There's no place like Glasgow! *Clicks heels*

No trip "home" for Christmas would be complete without a visit to the ancient city of Glasgow, the place I lived, on and off, for five rain-lashed years, while pretending, on and off, to be working hard for my degree. 

When I wasn't lost in Christmas shopping, I was catching up with people at various Weegie watering holes over a gin or three. Needless to say it was awesome possum to catch up with them, although inevitably not enough time was had to see all. First night was Bamboo with Catriona, with the tables of "VIPs" and the Belvadere bottles and all. At £2.90 for a vodka mix, it wasn't as cheap as we were hoping! Next up, Edinburgh for the German market where we found some super little wooden animals that make a noise when you run the beater up the ridged spine - frogs, dolphins and pigs, the sounds were amazingly accurate!

I even managed to visit a rehearsal studio for a drum session as a kind of early Christmas present to myself. Next outing was with Carl, my pal of Belfast fame. We went to Ironbbratz for a tarty art studio party, the out to Freaky Freaky at Chambre 69 where Shaun Vitamins and the rest were throwing some brilliant hip hop and RnB choons for enthusiastic dancefloor fans. Then it was Aggasini on Byres Road for some lovely Italian food with Silvia, Numba and Silvia's pal Constant, after which James dragged us all kicking and screaming to gay club Polo where we bopped the night away, before grabbing a night bus home.

Photo: Silvia Pellegrino

Going back having been in London for 7 months was slightly surreal - I remember one of the things I always loved about Glasgow was how huge it is (half the population of Scotland live in and around the city) and of course by comparison it's not huge, though large nonetheless. In fact, what was strange was how it still manages to be of substantial size but not seem like it's perpetually crawling with human life the way London is. Out in the city centre of a Thursday night it felt positively deserted. Still, the place got soul - if I could get a job there tomorrow I'd move back in a blink - check out this sign at Artisan Roast, clearly the place not taking itself, or its heritage, too seriously.