Hogmanay

Today is New Year’s Eve, also known as Hogmanay here in Edinburgh. There are all sorts of events happening and it all began yesterday with the Torchlight Procession. When I read about it online, I kind of assumed that the torches they were talking about would be flashlights or maybe glow sticks. But as it turned out, for a 7 Pound donation to a local charity, we were given a stick, about three feet in length, that was wrapped in wax coated fabric. We arrived on the High Street at about 6pm and waited with a massive crowd of people for the event to begin. It took a while, but eventually the fire started to make its way back to us. People were passing the flame back and back and everyone was lighting their torch from the person in front of them. And then we started to walk.

We walked from St. Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile to the base of Calton Hill which is about a mile, carrying our lit torches. There was a light show and fireworks in the park at the top of the hill, but because there were so many people (the website said to expect 20,000) we weren’t able to get close to the gates. But we could still see the fireworks which was a good ending to our walk.

It was such a great experience to be a part of such a huge crowd of people just having fun. We couldn’t get over how there were so many people in such a tight, confined space walking around with open fire. And kids too. That would never happen in Calgary! But it was calm, there weren’t any people being stupid, and we didn’t see anyone getting into or starting trouble. It was another one of those moments where Brandon and I looked at each other and said, “Wow…can you believe we’re here and doing this?!” And I think it was a great thing for Graham to do as a tourist here too.

Tonight, it’s New Year’s Eve and this is a night that is huge in Edinburgh. There is a street party with multiple stages set up for concerts, there is a mini film festival, a ceilidh, and a massive fireworks display fired off from the castle at midnight. Tickets for the party and all the concerts were only 15 Pounds, but they close all the entry gates at 11 – and Brandon is working till 11. But luckily, most of the festivities are happening on Princes Street and not the Mile. So Graham and I are going to meet Brandon when he’s done and we’re going to try to get as close to the castle as we can to watch the fireworks.

I’m a little nervous about the number of people there will be out and about. Graham and I spent a few hours this afternoon at the castle wandering around and even at 4:00 when we were on our way back to the flat, there were way more people on the Mile than I’ve seen yet. The website says to come and party with 80,000 of your closest friends and if last night was any indication, I have no doubt there will be that many. I just hope we actually find Brandon! I’ll post photos and a play by play of what the night was like tomorrow.

When I look back at 2011 I can’t help but think that it’s been such an amazing year. I feel like I’ve grown so much and actually figured out more about myself than I’ve ever known before. I found out that I am able to accept more change than I thought I could, I now know that challenge really does make you stronger, and I learned that facing life with a partner is the very best feeling in the world. I can’t wait to see what 2012 has to bring.

Happy New Year everyone!

A Happy Christmas in Edinburgh

We had a beautiful Christmas Eve and a wonderful Christmas morning!

Last night Brandon, Graham and I went to St. Giles Cathedral for a candlelight carol service at 11:30. There were hundreds of people there and between the pipe organ and the choir, there were moments of absolute magic.

This is the view from our seats in church.

The Summers' boys clean up pretty good!

Thanks for the great photo taking skills Graham!

And this morning, we got up and attacked all the presents under the tree. And I have to say that for being so far away I sure feel a whole lot of love from our families. Graham brought along gifts from the Summers' and from my parents and brother too. And with all of that and the gifts we bought for eachother, there was quite the scene of wrapping paper carnage on the living room floor.

Our stockings were too full and heavy to hang by the fire!

The pre-unwrapping stage.

Graham opening his rugby jersey.

Brandon inspecting his lego Mater from Cars.

 

Graham putting together the spinner he bought me.

Simon Fish got a present too! And he loves it!

After all was opened.

A new yoyo!

And finally, Santa listened! These were under the tree! And I proceeded to wear them through breakfast.

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope everyone has had as great of a Christmas morning as we have.

Welcome aboard

We have our first visitor staying with us – Graham has arrived from Canada! He got here on Thursday and Brandon went to London to meet him. They spent the day on a rather whirlwind tour of the city and then caught a train to Edinburgh that evening. We’ve had a good first few days and I think Graham has started to enjoy the city. He’s starting to get the lay of the land and has even gotten tattooed already! He and Brandon went to the castle yesterday and today we went to the Royal Yacht, to the chippy on the Royal Mile for dinner, and then to the Christmas fair. It was a busy and rather chilly day.

We’re getting ready for Christmas here in Edinburgh. Graham brought along so many gifts from so many people that we’re so grateful for even though we’ve not opened them. I’m finding it hard to feel “in the spirit” this year. Without snow and the usual parties and family stuff to look forward to, it just doesn’t quite feel the same. Although, last year didn’t feel the same either considering all the packing I was doing to move out of my apartment and, well, there was that whole Mexico thing. But we both have the 24^th and 25^th off so Brandon, Graham and I are going to try to find something especially festive to do. And I’m really looking forward to going to the midnight service on the 24^th at St. Giles Cathedral.

I know I haven’t written much lately (again) but I’ve been working a lot of hours. For an eight hour per week contract, I’ve been very lucky to have picked up a lot of shifts. Last week I worked 32 hours and the week before I did 35. By the time I get home I kind of just want to sit and be quiet and turn off my brain for a while. The scary thing is that this job is ending for me in the first week of January and I have to go back to the job search. That’s another stressor that is keeping me from feeling festive I think.

Now to end off this post, here’s another installment of the Scottish life posts. Hope everyone has a great week before Christmas!

What’s For Dinner? Cooking here at home is not all that different except that we have far fewer kitchen gadgets and tools. And, if you watched our video tour, you’ll agree that there is a distinct lack of space. We’ve been able to cook together just a few times so far because when we attempt it, we always get in each other’s way.

Because our flat is rented as furnished, the kitchen was fitted out rather well. But quite a bit of the stuff was more than a little sketchy. We put the burned pots and set of serrated knives away and bought our own set of pots and a frying pan from Ikea, along with some essentials like a cheese grater and cutlery. We also picked up a spatula and some serving tools, a set of wine glasses, a strainer and a big mixing bowl from the Poundsaver store. When Brandon started working and needed to take his good knives with him every day, we bought two knives for home and just recently we added some glasses to the cupboard as well since we were drinking everything out of coffee mugs. We currently only have one oven safe dish though and eventually I’d like to add to that arsenal before we attempt our Christmas dinner plans. Especially since we’ve both nearly set the microwave on fire by putting metal items in there are turning it on, thinking it was set to convection. Oops!

Cooking a large meal is a little like camping. I’m learning from Brandon how to get everything done efficiently with just one frying pan. Take for example making a big weekend breakfast. Potatoes go in first and when they’re done they go into the medium sized pot to keep warm. The bacon goes in the pan next and then into the small pot with paper towel to soak up the grease. Then we do my scrambled eggs because they have to be cooked until no longer wiggly, and finally Brandon’s fried eggs go into the pan while the toast is toasting. It works alright, but the potatoes do get a little soggy by the time we’re ready to dish up. We did French toast last weekend which obviously added one more stage to the process. Glad Brandon was in charge that day!

Flat tour!

Finally, after being asked by so many people, we are ready to share a tour of our flat with everyone. Please follow the link below and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOs9m2uQMDA

Life in general

We’ve been living here in the UK for a little more than two months now and I realized that I’ve yet to blog about some of our daily life stuff. So over the next few days, watch for posts on some of the differences we’ve encountered and some of the stuff we love.

Home Sweet Home

Let’s start with the most important, this place we call home. As expected, living space is at a premium here. When we were looking for flats in Glasgow we saw quite an assortment of shapes and sizes. The first one we saw was in a stunningly beautiful neighbourhood and was one of many flats created out of a very large house. But it was so tiny for the price they were asking. Comparatively, the one we very nearly moved into was huge for the same amount of monthly rent.

When we decided on Edinburgh and started looking here, we found that prices were higher than Glasgow and the sizes were smaller. Most flats that rent for less than 700 pounds a month are one bedroom or studio style, and are smaller than my old apartment in Calgary. For centuries Edinburgh, like many European cities, has embraced the up vs. out approach to building dwellings. At one point the tenement buildings in the Old Town were up to 14 stories tall. Now, most we’ve seen are around four stories, like our building. The entire building takes up about a block but it’s broken down into sections around the staircases. For example, we’re on the ground floor of number 18 and there are four flats per floor. A neighbour told Brandon last week that the building was put up in about 1911 – practically brand new by Edinburgh standards. There’s a garden out back but as just renters, we don’t have keys to get in there. The neighbour promised a key to Brandon but we haven’t seen it yet.

Though we’re definitely used to more than double the space, this flat is suiting us very well. We rented it furnished which included a bed and wardrobe, a chair and a loveseat, a coffee table, a dining table and chairs, a little bit of décor, some kitchen essentials and bed linens. The first thing we did after we moved in was go to Ikea for a few extras like a lamp, extra pillows and better pots. We also bought a second hand TV, and picked up two small side tables at a charity furniture shop, which are currently employed as TV and fish tank stands.

The kitchen is by far the smallest kitchen I’ve ever seen. There’s really only room for one of us in there at a time. Like most UK flats, there’s a washing machine in the kitchen which has been such a good thing. But there’s no oven, just a four burner cooktop and a microwave/convection oven combination that sits on top of the fridge. Ours is actually a pretty decent sized fridge which was a big plus to this flat, as most are only what we would call a bar fridge. Not having a drier is a bit of a pain since it takes forever for things to air dry. I quickly run out of places to hang things and often we’ve both had to put on pants that are not quite dry.

We’ve done a good job so far making this place feel like ours. We’re decorating as we go with bits and pieces we pick up in our travels. We’re trying to find magnets from each place we go since they’re usually inexpensive and they’ll be easy to pack back to Canada. Last weekend I bought a print from a street vendor that depicts a view of the castle in the autumn and I found two cute little sheep figures that just had to come home with me. In the next week or so we’re going to find a little Christmas tree and make the flat feel as warm and Christmassy as we can. Brandon’s brother Graham is coming to spend Christmas with us so no need to worry, we won’t be alone over the holidays. It will be tough on us both though, and we’re both expecting to be homesick.

Oh! And of course the addition of Simon Fish to our little home has added not only something fun to look at, but a pet to love since we’re both missing Charlie rather badly. We’ve both become so attached to the little guy that we’re already dreading what we’ll have to do when it’s time to leave here. He’s gets excited when you go close to the tank and feeding time is a twice daily event that is impossible not to smile through!

We both admit that we settled on this flat because we were tired of looking. While we were staying the guest house here in Edinburgh, we were so cramped for space and just needed to get settled. The longer we live here though, the more we like it and we’re so happy with the location. It’s easy to get just about anywhere and just about everything we need is within about a ten minute walk.

I know I’ve been very delinquent in posting photos of our flat. I promise that something is coming on that topic – we’ve got a fabulous idea to give everyone a virtual tour. It’s just taking a little longer in the planning stages than we originally thought. So please be patient!

Queensferry and Light Night

I’m sorry to not post much lately but we’ve not been up to much besides life. I’ve worked four shifts at Paperchase now and I really like it. All of the people are nice and friendly and the atmosphere of the store is very welcoming. I signed up for extra shifts next week and because the store gets so busy in the two weeks before Christmas I’ll have nearly full time hours coming up. Brandon’s doing well at Heller’s Kitchen and there may be other opportunities for him coming up too.

Yesterday we both had days off so we packed a lunch and caught a bus to South Queensferry. It’s a town just outside of Edinburgh and it’s famous for being situated in between the two Firth of Forth bridges. The original intention was to spend the day hiking the shoreline trail that starts near the Queensferry pier. It’s about a 5 mile hike that is supposedly really pretty. What actually happened was that we got off the bus in the old part of town, ate our lunches in the garden of a little church, and then we went to see what it looked like inside. We were welcomed in by a group who were just cleaning up their weekly coffee time. They whisked us in, gave us warm drinks and cakes, and asked us all about what we were doing here in Scotland. Then Margaret, a parishioner since the late 70’s, gave us a very informal tour around the church. It was very small but very interesting. It dates from the 14^th century and much of it is still original. We learned that when they pulled up the old slate floors ten years ago they discovered the remains of about two dozen people – some of whom they couldn’t account for or identify from church records. The bones were all sent away to Edinburgh to be analyzed and then they were re-consecrated and re-interred below the new foundations. It was so wonderful to be embraced the way we were and we left after about forty five minutes thinking that this was one of the best experiences so far.

From the church we wandered into the old town and browsed through a couple of neat little artsy shops. Then we found a way down to the shoreline where we spent a good deal of time skipping rocks, picking through mounds of seashells and talking to two swans who seemed sure we were there to feed them. Brandon finally pulled me away from the shells and we found the dock where next spring we’re going to take a ferry across to Inchcolm Island to see the ruins of an abbey that sits on there. Then we had a drink in a neat little pub, found our way back to the bus stop and came back home.

 

 

We had a quick stop in the flat to pick up Brandon’s pipes, gulp down a piece of leftover pizza each, and we were back out the door to watch Christmas come to Edinburgh. This is the place to be for Christmas, no doubt. There’s a fair in the Princes Street Gardens that runs from now until January 4^th and last night, along with about 10,000 people, we watched as the lights, decorations, and tree were turned on. I actually got all teary eyed. I don’t know if I can describe the atmosphere…it was totally magical. Imagine the sounds and scents of Stampede mixed with the sight of brightly coloured toques and kids with wide eyes. Then add huge cauldrons of mulled cider, a giant snow globe, a skating rink, Christmas crafts, baking, gourmet cheeses and cured meats, crepes with Nutella, fair rides and games, and people in a general sense of excitement. Brandon and I felt like we were in a movie. Being there last night, getting teary and emotional, felt like the reason we’re here. I’m so glad we went to see the lights and I can’t wait to go back when we have more time to just wander around and take everything in more fully. And I can’t wait till it snows…then it will truly be magic.

I am in love...

with a pair of shoes!

And I'm really hoping Santa takes note so they appear under the tree on Christmas morning!

A job!

Well, no more bad dreams thankfully! And today I started a job which is a blessing for sure. But let me get all caught up again.

Last week was pretty quiet. After our day in Glasgow the rest of the week went by really quickly. Brandon started work on Wednesday and so far that’s going really well. They make nearly everything in house and the baking is extraordinary. I went down on Thursday afternoon to pick meet Brandon when his shift was done and had a scone with butter and jam and if it’s possible to fall in love with a baked piece of dough with raisins in it, I did. He brought home some day-old scones last night and they were lovely for breakfast this morning. The owner/chef likes to take care of his employees and they often cook and eat a meal together during the day.

I went to my second band practice with the City of Edinburgh Pipe Band on Wednesday night and as far as I can tell, I’ve joined the band. I’ve not really been asked or told that they want me to join, but I’ve been given sheet music and they took down all my contact details so I guess that’s a good sign! Their style is a little different than what I’m used to but the people in the midsection are really nice. I don’t have my drum sticks yet (they’re still in the box that’s on its way to us, which is still somewhere on the Atlantic) so practicing is rather difficult. But I guess my hands on a table will suffice for now. This definitely isn’t something I planned on, though I thought maybe I’d take lessons or something. I didn’t think I’d actually join a band. Truthfully I feel a little guilty…like I’m cheating on the Highlanders. Then again, I have to admit that the thought of getting to actually play in the World Pipe Band Championship next August instead of just watching it is pretty darn fantastic.

Wednesday is also the day I found out I got the job at Paperchase. Something to do with all that prayer at the Cathedral on Tuesday? Maybe!

Brandon went to his band practice on Thursday night, and then on Friday he started work later in the day so we went down to the City Chambers building to observe the moment of silence in front of the monument they have there. It wasn’t a huge ceremony; Armistice Day is actually celebrated more fully on the Sunday following the 11^th. But we had breakfast, took the bus back home and called Virgin Media for the second time to see why our internet, tv and phone services weren’t working. (It took four phone calls and three days to get the internet back up and we’re still waiting for all the tv channels to come back.)

On Saturday Brandon had the day off so we made our way to Craigmillar Castle. It’s here in Edinburgh but it seems to be not so well known. Jesse and Katie told us this was a must and I’m glad we listened. It’s mostly a ruin but it’s still very accessible even though the floor seems to be missing on the upper levels in many areas. This was a dream place to visit for Brandon because he rather hates being told he can’t go through certain doors or down passageways in the more modern and popular touristy places. We started our visit with a hike through the park, up a large hill from the Royal Infirmary. We didn’t realize this was going to give us some of the best views of the castle but we were awfully happy we ended up there. Brandon humoured me while I took photo after photo and eventually we made our way around to the front entrance. We wandered, looking at room after room for a couple of hours getting lost and found again in the maze of hallways and staircases. And eventually we found our way all the way up to the top and then back down to the bottom again. But I think the best part was the front door and the trees that were growing on either side of it inside the courtyard. We’re going to go back there so Brandon can bring his pipes and I can take photos of him playing in such a perfect location.

Yesterday Brandon worked a split shift so I met him at the restaurant for coffee for about an hour and a half. I had planned to get up and go to a Remembrance ceremony, but when I woke up just after 9 and decided to close my eyes for just five more minutes, I woke up again at about 11:15. Which was really too bad because it looked pretty great on tv.

And that gets us caught up to today. I started my first Edinburgh job at 10 this morning. It’s a Christmas temporary position at a store that I absolutely love. There’s a little bit of everything there – stationery, art supplies, albums, pens, diaries, calendars, purses, coffee mugs, Christmas décor, greeting cards, party supplies and all sorts of other things. It’s only an eight hour per week shift and it doesn’t pay all that well, but at least it’s a start. And once December rolls around I can sign up for overtime hours which will help out too. I’ve never worked in a retail position like this before but I don’t think it’ll be too tough. I’m mostly worried about working on the tills when it gets really busy. Tomorrow I go back from 10 till 2 again and will actually do some work. If nothing else, I’ll get to know the products and make Brandon a list of Christmas presents to buy me!

Tonight Brandon’s working the closing shift so I’m home alone again. Much like back in Calgary, it’s a little difficult to find cheap evening entertainment. A good number of the museums and galleries are free to visit, but they close at 5pm which is frustrating. Brandon’s off on Wednesday and Thursday so maybe we’ll find something to do before we have to go to our respective band practices. Like Christmas shop!

Ghost stories

Last night on a whim we went on another tour. This one was with Auld Reekie Tours and it was so freaking scary. I can’t remember a time when I’ve been that afraid. It started out like all the other tours we’ve been on with a bit of a walk around the Royal Mile talking about the usual throwing of the toilet bucket out the window and the nasty conditions. But then we also heard a story about a family of women who were tortured in the old Toll Booth Prison because the mother was accused of making a deal with the devil. Four daughters were tortured, raped, and eventually killed over the course of five months in front of the mother’s eyes. And by the time they were all dead, she could no longer speak so she was killed too since she was obviously possessed by the devil.

Then we went down into the vaults and lucky, or maybe unlucky for us, there was a trio of paranormal investigators on the tour with us. They were along on the tour to hear the background, get some stories, and then they were spending the night down there. From the moment we stepped onto the stairs, the three of them were hearing voices and feeling rushes of air around us.

The first room we went into was fine for me. The guide, Meg, told us about conditions for the people who would’ve lived down there and how gross it was. She described how you never knew if the person lying next to you was going to kill you in the night so they could sell your body to the medical school for a virtual fortune - 7 Pounds. The lady in the group of paranormal investigators distinctly felt someone stroking her hair in this room. And the guide told us of a little boy ghost who often pulls at women’s pant legs or puts his hand in theirs. They think he died down there, lost and alone, and is trying to find his mom.

Meg then showed us an area where a coven of witches practice Wiccan down there. But then we went into the vault where they used to practice – a room that they vacated and told the tour company to not take people because bad things would happen to them. Naturally the tours keep going into that room and they continue to tell the story of why the coven stopped using it because now it’s an even better story.

Before we walked into the room Meg told us to stick to the outside walls and not enter the stone circle in the centre of the room. The stones were there in the room when the coven decided to use the room and they arranged them into the circle because a circle is sacred to them, and safe. However, over time, they all started to feel odd every time they spent time in the room. They’d feel dizzy, have headaches and just feel uneasy until they walked back out the door. I believe it because as soon as I walked in there the air felt thick and it just seemed that there was something heavy about the atmosphere in the room. The women of the coven started to find things moved ever so slightly, and they began hearing scraping and scratching noises on the stones that couldn’t be explained away. And even worse, they’d go home and find scratches on their bodies – always three distinct, deep lines which could not be explained and none of them could remember feeling anything touch them. The head of the coven finally decided to spend a night in the vault to see just what was going on in there and who was harming the witches. He was alone and for the first while, nothing happened so he turned off his flashlight and settled in to sleep inside the circle. But that’s when the scraping started. It came closer and closer to the circle but it seemed like it couldn’t come in. He started chanting incantations and spells but that just seemed to make whatever it was angrier and until it started to climb the walls. But the story stops there…the man has never spoken of what happened that night to anyone. All they do know now is that whatever it was seems to now be in the circle and all too often, people who step over the stones go home to find those scratches on their bodies. They also seem to encounter terribly bad luck. And in one case a former guest called to see if the company does exorcisms because something had followed them home. No one walked into the circle from our group, but one of the paranormal guys said he was going to spend an hour, alone in that circle that night. Brandon heard scraping on the wall in there and no one but him, and the paranormal guy picked up on it.

Finally Meg took us to the doorway of a completely blackened vault. She began telling us the rules for entering that room and how the women stand on one side – the safe side – and the men on the other. She said that we had to be silent in there and that she had to be able to see us all so no bunching up in little groups. Cameras and phones could not be used in there and that even though there is a safety light installed in the room, it consistently goes out for no reason and sometimes even flashlights will flicker and just stop working. She also told us what to do if we felt that we needed to get out. I couldn’t go in. I spoke up and said there is no way I was going in that room. I felt an overwhelming sense of dread and absolute fear and would’ve actually preferred to just get out completely, but I stood in the doorway while everyone else went in. As it turns out, this is the room where a poltergeist lives. It’s rather malicious and it doesn’t like people in there at all. The safe side of the room is where less activity happens though women often feel someone stroking their hair. Men are often pushed over and roughly grabbed. There is a wooden door hung on one end of the room which falls off the hinges, once in the middle of a tour, and last night there were boards at the bottom that appeared to be broken as if something was trying to pull it apart. Meg explained that a poltergeist is a spirit that is not connected to a person, but rather seems to be the manifestation of extreme emotion or terror that happened in a specific place.

She then went on to tell us the story behind this room. There was a terrible fire in Edinburgh and down in the vaults, where people ran for safety, the smoke was suffocating. The men put all the women and children into this room because the ceiling was the highest and therefore there would be the most oxygen. They locked the doors from the inside and made the women promise to not open the door even though there would be desperate knocking and pleading by the men to come in. Now stone doesn’t burn, but it does get hot. They didn’t think of this and as the fire worsened, the room got hotter and hotter. The women made the horrible decision that rather than watch them slowly bake to death, it would be better to kiss their babies goodbye, slit their throats, and then slit their own as well. By the time the fire had burnt out and the men came in to get them, the flesh had all but melted off the bodies and the smell was indescribable. No wonder, with such unimaginable horror, there is a manifestation of such power and emotion in that room.

As I stood there in the door way listening to this story, thinking about how it would’ve been pitch black and so horrible, I got more and more afraid. My heart was pounding, my cheeks got hotter and hotter, I had my jaw clenched so tight that my teeth hurt when we left, and I spent the whole time praying for those women and children and saying I was sorry to whatever it was in there. I was so happy when Meg came out, Brandon gave me back his hand to squeeze tight, and we got to leave. I’m not entirely sure that I believe in ghosts or spirits, but I do know that I felt distinct evil in that place. I believe that extreme emotion can leave an imprint on a place or an object and I think that those vaults have seen more than their share of intense evil. I told Brandon that I will never ever go back down there and that if he takes our visitors on that tour, I made him promise repeatedly that he would not step into that circle. I think that the people that go down there and ask for things to happen to them are crazy. And I think by provoking whatever spirits that may be there, they’re bringing trouble to all the subsequent tours that go in there too. Whether you believe in it or not, there are some things you just should not mess with.

I can’t say that it was a fun time, but it was definitely an experience.

And as predicted, I couldn’t sleep last night. I woke up twice after dreaming of the things I felt down there and remembering the stories. And the only way I could get back into a fitful sleep was to say the Lord’s Prayer to myself over and over again. So, I went with Brandon to Glasgow today and while he was at his piping lesson, I went to the Cathedral. I spent about an hour there and for a little while I was completely alone in the huge sanctuary. It felt good to be in a holy place where there wasn’t any fear. And thankfully, I think I’ll sleep tonight.

A week in review

Sorry I’ve been so quiet the last week. We’ve just kind of been getting on with life here in Edinburgh. But I do have a bit of good news to report and a few things to catch everyone up on.

Last Monday was Halloween and as I said in my last post, we went on a haunted tour below the South Bridge. It was actually a lot of fun. We had dinner on the Royal Mile first at a really great restaurant that we’ll definitely go back to. Our table was totally private – in a tiny room kind of above and beside the main dining room. We drank too much wine (or well, I did at least) but that made the tour even more exciting really! We met our guide just before 11 and he was great. He looked the part of a ghost story teller and he was rather dramatic in his tales which made them all so much more fun. We didn’t see any ghosts, but he did tell us of a few rather creepy beings that seem to inhabit the vaults. One sits in a corner watching people’s feet as they walk past him. They think he’s the ghost of a cobbler who worked down there and he’s inspecting all the shoes as they go by. Another was of a woman who can sometimes be seen covered in blood and she’s screaming and crying for a baby that she’s miscarried. And finally there’s a man they call Mr. Boots because his heavy footsteps can be heard stomping around through all the vaults. He doesn’t like people visiting though and on one tour, a woman standing with her back to a completely enclosed wall felt a draft on her neck which quickly became rather rhythmic and distinctly like someone breathing on her. It then started to take on the scent of pipe tobacco and it then suddenly there was a whisper in her ear saying “ggggggeeeetttttt ooooouuuuuuttttt!” Which of course she very promptly did, followed by a concerned guide and rather creeped out fellow tour group! There was one point where another guide crept into the room we were in and jumped and yelled at us to scare us, but other than that, the most scared I was wasn’t until we were climbing the stairs to get out. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

We didn’t really get up to anything much exciting for the rest of the week, except that Brandon had a couple of job interviews. Both sounded really promising and he was excited about both of them. More about that later. Brandon went to Glasgow for a piping lesson, I attempted to go to a band practice here in town to check out playing with a grade three band (this would’ve been my second time going, but they weren’t there when we arrived. Turns out they were practicing at a different hall that night), Brandon went to Kirkcaldy for practice with his new band, Fife Constabulary, we bought Simon Fish a new tank because we felt guilty for not doing our fish keeping homework, we went to a farmer’s market on Saturday morning, went to Jesse and Katie’s house for dinner Saturday evening, and yesterday we went to a bridal fair. It was a pretty good week.

Now on the job front, Brandon had two interviews for good positions in two restaurants. Both had him more excited about cooking than I’d seen him in quite some time. Both small kitchens producing real quality food from good ingredients and both seemed to have really good people. He went for a trial day at the first place on Wednesday and they offered him the job! He starts this Wednesday and I’m so proud of him. It’s called Heller’s Kitchen and they boast that everything but the croissants and made in house. Brandon will essentially be second in command and he’s very excited to start being creative in a kitchen again.

No luck for me yet, but I actually had an interview yesterday. It was at a stationery store called Paperchase, which is the kind of store I love to shop in so I’m hoping it’ll be fun to work in too. They’re only hiring for Christmas temporary positions at the moment, but at least it would be bringing in some funds. It went well and I think I answered all the questions the best I could. Now I wait again to hear something and I hope it happens soon.

The Glenfiddich...and a fish

On Saturday the 29^th we took a trip to Blair Castle in Blair Atholl to see the Glenfiddich Piping Championship.

We started out a little late. We were supposed to get up at 5:15 to catch the first train out of Waverly station at 6:30. Unfortunately, we woke up at 7:20. Not quite sure if the alarm did go off or not, but neither of us remembers waking up to turn it off. Either way, we caught the next train out at 9:30, changed at the Perth station, and made it to Blair Atholl by about 12:30. The walk out to the castle was great once we figured out which way to go. Signs here are less than helpful sometimes! But we found ourselves on a small gravel road which took us beside sheep pasture to deposit us onto the paved, tree lined lane that lead to the castle. It was gorgeous. It was a very overcast day so the colours in the leaves and the greens in the grass were vibrant. And the sheep were begging me to come in and hug them!

When we found our way into the castle we found that we’d missed all but three of the piobaireachd (traditional pipe music) plays. We listened to two and then they took a break for lunch. By that point it was raining but Brandon lead the way up a little hill and found us a great spot to eat our picnic. Then before we went back in to hear the rest of the competition, we explored a little.

What a beautiful estate. There seems to be a series of pathways that wander through the trees and along the stream. And again I was struck by how green everything still is here. The pasture land is lush and there are still green leaves hanging onto the trees. Between all the shades of green there were oranges and reds and browns – all working together to create a dream of what autumn should look like. I was actually kind of sad that we had something else to do that afternoon; I’d have been just as happy to go wandering around a bit!

Back inside we listened to ten of the best pipers in the world. Brandon would be a much better at describing what we heard and saw that day, but even I can say that the music we heard was flawless. How the judges can make a decision is absolutely beyond me. It took a long time to get through all of the plays and then a little longer to wait for the results. The lady who was MC-ing kept everyone happy by telling a few stories and even singing a little bit of a piobaireachd in Gaelic. But finally the results were given and everyone was happy. And as we left the hall everyone was presented with their very own tiny bottle of 12 year old Glenfiddich single malt.

I should mention that the room where the competition took place was rather interesting. I looked up what the room is online and it says this on the castle’s website: “Commissioned by the 7th Duke for the annual gathering of the Atholl Highlanders, this grand ballroom remains unchanged today. It is still used for its original purpose and for many Highland balls, wedding receptions, corporate hospitality and private dinners. Designed by David Bryce and completed in 1876, just before his death, the ballroom is essentially Scottish in style and setting."

The ceiling is all open beamed, dark wood and there are massive paintings of kilted Highland men looking rather serious and formidable. On the walls above the doors and windows are deer skulls, complete with their antlers, expertly hung in perfect symmetry. As far as I could tell there are approximately 180 of them. And then below all of that are spears and hunting garments that I assume are very old and they had a very foreign, almost African look to them. It was a beautiful setting for the competition.

We made our way back into town down the lane, in the pitch dark, rain coming down, and cars streaming along behind us. And then into restaurant at the hotel for dinner graciously paid for by Brandon’s mom and dad as an engagement treat. We caught the train back to Edinburgh and were home by about 11. It was a long and slightly soggy day, but a really good one too.

Yesterday we had very little planned. We slept in, made a great breakfast, and then set out for Calton Hill. It’s a hill park in the centre of the city and there are loads of monuments up on top of it. We spent a good bit of time up there just taking in the view and enjoying the weather. The nights cool off pretty quickly, but during the day the temperature is still warm enough to get by with just light coats.

On our way back down we stopped in at the pet store to buy a fish. We bought an interestingly shaped vase at a thrift store last week and got all the gravel and water treatment supplies too. We chose a low maintenance fish that though technically a goldfish, is black with rather googly eyes and big flowing fins and tail. Brandon named him Simon Fish and he seems to be settling in very well. Not as cuddly as Charlie, but a pet to love none-the-less!

As tonight is Halloween, we’re going out to experience the festivities (and the crazies!) on the Royal Mile tonight. We’re not dressing up, but we’re going to go down there when Brandon gets home from his lesson in Glasgow and spend some time people watching before our ghost tour at 11. We’re going down below the South Bridge again but this time for a more ghost story specific tour. I agreed to it only if Brandon promised not to laugh at me when I get so scared that I scream and cry. Happy Halloween!

Rosslyn

Brandon worked on Saturday night and got home late so we slept in, made breakfast and then made our way towards Princes Street. We stopped at the visitor’s centre to find out where to catch a bus, and then made our way out to the tiny town of Roslin to see Rosslyn Chapel. This was a must for me since it was one of my most favourite memories from when Colin and I came here in 2008. Back then, out of all the churches we saw, Rosslyn was the only one where I felt God present. It was a Place for me. And I couldn’t wait for Brandon to see it.

We got on the bus at George Square and it took about 45 minutes to get there. It seems very odd for the city busses to go out into the small towns but it’s terribly handy! We walked down the road a bit and into the tiny chapel. It was very busy and we’d just missed the beginning of a formal talk about the chapel so we wandered around looking at all the carvings. At the back, in the Lady Chapel area, we talked for quite a while to a guide about all the cubes that come down from the arches. They all have a pattern carved on them – 13 different patterns that repeat in a pattern around this part of the chapel. One theory is that they represent musical notes and combine into a piece of music. This makes a lot of sense when you consider all the carved angels playing instruments that appear just below the cubes. We also talked about the green man carvings throughout the church. It’s a common theme in many medieval churches since it represents nature and rebirth and the early missionaries used it to help convert the pagan religions. But while most other churches have one or two, Rosslyn has 110. There’s one in the centre of each of the window frames and more hidden all over inside and out. As you make your way around the church, the green men under the windows get a little older until the last one which actually resembles a skull. The simplest theory for these guys is that they represent the life of man from birth to death. A more involved theory is that they follow the life of Christ.

We listened to the next talk about the chapel, learning about its history and some of its legend. One very well-known is the story about the apprentice pillar. The story goes that the master mason finished carving one of the pillars behind the alter and before he started the next one, he convinced William St. Clair, the man building the church, to let him go abroad to gain inspiration for the next one. While he was gone, his apprentice had a vision in which God showed him how to carve the pillar. Somehow he got permission and completed it before the master came back. When he did come back and saw that what was going to be his masterpiece was already finished, he flew into a fit of rage. Which of course was made worse by the fact that it wasn’t another well-known and respected mason who’d done it – it was an insolent apprentice! He bashed the apprentice’s head in with his awl and for that was himself hanged. Now, it’s thought that a likeness of the master mason’s face is carved into a front corner of the chapel and it’s positioned so that it’s looking directly at the apprentice pillar – quite the bit of extra punishment!

We also learned that the chapel was closed up for nearly 250 years during the reformation. The alters were destroyed and it’s thought that some of the more valuable and important statues were removed and hidden, but they’ve never been recovered. In 1650 it was actually used by Oliver Cromwell’s troops for stabling their horses so some damage was done then. But for some reason, Cromwell saved the chapel instead of destroying it as he did so many others. There is a theory that it was because he was a Mason and there is much Masonic imagery both inside and outside the chapel.

And of course, the Holy Grail and the Arc of the Covenant are both reported to have been hidden there inside the chapel. The guide said that the crypt and tombs below the church itself are at least as deep as the roof is tall, but they’ve long since been sealed up and if that’s where these treasures are held, they’ll never be found. The family refuses to open up the tombs since after all, it’s their ancestors that are buried down there; some of them knights in their full armour. Brandon and I decided that it’s a much better story to believe that something really important actually is down there and it’s been a heavily guarded family secret passed down from generation to generation that they keep hidden.

There are sadly no records that explain any of the imagery or the theories surrounding the chapel. They were all destroyed in a fire hundreds of years ago. Or maybe that’s part of the secret! There’s so much there that it makes me wonder how long they planned before they started building. Everything is placed so perfectly and nothing seems to have been added on a whim. It took only forty years to build, but how many years did they plan and draw and carve first? And get this: there are foundation stones in the ground to mark where the church was eventually going to be added onto. If Sir William’s son continued, the church would’ve actually been at least three times larger. We decided that we would like to go back as often as we could because 600 years of history is too much to take in all at once.

You can take a bit of a walk down into the glen behind the chapel to the ruins of a small castle. Part of it is still usable and it’s actually rented out as a holiday cottage when the family aren’t using it. Around it there are small paths that you can follow into the trees and under the old castle walls. Brandon found a great place where a tree has completely covered over a quiet corner. We joked that he should’ve waited and proposed there! There was amazing scenery up and down the sides of the valley with every colour of autumn in full glory.

One thing that’s very different here is that many shops and restaurants are closed on Sunday. Especially in small towns apparently. We were starving but there wasn’t anything open so we bought snacks at the little grocery store and waited for the bus. We made it back home to the flat by about 6:30 and then finally got to Skype with my mom and dad. We had a fabulous day.

I should mention that Brandon has a job! He’s signed on with a temp agency that specializes in chefs only. He’s worked twice now at the Marriott Hotel and the recruiter said he should be able to keep Brandon busy. He also has two more interviews tomorrow so we`ll see what comes out of those.

As for me…well, I don`t really want to talk about it. Instead, I’d like to share this list of things that I’m starting to miss. In no particular order:

Tim Horton’s breakfast sandwiches and steeped tea double doubles
Clothes dried within an hour instead of hanging up for two days
Baking – well, having an oven at all
Charlie
All our kitchen tools and gadgets
Coffee dates with my friends
My family
My clothes and shoes
Driving
A queen sized bed
Books
Country 105
Dill pickle chips
The Highlanders

Not too bad I guess…most of these things I can do without anyway!

A hike, a question and a ring

Yesterday was quite a day. And I’m sure you’re all reading this to get details of a certain event that happened. But I’ll start at the beginning.

We began our day a little later than usual because we both did a little job searching online and then after breakfast and showers Brandon played his pipes for a bit. When he was done we loaded up our little backpack with water and the camera, stopped at a little deli/bakery close by for sandwiches and headed off for Arthur’s Seat. I’ve wanted to attempt this hike for a while now and since it was maybe one of the last clear days we could have for a while, today was the day. Arthur’s Seat is a hill in a large park in the middle of the city. Here’s what the guide book says about it: “The rocky peak of Arthur’s Seat (251m), carved by ice sheets from the deeply eroded stump of a long-extinct volcano, is a distinctive feature of Edinburgh’s skyline.” It’s visible from nearly everywhere in the city and it doesn’t look like all that bad of a hike when you’re at the bottom.

The path we took lead us to a stone wall that is the remains of an old church. From there, the path got steadily steeper and steeper and we both realized that although we’ve been doing an awful lot of walking lately, neither one of us is in very good shape. After a few rest stops and photo breaks, we eventually did make it up to the top. The view is absolutely worth the hike. You can see all the way out to the Forth bridges in one direction and to the beach in Portobello where we ate lunch last weekend the other way, and then there’s farmland and city and town everywhere in between. It was pretty gusty up there though and we were both happy we’d bundled up a little bit.

We found a good spot overlooking one edge of the hill to eat our lunch and we let our poor knees recover from all the hard work. We were both getting rather chilly so we decided that we should start the downhill trek. I started packing everything back into the backpack and stuffing the sandwich bags into the Pringles can because the lid blew away while we were eating and didn’t really pay too much attention to what Brandon was doing. I put the camera and our keys into the pack to make room in my coat pockets for my chilly hands and then turned around to pass it to Brandon who was going to carry it down. But he just stood there looking at me for a minute. I was about to ask him what was wrong when all of a sudden he was down on one knee holding up a ring in his fingers. I’m sure my eyes got huge and my heart leapt up into my throat and he said, “Will you marry me?”

Now this is the moment that every girl dreams about from the time they’re old enough to be reading about Prince Charming. Or Jamie Fraser, or Edward Cullen or whoever it is that happens to be your fancy. And I’ll admit that I’d been thinking for quite some time now about just how the perfect reply to that question should go. In my head, I got down on my knees with him, took his hands, looked him deeply in the eye and said, “Yes. With all my heart, YES!” We’d kiss, we’d hug, people would cheer.

In reality, what actually happened the moment Brandon asked me to marry him, was that I pretty much ignored the ring, even though I held it on my index finger while I grabbed his face, pulled him down and ended up half sitting, half laying on the ground kissing him and crying and trying to make coherent words come out of my mouth. Somewhere in the middle of all this I said yes, I put the ring on the correct finger, took a moment to admire how totally gorgeous it is, asked him when he bought it, laughed, kissed some more, asked him if he was serious, and pretty much was taken up in a moment of complete and utter joy.

In a nut shell, I did pretty much the opposite of what I thought I would. And it was perfect.

We had a man who was there with his family on the hill take our picture and explained that we just found out that we’re getting married. He was so happy and smiley and took a great photo. You can hardly tell we’re happy in it at all. (Ya right!) Then we took a moment or two to just let things sink in a little and began our walk back down. I don’t really remember much of that part of the day, I think I floated more than walked. And when we got back down to pavement, we went to the first pub we found, ordered glasses of wine, and Brandon toasted to happily ever after.

I was completely and totally surprised by this proposal. I mean, I kind of hoped it would happen while we’re over here, but I did not expect it yet at all. And get this: Brandon’s had the ring since the middle of August.  He actually bought the diamond in March then worked with a jeweller to choose a band and a setting and bought ten more, smaller diamonds to go into it as well. I love my ring. I love that he spent all that time and effort to make this ring all mine. He listened so carefully to everything I ever hinted at for what an engagement ring should be, and no one else has ever tried this one on. And he did it all right. He asked my dad, he consulted with my best friend on the ring and he didn’t give me a single hint that this was coming.

October 19^th is now one of my most favourite days.

Weekend update

Written October 17

It’s Monday morning and I’m sitting in the living room at 7:55 waiting for the electrical guy to come and do an inspection. The gas guy came last week and the letting agency is sending this guy today too. Brandon didn’t sleep well so I’m up and waiting for a phone call to let him in the building since we don’t know which buzzer outside is ours!

We had a really great weekend. On Saturday we slept in and after a breakfast of loaded scrambled eggs that would’ve made my dad proud, we headed over to the internet café to get caught up. Sent a few emails, Facebook’d a bit and I uploaded my resume to a placement company to see if they can do anything for me. It’s the same company that Brandon had a meeting with on Friday and he said the guy he talked to was really helpful and confident that he would have companies for Brandon to interview with early this week.

After getting our little internet fix, we headed towards Princes Street. We went to Jenners which is the oldest department store in the UK. It’s kind of like Harrod’s in London – five stories of designer goods and apparently just about anything you can imagine. We stuck to the basement floor though for the toy department. Not nearly as good as Hamley’s, but still pretty great.

We walked across the street then and after a slight detour to find a cash machine, we attacked the Scott Monument. There are 287 steps and we climbed them all right to the top. There are four viewing areas and the view just got better and better on each level. But the steps were small and very cramped spirals, especially up to the last level where it got so small that my shoulders were touching both sides of the stairwell. Brandon had to duck and go sideways through part of it. I don’t have evidence of our ascent because I forgot to bring the camera with me, but we do have little certificates that they gave us to put our name on to say we did it.

We made our way to the Royal Mile through a steep close which deposited us on the castle side of the bridges. We stopped for a quick beverage and then crossed over to find the John Knox House. It`s Edinburgh`s oldest surviving tenement building, apparently built around 1490. Knox lived here in the mid 1500`s. On the way there though, Brandon ducked down another close and found a great little shop called Celtic Craft (or something like that). They make kilts by hand and do a great job of it too. One of the proprietors was also a piper so we stood and chatted with them for quite a while. They recommended a couple of pubs to us too where we could find pipers. We did finally find the Knox House, but it was a bit of a disappointment. It was expensive to get in when the only really interesting thing was the painted ceiling in one large room. I’m sure for someone interested in the Presbyterian faith it holds a lot of history, and the information provided was very good. Most notably I learned that Knox was instrumental in forcing Mary Queen of Scots to abdicate the throne in favour of her baby son James. Oh the mess religious fighting has made of things over the years!

Our next stop was into a free museum about life in Edinburgh. It had displaces of how various individuals would have spent their days throughout different ages. I found it a bit creepy because of all the mannequins but it was interesting to learn about life during and after the wars.

Another stop before home at the grocery store and then finally we were done walking for a while. We made a quick supper and then relaxed a bit before getting ready to go out again, this time with pipes on Brandon’s back. We headed back up to the Royal Mile, but this time from the other end, past Holyrood as Brandon has figured out a bit of a shortcut from our place to there. It’s not really faster as it’s still uphill most of the way, but then everywhere you go in this city is mostly uphill! Our first stop was Canon’s Gate Pub where Brandon had stopped in on Thursday while he was handing out resumes. They have live folk music on Saturday nights and though there weren’t many other musicians there yet, they were very welcoming and urged Brandon to play once more people arrived. The pub was pretty much empty for the first half hour but then all of a sudden a huge group came in and it got louder. The guy who seemed to be kind of the leader of the music table sang one song and then Brandon played to much cheering. There were a couple more songs and then as it turned out, that large group was a choir who was in the pub to celebrate the concert they’d just performed. It didn’t take very much convincing to get them to sing holy crap that was an experience. The voices were coming from every direction around us and the harmonies were perfect. I don’t know what they were singing, I’m pretty sure it was Latin, but it was absolutely incredible. They sang again later on and it was just as stunning. Someone commented that who’s ever been to church while in a pub before?!

Brandon played twice more there and then we decided to try a place the kilt maker guy had told us about, but it was not as much fun. It is supposedly the place pipe bands go when they’re in town and judging by all the photos of bands from around the world on the walls, I believe that’s true. But there was an odd sounding duo singing in the corner, no pipes to be seen, and the crowd was far from what we were expecting. Brandon talked to the bar tender and one other guy who had pipes there and I guess we just caught it on a bad night. We’ll have to try again. We caught a cab home after being flirted with by a man dressed in a mini-kilt, heals and a blond wig and called the evening a grand success.

Sunday we woke up late-ish again, made breakfast and Brandon played a few games of chess on the computer. It was sunny and mostly clear so we were just getting ready to head out to climb Arthur’s Seat when Jesse called and invited us to spend the day with him and Katie. We met them up on Leith Walk and we headed to the seaside in the neighbourhood of Portobello to have lunch, and then we drove out of town to what they were calling our surprise location. We ended up in a tiny little village and parked beside a house with a rather wooded backyard. We headed out into the woods a bit till we came to what looked like a pile of sticks with a few leaves on top. “Go in!” they told us so we crouched down and walked into the pile, which is actually a yew tree. A roughly two-thousand-year-old yew tree, that is. It was beautiful and somehow it didn`t seem possible that what we were standing in the middle of was all the same tree. We were completely surrounded by branches that twisted and dipped and dove underground only to come back up ten feet away creating what looked like a whole new tree. The light was coming in at the perfect angle to make everything seem rather ethereal and standing there felt a little like being in a magical, fairy tale place. The photos I took don`t do it justice, but at least they give an idea of what we saw.

The drive back into Edinburgh was an adventure too. The roads are twisty and windy and though nothing like in Canada, the scenery did feel a little like home. This part of the country has very rich farmland and though it was odd to see, there were still many fields full of crops. There are rolling hills and stone fences and small wooded areas along the way which could almost make someone forget they`re in one of the rainiest countries in the world. But as we were coming through a little town called Haddington the car started making a rather awful noise and it smelled hot. Katie pulled over, the boys jumped out, and it was determined that the calliper on one of the front brakes was seized up. Katie called AA (AMA back home) and a super nice guy came out to rescue us. He couldn`t fix it so Brandon and I rode with him in his van while Katie and Jesse stayed in the car to steer as he pulled the car on a tow bar. He chatted to us the whole way into the city and told us all about how Scottish hospitality has changed since he was a boy. Jesse and Katie were so sorry that our day ended like that and that we had to take the bus home from their part of the city, but we were honestly just so happy to have spent the day out.

We made soup and sandwiches for supper and then watched a DVD on the computer. There`s a little video store about a block away that sells old movies for 2 pounds or so and in the absence of tv, that and playing cards have been our entertainment lately. Movie over, we played a couple hands of 31, had a good long talk about religion of all things, and then put ourselves to bed. A great weekend I think!