From your emails I can tell that life is still happening
back home, but that making comments on this blog has not been happening. It seemed to work at the beginning so
something went awry. I changed a couple
of settings and am hoping it will work now.
Give it a try.
Literary Traveler
This week I spent more time at the Edinburgh International
Book Festival, attending readings and book signings, and, of course, visiting
the book shop. I also went on a “Book
Lovers’ Tour” during which I learned much about the lives and haunts of famous
writers like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and J. K
Rowling. Next week I will do the
“Literary Pub Tour.” I also could do a
Harry Potter tour or a Jekyll and Hyde tour or . . . . Since you know me as an avid reader, you may
think all of this just reflects my interests.
Not so! Edinburgh is a very
literary place; so much so that in 2004, it received UNESCO’s designation as a
“City of Literature,” the first city to do so.
(Read more on that at http://www.cityofliterature.com/cities-of-literature/the-story/
). Even if you aren’t a big reader, you
would notice the many book shops that enliven this place.
The book festival is held in Charlotte Square with Prince Albert looking on.
The street where Walter Scott and Arthur Conan Doyle lived
and where Alexander McCall Smith's publisher office now is.
The Spoon (second floor) is one of the places where J. K Rowling wrote some stories
about a schoolboy named Harry Potter.
Edinburgh Festivals
The Edinburgh Festivals are winding down, though there was a
burst of activity (and of audience size) this last weekend. The grand finale is Monday evening—a
fireworks concert with fireworks over the castle and music by the Scottish
Chamber Orchestra.
The Fringe includes many free shows, and some are quite
experimental or pretty bizarre. A local theatre
person told me that you haven’t really been to the Fringe unless you have walked
out of three shows. The shows I saw were
at least interesting and only one was less than mediocre. Maybe I will have to come back another year
and try again : )
Even the shows I have paid for have been very reasonable. Ticket prices are generally around $10. I paid $15 for a great seat for a fabulous
performance by Ballet Zurich in the Playhouse Theatre (which presents many Broadway-type
shows). I’m not sure how they manage to
keep costs down, but I think that means I maybe could afford to come back
again.
Courtyard outside the Assemby Roxy Theatre with a snack bar, ticket window,
and a small billboard with poster from shows.
Ingenuity
The grounds here at Dalkeith House are huge, and there’s a
fair bit of grass to be mowed in the playing fields and picnic areas. To the east of the house, there is a steep
bank and then a lovely open area along the Esk River. When I went out for my walk the other day, I
heard a mower that I couldn’t see right away.
That’s because it was mowing that steep bank. The ingenious part of it was that the mower
was run by remote control. Maybe you’ve
seen one of these somewhere; I hadn’t.
The “driver” stood either near the mower as it cut swaths long the
hillside. Even with the remote
operation, I wondered how the mower didn’t slide down the hill sideways—studs
in the tires? No, it ran on tracks with
long spikes poking out of them. The
machine did not move very quickly, but it sure got the job done. And then there’s the part about the guy arriving
with his mower to do this specific job.
Another concept that could grow on me!
East view of Dalkeith House and the steep bank, Esk River below to the right.
The mower at work--the driver is at the top of the bank to the left
The Deltrak
