled back to the hotel - the boat was just a tad steep and clambery to get around!
how she would have looked, pre roof!
exploring the upper deck
down to the lower deck - slightly low ceiling!
yes, it did smell rather mouldy and musty down here
And then the bottom deck. I didn't stay down here long, far too claustrophobic, having to bend double to walk around!
Back on top deck, the rather luxurious Captain's quarters
One of the elderly staff members/crew/volunteers decided to bend our ear for a little while - very friendly but a stereotypical old Scot (the real Rab C Nesbitt!) - mostly unintelligable other than the word "feck" littered throughout the conversation. I got the impression he was mainly complaining about the "improvements" made ot Dundee waterfront.
We made our excuses and escaped, as I had a graduation to get ready for!
got dressed and met with my parents in the hotel lobby - managed to persuade my mum that I really should have a photo of her!
quite nervous - a gin would have gone down well around this time
got to Caird Hall early enough to get a few photos, me nervous as hell! The weather was sunny but a bit breezy
more sensible
we were quite amused by this bird cooling down on the fountain, spraying everyone who was sitting underneath!
getting ready to go into Caird Hall
inside Caird Hall (Rob's view)
and my view
me getting doffed on the head by an old rolled up hat
The ceremony was carried out with a good balance of formality and celebration. Nothing too stiff and it was over pretty quickly. Nothing to be nervous about after all!
we were greated by a fanfare of pipers when we left the hall, a rather nice touch!
this was then followed by a rather stressful 10 minutes trying to find CAIS staff and fellow students, as they asked us to meet up so the tutors could give us a personal congratulations. To be honest, I could have done without that stress. I should have been celebrating with my family but instead getting a slight anxiety attack trying to work my way through crowds to try to spot familiar faces that I'd not seen for three years. Finally found our group and the only tutor there was Pat, the head of the course. She did get a photo of those of us who did find the meeting point but I've not seen it. This was the only disappointment of the day, kind of felt let down by the lack of support from the Archives staff; given that distance learning is somewhat isolating, an occasion like this is what makes it real, so it would have been nice to have had a better reunion.
Rob managed to find me amongst the melee and I managed to get a few traditional "I've graduated" photos!
found my parents and we set off to the University for the Garden Party. The penguins had been traditionally dressed for Graduation week. :-)
by the time we got to the Garden Party it was rather busy but we managed to comandeer a few chairs near the entertainment marquee where we drank prosecco and grabbed any canapes and cakes which went past us! Instead of the usual naff party band, this was a Scottish style party with a Ceildh. The dances were called out and instructed for all us non-Scots who had no idea what to do. Rob and I had a go at one dance which was great fun, even if we were pretty rubbish!
look - blue sky! (little were we to know that Scotland was about to experience a 30C heatwave over the next few weeks)
kilts!
After a few proseccos and a cocktail, I was a bit tipsy and bemoaning the fact that I wasn't Scottish - my tenuous link to this wonderful country now at an end. The party ended all too soon and we had to return our robes to the Dalhousie building - where my studies started 3 years ago, that was a rather poignant feeling, realisation that my studenting was officially over.
My parents had a head start back to the hotel, to have a rest before dinner but I wanted a celebratory cocktail at the Malmaison Hotel. Decor typically fab of this hotel chain - what wasn't so typical was the price of the drinks! I got a fantasticly made margarita for a paltry £6.
Met up with my parents and went for a meal at a nearby Thai restaurant. The food was fantastic, although a tad expensive, and fiery as hell! And that was the end of my graduation day, which was a lovely, memorable experience.
Full gallery of the first two days' pics here