Glaciations of the World: July 2012

July 17, 2012

Book Review: "Gillespie and I" by Jane Harris

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I devoured this book. It has been a very long time since I deliberately woke up early to read more and wasn't, then, racing to finish the last few pages to get onto the next book. If anything, I was wishing for the book to suddenly develop extra chapters. The only other times I wished for this in recent memory was for A.S Byatt's The Children's Book and The Somnambulist by Essie Fox.

I didn't find any of the characters particularly endearing and that just made it all the better. I can say that all were interesting and surprising in their own way though. What made the book so clear for me is having been to Edinburgh recently, and having an image in my head of where it was taking place.

I would really love to write about the various elements and happenings in this book but I can't without completely ruining it for everyone else. In short, I am going to highly recommend it to my family and friends so that I can talk to someone about how fantastically marvelous it is.

Thanks for a brilliant book Jane. What's next?

Take the road less traveled, take the long way round

26-6-12

The room we stayed in backed onto the service area and courtyard of other hotels. It was quite noisy at different times through the night but as soon as it hit 7am the staff were bringing out the trolleys for washing and started emptying bottles from the previous night. It took them about an hour to finish so I didn't need to have set the alarm.

Once we were organised we headed around the corner and got breakfast from Greggs. I was shocked at how rude the two women in the shop were. Neither of us was rude to them but they certainly had a chip on their shoulders. I know Greggs isn't going to be too many peoples dream job but its not an excuse to be nasty.

From looking at the map last night, I knew we had to go down to the corner and turn left. This would put us in the right street street to head down towards Arthur's Seat. What I hadn't learnt from the map was that the street we were on was a bridge over the top of the street we wanted. It wasn't hard to reach the right street though.

After walking for about 10-15 minutes we came to one of the footpaths that take you around the park. Arthur's Seat is one section of Holyrood Park. Also known as Queen or King's Park, depending on the monarch. It is rather intimidating to look up. It gave me a feeling of reverse vertigo. We ended up on the Queen's Road and passed underneath the Salisbury Crags. The Crags are 46m cliffs in the middle of the park. The cliffs are made of dolerite and columnar basalt and is popular with rock climbers.

View towards Arthur's Seat from Holyrood Palace (L) and the Scottish Parliament (R)

The going was fairly slow even though it wasn't overly steep in the initial stage. Neither of us were as fit as we thought though.

The walk and the surroundings were really green and the further we went the more you could see.

The view out over the North Sea was a little hazy, as was the view back over the city but the grey didn't detract.

Today was the first day I got to really try out my new toy - a Pentax film SLR. The film in it is out of date so I'm backing everything up with the digital or the phone. I look like a complete tourist. It's exciting to work with something where you don't get instant gratification of a shot. I've taken a couple of shots of the scenery and birds so hopefully they'll come out.

Walking around the road you feel really small - you look up and down and its crazy the feelings. It also seems a really popular place for walkers and runners. We passed mums with strollers, "professional" walkers with their poles and old couples making a good pace. There were a lot of cars and taxis also doing the loop but this is cheating. There is no way you can see everything from behind that little square of glass.

At about the half way mark, or just past it, is Dunsapie Loch. Near the carpark here is an Iron Age Fort from about 2000 years ago. The loch is man made and was the idea of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Dunsapie Lock
©Glaciations of the World

St Anthony's Chapel
©Glaciations of the World.

In all, the walk took us about two hours and I found out later it is roughly about 7 miles the way we went.

As we came back towards the palace, we were both starting to feel it. We stopped at the Palace cafe for a cuppa.

We were trying to work out what to do next so we started walking up the Royal Mile towards the castle. It was a little bit blustery but not to bad. We decided to head towards Greyfriars Kirk.

Before we got to the Kirk we stopped at the Museum of Scotland to have a look. Angie, quite rightly called it a Tardis museum, as every time you turned around it felt like another room was appearing.

Gardy Loo! What you would hear as the day's bodily waste was tipped out windows.

©Glaciations of the World

Museum of Scotland

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Museum of Scotland

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One of the famous inhabitants and stories of Greyfriars Kirk is of Greyfriars Bobby.

Bobby

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He was a Skye Terrier, who, when his master died, waited at the grave site until he himself died. He spent 14 years doing this. The locals would feed him and look after him. There is some contention as to whether this story is true, or if it was a publicity stunt. Jan Bondeson from Cardiff University alleges it was two different dogs, trained to stay in the graveyard. Bondelson has found documentation alleging the tourist trade increased 100 fold. Bondeson also points towards the images of Bobby - pointing out that one is clearly a scruffy stray and in the second, a more spirited, younger terrier that is now the dominant image.

The romantic in me wants to believe the original story but the more skeptical, analytic side of me believes the revised idea.

Greyfriars Kirk is also one of the most haunted graveyards in, I think, the UK. Burials have been taking place on the site, next to George Heriot's School, since the 16th century. It takes its name from a Franciscan friary on the site, dissolved in 1559.

Tombstone of James Borthwick, Surgeon. Died 1676

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Tomb of Sir George Mackenzie

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Interior of Sir George Mackenzie's tomb (and possible tattoo idea).

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There wasn't enough sun to cause this lense flare in the location of this headstone.

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Urn on the inside of another tomb

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I find it sad that this is the only reference to a persons life.

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Wild Daisy's covering quite a large area

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The area of the Kirk I would have liked to have seen more of is the locked of space called the Covenanters Prison. It is a section of tombs with a nasty history. The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement. The prison held, at one point, about 1200 men. "For over four months these men were held without any shelter, each man being allowed 4 ounces of bread a day".

Covenanters Prison - Image Source
http://www.ukparanormal.co.uk/CoveInvest1.html

Plaque on the wall beside the entrance
http://www.deathclicks.com/p/greyfriars-kirkyard-photo-gallery.html

As for the Kirk being haunted, I couldn't say one way or the other, but it didn't feel as creepy as Cannongate.

July 08, 2012

A little further north

June 24 2012

When the alarms went off this morning, both Angie and I, didn't seem to have much trouble getting out of our beds. Both of us had been getting excited about our trip. We left the flat at 0830 as arranged and managed to make it around to the Met line without getting wet, even though the morning was quite grey and heavy.

After the speed we walked at we arrived at the station in time for an earlier train. Knowing from previous experience how notoriously bad and unreliable the Met line can be, we figured that running early would be a good thing. Being Sunday morning there weren't to many souls on board.

We arrived at Kings Cross about an hour before our train was due to leave. We found an unobtrusive place to stand, in the entry hall. I collected the tickets and we started watching the departure boards for our platform. I always find it interesting to watch other travelers at train stations or airports or terminals. Some are laid back with minimal luggage - my guess is experience or a short trip - while others look haggard and completely out of their depth. its usually this second group who are perhaps inexperienced because they have multiple large suitcases, which they cannot control and as a result spend a majority of their time hindering the movement of themselves and those around them. If you come across this phenomenon in the wrong mood, they can literally drive you crazy.

After a half hour of watching the boards, and the overly excited teens (and adults) having their photos taken at Platform 9¾, our platform was announced. We had, of course, been standing the far opposite of it. When we had passed the turnstiles and reached the train, we were surprised at how long it was. I'm used to the three or four carriages that make the run past the junction.

Hauling our small cases on board we checked the tickets against our seat numbers. With a shock we found that the seats I had booked online didn't match the seats we were looking at. Our eats now, were at a table, in front of the toilet. The complete opposite to what I had booked. At least we were forward facing and the loud obnoxious family who were originally going to be sitting near us, went off to First Class. We ended up having the seats to ourselves to it wasn't an entirely bad start.

At 1050 the train rolled out and for the next four hours I listened to my iPod.

Once outside London it was amazing how much the landscape changed. I know I've said it before. The way the cloud shapes changed, fine and light in one moment, heavy and low the next. A few times the clouds looked heavy with rain but we only had the one, short, shower.

Our train pulled into Edinburgh around 1600. We were very glad to de-board and get moving again. Also to get away from a lounging young bloke who turned out to be a complete tosser.

My first impression of Edinburgh was of being very small. Because of its location and geography, the city goes up instead of out.

The number of times I have come out of a train station and turned left in a new place, only to find it's the wrong way, went up by one here. The Visitor Centre very kindly gave us a map, turned us in the right direction and off we set.

Coming out onto the street we were met by roadworks. Edinburgh is restoring its tram network. Heading back the way we had come, we walked across the North Bridge, turned left onto the Royal Mile and then second on the right, Blackfriars Street, we arrived at our hostel.

http://www.hostelsclub.com/hostel-en-3318.html ">Image Source

First impressions. One of surprised relief. The second impression. One of a pervading scent of wee. I had been hopeful it would just be down in reception but it wasn't. Up in the room the same smell was being poorly covered by equally unpleasant "air-fresheners".

The room was tiny and the double bed was a foam mattress on a plank of wood, right in the nook of the wall. I don't think it was even a double bed. My suspicion is they made it to fit.

We dropped our stuff off in the room and headed out to do a reccie of the area so that we knew what and where we wanted to go over the next couple of days.

Having seen Arthur's Seat on the way into Edinburgh we decided to head that way and towards Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament. One of the first shops we came across was a Christmas shop. It looked to be doing good business. The next one we noticed was a little creepy and morbid. On the sign hanging over the door was a picture of Princess Diana and the shop stocked her memorial tartan. It's not that nice either.

A little further down the road we came to Cannongate Kirk. Kirk is the Scottish name for church (I believe). The official website states, until 1856, Cannongate was independent of Edinburgh. By 1970, the lower part of the Royal Mile had become unfashionable and run down. the church itself was founded in 1688 and completed in 1691.

Reaching the end of the Royal Mile we reached the new Parliament and the Palace. From this spot we could see how huge the area of Arthur's Seat is. Given how late in the day it was a lot of stuff was closed or closing.

Another cemetery down that end of the Mile, Calton sparked our interest but we couldn't find an open entrance.

Finding somewhere reasonably priced for dinner, that wasn't a chain, was challenging. Some of the places looked nice but were just incredibly busy. We ended up at a cheap chippy for pizza and chips. It was here I saw my first ever, deep fried Mars Bar but I wasn't game enough to try it.

We headed back to the room around 2100 and read until we fell asleep.

July 01, 2012

Shipley and Saltaire

The hotel I stayed in was lovely and friendly. The bedroom and bathroom made me jealous given the size of the one we have in the flat. The bed was so big that when I woke up in the morning, only half the bed was mussed up.

Across the road, making up my view, was a mountain range and St Paul's Church.

© Glaciations of the World
There are some brilliant gravestones in the yard. Greenwood Bentley 1777 - 1858 and Knapton Bradley 1824-1872. I did some research on Knapton and in the 1861 census he appears as 'Neptune'.

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Inside St Paul's Church, Shipley. A lady let me in as she was about to do some photo copying of the Parish Maagazine. They have a very vibrant community and it seems they are concerned with supporting the community more so than preaching hell fire and damnation. Very positive given what has been in the media a lot lately.

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There are also some very sad grave stones that list half a dozen or more still born, or short lived children. It seems that the Salt Mill I was headed for was partly responsible for the high infant death rate. 200 chimneys belched out black sulphurous smoke and frequent outbreaks of cholera and typhoid meant only 30% of children born to the textile workers lived to 15 years. The average life expectancy was a shockingly low 18 years.

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Saltaire United Reformed Church - Completed in 1859 the church is an example of Italianate religious architecture and is now a Grade 1 listed building. Sir Titus Salt is interred in the mausoleum. See www.saltaireurc.co.uk for more info.

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Salts Mill, home now to 1853 and David Hockney Galleries, the Saltaire Exhibition and shopping area. See www.saltsmill.org.uk
When Salts Mill opened in 1853 it was the biggest factory in the world. 3000 workers at 1200 looms produced 30,000 yards of cloth a day.

Saltaire, the area I headed into next, takes its name from its founder, Titus Salt and the River Aire, which runs through the village. Salt moved his business and employees from the overcrowded and polluted city of Bradford in an attempt to look after them.

Work on the area began in 1851 and continued until 1876. The Mill was the first building to be completed in 1853.

"The housing provided was of the highest quality. Each had a water supply, gas lighting, an outdoor privy, separate living room and cooking spaces and several bedrooms. This compared favourably with the typical workers cottage.

Salt was also one of the greatest Victorian philanthropists. He donated liberally to good causes locally and nationally. Almshouses were provided rent-free for the elderly and sick in Saltaire. They came with a pension, forty years before the first state pension in the United Kingdom.

By the 1980s the British textile industry was in steep decline...Salts Mill was finally closed in 1986. To the rescue came another brilliant entrepreneur, Jonathan Silver, who bought the Mill and within months opened a gallery exhibiting the work of Bradford-born artist David Hockney...

Saltaire was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001. It was recognised for its international influence on town planning and as one of the earliest, largest and best preserved nineteenth century 'model villages' anywhere in the world." (Discover Saltaire: UNESCO World Heritage Site: www.visitsaltaire.com).

"Sir Titus Salt died on 29 December 1876, aged 73. The family were not to be allowed a quiet ceremony, however, and the event organised by the Corporation on 5 January 1877, was perhaps the greatest civic event of Victorian Bradford. The hearse proceeded from Crows Nest to the Town Hall. From here a huge procession went forward to Lister Park, headed by the Police, the West Yorkshire Rifle and Artillery Volunteers and representatives from local institutions, followed by merchants, manufacturers and shopkeepers. It is estimated that between 100,000 and 120,000 lined the route. In Saltaire the mill was closed, the streets draped in black and thronged with employees. Senior employees stood on the avenue to the church, to witness the final journey. Sir Titus salt was buried in the mausoleum and so great was the demand to pay respects, that special trains from Bradford were provided" (Saltaire Trail - as above).

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Site of the Wash and Bath house. Opened 6 July 1863. Built for the comfort and health of residents. There were 48 'coppers' and a drying room. In addition there were 12 male and 12 female baths and a turkish bath. It cost £7000 to build but wasn't a success, with most people preferring their own homes.

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"In 1861 Timothy Binns, a woolcomber lived at 13 Shirley Street (above) with eleven children. By 1871, three children had left home, but one married and remained at home with her husband and child, so the house still held twelve. Eight of these were employed, giving a respectable total income of almost £5 a week. Timothy Binns was an important figure in the village and a trustee of the Methodist Sunday School" (Discover Saltaire: UNESCO World Heritage Site: www.visitsaltaire.com).