Still in Scotland..just wanted to say hi before we head off to the Highlands....
It's cold and wet here. Arrrgh. We're just trying to find out where Robert Burns (Scotish Poet born Alloway, Ayrshire,) was born and where we can go to see more of his work...but there don't seem to be any tours or information about him here so far....aww.
Mum, remember the 'BURNS DAY' we had a few years ago, celebrating Robert Burns, and Burns Beach....and the Haggis we had.....?
Anyway, hope we can find some more about him..and his work before we leave here.
Thanks for your emails...We're thinking of you all.
And also just to let you know, Greg's sinuses have cleared!!! We can sleep!!!!! haha
See you when we get back!
xx
PS These are two poems that i thought i'd share with you...they reallly sums things up for us i think! Both have been on my mind and because i know them so, so well and have offered a lot of comfort in times of reflection. Thought i'd share them..
First one is called, IF by Rudyard Kipling and the second one is called MARRIAGE by Kahlil Gibran
IF by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
--Rudyard Kipling
And what of marriage?
A poem by Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran
To the question: 'And what of marriage?'
He says: 'You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone.
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 22 June 2007
GRANDMA'S C's MUSSELBURGH, EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
Day 112
Musselburgh is where Grandpop and Grandma C got married..and where Grandma C was born, or at least very close to where she was born in Berwickshire.
Guess what? Today...
WE WENT THERE!!!!!!!!
After finding out why the accomodation in Edinburgh was booked out (the Highland Show) and realising hiring a car was just too absurd for words (£595 for a week) we headed off to Musselburgh on a bus for £5!
We arrived after half an hour and realised it was a beachside resort (no wonder Grandpop liked it) and it was also on a river. The first thing we did was try to find the street, Inveresk Road which is the street that was put in their marriage certificate.
We got a little sidetracked by The Musselburgh Museum, a converted church, that had teddies and dolls on display (we went in and it turned out to be a little cafe that sold tea and coffee - we had tea - which was served with beautiful Scottish shortbread biscuits!) Then we look across and saw a statue which we had to go and see the signficance.
It was a statue of David McBeth Moir!!! We laughed! Anyone know of anyone of that name???? We took a picture!
The statue was a memorial to the celebrated poet, author and physician. (1798-1851).
We then headed out to find Inveresk Road. And to do a seach of the cemetery where we believed my grandmother's family may have been buried.
And what a beautiful little town. Or village. It was so gorgeous. Not grey as other Scottish buildings were. IT was green and with the gorgeous Esk river, with the roman bridges and green parks we felt like it was very Melbournian...(ok, it was a little bit grey, not sunny enough to remind us of Perth...)
I did think it would have felt like home to Grandpop, being from Orville, Victoria.
We ventured down the street that meant so much, hoping to find the little house they lived in there. For Grandma C it was longer than for Grandpop who was only there from September 1919 to Feb 1920..or at least that's what i surmise, unless he was there for a period before the September when he was courting Grandma ( a big possibility but nothing documented.
Because he was recovering from the 'kicked horse' and the embedded bone that got left in his leg and later infected, he spent a year in Army Base hospital, and from there was attached to a school in London. According to his army records. Not sure where he met his wife. Love to know tho! That wasn't part of Kitty's Story, but for hte four of us, his grandchildren, i'm sure that would have added a lot more spice than hearing about the pretty voice singing, Sylvia! Although i think the voice he heard in the story was a source of comfort as he was recovering from his injuries.
Back to Inveresk Road. We realised that the number of the house, being below 50, meant that it was in a demolition area. So! The house, unfortunately, no longer existed. From number 50 onwards there were houses, but nothing before that.
In it's place is a proposed child care facility..and on the other side of the road, a supermarket (where we bought our wonderful vegetables for dinner) called, 'Tesco'. I'd imagine Grandpop would be pleased with the prior, being that he was a school teacher in the south west of WA, prior to going to Gallipoli and for the rest of his working life when he came back to Australia.
Now that was something that was really pricking my conscience...Why would he come back to Western Australia, with his new Scottish wife, and not go back to Victoria, where he was born, and where his all his brothers and sisters were? I think there were 10 of them.
The knowledge that he left Victoria, to find his fortune in the West, gold prospecting, prior to joining up to the army, should have answered that question.
He obviously thought WA was a great place!! And thankfully, he stayed, because i too, think it's a great place. And Greg's family is from the Swan River Settlement! He's 6th generations Western Australian, his children are Seventh. Amazing hey.
But it still makes me wonder why Grandpop chose to leave his familiy and start a new life in another state....Although, when i think back, he did keep his Victorian connections, going back for the Melbourne Cup whenever he could!
And i think it is something people of that generation definately did..particulary those who chose to emigrate from the UK...to the 'penal country' !!
We made our way to the cemetery after finding their house had been demolished and to our amazement we think we did find my Grandma's family there. It was quite a poignant moment.
I never thought of my grandmother as Scottish until this moment.
Being in Scotland has made me realise our roots go beyond Western Australia. I wondered about her life. I hardly knew her, being only two when she died. According to the records i have, she went to Australia just 5 months after Grandpop and her married.
Imagine how lonely that would have been for her?
I recalled a invitation i have at home...an 'important' royal paper that i 'picked' when Dad died. It was an invitation to her from Buckingham Palace. She did a lot of work for the Anglican church in the suburb she and Grandpop lived the whole time she was in WA.
She must have devoted considerable time to the church, and to her one son, our Dad. And she received this invitation. Whether she accepted or not i don't know, or what it was really for i equally don't know. But when i return from our trip, I shall look further into this.
I also have her precious Robert Burns poetry book. Funny how now it all seems more important, now that i've been here, where she lived, and where her and Grandpop would have walked together.
Her family's tombstone - we think her grandparents, were very close to the parish church. From the early 1880's. |We found other's too, of her family name, in the parish graveyard. They told a history. And were tombstones far more elaborate than her own one in Karrakatta cemetery. The gravestones seem to celebrate the remembrance of the town's loved ones.
We also found David Mcbeth Moir's tombstone at the same cemetery, in St
Michaels....It's in a little place that was being reconstructed. I had to jump over to have a really good view of it. I wondered why it wasn't in a more important position, and more revered..Afterall he was a celebrated poet, writer, physician of the town..and in photographs hanging on the wall of the local pub...
After an emotional afternoon (always seems to take it out of me when we visit the past) we decided to go to the little pub at the end of Enversk Street, not more than 50m from where they must have lived, and very close to the river, the Esk and had a Scotch Whiskey and coke...
Very apt don't you think? To have a scotch whiskey and coke? Being that we're in Scotland!
But! Not according to the barmaid, who was really friendly and struck up a very bouyant conversation with us. About BEER. Of course we're Aussies, and what else would we want to talk about!!????
Well....i wanted to talk about the renovations going on in Inveresk Street..but she preferred to let us know where the best pubs were in Musselburgh and in Edinburh!!!
It was funny..........and the funniest bit was...the local guys joined in..and we could barely understand their very strong Scottish and they could barely understand our Australain..
I never thought we had really strong Aussie accents until we came away..and we only have to open our gob before people realise we're 'foreigners'!
Needless to say...we all got a lot of information very much skewiff!!!!
What a day...
Tomorrow we're off to see the Edinburh Castle and the Highland Show...
I'll write more after we've been up to the Highlands...a 3 day excursion that we have no idea what it involves...except that it was very cheap, and we were told to take 'umbrella's, sunscreen and VERY WARM clothes!!!'
Musselburgh is where Grandpop and Grandma C got married..and where Grandma C was born, or at least very close to where she was born in Berwickshire.
Guess what? Today...
WE WENT THERE!!!!!!!!
After finding out why the accomodation in Edinburgh was booked out (the Highland Show) and realising hiring a car was just too absurd for words (£595 for a week) we headed off to Musselburgh on a bus for £5!
We arrived after half an hour and realised it was a beachside resort (no wonder Grandpop liked it) and it was also on a river. The first thing we did was try to find the street, Inveresk Road which is the street that was put in their marriage certificate.
We got a little sidetracked by The Musselburgh Museum, a converted church, that had teddies and dolls on display (we went in and it turned out to be a little cafe that sold tea and coffee - we had tea - which was served with beautiful Scottish shortbread biscuits!) Then we look across and saw a statue which we had to go and see the signficance.
It was a statue of David McBeth Moir!!! We laughed! Anyone know of anyone of that name???? We took a picture!
The statue was a memorial to the celebrated poet, author and physician. (1798-1851).
We then headed out to find Inveresk Road. And to do a seach of the cemetery where we believed my grandmother's family may have been buried.
And what a beautiful little town. Or village. It was so gorgeous. Not grey as other Scottish buildings were. IT was green and with the gorgeous Esk river, with the roman bridges and green parks we felt like it was very Melbournian...(ok, it was a little bit grey, not sunny enough to remind us of Perth...)
I did think it would have felt like home to Grandpop, being from Orville, Victoria.
We ventured down the street that meant so much, hoping to find the little house they lived in there. For Grandma C it was longer than for Grandpop who was only there from September 1919 to Feb 1920..or at least that's what i surmise, unless he was there for a period before the September when he was courting Grandma ( a big possibility but nothing documented.
Because he was recovering from the 'kicked horse' and the embedded bone that got left in his leg and later infected, he spent a year in Army Base hospital, and from there was attached to a school in London. According to his army records. Not sure where he met his wife. Love to know tho! That wasn't part of Kitty's Story, but for hte four of us, his grandchildren, i'm sure that would have added a lot more spice than hearing about the pretty voice singing, Sylvia! Although i think the voice he heard in the story was a source of comfort as he was recovering from his injuries.
Back to Inveresk Road. We realised that the number of the house, being below 50, meant that it was in a demolition area. So! The house, unfortunately, no longer existed. From number 50 onwards there were houses, but nothing before that.
In it's place is a proposed child care facility..and on the other side of the road, a supermarket (where we bought our wonderful vegetables for dinner) called, 'Tesco'. I'd imagine Grandpop would be pleased with the prior, being that he was a school teacher in the south west of WA, prior to going to Gallipoli and for the rest of his working life when he came back to Australia.
Now that was something that was really pricking my conscience...Why would he come back to Western Australia, with his new Scottish wife, and not go back to Victoria, where he was born, and where his all his brothers and sisters were? I think there were 10 of them.
The knowledge that he left Victoria, to find his fortune in the West, gold prospecting, prior to joining up to the army, should have answered that question.
He obviously thought WA was a great place!! And thankfully, he stayed, because i too, think it's a great place. And Greg's family is from the Swan River Settlement! He's 6th generations Western Australian, his children are Seventh. Amazing hey.
But it still makes me wonder why Grandpop chose to leave his familiy and start a new life in another state....Although, when i think back, he did keep his Victorian connections, going back for the Melbourne Cup whenever he could!
And i think it is something people of that generation definately did..particulary those who chose to emigrate from the UK...to the 'penal country' !!
We made our way to the cemetery after finding their house had been demolished and to our amazement we think we did find my Grandma's family there. It was quite a poignant moment.
I never thought of my grandmother as Scottish until this moment.
Being in Scotland has made me realise our roots go beyond Western Australia. I wondered about her life. I hardly knew her, being only two when she died. According to the records i have, she went to Australia just 5 months after Grandpop and her married.
Imagine how lonely that would have been for her?
I recalled a invitation i have at home...an 'important' royal paper that i 'picked' when Dad died. It was an invitation to her from Buckingham Palace. She did a lot of work for the Anglican church in the suburb she and Grandpop lived the whole time she was in WA.
She must have devoted considerable time to the church, and to her one son, our Dad. And she received this invitation. Whether she accepted or not i don't know, or what it was really for i equally don't know. But when i return from our trip, I shall look further into this.
I also have her precious Robert Burns poetry book. Funny how now it all seems more important, now that i've been here, where she lived, and where her and Grandpop would have walked together.
Her family's tombstone - we think her grandparents, were very close to the parish church. From the early 1880's. |We found other's too, of her family name, in the parish graveyard. They told a history. And were tombstones far more elaborate than her own one in Karrakatta cemetery. The gravestones seem to celebrate the remembrance of the town's loved ones.
We also found David Mcbeth Moir's tombstone at the same cemetery, in St
Michaels....It's in a little place that was being reconstructed. I had to jump over to have a really good view of it. I wondered why it wasn't in a more important position, and more revered..Afterall he was a celebrated poet, writer, physician of the town..and in photographs hanging on the wall of the local pub...
After an emotional afternoon (always seems to take it out of me when we visit the past) we decided to go to the little pub at the end of Enversk Street, not more than 50m from where they must have lived, and very close to the river, the Esk and had a Scotch Whiskey and coke...
Very apt don't you think? To have a scotch whiskey and coke? Being that we're in Scotland!
But! Not according to the barmaid, who was really friendly and struck up a very bouyant conversation with us. About BEER. Of course we're Aussies, and what else would we want to talk about!!????
Well....i wanted to talk about the renovations going on in Inveresk Street..but she preferred to let us know where the best pubs were in Musselburgh and in Edinburh!!!
It was funny..........and the funniest bit was...the local guys joined in..and we could barely understand their very strong Scottish and they could barely understand our Australain..
I never thought we had really strong Aussie accents until we came away..and we only have to open our gob before people realise we're 'foreigners'!
Needless to say...we all got a lot of information very much skewiff!!!!
What a day...
Tomorrow we're off to see the Edinburh Castle and the Highland Show...
I'll write more after we've been up to the Highlands...a 3 day excursion that we have no idea what it involves...except that it was very cheap, and we were told to take 'umbrella's, sunscreen and VERY WARM clothes!!!'
BONNY SCOTLAND! W'ere here!!!
Here we are! In Scotland!!!! For a week (plus 3 days in the Highlands!)
Day 111 - 112
***********************************
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBBY!!!!
My Gorgeous friend and forever sisinlaw..
Hope you had a wonderful day.......
***********************************
The home of Robert Burns, the Highland Dance, The scottish Terrier, Shortbread, Scottish Whiskey...
And most importantly...my grandmother!!!
This is the place where Grandma C was born. And where she married Grandpop!
Oh, i have so much to say......
But will start at the very beginning....
After having another dream last night (about Rav, wanting to come home because he had a saw paw..awww) we woke up and had our last English breakfast of muslei, yoghurt and stewed fruit, plus a boiled egg (Greg had bacon & eggs) at our hotel in Windemere, the Oakthorpe Hotel we headed to the Windemere Train station to head off to Edinburgh...
We arrived....after looking out at the window on the way and wondering if the whole city would look like this. It was grey. Lots of buildings that were really dark and looked like large blocks of flats...a bit like an industrial town.
And it did. Dark grey. Like as if the buildings were really dirty and full of soot. There were towers and spiers as well. Castles as well. We'd arrived. Scotland!!!
We found accomodation at the tourist centre a the tourist centre at the train station. A hostel that was a converted universtiy. Suited us. Self catering apartments were just what we wanted.
Afterall, our greatest desire was to have a homecook meal. And for us, homecooked means..LOTS of vegetables!!!!! And you'll be pleased to know after booking in to our accomodation, we bought VEGES. Yay! Tonight we had broccoli, sweet potato, carrots and chicken (we bought it all at a supermarket and cooked it) Gosh! It was as tasty and i don't know what!!!!
We really miss our vegetables.....a LOT.
After my 'homesick' blog..i guess you're all wondering what happened..and whether i caught the first flight back or not?? Nah.....but i tell you, i've been having some pretty amazing dreams...i dreamt one night of my sister and her partner..another night about Sam and how he put sticky glue on my shorts that i couldn't get off..and now last night about Rav...i wonder what that's all about?
Maybe it's cos i haven't heard much from Sam....well, i guess that's not totally true because i talked to him at Elise's one night on a card we bought in London so we were able to have a really good converstation..but other than that it's been very limited because he's been at the Islands and contact has been difficult.
He is unable to receive email access over there..and mobile sometimes is difficult as well. And with Annette it could be because i've been wanting to have more time to respond to emails but haven't had as much time as i usually would, when i'm in Australia...so now i'm dreaming about her and Graeme!!!! Weird.
Zac, i loved your email, i will reply when i get back into email. Greg's doing email tonght and i'm blogging (it's so funny - i can see his head over the bank of computers....hahah) Thanks so much for your advice, it's true, we need time for ourselves and to reflect.
We will make time. Being in Edinburgh has made us realise we miss our kitchen and to just 'be' and to reflect and ponder. And yet, even knowing this, we both mutually decided to book a three day adventure to the Highlands, staying in dormitories...silly aren't we.
I guess we both know that even thought we'd love to have time to just stay in place for a week or two, we also know we want to make the most of this time we have away, and to see what we can, while we are here. And although we don't have a time limit, really, we sort of do because we are due back in London late Sept to fly out to America so we want to be able to see the UK and Northern Europe before we leave.
It's sort of like we can choose where we stay, and yet, we can't. In a perverse sort of way. We both, when we look into it, have the same ambition...to keep moving.
And yes, it's a challenge. A mighty challenge. To keep moving, every 3 days or so.
And yet, we can do it because we are very much in tune with each other, and can compromise and negotiate very well together....
So that's what we're doing. Perhaps...we will have that week in Ireland. We'll see how we go.
Thanks Caz for caring....gosh, the amount of times you have 'just been there' for me is just great. I think of all that time with my ankle..and now, when i feel homesick, you're there, with your positive words..i thank you for that my special friend.
And Helena...i love your encouragement and your love.
I'm so glad i have such wonderful friends!
Of course, need i mention my family..gosh, without my sms'ing with Elise and Mum...i'd be certainly stuck....and much more homesick, i'm sure!
Anyway...about Scotland..
I think i need a whole new blog just to describle Musselburgh.....
Day 111 - 112
***********************************
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBBY!!!!
My Gorgeous friend and forever sisinlaw..
Hope you had a wonderful day.......
***********************************
The home of Robert Burns, the Highland Dance, The scottish Terrier, Shortbread, Scottish Whiskey...
And most importantly...my grandmother!!!
This is the place where Grandma C was born. And where she married Grandpop!
Oh, i have so much to say......
But will start at the very beginning....
After having another dream last night (about Rav, wanting to come home because he had a saw paw..awww) we woke up and had our last English breakfast of muslei, yoghurt and stewed fruit, plus a boiled egg (Greg had bacon & eggs) at our hotel in Windemere, the Oakthorpe Hotel we headed to the Windemere Train station to head off to Edinburgh...
We arrived....after looking out at the window on the way and wondering if the whole city would look like this. It was grey. Lots of buildings that were really dark and looked like large blocks of flats...a bit like an industrial town.
And it did. Dark grey. Like as if the buildings were really dirty and full of soot. There were towers and spiers as well. Castles as well. We'd arrived. Scotland!!!
We found accomodation at the tourist centre a the tourist centre at the train station. A hostel that was a converted universtiy. Suited us. Self catering apartments were just what we wanted.
Afterall, our greatest desire was to have a homecook meal. And for us, homecooked means..LOTS of vegetables!!!!! And you'll be pleased to know after booking in to our accomodation, we bought VEGES. Yay! Tonight we had broccoli, sweet potato, carrots and chicken (we bought it all at a supermarket and cooked it) Gosh! It was as tasty and i don't know what!!!!
We really miss our vegetables.....a LOT.
After my 'homesick' blog..i guess you're all wondering what happened..and whether i caught the first flight back or not?? Nah.....but i tell you, i've been having some pretty amazing dreams...i dreamt one night of my sister and her partner..another night about Sam and how he put sticky glue on my shorts that i couldn't get off..and now last night about Rav...i wonder what that's all about?
Maybe it's cos i haven't heard much from Sam....well, i guess that's not totally true because i talked to him at Elise's one night on a card we bought in London so we were able to have a really good converstation..but other than that it's been very limited because he's been at the Islands and contact has been difficult.
He is unable to receive email access over there..and mobile sometimes is difficult as well. And with Annette it could be because i've been wanting to have more time to respond to emails but haven't had as much time as i usually would, when i'm in Australia...so now i'm dreaming about her and Graeme!!!! Weird.
Zac, i loved your email, i will reply when i get back into email. Greg's doing email tonght and i'm blogging (it's so funny - i can see his head over the bank of computers....hahah) Thanks so much for your advice, it's true, we need time for ourselves and to reflect.
We will make time. Being in Edinburgh has made us realise we miss our kitchen and to just 'be' and to reflect and ponder. And yet, even knowing this, we both mutually decided to book a three day adventure to the Highlands, staying in dormitories...silly aren't we.
I guess we both know that even thought we'd love to have time to just stay in place for a week or two, we also know we want to make the most of this time we have away, and to see what we can, while we are here. And although we don't have a time limit, really, we sort of do because we are due back in London late Sept to fly out to America so we want to be able to see the UK and Northern Europe before we leave.
It's sort of like we can choose where we stay, and yet, we can't. In a perverse sort of way. We both, when we look into it, have the same ambition...to keep moving.
And yes, it's a challenge. A mighty challenge. To keep moving, every 3 days or so.
And yet, we can do it because we are very much in tune with each other, and can compromise and negotiate very well together....
So that's what we're doing. Perhaps...we will have that week in Ireland. We'll see how we go.
Thanks Caz for caring....gosh, the amount of times you have 'just been there' for me is just great. I think of all that time with my ankle..and now, when i feel homesick, you're there, with your positive words..i thank you for that my special friend.
And Helena...i love your encouragement and your love.
I'm so glad i have such wonderful friends!
Of course, need i mention my family..gosh, without my sms'ing with Elise and Mum...i'd be certainly stuck....and much more homesick, i'm sure!
Anyway...about Scotland..
I think i need a whole new blog just to describle Musselburgh.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
