Graduation

Our son graduated from the University of Glasgow last week as Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering with Aeronautics.  We spent a happy day celebrating, and the sun shone on a city notorious for its damp climate.

The university's main building is a lovely setting for the traditional standing-about-happily-on lawns that is the best bit of graduation day.  Although the university is 550 years old, the main building is relatively recent - around 1870.

Below, the Bute Hall, where the ceremony took place.  Our seats were in the gallery, and were reached by a winding stone staircase in a turret.  A bit of a challenge for those of us in heels.

Below, in bow tie, our young man lines up to be capped.  As well as being capped, the graduands have their hoods put on at this point, which is why there is some nervous rearranging of this complicated bit of cloth and silk in the shot below.  They were briefed before the ceremony on exactly how to hold the hood and present it to the bedellus.  It was all done very swiftly, in a sort of academic ballet - if you want to see it in motion, have a look at any of the videos at this link.

The new graduate with very proud parents.

And with some classmates.

Kilts were much in evidence: both because of Engineering still being a male-dominated subject, and because students are proud to wear the kilt for graduation.  Our son's friend in the shot below, and again later, wasn't wearing a gown because he wasn't graduating that day.  However since he came along to see his friends graduate he put his kilt on for the occasion.

Some motherly rearrangement.

Our son chatting to the PhD student (in shorts) who had assisted with his final year project, and a new PhD graduate.

A good view of the gown and hood.  The gowns are made from heavy cloth, to the extent that our son's shoulders were aching by the end of the afternoon. Virtually all the gowns and hoods will have been hired from an academic robe maker and are returned after the ceremony.

Below, a good view of the kilt outfit, taken at the end of the afternoon when the gown had been returned.  Just below the hem of the kilt on our son's right leg you might be able to glimpse the deerhorn handle of the sgian dubh, the traditional single-bladed knife worn with the kilt.

And to finish, a gaze into the future.