Glasgow School of Art Open Day

Glasgow School of Art

Glasgow School of ArtMe at the Open Day

Last week Lola and I went to the Open Day at the Glasgow School of Art.

Calum was meant to go, but the school got the dates mixed up for his Paris art trip, so he had to Paris instead (not exactly a hardship I think!).

But it gave me a lovely opportunity to spend some time with Lola.

It was also useful for her to see the Glasgow School of Art as she wants to apply there herself.

Lola in Glasgow

An Early Start
To get there and back in a day, we decided to fly, which was ironically just as cheap as going by train, and a lot quicker.

However, that meant getting up at 4.30am which wasn't fun at all.

We made it to Stansted in exactly one hour and eight minutes and parked in the short stay car park before heading to the terminal to get breakfast. Coffee and croissants never tasted so good!

By 8.30 we were in the air and arrived in Glasgow less than an hour later.

So much to see
The Open Day was fantastic and there was lots to do and see.

Walking up Renfrew Street and seeing the School of Art with the sun glinting on it was a wonderful experience.

It is a very beautiful building and it's amazing to think that in spite of being one of the most famous examples of architecture by Charles Rennie Macintosh, it is still a living, working building. Its design could be contemporary and it still looks cutting edge.

It also has the most fantastic reputation.

No wonder Calum and Lola want to go there.

During the day we went to a lecture on the visual communication course, met lecturers and students (all of whom were very friendly), went to a presentation on preparingportfolios (probably the most useful part of the day) and collected leaflets and brochures from the Information Centre.

We also bought cakes from the cake stall manned by 'Mike', who recommended his grandmother's shortbread. He said it was delicious and it was!

By the afternoon our feet were sore but it was well worth it.

The cake stand at the Open Day

A spot of shopping
Although we had very little time left before we had to catch our plane, we still managed a spot of shopping.

After grabbing something to eat at John Lewis in the Buchanan Galleries (the croissants had long worn off), we made a quick trip to Mango.

I bought Lola a teal cardigan and myself a green satin blouse - all in the space of 20 minutes!

A bit of retail therapy worked wonders.

The long journey home
We ended up arriving at Glasgow airport too early, thanks to my obsession with not being late.

By this time we were too tired to do any more shopping, so sat in the bright orange Easyjet waiting area (I felt like I'd been 'Tangoed') until it was time to board.

There was the usual scrum for seats and Lola and I had the misfortune to end up behind three teenagers who insisted on watching a dvd at full volume so they could all hear it - as could half the plane.

Even my i-Pod couldn't drown it out.

We couldn't wait to get back to Stansted and get off.

Lola and I got something to eat (we'd been up so long it seemed like another day) and then tried (unsuccessfully) to find our car and get out of the car park.

Round in circles
We seemed to go round in circles as we could see the car park down below but couldn't get to it.

It turned out we had come out of the airport building on the wrong level.

We walked up and down but couldn't see an entrance, so in the end, we climbed over a fence and walked down some steps to the parking machine.

Once we'd paid for the ticket, after me trying to puy my card in the wrong slot (I was very tired by then), we drove round in circles trying to find the exit.

We followed the Exit arrows kept taking you back on yourself.

Whoever invented them was obviously having a laugh - as we did when we realised just how ridiculous we looked driving round and round!

Evnbtually we made it home, which was a real relief.

Lola and I were shattered but we both agreed it had been a really good day.

And an incredibly useful one.

She's already started working on her portfolio.

Now Calum just has to do his.