Making a point

Our recent trip to Aberdeen for the Niteworks gig meant a couple of nights away from home. Outward bound, we sailed on the ferry from Shetland which called in at Kirkwall en route to Aberdeen. Leaving the ship the next morning, it wasn't until we were having breakfast in a cafe with a view of the harbour, that I noticed the huge mural on a building by the docks.

This is "I am the keeper of magic" by Jasmin Siddiqui, a 12 floor tall mural adorning the Union Point building featuring a girl cradling a unicorn. At this juncture, I recalled that the unicorn is Scotland's national animal, and wondered if this type of art was a branch of pointillism?

After a leisurely breakfast and some clothes shopping, we checked into our hotel early to deposit our rucksacks into a room, before heading out to explore a bit of the city. Our previous visit to Aberdeen had been three years ago, and although back then our room looked out over Union Terrace Gardens, they were in the middle of a huge redevelopment and not at their most picturesque. 

The restoration of the gardens was now complete and it seemed that we had timed our visit to take advantage of the Autumn colours, and also just before they were decorated for the festive season. The weather was quite mild for mid November, so it was strange seeing plants in flower but without a single insect anywhere.

Union Terrace Gardens from Union Bridge

Heading north off Union Street, we wandered along Back Wynd and into the grounds of the Kirk of St Nicholas, hoping that we might find some wildlife amongst the trees and gravestones. A small flock of Goldfinches were industriously working their way through some high branches, gleaning whatever they could from a bare tree. A movement lower down caught our eyes, resolving itself into a Treecreeper which was meticulously exploring every nook and cranny of a gnarled trunk.

Kirk of St Nicholas

We returned to Union Street along Correction Wynd, passing by some more artwork on the way. "Gallus Quines and Deeds Not Words" are two tile mosaics which honour women who were persecuted as witches (GQ) and celebrate women who have contributed to female empowerment (DNW). As the motif says, top left, "We are the granddaughters of all the witches you were never able to burn"

 

Doubling back on ourselves along Belmont Street, we popped into the Art Gallery for lunch, before crossing Rosemount Viaduct and finally descending into Union Terrace Gardens.

From the Gardens, there's a view of another tiled artwork

Bat Cauldron

Another unicorn!

Whilst using a walkway to cross Wapping Street, I spied another piece of wall art on a multi-storey building. This one is called "Real Graffiti Writers" and continues "... do this illegally hanging on a rope in the dark".

More details of more Aberdeen street art here.

The morning after the gig, unsurprisingly, we had a very slow start. Returning to the same cafe for breakfast (and also seeing the Girl With Unicorn in brighter sunlight), I noticed that a chap on the next table was wearing a t-shirt which featured zebras with traffic cones on their heads.

A bit like this... 

We then caught a bus to Aberdeen Airport for the flight home. By this stage, I really wouldn't have been that shocked if we'd boarded a mythical winged horse!