SCOTLAND – After leaving Seattle on May 21 in the afternoon, I arrived about 18 hours later (via LA and the VERY large Frankfurt airport) or so in
Edinburgh,Scotland. My cousin Nancy met me at the airport and drove me to
her and John’s house about an hour north away. They live in a beautiful
small home on a hill overlooking a very picturesque glen (valley doncha know) amid an enclosed area within a large sheep farm. I mention the sheep here because they helped me realized that I wasn’t in Kansas any longer.
Afterall, when you look out any window and see sheep only a few feet away or when you drive up or down their driveway/farm road by trying to avoid
kamikaze sheep, they do make a strong impression. After very little
deliberation on my part, I decided sheep are not smart at all. When I went
hiking around the surrounding hills later, they ran from me in total terror
before i got closer than 75 yards or so. I just wanted to tear off ONE of
the dangling bottom half of the little lamb’s tails as a souvenir….jokes!
Seriously, if you read this far then this is a fact for the day: Recently
born lambs’ tails are rubber banned or tied very tightly about 1/2 way down
(& eventually fall off) so they don’t later drag on the ground and pick up
ticks etc.
All right, all right. The more interesting HIGHLIGHTS of the Scotland trip.
First, I would say just spending time with my absolutely charming cousins
over a “wee litle dram” or so either at home or with their numerous, very fun
friends and our activities. Second, seeing the highlands, small towns, and
the lochs in their full glory – spring is a great time to be in Scotland
apparently. Third, my timing allowed me to see the annual review of the Duke of Atholl’s private army and the following day’s very varied Highland games. Fourth, the sights of Edinburgh and Blair Castle.
Highlight 1 cousin details: On my second night, we went to a travelling
cabaret show at the private castle of one of their friends. There were 11 of
us or so who joined as a group in the castle’s kitchen to partake of a great
potluck (called picnic) there. The 5 member troupe were amazingly good
singers and actors as they did a wide range of songs and jokes. On another
night, Nancy participated in a musical/lecture program for a visiting
Scottish clan members from the US as Nancy is the historian of the area and
has written countless books in addition to running the local book shop. I
got to hang out with the performers (two semi professional fiddler and singer and the MC who is a famous Scottish actress) before and after the show over some more wee drams of whisky. The custom seems to be you get a hefty shot or more in a nice glass and then you pour your desired amount of water from a communal, small pitcher of water.
Highlight 2- the nature details: What I saw in travelling around was just
like out of a Scottish picture book – I’ll say no more but to highly
recommend a visit there. It did rain some while I was there but never when I
was planning to be outside. The smaller little towns are all quite old and
very quaint.
Highlight 3 -the annual event details: Lots of bag piping. Indeed, the
piping seem to echo in my ears until 1/2 way to Frankfurt! Watching the Duke of Atholl review of one of the very few private armies in all of Europe was quite entertaining as the duke and two aides didn’t seem to have a clue about how exactly to do the actual reviewing of the 60 member army and accompanying 20 or bag pipe and drum attachment. Their full kilt outfits, blazers, rifles and hats sure made great pictures. Another amusing side event was the castle’s preening peacock who would squack away at quite the inappropriate time. As it was thru out my trip there, the rain cleared and the sun shone at exactly the right time.
The highland games: Nancy told me that men really DON’T wear anything under the kilts. Unfortunately, I was not able to independently verify that though as I saw biker shorts and the like worn by the competitors. Due to being part of invited elite who stayed inside or in front of Duke’s tent set within the large, circular competition area, I got an excellent view of the events while eating lunch or drinking from the free bar. The caber tossing (seeing if you make a telephone sized pole flip end over end), the farmer race (carrying 2 175 pd torpedo like weights more than 80 yards), the hammer toss, the strong man competions, and the local children’s foot races made a strong impression on me. The adult foot races had over 15 countries represented although I didn’t participate as I wearing Nancy’s wellies (rain boots over the calf)
Highlight 4 details: Blair Castle (the Duke of Atholl’s castle although the
Duke actually lives in South Africa and the estate’s trust pays for the
annual visit) is one of the most famous castles in Scotland. It was quite
informative and fascinating to stroll around the over 30 rooms in the 600 yr
old castle. I did that on my first day there – helped the culture shock. I
only spent a very brief time in Edinburgh the night before I flew out but I
did manage to walk down the Royal Mile and explore a bit – it really whet my appetite to go back to explore. Imagine an absolutely huge castle planted on Capital Hill but otherwise Seattle is completely flat…..
