Sword of the Overlord

Hey all,

Last day in Edinburgh. Great sleep last night – once more all is well with the world and I am benevolent and friendly towards total strangers. Consequently the whole concept of free will is once again called into question. Anyway, not going to worry about that now because still feeling perky after a good night's sleep.

Took some photos of a church here last night with the castle in the background – had a chat to a couple of drunks on a bench on the way there – they were both friendly enough in an incoherent kind of way, but one of them (who was wearing an actual kilt) had an edge to him that I didn't like – as if he might explode into rage at the drop of a hat for no good reason like some drunks will. So I used a phone call to K as an excuse to leave – the one without the edge told me to say hello to K. So: hello.

Went up the castle this morning and wandered around inside for a while. The old POW jail was the most interesting thing, having read so much about the wars in the late 18^th century, it was cool to see people's names and dates from way back then carved into the doors – took a couple of photos but they didn't come out. The crown jewels were cool but you had to endure this whole sequence of bad models before you got to them – apparently the jewels (honours) were locked in a case, walled up, and forgotten about for over a century until Walter Scott found them again. Also saw the Stone of Destiny, which I was hoping to get some vibes from, but failed :)

The broadswords they had in the hall, not to mention the one that was included with all the jewels, are just massive. So massive that if they were discovered at some point in the far future then you'd have to assume the existence of a race of giants to wield them, with fists as big as footballs. Overlords, perhaps, to the puny little people with the regular swords.

About to head off now to get a train ticket out into the middle of nowhere. Texted the guy about the job yesterday confirming I would be on the train tonight. No response, so hoping the job is still on and that there will be someone there to greet me...

Photos. 1. Church with castle in background. 2. Not trying to be artistic – just the angle I could keep the camera propped in a fence at. 3. A famous Australian shampoo that no one in Australia has ever heard of. 4. You are mine, Edinburgh, all mine. 5. A chapel. Built around the same time as the cathedral in Pisa... 6. My hammock is better. 7. Sword of the Overlord (if there isn't a novel of that name, there should be). 8. These buildings all make this kind of wall overlooking the garden. Can't get it properly in a photo, but here is a section of it.

Anyway, not sure exactly when I will be online again. Cheers, B.

Gargoyle

Hey all,

miserable night last night – got woken up a few times every hour or so until nearly 5AM by a succession of idiots coming into the dorm and slamming the door next to my ear. So more like sleep deprivation torture than actual rest. One more night – I moved beds so I am not right next to the door, so hopefully it won't be as painful as last night.

Wandered around a bit today – went to the Gallery in the middle of town, which was fantastic – and free – was hoping to find William Dyce's version of Paolo and Francesca, but it wasn't there – they had a bunch of other stuff by him, but not that one. Much less crowded and hectic than galleries in Florence – was enjoyable to wander around and look at things without feeling this kind of relentless crown pressure to move on. The ones that got me the most were El Greco's “The Saviour of the World”, Thomas Gainsborough's ghostly “The Honourable Mrs Graham” and this contemporary painting by Ken Currie, “Three Oncologists” - horrific – how I would imagine Nazi doctors experimenting on people would look if caught in the act. There ones cheered me up after "Oncologists" left a bad taste in my head: Joseph Paton's “The Quarrel of Oberon and Titiana”, James Archer's “Summertime, Gloucestershire”, and “St Bride” by John Duncan.

One thing that the Italians do seem to do well is broadband - I went to four different places with free wifi today - none of them actually worked.  And the 3g is too expensive, I think, to bother with, at least at this point.  Wandered up to the castle after getting massively frustrated with that - I didn't go in to it but might do tomorrow, depending on time and money, then checked out a cathedral up there on "the mound" near the castle – they are so much lighter, both in terms of weight and sunlight, than those in Italy.  Then some shopping for work pants and a polar fleece top, which I managed to get out of for a total of 19.98 pounds, so was pretty happy about that - need the work pants because...

Off tomorrow for my new job on a Christmas tree farm, working 7 days per week until I fly back to Paris next month. Not great wages, but there won't be much opportunity to spend any of it, I have a room for 50 pounds a week: basically it means that money will be going in the right direction for the first time in a while and it will be easier to sleep than in fetid crowded dorms.  It is not just the lack of sleep that starts to make me nuts - I start to completely lose my ability to be sociable when I don't get a few hours of privacy a day.  Imagine I will get that on this job: it is out in the sticks somewhere so I'm not sure how often I will be able to get online, if ever, so posts might be a bit sporadic for a while.  I will try from time to time: picture me leaning into driving sleet on the godforsaken Scottish heath, bravely battling my way towards the nearest hotspot...

Photos. 1. About to head up towards the castle. 2. The crown on the top of a cathedral up near the castle. 3. Inside the cathedral. 4. This enormous monument which is really quite fantastic and spooky – it is to the memory of Sir Walter Scott. 5. Here he is, in the middle of the monument, looking avuncular – a lot less threatening and sinister than the monument itself. 6. On the monument: a gargoyle. Back when they used to have fun with guttering.

Cheers, B.

Edinburgh

Hey all,

Been a busy few days – am now in Edinburgh, Scotland. No go on work in Florence in English, which is a pretty small market, so came over here where at least I can ask strangers about work without it being a problem. Train to Rome yesterday, another train to the airport, four hours in the airport, then the flight for about as long, then another bus, 16 person dorm, full. Exhausting – also, I nearly missed the bus from the hotel because it was a double-decker – I was so tired I didn't stop to think that this was normal here; assumed instead that it was some party/novelty booze bus thing like the few you see back home. Anyway, figured it out eventually. This hostel is cheap, and cleanish, but really stingy on space – there is literally nowhere to put your luggage unless you choose to sleep with it in the bunk with you. Anyway, will do for four nights with any luck, and hoping to have some kind of work lined up for a few weeks here or somewhere else by then.

Interesting experience on Ryan-air, the world's most budget budget airline – no seat allocation – You queue up for about an hour and then it is a free-for-all. There was one spare seat on the entire plane. Guess who it was next to? So it turns out there are some advantages to looking like a criminal...

Edinburgh looks like an nice place – have not really done any tourist stuff yet because been looking for work – wend to a couple of agencies and asked at a few shops – will hit the shops harder tomorrow (walked into some shop that sold kilts and so on: a bagpipe version of Farnham's “You're the Voice”). It is rainy, cold, and gets dark at 4:30. But pretty, clean, and things just work in a way that you get used to them not just working in Italy, where roofs always leak, fittings always fall off the wall and pocket-knives always fall to pieces whilst in your pocket. Also, it is nice to be able to communicate with people again – although I have caught myself saying “grazie” a few times instead of thanks...

The big gardens in the centre of town are cool – sunken beneath the level of the city itself, then with the astle looming above on a big rocky outcrop. Inherently dramatic. Nice to be somewhere other than Italy – never planned to spend as long there as I did. Really only got until about this time next month and I will be flying back to the continent to meet up with K in Paris.

Photos: 1. The view of the courtyard from the terrace of the manse at the Wesleyan church in Florence, where I had an enjoyable morning tea with the minister and her husband, an organist who spends half of each week back in London. Will probably do Christmas there (apparently I was a bit of hit with the walking club: model agent was instructed to invite me to another one tomorrow, but I have left the country – hopefully they are not too upset and I will be able to take K on one when we get there). 2. First day time view of Edinburgh. 3, 4, 5. The view up from in the gardens in town.

Cheers, B.