Just puttering around St. Andrews

So there we were in the cradle of golf where argyled pilgrims flock to show off their game ... and we played putt-putt.

Elizabeth said it was what she most wanted to do while in St. Andrews. And the "Himalayas" turned out to be more difficult -- and more fun -- than any artificial turf course with clown mouths and windmills.

Climb every mountain: The Himalayas are quite a deal at a cost of £2 per person. 

Plus, the Ladies' Putting Green (as it is officially called), is nestled between the historic Old Course with all the expert golfers and the beach, so it's hard to beat the location.

Negative, negative, it didn't go in: Elizabeth  making her first attempt on the 6th hole. The Old Course is behind her.

The green is open to the non-initiated most of the day and has two "courses" for you to play -- one that extends nine holes and the other to 18 holes. The arrows point you in the direction of the flag you seek.

"Teeing off" on the 2nd hole. 

We played the shorter course, fearing our skills might be too embarrassing to survive an entire 18. After both of us got off to slow starts, we starting figuring out how to play the rolling hills. Occasionally, a ball would actually go in the hole.

Scooping up one of my successful shots. (It just took several tries to get to that point. And by several, I mean 5.) 

Elizabeth was extremely surprised after scoring a 3 on the 3rd hole.  She didn't  want to use this photo but I put it in anyway.

"You might not be too terrible at golf," Elizabeth told me at one point as my ball got within a few feet of the flag and hers rolled back down a hill.

I gave it a moment, hoping for a friendly breeze -- or a sneeze. But in the end I had to tap it in.

This is my dorky celebration of a 2 on the final hole. Elizabeth was so shocked she didn't even have the camera ready.

Our scorecards. In case you can't read Elizabeth's disgusted scrawl, it was 38 for her, and 30 for me.  As a reward, I got to carry the luggage to Edinburgh. 

Independence Day notes: Ditching the queen to take in some golf

Comings and goings of the royal family:
Queen Elizabeth is following us. But we escaped Glasgow before she got there. This is Royal Week in Scotland, so we might have another chance in Edinburgh later this week.

Crowds in Glasgow gather  in St. George Square to bid us farewell ... or maybe it was to welcome a certain matriarch of the royal family.  

Meanwhile, we arrived at St. Andrews, home of the university where Prince Williams attended and met Kate Middleton. The woman at the table next to us at dinner said she was at St. Andrews getting her PhD while William was here and "wanted to see him desperately." Alas, she never did.  Kate and William, as it happens, were at Wimbledon today watching Scotsman Andy Murray make it to the semifinals. We're watching the highlights of the match on the BBC at the University of St. Andrews New Hall bar as we blog. And they're showing that Kate reacting to Murray's match will be on the cover of four major papers in the morning.

Sign of the day:
Old people crossing -- slower than deer, more amusing than children.

Seriously? They get their own sign?

Snapshot of the day: Magic buses

Antique buses lined up in a salute to Queen Elizabeth at Glasgow's St. George Square ahead of her visit. We passed by on the way to the train station. 

Shot of the day: 
We arrived in St. Andrews in time to see part of the 75th Annual World Open One Armed Golf Championship on the Old Course along the ocean.

It was rather impressive watching a foursome tackle the 18th hole. Elizabeth and I followed them all the way from the tee to the green.

This gentleman got within a few feet of the green on that shot with one arm. 

And in other news ...
On Independence Day, Brits get their revenge on an American - Boston-bred Bob Diamond got sacked from Barclays bank on Tuesday amid a rate-setting scandal and faced a government committee on Wednesday, July 4. While Diamond refused to admit any guilt, the news coverage has not been favorable.

Bob Diamond is in the rough. 

Note: This is the second year in a row we arrived in the UK in time to catch a scandal. Last year it was Rupert Murdoch's media empire, this year the banks. We're not sure if it's us or them.