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.