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Europe CNY 2012
Day 9, Part 1 - 27th January - Edinburgh Castle
Sadly I forgot to charge my camera battery the previous night and only had one, so I ran out later in the day.
Glasgow Architecture
Cornish Pasty for breakfast (with another smoothie from the previous night - they were 2 for £3 - and crisps). This one was more like a Polar curry puff with flaky pastry, versus the firmer more crumbly one I'd had in London. I'm reasonably sure a pasty is not supposed to be flaky like a croissant!
Worse, there was no meat - all I felt was potato (so it was like a curry puff in another way)
Annoyingly my Walkers Worcestershire crisps were lao hong because there was a hole in the packet (no wonder it was deflated - I should've realised). Next time I must only take puffy packets.
Not a condom vending machine but for umbrellas. And cheap too (£3)
Very Problematic Robin Hood Tax sticker. Besides the problems with the tax it basically paints financiers as evil. Bah.
George IV of Hannover, George Street
Edinburgh Train Station
There was an interesting place called Makars' Court, with quotes from Scottish writers in the floor.
On Makars' Court
"Freedom is a noble thing" - John Barbour
"Populo enim jus eft, ut Imperium, cui veut, déférât" - George Buchanan
"Blessed be sempill lyfe without in dreid" - Robert Henryson
"Auld Reikie, wale o' ilka Town" - Robert Fergusson
"Sing it aince for pleasure, Sing it twice for joy." - J.K. Annand
"He was eident,/ he was blye,/ in Scotlands cause" - Douglas Young
Full list of the quotes of Makar's Court: Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature: The Literary City
Makars' Court
"This is my own, my native land!" - Sir Walter Scott
"I rattled/down the/High Street/in high elevation/of spirits" - James Boswell
Lady Stairs Close
What looks like a church is Edinburgh's Festival Centre: "The building remains the property of the Church of Scotland having been leased to support its new use."
West Bow
"Papa Djabs Big Cock Is Out Now" - ???
"Confusion is Sex" - ???
Edinburgh Castle
In front of castle
Crosses. Celtic Crosses, naturally.
Edinburgh New Town, sea
Castle Square
View of Edinburgh
View of Edinburgh
Outside Edinburgh Castle: Panorama of Edinburgh
Entrance. On the left is Robert the Bruce, on the Right is William Wallace. The statues date from 1929, and the gatehouse 1887.
Portcullis Gate
Memorial plaque - to a guy who defended the castle against... The English
Plaques on the history of the castle:
100 BC
AD 600
AD 1093
AD 1314
AD 1457
AD 1566
AD 1573
AD 1689
AD 1818
Edinburgh Castle lookout: Panorama of Edinburgh
Edinburgh from battlements
Train Station, Scottish National Gallery, Scott Monument
Home of many Units
There were some army unit museums, but none dealt with Pre-Stuart military history, i.e. when they were fighting the English.
Late 17th c Scottish Dragoon
Capture of French standards at Waterloo
Music in the regiment
The Greys at Waterloo, Regimental Standard of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards 1971-1994
Scotland for ever!
"The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers & Greys)"
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers & Greys) Regimental Museum
In the museum, I became acquainted with the most deadly of all Scottish Weapons
Unchained Melody played on Bagpipes
"Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard". Wut.
The Origin of The Royal Scotts
How to use a musket
Scottish Childcare: "It was at Malplaquet that a soldier's wife who had been in winter quarters, decided to return home to Scotland. She handed her infant son to his father, Private McBain, who was on parade. Having nowhere else to put him, Private McBain fought the battle with the child in his knapsack."
The Revolutionary War 1793-1802
Ensign Kennedy, rescuing the colours
On the Colours
The military: desperately searching for relevance in a post-war world
You can tell they're not happy about Overstretch.
To think that some people suggested just rolling over and surrendering to Communism.
At the end I found out that the unit didn't even exist anymore. Bah.
"The Genealogy of the Royal Regiment of Scotland
Colonel-in-Chief - HM The Queen"
The Queen is only a Colonel?! And yet she's Commander-in-Chief. Maybe because the unit doesn't have any post above Colonel.
Foog's Gate
Scottish National War Memorial
View of Edinburgh
Dog cemetery (for regimental mascots and officers' dogs only, naturally)
Edinburgh's New Town
Mons Meg (huge Cannon)
St Margaret's Chapel, 12th c.
Inside
St Margaret
St Columba
Altar
At the back is St Andrew on a fish
St Andrew on a fish
Forewall Battery
Half-moon battery
Wall of War Memorial
On David's Tower (remains)
Buried Treasure
Funky colours
Death in the cellars
Royal Palace
On the Scottish Crown Jewels (note that there are no English crown jewels). As with the War Memorial (and the UK Crown Jewels) there was no photography permitted.
They were last used in 1651 and the Crown is used for Scottish Parliament. There was the Stone of Scone ("Stone of Destiny") also.
As jewels go they weren't numerous: just a crown, sword with scabbard, a couple of jewels and a stone. But hey they are older than the UK ones.
On Laich Hall
Laich Hall
Fireplace
Coat of arms on window
Fireplace
Queen Mary's Chambers
Charles II
James VI/I
Charles II
Queen Mary's Chamber
Mary Queen of Scots
Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms
Scottish War Memorial
The war memorial was nice, with the regimental colours and country flags. There were leather-bound tomes each for a unit, with names of dead from the World Wars.
The building was turned into a war memorial in 1920. Before it was a barracks of 3-4 storeys so the interior was gutted.
There was a silver box surrounded by kneeling/praying angels. Inside was a an original roll with the names of WWI dead.
The stained glass was novel, with scenes of people manning AA guns (it was a war memorial after all). The zeppelins on the stained glass surprised me, though.
The Air Force wing had "I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you unto myself". Another side was for the navy. I thought there was no army section, but individual army units got their sections so that was better.
The most decorated drainpipe I've seen
Great Hall Entrance
Crown Jewels building
Weapons Hall
Trench Mortars
War Memorial again
There was an exhibition on prisoners and prisons.
Graffiti
Rations for POWs.
POWs got paid too!
Edinburgh Castle
HMS St George, made by a prisoner
Bank of Scotland dies and forged bbanknotes
How to forge currency
Straw goods
Pre-Geneva Convention POW Rules
Quarters
Lang stairs
Exit
Edinburgh
Ensign Ewart tomb. He captured a French standard at Waterloo, which inspired the Royal Scots Greys' badge, tsk.
Duke of York
Scottish Horse
Kids and Edinburgh's Festival Centre
Braveheart
The Scottish National Gallery sounded nice but I only had a day for Edinburgh (I hadn't considered spending the night in Glasgow or going to the highlands). Ah well, if I ever go back.
In Glasgow I didn't see any EU GB license plates (and indeed saw the fake EU SCO one). In Edinburgh I saw a few - probably because of Crown administrators.