Edinburgh

This week we were lucky to see Anne on Tuesday night (after her long holiday around Scotland and the north of England), and early Saturday morning we were sitting chatting to Michelle and Zane in their flat in Edinburgh. A real kiwi week and a very long week, no idea why, but we had spent most evenings vegging in front of the World Athletics Championship and finding it a real effort to get up in the mornings and on that bike to work... But by Friday evening we had 'Scotland' on the horizons and all that changed as we packed our bags and prepared to get up very early the next morning. It continues to amaze me that when we book a weekend far in advance (we arranged our visit to Edinburgh when Michelle was in Bristol in February) it seems so far ahead, it seems as though it will never come, and then it's here, and off we are on yet another plane. I wonder when life will slow down? We hadn't been to Edinburgh since our 6 week holiday five years ago (the one that was meant to get travel out of my blood but instead just showed me how big that world out there really is and that no number of 6 week holidays would ever let us see as much as I wanted to see and experience). Edinburgh is a lovely city, lots of greenery and character and driving through the city to Michelle and Zane's flat it felt good to be back. We stopped for a quick breakfast in a cafe in the centre (tried potato cakes and 'eggy bread' - another name for French toast) and looked out at part of the castle (the other part was hidden by other large buildings) and then made our way across town to Leith. Zane went off to his game of hockey but before that he showed me how to find out how many people read the blog and from what country they are from - so far in one day 2 people in America have read about our kiwi experiences, 2 in the UK and 1 in NZ - it doesn't give the history going back the two or so years since I started writing - but I am looking forward to seeing it over time as Zane's blog has people from Lithuania, Slovakia, Greece, Peru - none of which he knows - and he hasn't updated his blog since March - tut, tut.). So, without Zane we did a little tour of some of the West Lothian area. We stopped, but didn't go in to the huge mansion at Hopetoun. It's a oblong house set in an expanse of grass, rather plain in comparison to some mansions we have seen, but to get to it we drove down a long tree lined avenue which made up for the plainness on arrival. And then on to the ruins of Linlithgow Palace which overlook a loch and was originally used as a military base for ensuring supplies made their way safely between the Edinburgh and Stirling Castles. It was rather a picturesque spot and on a nicer day we could have had a picnic on the grounds and taken the 1 hour stroll around the loch. But instead we spent some time in Linlithgow eating lunch and doing the 'charity shops' for Michelle's outfit for her 'bad taste' party that night. I think we did quite well - stylish with a touch of 'why on earth are you wearing that'. (We didn't help Zane in his choice of clothes and I think it shows!!)

Anyway, the town has been around a bit longer than the charity shops (but not charity) and in the early 1400's it was destroyed by fire. King James I rebuilt the Palace complete with church, a formal courtyard and a fountain - you can't see much of it today. Mary Queen of Scots was born at the Palace in 1542 but after that it's claim to fame was King Charles I slept one night there in 1633 and over 100 years later Bonnie Prince Charlie passed through the town and the fountain actually turned water into wine to celebrate the occasion (yeah right). But probably the biggest claim to fame is that James Doohan (Scotty in Star Trek) was born there in 2222 and "while his character journeyed where no man had gone before, his parents still lived in leafy Lithgae". Apparently when he died in 2005 (that's James, not Scotty) there was a "war of words between the Royal Burgh and Aberdeen — as both towns claimed "Beam Me Up, Scotty" as their own. The West Lothian Council even hired some (probably very expensive) consultants to work out how the town could tap into the tourist market (that's us) and an exhibition museum complete with his Star Trek costume and a model of the Starship Enterprise was built (but we didn't see it). Apparently, James did consider his career as Scotty rather seriously saying to his dentist (obviously when he wasn't getting a filling) that he was worried about being type-cast - and the dentists good advice was "Jimmy, you're going to be Scotty long after you're dead. If I were you, I'd go with the flow".

So after that we wandered around Edinburgh in the evening (after fish and chips - the Scots have curry on theirs but we didn't), up the Royal Mile to the castle but got rather ensconced in a crowd leaving the tattoo and we made a quick exit down a side street to a more peaceful spot where we found a hot chocolate and dessert to give us some energy for the walk home - too tired to see a show we hopped into bed and went fast asleep. Next morning, we were off to the Royal Yacht Britannia. We spent a good two hours wandering the decks of the boat (and eating the most scrumptious cheese scones - do we do anything else but eat?), looking at how royalty, the captain and officers and the 'workers' lived on the boat - why do those with the money think that lower ranked people are happy to sleep in narrow bunks and live in cramped quarters? The ship was built just down the road in Glasgow in the Clyde shipyards in 1953 (the 83rd royal yacht - the first being in 1660 which took Charles II to places) and sailed around the world with royals on it for 44 years. It made 968 official voyages, and did visit New Zealand but I can't remember seeing it. But I did find out that the first royal visit to NZ occurred in 1869 when Alfred Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest son of Queen Victoria came to the Land of the Long White Cloud as commanding officer of HMS Galatea - he must have liked the place cos he came back for another 2 trips in 1870 - however he didn't tell the rest of the family about the country's virtues (skiing, white water rafting, glow worm caves, sailing, mountain climbing, swimming, caving, bungy jumping, rugby, fishing, sunny warm weather, great food or the cafe culture) as there wasn't another royal visit until 1901. We then had lots of royal yachts grace our shores -one when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1927 had to arrive in Bluff on a tug boat (bit of luck there having a ride on Toot the Tug don't you think?) because there had been a boiler room fire and bad weather (surely not!!). The only visit I can remember is Charlie and Diana sitting on the grass, with baby William playing with a Buzzy Bee. Anyway, in 1997 the Britannia was retired and after travelling from Portsmouth to Hong Kong on her last and longest voyage she sailed past the Clyde shipyard to her retirement home in Edinburgh Port.

Rule Britania!
Britannia rule the waves.

Then it was onto another type of boat - a tourist boat on the Falkirk Wheel (I liken it to a slow trip not dissimilar to the London Eye, except you're in a boat and the view around Falkirk isn't as exciting). The wheel cost the English taxpayer £84.5m project and its aim was to ensure that you could navigate a boat across Scotland by linking the Forth & Clyde Canal with the Union Canal - I think it was also to celebrate the millennium but wasn't finished until 2002. The Forth and Clyde Canal is 35 metres below the Union Canal and so the wheel is designed to take over from 11 rather derelict and 'not to be used' locks. It seems that the wheel doesn't do much except act now as a tourist adventure (either those riding in canal boats, or those come to see the wheel) but it occasionally moves barges loaded with cardboard for recycling but not a lot else. It's the only rotating boat lift in the world!! We enjoyed riding in it, walking through the tunnel to the two locks at the other end and watching inexperienced canal boat captains navigate the lock system (how come they get help from officials but we didn't?).
We finished the evening going on a trip down memory lane - visiting Queensferry and the little Italian restaurant we so enjoyed on our trip a few years ago. So, with good company and looking out to the railway bridge we ate pasta and chatted in the home of Saint Margaret of Scotland, the wife of King Malcolm III of Scotland. She established the village I think because she liked the ferry crossings across the Firth of Forth and wanted pilgrims travelling to St Andrews to be well fed and cared for (that's my take on it). Later on Mary Queen of Scots, had a ferry ride - but not such a happy occasion as she was going to her 'imprisonment' at Loch Leven Castle - and we all know how that finished. Anyway, the restaurant overlooks the Forth Railway Bridge, has nice Italian food at a reasonable price, and a nice atmosphere as it was built by a sea-faring Admiral - looks and feels like a ship both in and out.
Monday dawned - none of this cloud and rain for the first day of the working week - except we fooled the weather man - we were not working. We drove up along the coast to St Andrews. We first stopped near Elie and Ruby Bays (which had lots of interesting coloured and shaped seaweed and a cute little bay where the occasional garnet is washed up). We climbed to the derelict Lady's Tower (built in the 1770s as a changing room for Lady Janet Anstruther of Elie House - the more upmarket swimming shed for the rich). When she wanted a swim - I am convinced the weather must have been warmer back then - she sent a bell ringer around Elie to let everyone know that they shouldn't come to Ruby Bay (no paparazzi back then as ringing a bell would have only encouraged them). I get the feeling that she and her family weren't very popular as someone placed a curse on the family (not sure what bad luck befelled them) when she decided to move the town so her view from the house would be improved (not the first time we have heard of that one).

And onto St Andrews where we walked a lovely golden beach to the little port, the castle and cathedral - which was a centre for pilgrims (after crossing on the Forth at Queensferry) who came to cure their illnesses, or to atone for their sins as pilgrims often do. We followed in the footsteps of many thousands of these people (grateful that we had a car as the walk along the beach was plenty long enough) and enjoyed the scenery, looking at the castle and admiring all the amazing old university buildings - if I had studied there it would have been an inspiration in itself - if I could of course pull myself away from the golf course - can you be a student of golf? St Andrews is the Home of Golf where this somewhat frustrating and rewarding game was invented. It started around 1400 and we (including Caramello) looked on as players teed off on the first hole of the Old Course. In 1457 King James II of Scotland banned the game as he felt "it was distracting young men from archery practice". This ban was repeated by succeeding monarchs until James IV decided "if he couldn't beat them he would join them" and in 1502 became a golfer himself. 200 years later the Old Course had 22 holes, 11 out and 11 back, with golfers playing to the same hole going out and in, except for the 11th and 22nd holes. After a while it became an 18 hole game (forget the 19th) when they decided that the first four holes, and therefore also the last four holes, were too short - and they lengthened them and made 2 holes each way. This reduced the number of holes in the round from 22 to 18 - and it hasn't changed since. During peak times, players beginning their game were meeting players finishing their game (imagine the crash of golf balls meeting in mid air and the angry waving of arms) and so they cut two holes on each green, with white flags for the outward holes and red flags for the inward holes. About the same time, that's around the mid 1700's, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club was founded and this club still governs the rules of golf everywhere except in America. A few years later the St Andrews Town Council were declared bankrupt and left the Links to the rabbits (rabbit farming actually) and it wasn't until twenty years later when a wealthy man and obviously a golfer bought the land and 'saved the Links for golf.' The game became popular again in the 1800's and was profitable for the whole town as players need caddies, balls and clubs - the start of a new industry. If you want to play (but if you aren't a member you have to pay more than £150 for a game - and if you have to ask how much membership costs - you probably can't afford it.). There are now 6 courses in the town, but none that appeared at a glance to have the personality and challenge of NZ golf courses ie lots of hills, valleys, bushes, banks and rivers to cross.

And our last thing to do in Edinburgh - attend the Edinburgh Military Tattoo - with the other 200,000 or so spectators each year. It was lovely to have a warm, clear night for it and to listen to the pipers (my favourite), and the drummers from Switzerland (Harry's favourite). There were groups from Tonga, China and in the huge pipe band the Auckland Police. The lighting on the castle was a highlight, at times there were aeroplanes, trams, shields, people on the castle walls.

Coming back on Tuesday morning, we drove past the Banksy exhibition hoping that the queues would not be that long on a work day morning - wrong - it looked like about an hour long and feeling a bit tired we decided that this is just one thing we will not see (others are more enthusiastic and take seats, coffee, books to keep themselves entertained to wait somewhere up to 7 hours to see the exhibition). Banksy is Bristol's graffiti artist - known worldwide. He paints graffiti anonymously (is that wrong?) but is so good at it and provides a touch of uniqueness that people have bought his paintings at auctions only to have the job of dismantling the wall and rebuilding the artwork in their own home. Obviously, someone knows his identity as he was asked to put on a show at the museum (very old type of museum with lots of bits and pieces in glass show cases and not much interactiveness like TePapa so the ghosts of the curators are probably trembling in their boots, while the walls of museum are shuddering with housing 'modern art'). However, Banksy is apparently the son of a photocopier technician and was an apprentice butcher before taking to the aerosol can in the 1980s. Anyway, we missed an opportunity as the exhibition finished on 31 August but not from lack of trying. I did find some pictures on the web and there are some very clever ones that appeal to my sense of humour.