The series will be published weekly.]
My Rescuers were a wonderful family that lived in the suburbs of Glasgow. They had a 3 bedroom apartment in a 3 story brick walk-up building in a small complex on the outskirts of the city. There was a large expanse of lawn and some swings for children to play on.
The flat was very comfortable and I was soon made “at home”. The son and his wife were still traveling so I was given the open bedroom. A daughter, my age, who lived at home, had the second bedroom and the parents had the remaining one. There was a small sitting room with comfortable arm-chairs set up for watching the TV.
We began to exchange stories and while they had heard from their son about his meeting with me, they wanted to hear first hand how we had met and how I'd helped him on his travels. I learned about them too. He was English and had come to Glasgow many years earlier for work. He had met his wife while working and settled down in Glasgow. He said that was one reason I could understand him: he didn't have a Scottish accent! He said when I called, I was lucky he had answered the phone because the rest of the family had quite a thick one. We all laughed when he said, the 3 of them had debated who was to go collect me as they were sure I would not understand his wife or daughter's accents.
Their hospitality had no ends. That evening the daughter took me to a Rugby Match and then to a party with some of her friends. They were all keen to meet a real-live American. I don't think I was very good company though as 499 mugs of hot milky tea were still working their way through my gut and I had to excuse myself often. But it was great meeting loads of people my own age! I can vouch that they know how to party in Glasgow!
The next morning, I was astonished to wake up when the Mrs knocked on the door and brought in a tray loaded with hot breakfast foods! I was so embarrassed that she had gone to such lengths. She smiled and said she did it everyday for everyone and as I was her guest she would treat me just like the others. It was just like in the movies: oatmeal, eggs, toast, bacon and well, more tea. It was delicious!
As the others had previous engagements, I spent the day helping the Mrs with the chores of the house. It wasn't much different than at home, except everything is in miniature. The stove, the washing machine everything is designed to take up as little space as possible. I helped her make dinner and she said that night's dessert was “jelly”. I wondered what she meant, so I pestered her to tell me about it, was it blackberry or marmalade? In another different adventure, which I shall perhaps someday relate, I'd run into a “jelly” for dinner and while it had an amusing aftermath, I didn't want to “make a fool of myself” again either. But she remained quiet and I had to wait as we prepared the dinner. Soon she opened the refrigerator and took out of a wrapper a rectangular yellow something. It was about half the size of our sticks of butter. She showed this to me and said, “See, jelly.” I still had no idea what it was and she smiled and said, “You'll like it.” Then she heated some water and put the yellow stick in it and as it started to melt I could smell the familiar fragrance of “Lemon Jell-O”!
At dinner, the Mr and Mrs told me that if the weather was good the next day, they would take me sight-seeing. We would take a drive out along some of the famous Lochs and thru the hills of southern Scotland. It was a wonderful plan and the next day, could not have been better. The sun was out, it was warm and there wasn't any fog or rain on the horizon. We piled into their car and I received the most wonderful personal tour of Scotland. Anything of importance we went to. I saw the lochs and the hills and the waterfall and the heather. The sun lasted all day and we had a wonderful outing. They gave me a piece of Scottish Heather to carry as a good luck charm on the rest of my journey.
The following day, the Mrs took me to the shops in Glasgow. She had her regular shopping to do but said there would be time to look at the stores if I wanted to go along. Who could resist? The shops where not like the big stores or malls at home. They were medium size or small and often had one or two specialties. She explained that Edinburgh had better shops but it was a days train ride from Glasgow and she didn't get to go often.
At last the day came when the banks would open and I could exchange my French Francs for British Pounds. They asked if I would stay longer with them but I said I had to continue my search for my Airedale and that I had to return to University too. The Mr had done some basic inquires and said there was no one in Glasgow that had this type of dog and that Edinburgh was the next best place to try.
So, we said our good byes and thank yous and I boarded the train to Edinburgh. This time I had British Pounds in my pocket and thought, “Nothing more could happen...”
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