Flower of Scotland

I love Scotland. I really don't know if it is because of my Dunedin heritage, my ancestry, the general feel of the place or just because my friends Joan and Bill are so lovely that it is just plain nice being there. Probably the latter! It certainly wasn't the weather which inspired me this time, that's for sure. Have a listen to the wee (I'm talking Scottish here you know) video. It's Joan and Bill singing the Scottish anthem. Unplanned, unrehearsed. Beautiful!
I arrived on Monday night, having lost an hour, and we drove from the airport to Innerleithen, a little village in the Scottish Borders. Near Peebles, for those of you, like me, who have a geographical interest and like looking at maps. :-) We sat up and talked for quite a while, with me still in a Massachusetts time zone. Poor Joan and Bill! On Tuesday morning I slept in quite late and Joan was at work. After lunch Bill & I walked into the village and along the road to the cemetery. I was searching for any Rae ancestors who may have been resting there. They came from Innnerleithen and Peebles and the occasional other neighbouring town. The cemetery was very old and isn't used any more. It's in quite a bad state and very neglected, and many tombstone inscriptions were impossible to read. Some had fallen over. Also, there were large areas of ground that were just grass and it's possible I guess that some graves were covered over. So you will guess from that that I didn't find any Raes. There were a few Taits however, and they appear in the family tree too. And speaking of Raes, today is Grandma Scott's (nee Rae) birthday. She would have been 109! Bill and I then walked up a hill to St Ronan's Well. This is a spring with a reputation for healing, mentioned originally by Robbie Burns when he visited the village, then made famous by Walter Scott in his novel St Ronan's Well.

Bill, taken from the well.


Affluent members of Edinburgh society came to 'take the waters' and a bottling plant was established. I had a wee drink of the water so I am assuming now that I am protected from Swine Flu and any other things with may be waiting to pounce.
On Wednesday we went into Edinburgh and had a wander round a mall. We had a look at the exterior of the Royal Yacht Brittannia which is docked there as a tourist attraction. We didn't bother with the guided tour. I remember that the Queen sailed to New Zealand in that ship when she came out for her 1953/1954 tour. It was really SMALL! Indeed, I was very surprised at how small it was. I guess it's quite old. Not that old necessarily means small! But I digress.

Me in front of Lizzie's old boat.

We then went for a bit of a drive round Edinburgh and stopped at Murrayfield. Continuing with my tour of stadiums! It was very large and very impressive and I was glad to get the opportunity to have a look. I don't remember what I did on Thursday, (I know I watched some golf on television), but at night we went into the Forth Valley chorus rehearsal. Joan and Bill are both barbershoppers, and both are very involved. Joan has won several gold medals in the UK region, singing with her chorus and also with quartets she has been in. Mainly her quartet Spinning Jenny. Cool name, eh? Forth Valley won the UK contest this year so will be competing in Seattle next year at the International Sweet Adelines Contest. Anyway, back to the rehearsal. It was wonderful! Hard to believe that a rehearsal could be so enjoyable but it was. Their director is fantastic and the singing was inspiring. How about that? So it was a good night.
On Friday I must have watched some more golf, and also Joan and I went into the village and wandered round. There is quite a bit to see - lots of antique shops for example. As well, because it's a special week - something to do with St Ronan - all the shop windows were decorated in blue and white for a 'best window' competition. After that, Joan's sister and her husband called round for a cuppa and we all sat round and had a nice chat.
On Saturday Joan and I drove to a Park and Ride car park then caught the bus into Edinburgh. It was quite funny actually. Joan has never caught the bus there before, but we must have looked wise because people kept coming up and asking us all about the buses, where they stopped, when they were running etc etc. By simply reading the info posted we were able to provide answers! Or it could have been that my sip of the St Ronan's waters has indeed made me wise. About buses. We had lunch followed by a double decker bus tour, which was good. we had a 'live' commentator, which is much better than the headphones set-up. And the chap was very good, too.
We then walked round the town, checking out the occasional tourist spot. I didn't visit the castle this time, but rest assured it is still there looking mighty splendid. Our final visit was to the National Art Gallery which was super. We didn't have a lot of time left so mainly focused on the Impressionists. You might be surprised to hear that! Back home, and at night we went into the village to watch the closing ceremony of the special week. Which as you know was something to do with St Ronan. And boys dressed up as monks. And dux boys. And... I couldn't really follow it, but it's a long-standing village tradition which is great really. It involved the Pipe and Silver Bands performing and I loved it! I really enjoy band music. There were heaps of people around, and despite the intermittent rain, there was a great festive atmosphere. So that was that.
On Sunday morning I packed (Roger, where were you??) and got taken to the airport. It was a bit chaotic queueing for my RyanAir flight, but in the end it all went well, and the flight landed in Poitiers half an hour early. And now I am home. It's bleedin' hot, but that is not a complaint you understand! Yesterday I wrote wrote and wrote my blog. I think I should become a writer because I just love it. I also went and had a goodbye ice cream with my friend Yun. We have said goodbye at least a couple of times before, but this time was for real. He flies to Korea tomorrow, and when he gets back to do his art course in Paris I will have left for New Zealand. He is a very nice young man. This afternoon I am getting my hair cut. It is almost long enough to plait. And tomorrow I fly out to London for a week. Looking forward to it! Catch you when I get back.

This is Joan and Bill at their front door.