So what did we do in impressive Edinburgh?
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| Poor guy, caught in some wind. Haha. |
Went hashing
Well, after our hashing adventure in Glasgow, we were told that the Hash House Harriers of Edinburgh were about to have their momentous 1800th run. Why not? We thought.
It was a tricky city run at some points, for example the Green Mile posed some challenges. "Who are those people? They must be running a marathon?" Nope, no, I don't thinks so: this is not what a marathon looks like! Once we got out into the parks it was a lot easier.
The great thing about including hashing as part of your trip is that you go places you wouldn't ordinarily go and meet people you wouldn't otherwise meet. I talked to a fellow hasher about the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. Given the results, it was not surprising that she said there was a lot of tension in the community and many people chose not to talk about it to avoid conflict between friends and family.
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| Hashers celebrate |
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Rob and a post-hash beer (brewed
by the Edinburgh Hash team!) |
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| Just one angle of the castle during the hash |
Camped in a garden
No, not just a random garden in old town. We camped in someone's backyard. The first time we entered into the world of Camp In My Garden was not exactly what you would call a raging success. Sure it was a mysterious and eventful but we didn't catch much shut eye. As well as the somewhat odd house dynamics (we never met the actual host), it turned out the house was not only "conveniently placed near the railway station" but it actually BACKED ON TO THE TRACKS. Luckily for us there weren't many trains. No, that's not right, while there were very few scheduled trains, there were lots of trains running express through the station between the hours of 6am to 1pm that made the most heart-stopping and horrendous noise as they tooted their horns on the way through. We thought they were bearing down on the ten! - we only lasted a few nights before moving to a hostel.
Attended the Jazz and Blues Festival
We saw a great band at the Jazz and Blues Festival: they just happened to be Australian. The Bearded Gypsy Band. They were great! I nearly threw cake in the face of the woman behind me however. She was tapping her foot so loudly and often out of time. (I didn't actually have cake so she was lucky.) We'd definitely see the band again if they came to Melbourne.
Visited a Castle
We saved our castle visit for quite a few days into our time at Edinburgh. Standing on an extinct volcano, the castle is apparently the most besieged place in Great Britain and the most attacked in the world, over its 1110 year history. When we got there we could see they were setting up for the Military Tattoo which was exciting, even though we would not be there to see it. Inside the castle we jumped on the first introductory tour of the day which was very informative and an excellent starting point to get a sense of which parts you want to see. There are so many exhibitions and we spent a solid 4-5 hours there. The Scottish War Memorial was particularly moving and intricately designed.
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| Heading up to the keep (Do you need to post anything?) |
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St Margaret's Chapel which dates from the early 12th century, making
it the oldest building in Edinburgh |
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| Coat of arms on the Great Hall |
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War Memorial building
(Do Rob a favour and leave your slurpie outside.
Do Kat a favour and save chatting about your weekend plans for later.) |
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Detail on the War Memorial
building |
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| Soldiers' Dog Cemetery |
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| Cannon-side view of Edinburgh |
In the afternoon we joined the swarm of tourists awaiting the One O'clock Gun. The firing of the cannon was originally used as a time signal for ships in the harbour as it was too foggy to rely on a visual signal alone. We all had waited in position for awhile before 1pm but when we finally heard the sound a number of people (me included) jumped!
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| Firing of the cannon |
Saw some comedy
In the lead-up to the Fringe Festival we saw a two-act preview show at The Stand Comedy Club. The first comedian, Carl Hutchinson, based his act around a childhood dream to become a wrestler. It was very funny. Some guys in the front row kept getting up for drinks and bathrooms breaks. It was pretty rude and Carl pointed them out early. They still didn't get it though. Tough gig being on stage with that lot.
The second act was probably better appreciated by the local audience because Vladimir McTavish had a few in-jokes we did not understand. The bits we did understand were good though!
Toured Parliament
We thought a tour of parliament might be a good way to learn a bit more about Scotland and its history and it turned out we were right. What has actually stuck with me from this particular afternoon is the temporary exhibition in the lobby. (Temporary exhibitions seem to do that a lot!) The World Press Photo exhibition showed prize-winning photographs from across the world. There were some incredible photos on war, ebola, sport and everyday lives in several countries. For me, one of the most powerful photos (and there were many) was taken by an artist who uses drones to take photos of every-day gatherings with the same type of image that we see taken from military targets on the 7 o'clock news. (Explanation from the artist below photograph.)
People exercising in central Philadelphia. Drone operators
may consider such ‘signature behaviors’ as evidence of the existence of a
training camp.
Since 2002, the US has used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs,
or drones) to collect intelligence and carry out airstrikes in Pakistan, Yemen
and Somalia. The aircraft are guided via satellite by distant operators. The
attacks have resulted in a large number of fatalities, including hundreds of
civilians.
The photographer bought a small drone, fitted it with a
camera, and flew it in the US over the sorts of gatherings that have become
habitual targets for airstrikes abroad—weddings, funerals, groups of people
praying or exercising. He also used it to photograph settings in which drones
are used to less lethal effect, such as oil fields, prisons, and the US-Mexico
border.
Pretty powerful photography. I hope I can see a 2016 exhibition.
Climbed Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags
A highlight of visiting Edinburgh was a walk up the nearby hills. Arthur's Seat, like the rock upon which Edinburgh Castle sits, was formed by an extinct volcano system which was eroded by a glacier. This left behind the Salisbury Crags, cliffs between Arthur's seat and the city of Edinburgh. The Crags are a pretty interesting formation that, from the top of the hills, look a bit like a wave in the ocean.
In case you were wondering, as I did, Arthur's Seat mountain range on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria WAS named so, due its similar appearance to Edinburgh's Arthurs Seat.
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| Rob and I with Edinburgh and some crags in the background |
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