11 HOUR DRIVE WITH THE ADDLETONS BACK TO LONDON

We were heading back to London today.  It was time to farewell Inverawe, Rosie and Robert.  I wonder how they feel when after nearly 2 weeks of having mass people in their home they were back to 2 people, oh and Ludo-the family dog.  I bet it is quiet and I guess they like that too.  We had a departure time of 8.30am and ended up getting on the road at 9.30am.  Girl, Jamie and Fiona were on the road 30 minutes before us and we all had a full day of travel to get us back to London.  Lucky for the Addletons that I didn’t bring the monster and my other bags as the car was packed to the rafters as it was already.  I took the back seat and after a final wave to R&R we were on the cold and wet road. 

As mentioned in my last blog Paps and Em had their reception at Inverawe and we passed the church where they got married, so we stopped briefly so that I could have a look around and it was a beautiful church and it had a headstone at the front with a date of 1898.  St Conan’s Kirk, Church of Scotland, is located in Loch Awe, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is situated on a crag high above the water amid vegetation which includes roses, honeysuckle, and ivy, and is surrounded by large trees. It was established as a chapel of ease by the Campbell’s of Innis Chonan. The Bruce Chapel is renowned for the fragment of bone that is rumoured to have come from Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland.  It was designed by the self-made architect Walter Douglas Campbell, great-grandfather of the Duke of Argyll, and built in 1881-6; with renovation in 1906. The heavy oak beams in the cloister are believed to have come from the (then) recently broken up wooden battleships, HMS Caledonia and HMS Duke of Wellington. An eccentric blend of church styles, from ancient Roman to Norman, it is built of local stone. It consists of a nave and chancel, with the chancel-stalls being canopied. Large, unsmoothed boulders of granite from nearby Ben Cruachan, form the piers which carry the chancel arch, and the transepts make the Sacred Cross. There is also a tower and spire.  It was a stunning church and again I didn’t get a chance to see the view due to the low laying fog but Paps and Em recreated a wedding pose for me in one of the stone entrances.

It really was a crap day to be on the roads.  Em took the first shift of driving and it was a little tricky.  They were not very narrow roads and they were so windy that I was starting to get a little car sick.  I am normally a good traveller, I don’t get motion sickness, but I was feeling very dodgy while we were on the bendy roads.  I am going to say it had nothing to do with Em’s driving of course.  It was shame it was so foggy as I had been told by several people just how pretty the scenery is around this area, I missed it coming up as it was night time when I arrived and now this morning it was super foggy I couldn’t even see the loch to glens at all in some places.  I guess that is Scotland and it could also happen in the summer months-it weather is just so unpredictable! 

We finally made it onto the freeway around lunch time and it was like an instantaneous feeling of better.  The weather unfortunately didn’t improve and after a toilet stop at a very busy road stop and a swap of drivers we were back on the road and getting caught in some delays due to the fog.  At one point it was so heavy that you were lucky to be able to see 3 cars in front and you can see how the mass pile up of car accidents can happen when you sit in this kind of fog.  Apparently there is a welcome to England sign along the road, but it was that foggy we didn’t even get a chance to see that.  We stopped in to see Paps grandparents on our way home and for a quick cuppa and then back on the road again to London.  Paps was given a GPS from his dad for Christmas, so we were giving that a crack on our way back and it was interesting the way that it wanted to take us and what our actual arrival time would be back home.        

Pap’s mum, Sandra and Brian were at the Addleton residence when we got home.  They had spent New Year’s Eve in London and had used the Addlepad while the guys were in Scotland.  They were staying one more night so when we got home dinner was in the oven and ready to be served.  Ahhhhhh Sandra you are a lifesaver!  We were ravenous only having eaten 2 ham rolls that Em had made this morning for the trip.  It is funny I have nearly met all of Justin’s relatives over the course of the week and meeting Em’s parents and all their friends as well.  It was a great week but I must say I am looking forward to a little downtime over the next few days as I am feeling a little burnt out.  I think the last week has finally caught up with me having travelled nearly 19,000km in 8 days.  Today we travelled 800km and it took 11 hours but we did have a stop at Grand ma-ma’s for 45 minutes but otherwise we were on the road all day.  I only fell asleep as we entered London around 7pm and to say I am now tired is a bit cheeky when I didn’t even drive today, but that always seems to be the case.   

I have made one New Year’s resolution.  I don’t normally make them, as I am not a firm believer or believer in them but this year I have made one and that is to keep in touch with my family more.  I have the email addresses of them all and I also have Facebook for some too.  So there is no excuse and I think it is a resolution that I will be able to keep.  Hopefully.   

RECOVERY DAY INCLUDING THE EATING OF WOODCOCK-UGH

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language

And next year’s words await another voice

And to make an end is to make a beginning

T.S Elliott

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Welcome to 2013. 

So with a 6am bed you would think that we wouldn’t be up till the afternoon, but we were all up at 12 noon and unfortunately we had missed the departure of 6 people who left at 9.30am and at 11.30am.  That was a shame, but they had cars to return and planes to catch and maybe it was sort of okay as I hate good-byes anyway.  The good thing for me is I hope to see them all again in May when I return to London.  I have a return portion of a ticket I didn’t use last year, so I picked May for want of a better month, so I guess that is the only thing I do have booked and considering I have no idea where I will be in May it is a little comforting to have that in place.  I also got some grand news that my Scandi Contiki gal pal Aimes was engaged and her wedding is to be the 3^rd August in Canada.  I would LOVE to be there for that, but that is something that I just cannot commit to at this stage.  We will see later in the year, later in 2013!!!!!

Again my timing was perfect as scrambled eggs and bacon was on the menu and sizzling in the kitchen when I got down there this morning.  I was feeling a little ordinary, but considering it was a 12 hour drinking session I was actually doing okay.  It really is beautiful here and with massive glass window overlooking a paddock and a view of the fast flowing river with the glens in the background it was a great place to nurse a hangover.  There were showers, some sunshine poking through black clouds giving an amazing light on the bare trees and I couldn’t think of anywhere else I wished to be.  Paps and Em got married here and I can see why.  The family home also needs a notable mention.  Inverawe House first appeared on the map 300 years ago. It became an important stronghold of the Campbell Empire and boasts its own trans-Atlantic ghost at Tigonderoga.  The original house has an incredible story.  Having established himself at the mouth of the River Awe around the early 1500s, Campbell of Inverawe decided to build more comfortable quarters for his family. He settled on a more sheltered site further up the river and built a tower-house on the site of today’s Inverawe House.

The original Inverawe House has been altered and expanded much over the years. One Laird who carried out many improvements was Major Duncan Campbell of Inverawe who also sent barrels of seeds and young trees back from his final voyage to America, which ended in his death at Ticonderoga in 1758.  When he died, Inverawe came into the hands of his only surviving child, Janet, who was married to an English officer. In 1765, she sold the estate to her maternal uncle, Colonel Robert Campbell of Finab and Monzie.  His line died out with his daughter Jane, who inherited it in 1888. She married another neighbouring Campbell Laird, the Captain of Dunstaffnage.  In 1912, Mrs Campbell of Dunstaffnage sold Inverawe to the Currie family, owners of the Union-Castle shipping line.  They commissioned the well-known Scottish architect, Sir Robert Lorimer, who carried out major alterations to the house, forming a great panelled hall with high windows in the central tower and demolishing the former porte-cochere in favour of today’s front door with its steps.  Of this, a protesting neighbour remarked that “it was more suited to an Edinburgh street than the Highlands”.  In 1923, the house was sold to Major Ian Bullough whose family had made a fortune in textile machinery and who had built Kinloch Castle on Rum. He died in 1936 and Inverawe, now held in trust for his sons, was leased for 15 years, to cousins of Major Bullough, the Blakeney family.

In the 1950s Inverawe was sold to Mr Anderson, who divided the house into flats. In 1958 the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board which was constructing the Awe Hydro-Electric Scheme, the largest in Europe, bought the estate to act as its headquarters.  It provided accommodation for its staff in the house and in Nissen huts built around it. It was at this time that the ballroom was demolished and the top floor of the house removed.  Inverawe House is still a family home, with the Campbell-Prestons living there since 1962. They took over in 1980, having found the idyllic place to start a business and bring up their four children. Robert was brought up on the banks of the Awe. He is a born fisherman and naturalist.  What an amazing family history, and something that we would never get in Australia. 

Robert and Rosie now run a successful smoked salmon business that is on the estate.  Robert was trained in the art of smoking by old Mr Pinney, and found that he was a completely 'natural smoker'.  He knows exactly when something is ready, when something needs a little more smoke or heat. Rosie and Robert soon found smoked fish from Inverawe House was in great demand.  They started with 400 addresses from all the family’s address books – and the business just grew. Today this figure has multiplied many times over, and yet they have managed to keep the personal family touch.  If you live in the UK they do post and all their products can be ordered from their website at www.smokedsalmon.co.uk

So then there were 13.  The next car load left at 1.30pm and then there were 8.  Jamie, Fi, Girl the Addle Paps, Em and I were smart and knew that we would need another day to recover and they were right.  My afternoon consisted of going through the 120 photos I took at the clay pigeon shooting and the 363 photos I took over the New Year celebrations.  Thank goodness that Facebook have lifted their very first photo restriction of a 100 photos per album.  In my defence I did have a lot of photos to cull and when I had finished I was left with 99 from the shooting and only 256 from NYE.  Not a bad number and in my defence there were 19 of us right- we need to have some leeway for all the people right.  Right?  I saw in some-ones Facebook feed about having a photo to represent each day of 2013, a photo journal as such, and I thought I would be up for that challenge and I have now signed up for http://365project.org/berniejamieson/365 So keep up with my daily photo and the small story that will go with it each day as the year progresses. 

A stocktake was done of the 2 days/2 nights alcohol consumption and as a group we had drunk 1 bottle of vodka, 3 bottles of gin, 5 crates of beer, 2 bottles of whiskey, 10 bottles of champagne, 2 magnums of champagne and 34 bottles of red and white wine.  Not a bad effort and the great thing is that Em and Paps bought all the food and drink and then they just gave us a bill at the end of our stay, so nobody was out of pocket and Rosie and Robert weren’t left footing any bills either.  It was perfect.  After a pizza lunch that totally hit the spot we all retired to the TV room on the second floor and watch Stardust.  An easy going movie that we all democratically decided on out of about 50 movies and it was a chill afternoon. 

Dinner was going to be a push for me.  I walked into the kitchen just as ‘dinner’ was about to go in and they were Woodcocks that had been killed 3 days before.  As their common name implies, the woodcocks are woodland birds. They feed at night or in the evenings, searching for invertebrates in soft ground with their long bills.  Paps had gone out on the shoot, but hadn’t contributed to the now dead birds lying on a try with a bit of bacon wrapped around them and a slice of orange on top.  One of them still had its head on, as Paps said that you can eat their brain, it is supposed to be quite a taste-yeah I bet it is.  They looked disgusting, but being in Scotland I just had to try something that had been caught fresh off the estate and when it was served on my plate, my first cut into its small breast the innards popped out the end and then that was me done.  Literally the innards came oozing out.  It was also a little red for me and after small bite, the flavour which is very gamy if you’re into that, I was done.  My bird was popped into the oven a little longer and then it was eaten by someone else.  They aren’t the biggest things in the world, but to serve that to a bunch of hung-over people was a BIG call and I am embarrassed to say I was the only one out of the 8 that didn’t eat it.  But I did give it a shot.      

So that people summed up my first day of 2013. 

I can’t believe that it is the start of another year.  Come 29th of March this year (2013) marks 2 years since I left Australia on my World Odyssey, it doesn’t even feel that long ago but then when I look back on what I have done and seen it does make it a bit of a reality check for me. 

2013 has begun and I am ready for whatever it has in store for me.  

2012 WHAT A YEAR FOR ME IN SO MANY WAYS

Today is the last day of 2012.

What a year it has been for me. 

From continuing my travels for another 12 months, meeting who I thought was the love of my life and the subsequent breakup, visiting my mums grave for the first time since her passing, catching up with family members I haven’t seen in years including meeting my new nephew for the first time, visiting home after 14 months and seeing all my friends again, saying goodbye after 7 weeks, the giving away of every single thing I own (including my mums furniture) and then my final goodbye to Australia for an unknown amount of time-it has been an amazing year of highs and lows.  Throw into the mix all the UNBELIEVABLE people I have met, counties I have seen and the way, last 12 months has shaped me and led me to the realisation that I wanted to move to Africa and be part of a bigger picture.  What that picture is, remains to be seen.  I am moving to a continent where I only know a handful of people.  I am leaving a home I love, friends I LOVE, family I have just reconnected with and a life I know and will miss.  Yes 2012 has been a great year but I believe that 2013 will be an even greater year for me.  It will be challenging and hopefully a satisfying year-I would like to give back to a world that has been good to me over my travels and I hope that I will find my ‘home’ somewhere on the great continent of Africa.  It still hasn’t sunk in yet, the magnitude of what I am doing, and it probably won’t until I land in Kenya on the 21^st January. 

The thing that surprised me the most was my resilience.  2012 made me a stronger person than what I gave myself credit for.  With the very public breakup of Zeme and I and the support that I got from all my friends and from people that I haven’t heard from in a long time was very humbling to say the least and I am truly grateful to everyone I have in my life.  To the people who read my blog, the people who send messages, the people that do the simple task of liking a photo on Facebook and for all the virtual shoulders I got comfort from-I could not have got through this without you all.  Just like the passing of my mum and the process of my divorce-you guys have always been there for me and I am lucky.  After all my travelling I have a new appreciation for the world we live in and just how lucky we have it.  Things that don’t kill us make us stronger and I take comfort in the fact that Happiness will always Follow Sadness, no matter what and I have friends by my side all over the world that are there for me.  For this I am grateful.  2012 has taught me a lot of things. 

All that being said, as I did last year I have to go through my travel highlights of the year that was.

Seeing the moon through a 40,000USD telescope in La Serena, Chile-amazing

The spectacular Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate, Argentina

The stunning city of Buenos Aires - we got 10 wonderful nights in this city 

Telling the world about Zeme becoming my boyfriend in Pucon

The stunning Torres Del Paine National Park

The thundering Iguassu Falls with the helicopter ride and the amazing Bird Park

The scenic city of Rio de Janeiro

Rio Carnival 2012 was incredible

Getting 'inked' in Addis Ababa with Zeme

The grand castles of Camelot in Gondar

The rock strewn churches of Lalibela-amazing structures

Hand feeding a Colobus Monkey in Awassa

Hand feeding wild hyenas in Harar

Hacking through the Brazilian Amazon jungle

Seeing the disappointing Angel Falls-Venezuela but the National Park was AMAZING

Speed boating over Lake Maracaibo the largest lake in South America-Venezuela

Spending the day in the flood plains of Los Llanos and seeing Kappa Barra’s

The stunning Tayrona National Park and beaches-Colombia

The historic and beachside town of Cartagena-Colombia

Holding the amazing creature called a Sloth

The longest truck day of the trip from Cartagena to Bucaramanga of 18.5 hours-Colombia

2 nights on a Colombian coffee plantation

The Saturday Otavalo Markets-Ecuador

Crossing of the ‘real Equator’ line-Ecuador

The conclusion of my 5 month Tucan South American overland trip

My incredible 4 days on Easter Island-the Moai are awe inspiring

The pure white beaches on the Caribbean Island of Barbados

An African sunset-no matter what country you are in

Meeting and making life ling friends- this a top MMM

The beautiful city of Ottawa-Canada and visiting The Canadian Mint and holding a 15kg gold bar

Getting some cottage time with my Contiki Scandi gals xx

Seeing a Cirque du Soleil show in Montreal where the show was created and started

The stunning French-Canadian city of Quebec

The city of Chicago was amazing and a cocktail from the 95^th floor-I LOVE Chicago

Roof top patios in Minneapolis

Sunbaking for a week in the Las Vegas sun-the brownest I have EVER been with a great mate

A bike through Venice Beach-Los Angeles- that’s the way they roll there

6 glorious weeks at home with my BEST friend, God-daughters and friends

Seeing Tower Bridge with the Olympic rings hanging from it

Visiting the National History Museum in London for the Scott's Antarctic Exhibition

The seaside town of Brighton-England-so beautiful and the BBQ we had on the beach

Seeing a 5,000 year old village on the island of Orkney-Scotland

Visiting the most Westerly part of Scotland-The Butt of Lewis-the wind was gale force

Seeing the Callendish Stones-Stornoway-Scotland-mini Stonehenge to touch

The Isle of Skye was breath taking-a piece of heaven on earth

Getting to tour inside Dunrobin Castle still owned by the original family after hundreds of years

After 65 international flights the flight from hell on Ethiopian Airlines from London to Addis Ababa

Reunited with Zeme again for 9 precious days-it was still a good stay and worth a mention

The Blue Nile Falls in Ethiopia-in full flow with all the rain and the dam was open

Officially 22 days behind in my blog and 11 days to update while in Phuket-Thailand

Catching up with my best friends SA and Shelly and my God-daughters in Phuket for a wedding

My fabulous 14 days in Sri Lanka as a whole and my AMAZING group and tour leader

My introduction in the religion of Buddhism-it resonated with me

My 2 day hike through Sri Lankan tea plantations was a personal challenge for me

Climbing the ancient rock fortress of Sigiray-this was also a personal challenge-and I DID IT

The beautiful beaches of Marissa-Sri Lanka

The beautiful beaches of Boracay in the Philippines-stunning

Standing 1m away from the world’s smallest primate the Tarsier-Cebu/Philippines

The entire country of Nepal

Getting my tattoo in Pokhara-the wheel of life and the saying Happiness Always Follows Sadness

Getting a firsthand glance at the Himalaya Mountains and Mt Everest on a scenic flight

Sunrise of the Himalaya’s at Pokhara

The ancient cities of Patan and Durban

The tourist area of Thamel-the vibe and the souvenirs are like nowhere else-Nepal

My 5 weeks back home for my birthday and for Christmas were precious

Attending the wedding of Paul and Liz in Brighton-great to catch up with fellow SA travellers

…and even though it hasn’t happened yet, if I can’t be home, then spending my New Year with Emma and Justin is the next best thing……………..

What a year it has been.

So with all that said there was still one more day in 2012 to finish and I was in Scotland with precious friends I know and a group of their friends I didn’t.  I took Emma’s advice and I did sleep till I couldn’t sleep anymore and I woke at 11am.  Em’s parent’s house is massive.  It is a 300 year old home that has a lot of character and being on the 3^rd floor I couldn’t hear a thing of what was happening anywhere else.  I just hoped that I wasn’t the last one out of bed.  Not knowing the ‘Brit/Scot’ etiquette about coming to breakfast in your PJ’s or not, I decided to have a shower and change before heading down.  I would hate to rock up and they were all dressed and I looked/ felt like Annie.  As it worked out I was the only one that was dressed, so I was glad I erred on the side of caution anyway.  My timing was impeccable as bacon and eggs were being cooked and I had a plate in front of me within 10 minutes of arriving and a steaming hot tea to wash it all down with. 

The good or bad thing about sleeping so late is that the day just passes so quickly.  I find it more so when the sun goes down at 4pm, it always seems later than what it is.  Well I guess we had to rest up for tonight’s shenanigans.  Paps bother Jamie, Jamie’s girlfriend Fiona and sister, Kirstie arrived just after 12 noon and now the NYE gang was complete.  There were 19 of us including Emma’s mum Rosie and her dad Robert so I was guessing it was going to be a great night and then later in the afternoon I found out that we all had to don something out of the Inverawe dress up box and that bought a tear to my eye as that is something that we would have done back home.  It is funny as I was given a pair of Lady Ga Ga glasses for Christmas from SA which I had bought with me, the merry-oke machine and also the nerd glasses-so I was well equipped for a bit of fancy dress.  I was told that I still had to get something out of the box and I was lucky I was first in and grabbed a Nepalese looking jacket that fit, as a lot of the clothes in there were from Emma and her sister’s childhood when they were younger, it was all a size 6 wardrobe. 

Paps had lined up with the neighbour to go clay shooting at 2.30pm.  Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, and formally known as Inanimate Bird Shooting, is the art of shooting at special flying targets, known as clay pigeons or clay targets, with a shotgun or any type of firearm.  The terminology commonly used by clay shooters often relates to times past, when live-pigeon competitions were held. Although such competitions were made illegal in the UK in 1921, a target is still called a "target" or "bird", a hit is referred to as a "hit" or "kill", a missed target might be described as a "bird away" and the machine which projects the targets is known as a "trap".  It sounded very British (Scottish) and something cool to do on New Year’s Eve.  So we all rugged up, I was given a pair of wellies to tackle the muddy ground, this was one job the Crocs were not up for, and we headed out for a 15 minute walk to a clearing near one of the lochs of the area.  As there were so many of us and we were going to be using live ammunition it was decided we would stand on the grassy knoll, well the hill, where the clay targets were being shot from, for our safety and then 2 people at a time would go down for their shots.  The view from here was breath taking.  Scotland never fails to impress me each time I have come.  This is my third trip and it is just a piece of heaven on earth, cold, but heaven all the same.  I was all keen at the start for the shoot, but as the time ticked on, the light was going bad and figured I was actually okay not having a go and letting people who really wanted to, go before me.  Freddie, the neighbour was down there reloading the gun and giving advice and when it was a girl’s turn, holding them upright as they fired.  When we were getting down to final numbers you could see a weather front moving in, right before our eyes and before we knew it, small hail stones dropped from the sky and that marked the end for half the group and we scaled down the now slippery muddy knoll and headed back to the house.

Now it was time to get stuck into Hogmanay, New Year’s Eve-Scottish style.  Girl and I had a few quiet vodka and Irn Bru’s (very Scottish) to get warmed up and then we went and got ready to come back downstairs and to just enjoy the rest of the evening as it unfolded.  Dinner was to be served at 8.30pm and Emma had place settings for us all and what a great idea as it gave me a chance to meet more of the group properly.  In Scotland, Hogmanay, with an accent hug-mə-nay, is the Scots word for the last day of the year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year (Gregorian calendar) in the Scottish manner. New Year's (Hogmanay) is celebrated with several different customs, such as First-Footing, which involves friends or family members going to each other's houses with a gift of whisky and sometimes a lump of coal.  Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, hosts one of the world's most famous New Year celebrations. The celebration is focused on a major street party along Princes Street. The cannon is fired at Edinburgh Castle at the stroke of midnight, followed by a large fireworks display. Edinburgh hosts a festival of four or five days, beginning on 28 December, and lasting until New Year's Day or January 2, which is also a bank holiday in Scotland. Other cities across Scotland, such as Aberdeen, Glasgow and Stirling have large organised celebrations too, including fireworks at midnight.  The Island nations of Kiribati and Samoa are the first to welcome in the New Year while Honolulu-Hawaii is among the last places to welcome the New Year.  So it was strange to see all my Aussie mates celebrating their New Year’s Eve a good 10 hours before me, seeing all their status updates and pictures hit Facebook before we even had an alcoholic drink in hand.  The upside was I was able to ring home and speak to everyone before they got to drunk and before the phone lines got too congested.  It was great to hear all their voices!

Dinner was served at 8.30pm and we all wearing a piece of fancy dress and I have to say we all looked magnificent.  If I was to announce a winner I would have to give the best dressed award to HT.  He donned Pap’s old rowing outfit that was skin tight and then to complete the outfit he pulled on a pair of pants with a rather large ‘sock’ area-if you get my drift and wore it ALL night.  Now that is dedication.  Well done Huffy-you get my vote and prize for the best dressed.  A close second was Jamie in his crochet top and vest, Pap’s of course in his Cameroon cultural dress and Emily with her massive clown bow tie.  High five to all and as we sat down for our first course I felt I was amongst friends, even though I had only met them not even 24 hours before and me being true to form, I must of felt comfortable, I started taking a gazillion photos, and you know what-they didn’t mind.  I think we were going to get along just fine.  It is amazing how Rosie can put a dinner together for 19 and make it restaurant quality.  We started with salmon terrine and crusty bread and it was delicious, and this is coming from some-one who doesn’t even like salmon.  Main course was fresh venison that was caught back in September and for desert were profiteroles with fresh cream custard.  All that for 19 people.  Can you imagine?  And it looked like it was done with no fuss if you looked in the kitchen, but then I do know that there were many hands in there at one stage-but what a great meal to line the stomach with. 

The rest of the night was spent with a little ‘reeling’ which is Scottish for dancing and to me it looked like line dancing that you used to do at school and then to get us into New Year’s we played charades till just before midnight.  We were divided into 2 teams and my team went into the dining room to pick 5 movies or book titles and our counterparts were doing the same in the other room.  Once we had our picks we then took it in turns deciding who from the other team would act out the titles and the games began.  There has to be a few special mentions for the acting and that goes to Team Octopussy, Team Human Centipede that finished off with a royal fart from Robert in Jamie’s face-priceless and I have to say HT and I’s rendition of the movie Freddie got Fingered.  It was hilarious to see us all up there and a great way to keep all the spirits high as we were also consuming a great amount of alcohol as well.  We got the nod from Robert with 10 minutes to go which gave us a chance to pop some bottles of champagne, fill our glasses and get into the countdown from 10.  Robert was all over the radio, with it glued to his ear so as not to miss the countdown.  By this time we were all merry and it was nice to receive hugs and kisses from people that I felt totally comfortable with.  I am so lucky that they all accepted me into their fold and it will be a night I will remember for a long time.  The Hogmanay custom of singing "Auld Lang Syne" has become common in many countries. "Auld Lang Syne" is a traditional poem reinterpreted by Robert Burns, which was later set to music. It is now common to sing this in a circle of linked arms that are crossed over one another as the clock strikes midnight for New Year's Day, though it is only intended that participants link arms at the beginning of the final verse, co-ordinating with the lines of the song that contain the lyrics to do so. Typically, it is only in Scotland this practice is carried out correctly. I am a little hazy if we all linked arms-we could have, but I do definitely remember singing the song with a small tear in my eye as I thought of home.

From here we all moved outside to watch the fireworks that had been organised earlier.  This is also a little blank for me and I am kind of glad as I know Paps was telling me the next day that he was looking down the barrel of one of the crackers at one point, blind as a fart, which is like an accident waiting to happen but I do recall (after seeing the photos) having a puff on a cigar with Katie and getting a few photos outside as we all enjoyed the fresh, really fresh air of 2013.  The group started to thin out after 1am.  But for some of us the party was just getting started and we got a great performance from Fi and Jamie doing a dance for us, and with me laughing so hard my sides hurt, it was a great way to bring in 2013.  Some people had to drive New Year’s Day (sucks to be them), so they were doing the smart thing and heading to bed.  For those that didn’t have to drive well we just kicked on and before we knew it there were 6 of us left at, get this, 6am.  YES 6AM!!!  It didn’t even feel that late and I do recall that I still had a glass of something in hand.  So with some ‘proof’ photos, a hilarious video of Em and I it was time for us to stagger to bed and get some sleep. 

What a great way to see in 2013.  If I couldn’t be home with my gang, this gang was the next best thing that is for sure.  So a BIG shout out to all those who made the journey firstly to Inverawe in the Scottish Highlands, secondly to Rosie and Robert for having us in their home and their awesome hospitality and thirdly for giving me a great send off as I head to Africa in 3 weeks.  This will always bring a smile to my face when I think of this night.

Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book.  Write a good one…..

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE. 

WISHING YOU ALL A YEAR OF LOVE, SUCCESS AND GOOD HEALTH.

 

HEADING TO SCOTLAND-TAYNUILT TO BE EXACT-WHERE?

So I’m on the move again.  I am tired, but I know that the trip north today to Scotland will be worth it.  I’m looking forward to 3 nights in one place and chillaxing with Paps and Em and hope that the rest of their friends like me.  I was going to avoid the debacle of my train trip to Brighton and I had double checked what station I needed to get to this morning and made sure I gave myself plenty of time for connections.  It was also more imperative that I was not late for these trains as there was only one train this evening from Glasgow to Taynuilt and if I missed that I would have to overnight and then catch one up in the morning.  This place is certainly off the beaten track.  After handing in the shoulder bag back into reception, I now had my wheelie bag packed for the next 8 days.  Looking at what I had packed into this small bag made me think of all the stuff and 3 other bags I had in storage and wondered if I really need it all?  Short term and for a holiday the answer would be a big fat no.  But I am moving and I need clothes, especially as I know it will be difficult for me to buy clothes in Africa and I am not sure when I will get my boxes sent from Australia and had to be sure I had cruise clothes, work clothes, tour clothes, gym clothes and good clothes just to tide me over till my belongings finally arrive.  Yes I think I do need all that I have, but I am glad that I only have to carry my wheelie bag around for the week.  I asked at reception about getting a twin room upon my return next week (they are bigger than the twins) but for them to make a change they would have to cancel the booking costing me 10GBP and then rebooking and paying the difference.  This is the hotel, they can’t make a change-stupid-but then I guess they are a low cost hotel and with everything else there is a fee.  They told me to leave it; they weren’t full and then just pay the upgrade when I check in.  I’ll try my luck. 

I was out of the hotel at 9.30am.  My train wasn’t until 11.25am but I have what I call snafu time and I will always want to be early than running late and having the stress of missing the train, especially today.  I figured out today that Edgeware Road is closer than Paddington so with a 4 stop pass I found myself at Kings Cross station at 10am.  I found the ticket machines, got my prepaid tickets printed and then checked the massive departure boards they have with the train departures listed in time.  It is a great system and the thing that stresses me a little is that you can see your train on the board but the platform isn’t advised till 10 minutes prior to departure, so once you see the platform number I feel like I have to haul some arse to get there thinking that it will take me more than 10 minutes to find it and then miss the train.  It hasn’t happened yet, but I don’t like that bit of the system, but I guess it works and everyone else is in the same boat.  I had an hour to kill so I was able to buy a bacon and egg bap and found a seat to while away the time till my platform was displayed. 

I booked my ticket online 2 weeks ago and I had no end of trouble trying to make the payment.  I had to do it like a 100 times for it to finally work and I was told that I couldn’t make a seat reservation on the London to Edinburgh sector of the trip.  So you can imagine my surprise when I got into the first carriage and saw that 90% of the seats were reserved.  How did these people manage to reserve seats?  There were 8 carriages in total and each one was exactly the same 90% of them reserved.  I walked the length of the train (not going inside yet) and I could only see 2 seats that weren’t taken.  Both were an aisle as the window was already taken and the first seat I was advised by the male passenger that he had a friend getting on at the next stop in 45 minutes, but I was more than welcome to sit there until then-no thanks and the other seat was next to a female and she looked ok.  Seriously where do people sit if all the seats are reserved?  I had popped my wheelie bag in the luggage rack near the door and once everyone was settled I saw that I could pop my bag in between the backwards seat across the aisle, which was a great move when I had my laptop in my bag plus my travel kitty of USD that I carry with me-yes this was a smart idea indeed.  I hate my bag being near the doors as you are always paranoid that someone is going to steal it when they get off.        

There was an option to upgrade to business class as the train departed the platform.  Depending where you were going starting at 15-25GBP.  I thought about it for a second but I was now all in and settled so decided to just stay where I was.  In economy they offer you 15 minutes free Wi-Fi usage per journey.  So I jumped on for the first 15 minutes on my IPod and then I pulled out my computer and pumped out a blog and then used my other email address to upload it to the internet using another free 15 minutes.  Gee I am smart sometimes J it was then time to look out the window and enjoy the scenery.  It was a suuny-ish day and you could see just how much rain there had been with fields filled with water.  Trees and fences in the middle of small lakes.  I am glad that I wasn’t joining the train at other stops as people would just all pack on and then they all had to squeeze past each other to find their seats and to find unreserved seats all carrying their bags etc…. what a chaotic organised mess all at the same time.  My chicky got off at 1pm-so I was able to move to the window and my seat was taken by a mother that was travelling with her husband and 2 small kids-and all 4 of them were in 2 seats.  It reminded me of the Nepalese family on the bus on our last travel day in Nepal and they were squished onto 2 seats with 4 family members.  It goes to show all cultures will try and save money where they can.  Passing through some of the larger towns Durham and Newcastle look like pretty cities and maybe worth going back to when I have time down the track.  I have to say I enjoy train travel.

We arrived into Edinburgh 10 minutes late at 4.20pm.  It is so weird to see it get dark here so early, today was at 3.50pm.  I am glad I had a 40 minute window here to get my bearings and find my new platform for the 50 minute journey to Glasgow.  Waverly Station is massive and I have to say their signage is a little confusing.  I did stop at the information booth to double check where I needed to get to, found the platform and only had 10 minutes to spare.  The good thing about getting to the platforms early is that you are one of the first onto the train and you are 90% sure you will get a seat.  Not really thinking that at 5pm it would be full of rush hour shoppers and workers’ heading home, the train was packed.  I worked out that my wheelie bag fits in the overhead rack, so I was able to keep an eye on it till we arrived into Glasgow at 5.50pm.  I then had 25 minutes till my next train to take me to my final destination.  I decided I should use the bathroom facilities here and there was a charge of 30pence for the privilege.  I am happy to pay than to wait and use the train for free, so after my pee stop I bought a coke and then my train was pulling in and ready to board.  If nothing else all has gone to plan so far.  This section from Glasgow to Taynuilt was on a reserved seat basis and after finding the right carriage I got to my seat to find people already sitting in my seat, and it was a goodie, it was at a table.  I was hoping to get some blogging done.  As per the first journey, 90% of seats were reserved-so the 3 of us were all looking at our tickets trying to work out who was supposed to be sitting where and it looked like I had their seats and they had mine, so we just decided to stay where we were and got comfy for the 3 hour journey to Taynuilt.  The couple across from me were Scottish and I had to really concentrate to understand what they were saying.  They were going through to Oban, the last stop.  I was travelling backwards, so I could see the automated sign telling you of all the stops and I couldn’t see my stop listed on there and I started to panic.  I asked the couple across from me and they said don’t worry the train divides and then your station will show up.  WHAT THE TRAIN DIVIDES?  How will I know which train to get on?  They said don’t worry they will let me know and I said well worst case I miss my stop and you will have a guest for the night.  I found it funny and they laughed but I may have seen a glint of concern as well that I may have been serious.

I sent Em a message to let her know where I was and I was on time and she replied back exactly ‘are you coming tonight’?  ARE YOU KIDDING?  I would normally have thought that it was a joke straight up, but last time I came to visit I told them I arrived into their station at 6.45am and Em thought that it was 6.45PM at night.  So when she cracked this funny, I initially laughed and then she played it on and then phoned me and kept playing on that I finally believed it and they weren’t expecting me till tomorrow and I had an image of me at this small village station and nowhere to go!  I normally hate answering phones on buses or small confined spaces as I hate people listening into my conversations but Em called and I felt I had to take it as I was devastated that I wasn’t due.  I asked Em about the train stops and listed them all off to which I got a few giggles from the locals as my pronunciation of the names was obviously not right-have your laugh-I’m okay about that and I am glad I have ‘my couple’ across from me keeping an eye on the stations.  Em’s advice was to just get off at 9pm.  That would be the right stop and she then let me know that it was all a joke and that her or her mum would be at the station to meet me at 9pm.  I really would have cracked it and got on the next train back to London.  I was so tired and was just glad that she had just been kidding!!!

I did arrive at the RIGHT station at 9pm and Em’s mum Rosie was there to meet me.  There were only 4 people that got off there and it was slightly raining and not much cover, so I was glad when Rosie came over to me and asked if I was Bernie and knew it wouldn’t be hard to find me.  Em’s family home was only a 5 minute drive from the train station and as I put my bag down and entered through the door there was a massive table of people all just sitting down to dinner.  Talk about an entrance and it felt a little daunting that I didn’t know anybody.  I hate that first initial reaction of smiling when inside you are going what the hell knowing you don’t know anyone.  But Em swept me up, found me a seat at the table and before I knew it I had a bowl of soup in front of me followed with a plate of crusted salmon and vegetables and I was in a comfortable conversation with Katie to my right and George to my left.  Throw in a few glasses of white wine that was flowing freely and desert to follow I felt I was going to be okay this weekend.  Em and Paps friends all seem like a nice bunch and I got to know them all a bit more as we played a few games as the night wore on.  The last of us went to bed at 2.30am and I was shown to my room on the 3^rd floor where I would be sharing with Pap’s sister ‘girl’ when she arrived tomorrow. 

So it was MASSIVE travel day-I was tired and knew I would sleep well.  I am surprised I lasted till 2.30am and was told to not worry about waking up early in the morning-sleep till I could sleep no more was the wise words of Em as we all climbed the stairs and I swear the second my head hot the pillow I was fast asleep.  What a way to spend the last Sunday of 2012.     

MY DAY IN EDINBURGH

WEATHER: A glorious 20C with some small showers

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Edinburgh Castle

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Forgetting my rain jacket

WORD OF THE DAY: BIGGEST jacket potato EVER

Good morning Scotland.  Edinburgh Castle was on our hot list today and with the heads up that we needed to get to the Castle early, with it opening at 9.30am we ran our morning schedule around this.  Even though we have a private room we don’t have an ensuite, so I was up at 7.30am and was lucky enough to get an empty bathroom for a shower.  The toilet and showers here are in the same room, so it would be super annoying if you needed to go to the toilet and someone was in there having a shower, washing their hair and shaving their legs for the next 30 minutes, but I was lucky and mindful of that exact fact, I was in and out in case someone was waiting, which they weren’t and we were on our way to breakfast at 8.15am.

The little café had a deal with the hostel, if you purchased a voucher from reception you save 2GBP off the cost of a traditional Scottish breakfast, so we thought that was too good to pass up and ordered that asking if they could hold off on the Haggis (not for breakfast) to which the reply came was that they don’t custom make breakfast for the hostel, well…. How rude, I was just wanting to save wasting the Haggis, it wasn’t like I was asking for a double café, soy milk, gluten free, animal tested coffee…. Geez and needless to say even though the Haggis was tried, it  was not eaten and felt a small rush of anger that due to the waiters pig headedness that both Shaz and mine was going to make it into the bin.  What a waste.

Sharon had arrived 3 days before me as she wanted to see The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.  I have heard of the tattoo but never really had a burning desire to see the Tattoo itself but I did rethink it briefly after Shaz showed me some of her video footage that she took from her performance a few days ago.  So what is it?  It is an annual series of Military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and International military bands and display teams on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.  The event takes place annually throughout August, as part of the wider Edinburgh Festival (a collective name for many independent festivals and events held in Edinburgh during August).

The word "Tattoo," is derived from "Doe den tap toe", or just "tap toe" ("toe" is pronounced "too"), the Dutch for "Last orders". Translated literally, it means: "close the (beer) tap". The term "Tap-toe" was first encountered by the British Army when stationed in Flanders during the War of the Austrian Succession.  The British adopted the practice and it became a signal, played by a regiment's Corps of Drums or Pipes and Drums each night to tavern owners to turn off the taps of their ale kegs so that the soldiers would retire to their billeted lodgings at a reasonable hour. With the establishment of modern barracks and full Military bands later in the 18th century, the term Tattoo was used to describe not only the last duty call of the day, but also a ceremonial form of evening entertainment performed by Military musicians.  The first official Edinburgh Military Tattoo began in 1950 with just eight items in the programme. It drew some 6000 spectators seated in simple bench and scaffold structures around the north, south and east sides of the Edinburgh Castle esplanade. In 1952, the capacity of the stands was increased to accommodate a nightly audience of 7700, allowing 160,000 to watch live performances each year.  Now, on average, just over 217,000 people see the Tattoo live on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle each year, and it has sold out in advance for the last decade. 30% of the audience are from Scotland and 35% from the rest of the United Kingdom. The remaining 35% of the audience consists of 70,000 visitors from overseas. Only the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a bigger part of the Edinburgh Festival, although that consists of over 2000 productions staged across 247 venues.  So far, over 30 countries have been represented at the Tattoo. Apparently due to the Olympic Games this year in London there were still some tickets left for the next few nights performances which has been unheard of in the history of the Tattoo.  So I did have an opportunity to go tonight, but the thought of battling the crowds and the start of our Haggis tour tomorrow I decided against it and will give me something to some back for.   

What I didn’t realize till yesterday was that The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (The Fringe) was also on.  It is the world's largest arts festival, with the 2012 event spanning 25 days totaling over 2,695 shows from 47 countries in 279 venues. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August.  The Fringe is a showcase for the performing arts, particularly theatre and comedy (which has seen substantial growth in recent years), although dance and music are also represented. In 2012, 36% of shows were comedy and 28% theatrical productions.  In 2012, 1,418 shows were having their world premiere.  The Fringe is an unjuried festival – with no selection committee, and therefore any type of performance may participate. In addition to ticketed, programmed events, the Festival has included a street fair, located primarily on the Royal Mile. The Festival is organized by the Festival Fringe Society, which publishes the programme, sells tickets, and offers advice to performers. Their offices are on the Royal Mile.  The Board of Directors is drawn from members of the Festival Fringe Society, who are often Fringe participants themselves - performers or administrators. Elections are held once a year, in August, and Board members serve a term of three years.

The Fringe started life when eight theatre companies turned up uninvited to the inaugural Edinburgh International Festival in 1947. Seven performed in Edinburgh, and one undertook a version of the medieval morality play "Everyman" in Dunfermline Cathedral, about 20 miles north, across the river Forth, in Fife. These groups aimed to take advantage of the large assembled theatre crowds to showcase their own, alternative, theatre. The Fringe got its name the following year (1948) after Robert Kemp, a Scottish playwright and journalist, wrote during the second Edinburgh International Festival: ‘Round the fringe of official Festival drama, there seems to be more private enterprise than before ... I am afraid some of us are not going to be at home during the evenings!’. The Fringe did not benefit from any official organization until 1951, when students of the University of Edinburgh set up a drop-in center in the YMCA, where cheap food and a bed for the night were made available to participating groups. It was 1955 before the first attempt was made to provide a central booking service.  The advent of the Fringe was not warmly greeted by some sections of the International Festival (and the Edinburgh establishment), leading to outbursts of animosity between the two festivals. This lasted well into the 1970s.  The Fringe has grown dramatically since its inception. Statistics for 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe concluded that it was the largest on record: there were over 40,000 performances of over 2,500 different shows in 258 venues. Ticket sales amounted to around 1.8 million. There are now 12 full-time members of staff.  Over the first 20 years each performing group had its own performing space, or venue. However, by around 1970 the concept of sharing a venue became popular, principally as a means of cutting costs. It soon became possible to host up to 6 or 7 different shows per day in a hall. The obvious next step was to partition a venue into two or more performing spaces; the majority of today's venues fit into this category.  Sharon had seen a show yesterday and we decided we would go and see one this afternoon after the castle and after lunch.  There are so many shows and the Fringe guide is so thick with every single performance listed in there with a blurb about the show, the cost, the venue and the times.  It was like a yellow pages of shows to be seen that runs over a 3 week period.  We decided to limit the choices by looking at dance shows rather than a drama or comedy just for a little something different.  They had some Africa dance troops which I was keen on but we caught a show with a difference that used only hands.  It sounded interesting, it was only 12GBP and the time looked like it would fit within our day.  So with that plan in mind we headed to the castle for the first bit of our day in Edinburgh. 

As Shaz had got the tip to come early we stopped at a shop to kill some time and arrived at the Castle right on 9.30am and already there was a queue of around 100 people.  This is where I realized I should have bought my rain jacket with me as it slightly showered while we waited the 15 minutes in line before the sun popped out just as we were about to enter the castle.  I am going to have to get back into thinking with my travelers hat again and especially in a country renowned for hit and miss weather, I need to be prepared for all seasons.  There was a free 25 minutes guided tour starting in 10 minutes, so we decided to take that and took the small opportunity to get some snaps before the tour started.  Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle here since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. From the 15th century the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century its principal role was as a military base with a large garrison. Its importance as a historic monument was recognized from the 19th century, and various restoration programmes have been carried out since. As one of the most important fortresses in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts, from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century, up to the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and has been besieged, both successfully and unsuccessfully, on several occasions.

Few of the present buildings pre-date the Lang Siege of the 16th century, when the medieval fortifications were largely destroyed by artillery bombardment. The most notable exceptions are St Margaret's Chapel, the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh, which dates from the early 12th century, the Royal Palace, and the early-16th-century Great Hall. The castle also houses the Honors of Scotland, the Scottish National War Memorial, and the National War Museum of Scotland.

Although formally owned by the Ministry of Defence, most of the castle is now in the care of Historic Scotland, and it is Scotland's most-visited paid tourist attraction. The garrison left in the 1920s, but there is still a military presence at the castle, largely ceremonial and administrative, and including a number of regimental museums. As the backdrop to the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo it has become a recognizable symbol of Edinburgh and of Scotland. 

The tour started to some more showers as Shaz and I huddled under her rain jacket.  It wasn’t bucketing down but it was wet enough to try and get under some form of cover and the rain jacket proved good enough.  So we started just inside the gate of the Argyle Battery overlooking Princes Street, with Mills Mount Battery, the location of the One O'Clock Gun, to the west. Below these is the Low Defence, while at the base of the rock is the ruined Wellhouse Tower, built in 1362 to guard St. Margaret's Well. This natural spring provided and important secondary source of water for the castle, the water being lifted up by a crane mounted on a platform known as the Crane Bastion.  The areas to the north and west of the Argyle Tower are largely occupied by military buildings erected after the castle became a major garrison in the early 18th century. Adjacent to Mills Mount are the 18th-century cart sheds, now the tea rooms. The Governor's House to the south was built in 1742 as accommodation for the Governor, Storekeeper, and Master Gunner, and was used until the post of Governor became vacant in the later 19th century; it was then used by nurses of the castle hospital. Today, it functions as an officers' mess, and as the office of the Governor since the restoration of the post in 1936. South of the Governor's House is the New Barrack Block, completed in 1799 to house 600 soldiers, and replacing the outdated accommodation in the Great Hall. It now houses the headquarters of the 52nd Infantry Brigade, the Regimental Headquarters of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and the Regimental Headquarters and Museum of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys). The latter was first opened in 1995 by the regiment's Colonel, Queen Elizabeth II. Also nearby, in the former Royal Scots drill hall, constructed in 1900, is the regimental museum of the Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment). The military prison was built in 1842 for the castle garrison and was extended in the 1880s.

We made our way to The Upper Ward which occupies the highest part of the Castle Rock, and is entered via the late 17th-century Foog's Gate. The origin of this name is unknown, although it was formerly known as the Foggy Gate, which may relate to the dense sea-fog, known as haar, which commonly affects Edinburgh. The summit of the rock is occupied by St Margaret's Chapel and the 15th-century siege gun Mons Meg. On a ledge below this area is a small 19th-century cemetery of soldiers' and regimental mascot dogs. Beside this, the Lang Stair leads down to the Argyle Battery, past a section of a medieval bastion, and gives access to the upper part of the Argyle Tower.

Next was the oldest building in the castle, and in Edinburgh, the small St. Margaret's Chapel. One of the few 12th-century structures surviving in any Scottish castle, it dates to the reign of King David I (ruled 1124–1153), who built it as a private chapel for the royal family and dedicated it to his mother, Saint Margaret of Scotland, who died in the castle in 1093. It survived the slighting of 1314, when the castle's defenses were destroyed, and was used as a gunpowder store from the 16th century, when the present roof was built. In 1845, when it was "discovered" by the antiquary Daniel Wilson, it formed part of the larger garrison chapel, and was restored in 1851–1852. The chapel is still used for various religious ceremonies, such as weddings.  On display outside of St Margaret’s Chapel is the 15th-century siege cannon known as Mons Meg.  Mons Meg was constructed in Flanders on the orders of Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1449, and was given by him to his niece's husband, King James II in 1457. The 6-tonne (13,000 lb) bombard is displayed alongside some of its 150-kilogram (330 lb) gun stones. On 3 July 1558, Mons Meg was fired in salute to the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, to the French dauphin François II. Workmen were paid to find and retrieve the stones from Wardie Mure, near the River Forth, some 2 miles (3.2 km) distant. Mons Meg has been defunct since her barrel burst on 30 October 1681 when firing a salute for the arrival of the Duke of Albany, the future King James VII and II.

We made our way to Crown Square, also known as Palace Yard, which was laid out in the 15th century, during the reign of King James III, as the principal courtyard of the castle. The foundations were formed by the construction of a series of large stone vaults built onto the uneven Castle Rock in the 1430s. These vaults were used as a state prison until the 19th century, although more important prisoners were held in the main parts of the castle. The square is formed by the Royal Palace to the east, the Great Hall to the south, the Queen Anne Building to the west, and the National War Memorial to the north.  The Royal Palace comprises the former royal apartments, which were the residence of the later Stewart monarchs. It was begun in the mid- 15th century, during the reign of James IV, and it originally communicated with David's Tower.  On the ground floor is the Laich (low) Hall, now called the King's Dining Room, and a small room, known as the Birth Chamber or Mary Room, where James VI was born to Mary, Queen of Scots, in June 1566. The commemorative painted ceiling and other decoration was added in 1617. On the first floor is the vaulted Crown Room, built in 1615 to house the Honours of Scotland: the crown, the sceptre and the sword of state. The Stone of Scone, upon which the monarchs of Scotland were traditionally crowned, is also kept in the Crown Room since its return to Scotland in 1996.  There was a massive line up to get into The Royal palace to see the Crown Jewels which didn’t really interest me as I have seen the ones in London and so had Shaz only a few days before so we skipped this building and made our way to the Great Hall instead.

The Great Hall measures 29m by 12.5m and was the chief place of state assembly in the castle, although there is no evidence that the Parliament of Scotland ever met here, as is sometimes reported. Historians have disagreed over its dating, although it is usually ascribed to the reign of King James IV, and is thought to have been completed in the early years of the 16th century. The decorative carved stone corbels supporting the roof have Renaissance detailing, which has been compared to works at Blois, France, of around 1515, indicating that the arts in Scotland were relatively advanced at this time. It is one of only two medieval halls in Scotland with an original hammer beam roof. 

The Scottish National War Memorial occupies a converted barrack block on the north side of Crown Square. It stands on the site of the medieval St. Mary's Church which was rebuilt in 1366, and was converted into an armory in 1540. It was demolished in 1755, and the masonry reused to build a new North Barrack Block on the site. Proposals for a Scottish National War Memorial were put forward in 1917, during the First World War, and the architect Sir Robert Lorimer was appointed in 1919. Construction began in 1923, and the memorial was formally opened on 14 July 1927 by the Prince of Wales. The exterior is decorated with gargoyles and sculpture, while the interior contains monuments to individual regiments. The memorial commemorates Scottish soldiers, and those serving with Scottish regiments, who died in the two world wars and in more recent conflicts. Upon the altar within the Shrine is a sealed casket containing Rolls of Honour which list over 147,000 names of those soldiers killed in the First World War.  After the Second World War, another 50,000 names were inscribed on Rolls of Honour held within the Hall, and further names continue to be added there. 

It was a great morning at the Castle with us leaving just before 12 noon.  As we left passing the ticket office, the queue to purchase tickets was 200 people deep.  I don’t think if I had of come that late, seeing that line that I would have waited to go in…….. So thanks Shaz for the hot tip-getting there first thing is definitely the way to go.  We had lunch to get in and then we wanted to make the 2pm show called ‘Time For Fun”.  As we walked the Royal Mile The Fringe Festival had cranked up since this morning and there were people everywhere.  There were scouts handing out flyers for their shows, there were performers, mimes, musicians, you name it the Royal Mile had it.  We scooted through a small market and then found a place called The Bank to have a 9.90GBP burger and beer meal before then heading to the ticket office located also on the Royal Mile.  The line was massive and thankfully Sharon knew her way around and knew of another ticket office not far from where the performance was, so we walked the 15 minutes to that ticket venue, purchased our tickets without having to wait for 11GBP and in turn made it to the Assembly Roxy with 10 minutes to spare before show time.  We joined the queue that waited outside, our tickets were checked and then 5 minutes before starting we were let into the small theatre.  So the show was called Time for Fun by the Hand Made Theatre.  It doesn’t scream like anything special but when the lights went down and the first part of the show begun it was mesmerizing.  Basically this unique troupe from St Petersburg created an exceptional show using only their hands and their arms.  There was no décor, props or costumes with all the actors dressed in black with a black stage and only well positioned lights, lighting up their moving hands.  They caught your imagination with landscapes, willing heroes, funny situations, a ballet of birds, the writing of words and lots of things in between.  It really was a fascinating show and something I am not sure I will see anywhere else again.  It ran for an hour and we certainly got our value for money.  There were probably a dozen more shows I would have liked to have seen but time was not on our side and we were a little stuffed from our mornings outing.    

We walked back to the hostel and just chilled in our shoe box, getting our bags all packed for the morning, backing up photos and I got a blog written as well.  I know I am going to fall so far behind with this blog over the next 2 weeks but I have the small relief that I have 11 days in Phuket to catch up as I am going in the rainy season and will be banking on a few days where I will be rained in and I will relish this and get up to date.  7pm rocked around and we decided to just eat at our ‘usual’ haunt-the kebab shop next door for the second night.  I got a jacket potato this time and I have never seen so much meat and salad piled on a potato before, it was MASSIVE.  I was under the impression that I wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing but low and behold I managed to eat 96% of the darn thing and it was delicious!  We quickly popped into the actual hostel reception to check our internet as out place in the lane doesn’t have access and then we were back to the shoe box for our last night before joining the Haggis Tour tomorrow and on the road again for the first time since the 30^th April for me.  It has been that long since I have been on a group tour and I’m looking forward to it.  I just hope we have a nice group.