Week Three

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