view from a hotel window : Glasgow

I'm up in Glasgow, for a couple of days project meeting on our Aria-funded Bosonic computing project, and, incidentally, escaping southern heat.

The view from my hotel window is okay...

... but the architecture on the other side is more interesting.

including bonus seagull

escaping the heat

It was a lovely morning to be sitting on a quiet railway platform, listening to the birds singing, waiting for the train that would take me from the developing heat in the south (forecast mid 30s) to the more civilised levels in Glasgow (forecast, low 20s). 

8:46 am BST; already warm

views from two hotel windows

I travelled up to Glasgow yesterday, via Edinburgh, for a project team meeting the day before a workshop we ran today, in Edinburgh.  So yesterday evening I travelled back from Glasgow to Edinburgh, to overnight here before the workshop.

A nice sunny morning in Edinburgh. 
Some reflection of the double glazing, which was a foot deep and not openable.

We held the workshop -- about 20 people discussing quantum optics and photonic computing -- and then the team travelled back to Glasgow, ready for a project debrief tomorrow (to be followed by me travelling home in the afternoon, via Edinburgh).

A nice sunny evening in Glasgow.

relaxing train

While waiting for my train from Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh, for the first leg of my journey home, I was amused to see the destination on this other train:

view from a hotel window

I'm in Glasgow, visiting some colleagues at the University of Strathclyde, for our new LoCoMo project that started after I retired!  Yesterday afternoon we had a good chat about a paper (from a different project) that has been stalled since pre-Covid times, and figured out how to solve the issue.  I have been tasked with writing the new section we agreed on, as I now have the time!  Today we talked about the new project.  Tomorrow I'm looking forward to a lab tour, to see what the experimentalists are up to in quantum computing with Rydberg atoms (we are doing some vaguely related theory, but looking at cool kit is always fun).

Meanwhile, this is the view from my hotel room window (nice hotel: very quiet!)

view from a hotel window

We have finished our relaxed journey north, and arrived at our hotel (chosen mainly because it has an EV charging point) by the SEC Centre, ready for the Glasgow 2024 Worldcon official start tomorrow.  We did register this evening, to save some time: it's just a convenient short walk away across a footbridge over the Clyde.

When we arrived, we found our room has a good view of the Armadillo (now its official name!), where some of the con events will be held.  The main convention space is in a less visually interesting, but much larger, building behind it.

The Armadillo by daylight

Later on, after dark, we found the view is somewhat different, due to the interesting alien lighting in the adjacent OVO Hydro building.

Excited for the start of the convention tomorrow!

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[Later: I have added some notes from the convention to my website]

view from a hotel window

I’ve just arrived in Glasgow, for a small workshop tomorrow.  The hotel is on a bit of a slope, and I’m on the ground floor, explaining the nice view up the rockery:

sun in Glasgow

The 65th British National Science Fiction Convention, or “Eastercon” as it is usually known, was this year held in Glasgow, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  It was the usual excellent collection of talks, panel discussions, and other events, focussed on Science Fiction.  This year the science talk theme was especially strong, with Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell as the science Guest of Honour, bringing us up to date on recent advances in astronomy, and a collection of three talks from researchers from the University of Strathclyde, on the science behind some science fiction.

So the con was great fun, as usual.  Not so usual was the weather.  Here’s the obligatory “photo from hotel window”, showing the anomaly.

seagull and armadillo through glass

We had a good view of the Clyde Auditorium, or “Armadillo”, next to the River Clyde itself. That strange circular flying saucer shaped building just behind it is the Hydro.  And that even stranger blue area behind them both is the sky.  It was warm, sunny, and clear for the whole time we were there.  That was quite a contrast to last year’s Eastercon, in Bradford, where there was snow on the ground!

We had flown up to Glasgow on Thursday evening, so had a little time to kill before the con started on Friday.  We had planned to go into the city, but a combination of getting up late and the glorious weather meant we instead opted for a stroll along the Clyde, in shirtsleeves.

looking west along the Clyde

the Crowne Plaza con hotel, and the Armadillo, from across the Clyde

imax, Glasgow Science Centre, and sky

How far to the Crowne Plaza?

We've just reserved our hotel room for Eastercon 2014.  The con is being held in the Crowne Plaza Glasgow.  The online booking system helpfully gives an indication of how far the various con hotels are from the venue.

One property of a metric is that the distance from somewhere to itself, d(x,x) = 0, for any x. However, the booking system seems to be using a more science fictional metric, since it thinks that d(Crowne Plaza, Crowne Plaza) = 176 yards.

Possibly the hotel is beside itself with joy at hosting Eastercon?