Mrs Brown, that is Kathie Touin, and I spent a weekend in Edinburgh – the excitement of the big city, in contrast to our quieter, slower life in Orkney.
The noise – of traffic and people – is one of the most noticeable differences from our home life. But the journey from Edinburgh Airport to our hotel was on the relatively new tram which is pleasantly smooth and quiet. In fact, the most noise came from a hen party which had been on our flight from Orkney and was then on our tram.
We stayed, as we did for our visit last year, at the Tune Hotel opposite Haymarket station. The hotel is run on the principle of a budget airline, so you get a room and then pay extra if you want towels, TV, wi-fi, and so on. Rather than splash our cash, we just paid for one towel and soap package. But when we arrived we discovered we had two sets of towels and soap, and a working TV – perhaps we had someone else’s room.
Our many years spent living in London give us an advantage in a big city – we are quite happy to get an all-day tram and bus ticket and set off to unfamiliar places. What can go wrong? Got to the wrong place? Just get another bus somewhere else.
I’ve entitled this blog Auld Reekie, the former nickname for Edinburgh, meaning old smoky. Of course, it isn’t smoky these days – though it presumably has unseen diesel pollution – but I think Auld Reekie is a great name that rolls around the tongue.
Railway experts like my father will know that Auld Reekie was also a steam locomotive, an A1 class, one of many steam engines built after the Second World War but soon disposed of by British Railways – according to Wikipedia, built in December 1949 in Doncaster but withdrawn just 14 years later in December 1963.
You might know a more recent steam locomotive, Tornado, built by enthusiasts in 2008 and regularly seen up-and-down the UK – well, that is also an A1.
Anyway, back to our weekend in Edinburgh…
On arrival on Friday afternoon we went by bus to Grassmarket and Red Dog Music where Kathie looked at keyboards. We returned the following morning for another look and to purchase a keyboard (delivered to Orkney by courier today, as I write).
Our Saturday continued – via a quick stop at the Scooby Doo cafe – at the National Museum of Scotland (free entry). It is an eclectic collection of exhibits, and is undergoing a revamp prior to new galleries opening this summer. But it was fascinating – among the treasures we saw were a Stewart Formula 1 racing car, a huge dinosaur, intricate face masks, musical instruments and many ancient artefacts excavated in Orkney.
There was far more than we could get round in one day, so we will be back. And it was refreshing, if a little noisy, to see how many parents were visiting a museum with small children.
On Sunday we took a tram to a shopping centre to look for a new dog-walking coat for me at TK Maxx. We failed to find one but came away with a lion, that is, a toy for our Border collie Roscoe.
Then it was on to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (free entry again), a fascinating collection of paintings and a chance to brush up on our Jacobite history. There were two pleasant surprises in store for us as well.
First, in the centre of the gallery, the beautiful Great Hall – arches, balconies, hanging lamps and murals depicting Scottish history.
The second surprise was one of the temporary exhibitions – the BP Portrait Award 2015. I am not, I admit, much for modern art – you like a pile of bricks, or rubbish? Well, come and look in our garage or round the side of our house. But here we found a beautiful, striking, thought-provoking, sometimes sad, sometimes uplifing, selection of paintings of real people that did not look like the work of a small child.
On the Sunday evening we went to the Queen’s Hall to see Gretchen Peters in concert, the event around which we arranged our weekend away. This was the last night of Gretchen’s 20th anniversary tour (20 years since her first album and UK tour) but you would not have known it was the final gig – her voice was strong, clear and full of emotion. Of course, it helps that she has a fantastic selection of songs to perform – all, with one exception, written by herself.
Gretchen also has a great band – her long-time musical partner, and now husband, Barry Walsh plays piano and accordion. He is such a tasteful musician, sometimes choosing to play nothing at all rather than constantly trying to “add” to a song.
The band was completed for this tour by two musicians from Northern Ireland, Conor McCreanor on bass and Colm McClean on guitar and pedal steel.
If you do not know Gretchen’s music then please try her newly-released double CD, The Essential Gretchen Peters – I promise you will love it.
I should also say that despite this being the last date of the tour – and with long flights to the USA the following morning – Gretchen and Barry were very gracious with their time with fans in the foyer afterwards, great musicians but also thoroughly decent people.
Incidentally, proving the saying that wherever you go in the world you meet people from Orkney, we met two friends from Orkney in the audience.
On Monday we walked from our hotel to some local charity shops where we bought more books. This is not something we really need but who can resist two books of Paddington stories? Well, not me.
Then we were off to Edinburgh Zoo, just a short bus ride from our hotel. We had a great day, and got some good exercise as the zoo is built on a hillside. The animals seems to have generous enclosures and places where they can get away from public gaze. This meant that we did not see all of the animals, but that’s ok.
Our favourites included the chimpanzees, one of whom had discovered he could make a really loud noise by jumping up and down on an overhead metal walkway, the curious sun bear who seemed to be looking for his dinner, the elegant and beautifully-coloured African painted dogs, koalas, and the comical penguins.
During the weekend we went to some excellent restaurants which we hope to visit again and would certainly recommend: Khukuri (Nepalese), Frontier (American) and Cafe Jules (French). And not forgetting a fantastic Mediterranean breakfast at the Troy Cafe.
Edinburgh is certainly a great spot for a long weekend – or longer – and the visit charged our batteries for some challenges ahead this year.
Graham Brown
Postscript
Following my failure to buy a dog-walking coat at TK Maxx, I went to some of Orkney’s charity shops and in Kirkwall’s Blue Door (which helps a different cause each week) I found just what I was looking for – and it cost me £3. The discreet logo says “Stratstone Harrogate” which turns out to be a BMW dealer. “Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice.
Finally, as I complete this blog I learn that my month-long trip to England, for family reasons, has been postponed by three weeks until 25 March.
To find out more
A previous blog about our 2015 trip to Edinburgh: Reflections on Edinburgh… and back to a busy Orkney – https://grahambrownorkney.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/reflections-on-edinburgh-and-back-to-a-busy-orkney/
A previous blog about Gretchen Peters: Sorry I can’t be in London, or Belfast… but I can be in Edinburgh – https://grahambrownorkney.wordpress.com/2015/03/18/sorry-i-cant-be-in-london-or-belfast-but-i-can-be-in-edinburgh/
Gretchen Peters – http://www.gretchenpeters.com/
A1 steam locomotives – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Peppercorn_Class_A1
David Ward’s railway photographs on Flickr – https://www.flickr.com/photos/70607220@N04/
National Museum of Scotland – http://www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-scotland/
Scottish National Portrait Gallery – https://www.nationalgalleries.org/portraitgallery
Edinburgh Zoo – http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/
Graham Brown Orkney 