Along the Shore at Leith

Wander along the Shore at Leith and you are spoilt for choice when it comes to eating out or just enjoying a quiet drink away from the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh city centre. But this is very much a place where old meets new, where the past surrounds the present, creating an atmosphere of maritime history and life in a working harbour. Stroll along the water's edge, admire buildings holding stories of life on the seas within their very brickwork. Modern constructions encroach on these buildings, creeping around them, touching their past, adding traits of the present, yet retaining their character for the future.
The original harbour dates back to the 14th century, the arrival point for a host of important visitors to the Scottish shore. Perhaps the most memorable of these visitors came in 1822, alighting at a spot marked today by the King's Landing. George IV embarked on one of the most famous royal visits to Scotland. Greeted by a huge crowd and a guard of honour which included the Glengarry Highlanders and the Royal Company of Archers, George IV was the first reigning British monarch to set foot in Scotland since 1650. Stage-managed by Sir Walter Scott himself, this event set in motion another landmark. Turning up in full tartan regalia, the king ended a long-standing ban on the wearing of tartan due to its association with the Jacobite rebellions. Quickly overturned to save embarrassment, this prompted the quaintly named fashion craze "tartan frenzy."
The former Sailor's Home has now been converted into a hotel but still retains some of its original character. Built in 1883 it provided accommodation for 9 officers, 56 seamen and 50 shipwrecked seamen, the latter housed in dormitories in the attics. With many workers of the time living in overcrowded slums, this was a real innovation in social care. Sailors whose ships were in port could enjoy comfortable rooms, a canteen, low cost clothing shop, reading rooms, recreation rooms and a chapel. An angel, the emblem for the seamen's mission, can still be seen in the brickwork above the door.     
One of the oldest buildings in Leith is the Signal Tower, built in 1685/86. Originally a large windmill, one of three in Leith, it was crowned by a domed roof and billowing sails. It was in all probability used for milling rape seed for its oil. The battlements were an 1805 addition and it then served as a signal tower until 1820, displaying flags advising incoming ships of the depth of water in the harbour. The tower has now been incorporated into a Georgian tenement constructed on its south side.
There is so much to say about this part of Leith. For hundreds of years one of its most important industries was whaling. In 1616 James VI granted a 35 year patent to two Leith skippers to hunt for whales and the flood gates were opened. The Edinburgh Whaling Company was established in 1750, and vessels from all over Scotland would converge on Leith Roads in the Firth of Forth before heading in convoy to the whaling grounds. Safety in numbers, so to speak. Whales were also known to be seen in local waters, the last recorded catch noted in 1836. Leith slowly spread its tentacles farther afield when, in 1908, Christian Salvesen sent whaling ships into the South Atlantic where a base proudly called Leith Harbour was created on South Georgia. 1911 saw Salvesen owner of the largest whaling fleet in the world. The eventual demise of the whaling industry, led by international pressure from
conservationists and the production of synthetic substitutes for whale oil, saw the last whaling boat leave Leith in 1963. A poignant reminder of these whaling days is the harpoon mounted on the Shore.
Interesting stories are always very much an integral part of maritime history. In 1818 a stowaway was discovered aboard the "Thomas and Ann." John Sakeouse was a young eskimo boy who claimed he wanted to learn English and become a missionary! He became somewhat of a local celebrity, sat in his kayak, harpoon in hand, eventually acting as an interpreter and guide on a mission to find the northwest passage. In fact so much of a star was he that leading artist Alexander Nasymth painted his portrait, now in the safe ownership of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. And the gentleman sitting on a bench enjoying a relaxing view of the water? Sandy Irvine Robertson OBE, one of Edinburgh's most celebrated wine merchants of the 20th century. In medieval times, trade with Bordeaux made the port famous for its wines, and this illustrious gentleman continued the trend. Commissioned by his friends and sculpted by Lucy Poett, you can sit beside him and chat. He may not answer, but who knows ....... he may well be listening.
I could go on and on about the Shore ...... seems I already have. The specially built yard used to create the Mulberry Harbours, 16 pontoons and 13 pier heads to act as temporary landing points for Allied troops, heavy artillery and vehicles used in the D-Day landings ....... The Prince of  Wales Dock with its hydraulic pumping station ...... the Royal Yacht Britannia ...... traditional dockyard activity ....... old and new reflected together in the water, waters that have flowed down through the centuries sending boats on their way, bringing boats home, spilling into the Firth of Forth and onwards to the ocean. The old Victoria Swing Bridge, stretching across these waters, built in 1874 and in its time the largest swing bridge in the United Kingdom. Train tracks long removed, traffic no longer crossing from one side to the other, only pedestrians treading the boards each side, it no longer swings, condemned to a life of motionless inactivity. New bridges, new roads, running alongside the old ....... and so life goes on ........ so the waters go on ... and so time leads us into the future.

The Splendour of the Glasshouses

It's a grey, dismal afternoon, the kind of day when heavy drizzle seems to permeate every inch of your body, and the leaden skies are in danger of creating a mood to match their depression. So where do you go for some colour, some warmth, a trip through lands far across the seas, a journey that takes you from rain-sodden clouds to the other side of the rainbow? That's easy - or it is for those "in the know."
The Royal Botanic Garden in the heart of Edinburgh houses over twenty five glasshouses, some for display and others for research, quarantine and propagation. Are you aware that over 80% of the world's flora occurs in warm, temperate and tropical regions. These glasshouses offer environments suited to these plants, an amazing diversity of plant life, a collection of over 2,400 species that many of us will never see in their natural habitat. The pre-Victorian elegance of the Tropical Palm house, built in 1834, the magnificent Temperate Palm House, opened in 1858 and at twenty three metres high one of the tallest traditional palm houses in the world, and the more modern, simplistic Main Range constructed in 1967 all lead you from country to country as you soak up both the heat and the beauty of the natural world.
So where will your journey take you, a journey protected from the chill of the outside world by countless glass panes, a widow from one civilisation to another. The Amazonian rainforest, the cloud forests of Australia, sun-baked Arabian deserts, Indonesian mountainsides, a global extravaganza of the bizarre and the beautiful, towering palms and delicate flowers, the pointed and the prickly, plucked from one world and planted in another.
The gentle splendour of the orchid, fragrant blossoms, ferns draped along the walkways, cacti daring you to touch, giant lilypads tempting you to step aboard and float across the pond ......  Exotic fruits exude beads of sweat, palms stretch out high above the heads of the glasshouse explorers, such awesome beauty from environments we are in danger of losing forever. So many species that need protecting before it is too late - that is why work carried out in places such as these is so important, and becoming increasingly more urgent as each day passes.
Of equal interest are the wonderful borders surrounding the glasshouses. Trees, shrubs, climbers and many herbaceous plants adorn their sides, a microclimate created by warmth from the lagged heating ducts suiting many of these plants. A Chilean Terrace boasts many wild plants collected during several botanical expeditions. The south-facing and free-draining Ramp has been devoted to plants from South Africa, whilst the Yurt is surrounded by species that can all be used by man and have ethnobotanical (the use of plants in folklore, religion etc - I think) importance. And the Fossil Courtyard, often home to interesting and thought-provoking exhibitions, houses a centrally placed fossil tree.
So when you need your grey skies turning blue, you know where to go. Take a trip to warmer climes in the amazing glasshouses of the Botanics. 

Lanterns of Terracotta Warriors

How do you lift your spirits on a day when the rain is pelting down, your umbrella has given up all hope and succumbed to the wind and your so-called waterproof boots allow every puddle you walk through to turn your socks into a soggy mass? You defy the elements, stick on a smile and go find something to lighten your life.
The Chinese New Year saw Edinburgh host the Lanterns of Terracotta Warriors exhibition held in the magnificent surroundings of the University of Edinburgh's historic Quad. Created by the talented Chinese artist Xia Nan for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, this is the first time this incredible display has been seen in Scotland. Xia Nan gained inspiration for his work from the army of terracotta warriors discovered in 1974 when the tomb of the 3rd century BC Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang was unearthed in the country's Xi'an province. An underground vault of some 12,000 square metres was found to house a staggering 8,000 terracotta sculptures, an incredible scene depicting warriors and their horses arranged in battle formation. Many believe they were created to defend the emperor's immortal soul. Some undertaking!! I hope his soul was worth it.  
Xia Nan used traditional Chinese lantern designs to accurately represent these terracotta soldiers, but also included in his work women and children arranged in groups. He chose to humanise this mind-blowing historic discovery by adding these touches, and 90 brightly coloured figures, some 2.5metres tall, arrived to populate the Old College quadrangle for the Chinese New Year. Every evening this striking display, lit from within, burst forth against the darkening night skies. The visual impact of this lantern army must be seen, so breath-taking is its impact. The rain may be bouncing of the rooftops, the wind whistling through every nook and cranny, but this exhibition brings a ray of sunshine into the depths of a miserable winter. You can walk amongst them, see close up the amount of work that has gone into bringing them to life. What a beautifully artistic way to welcome the Chinese New Year. One can only imagine the amount of work that went into creating these figures and bringing them to life. Tender moments, the expectant mother with her family, mingling with the might of the army, the warriors, the horse ...... every figure a work of art, every work of art created with love and dedication. Thank you Edinburgh and the Confucius Institute for Scotland for bringing this here for our enjoyment.

New Year ....... new beginnings?

Only two months in, and already celebrations to herald in 2014 seem but a distant memory. As the sounds of Big Ben echoed across the land and fireworks peppered the sky with the promise of new beginnings, how many of us looked forward to a year that could bring so much - and how many spent a moment, maybe only a fleeting one, turning our heads and looking back on all that had passed in twelve months of both good and bad luck touching each and every one of us in so many different ways. The last chime of midnight, that final chime that leads us onwards into another year, evokes for so many people images of those no longer with us, those we can no longer join hands with, hold in a warm embrace and share our hopes and dreams for a future none of us dare to see with overwhelming feelings of anticipation. Memories are so precious. They are yours to lock deep in your heart. They cannot be changed, they cannot be taken from you, they surround you with a warmth that can be both comforting and yet upsetting, creating a smile whilst wiping a tear from your eye. Memories can creep up on you unexpectedly, a place, a song, a look opening the pages of the book upon which these memories are written. The starting of a new year is one such occasion. Wishes for the future torn apart by the loss of family and friends, plans cast aside, a link in our own special chain broken by events over which we had no control.
Life goes on, however, a saying we hear so often yet rarely find comforting when feelings are so raw, a loss so devastating. But we do go on, we move forward, maybe slowly to begin with, the first few tentative steps gradually increasing until we walk, head held high, into the future. Life begins again as winter melts into spring. The snowdrop bursts forth from the frozen ground, delicate yet strong, promising so much. The buds on the trees give birth to leaves that grow as we grow, seeking the sun, embracing the rain. And so we blossom, emerging from darkness into the light. We have to hold on to our dreams, focus on our hopes, walk with our memories. Sometimes life plants obstacles in our path, we may not always avoid all that life can throw at us when we least expect it. But obstacles can be surmounted, climbed over, walked around, and we become adept at ducking when misfortune aims what it hopes will be a direct hit. Still look backwards, but with a smile. Look in the mirror with confidence and say to yourself: "I survived last year and I shall do the same again."   

Christmas is here ........

Christmas is here once again ....... peace on earth, goodwill to all men - plus a great deal of hard work and credit card bashing allowing us to eat drink and be merry for a couple of days. But there is much going on to help relieve the stress of buying presents for friends and family and sending cards to people we never see or speak to from one year to the next. No longer is it just carol singers in shopping centres or visits to Santa in his grotto, giant Christmas trees festooned with hundreds of lights towering above shoppers bustling from store to store, or shop assistants topped with Santa hats and reindeer antlers sellotaping smiles to their faces as they deal with festive queues and turkey tussles. Oh no, Christmas is now much, much more.
German markets, wooden huts laden with Christmas cheer, seem to pop in town and city centres across the country. Packed with all you need for your seasonal celebrations, many are a wonderland of Santas, snowmen, angels and robins nestling beneath shining stars, sparkling snow and flickering candles. Gingerbread houses fight for attention with chocolate fountains, roast chestnuts and spicy fruits. Fancy a quick tipple? Mulled wine, wine that isn't, mulled cider, cider without the mull, mysterious drinks topped with a mountain of cream and marshmallows, German lager, German beer, it's all there, sending out nose-tickling aromas to reel you in. Buy scarves, gloves, hats portraying every animal known to mankind, wooden toys, toys that are not wooden, jewellery, ornaments, stocking fillers, stockings to go around your stocking fillers, everything you need, everything you think you need but don't really, and everything you definitely have no need of at all, yes it's all there. Eat your fill of burgers, pulled pork rolls, hot dogs, crepes, freshly cooked bread ....... then suitably refreshed fight your way through the crowds yet again.
All the fun of the fair appears at Christmas. Visit Edinburgh and see the city from the top of the big wheel - weather permitting - or pick up a few seasonal bumps and bruises on the outdoor ice rink. Carousels across the land are filled with the laughter of children mingling with every Christmas song ever recorded. Ride a train, bounce yourself silly, master a Christmas tree maze, hurtle down a helter skelter, let the big kid in you join your little ones, smile away your worries just for an hour or two ..... This is a time for children, a time for adults who think they are children, a time for families, spending time together, giving, sharing, looking forward to the New Year.
Sometimes I wonder how many of us remember the real reason for Christmas, the story behind the celebrations. The nativity is still played out, although maybe not as prominently as it once was. The first Christmas is still created within our churches, stables can be found in towns sheltering their precious guests. But do we walk past the church doors, or venture in to sing our hearts out or partake of midnight mass? This may be the only occasion we step inside, apart from weddings and funerals, the one time religion may briefly touch our souls. I love Christmas and all it stands for. I love watching the children and grandchildren open their presents, love to see their faces ......... but it is so different to when I was young. The shops were still decorated, the streets adorned with lights, yet somehow it all seemed so much more simplistic, less emphasis on the materialistic and more on families coming together to enjoy the day. And one of my favourite Christmas memories? Walking along the high street with my mum on Christmas Eve - something I will never be fortunate enough to do again - and pausing awhile to listen to the strains of the Salvation Army playing Christmas songs as only they can. A frosty day, a few snowflakes fluttering down from a wintry sky, holding tight to my mum with one mittened hand whilst holding on to my dad's present with the other. Yes, that was truly Christmas .........   

Jelly Babies Rule Ok!!

Dusk falls over the Botanic Gardens, the gates are closed and a late autumn chill takes hold as darkness begins to creep across the lawns and envelop the trees. The squirrels are long gone, the birds have returned to their nests and the quacking of the ducks is silenced as a misty moon begins its journey across the skies. It is into this twilight world that mysterious visitors emerge from the shadows, visitors who appear when all others are gone, when they are safe from prying eyes and mischievous fingers. Only when the world lies silent do the Jelly Babies creep out from their hiding places and take over the Gardens. Not many know of these Jelly Babies, of the adventures they have when freed from the confines of their yellow bags. This is a secret known to only a few, so read, enjoy and then forget .........
Red, yellow, green, black, orange, they are all there, climbing, exploring, running across the grass, swinging from the branches of the trees. Jelly jockeys ride the fir cones as their spiny branches sway in the evening breeze. Jelly ladies gaze at their reflections in the pond as the same breeze ripples its surface, holding their faces until sending them shimmering into the reeds that hem the edges of the water. Giggling Jelly juniors play hide and seek amongst the leaves and dangle from the heads of flowers desperately trying to close their petals for the night. Picnicking on the dew-laden grass, sparkling beneath the first moonbeams of the evening, the Jelly Babies feast on jelly beans, jelly tots and jelly sandwiches. Oh yes, the Jelly Babies love their time in the Botanics when the world is their own, no-one to trample on them, chase them or eat them! Chattering with the scarecrows, splashing in the waterfall's dancing spray, indulging in a berry fight or two, what a wonderful way to spend an evening. And not one piece of clothing in sight so no dirty washing!
No-one has seen the Jelly Babies, not man nor beast, alive or dead. Until now, that is. I have a very dear friend in the Gardens, a certain Sammy the Squirrel. And he has watched from on high, shielded by the treetops, as the Jelly Babies laugh and play in their secret land. During one of our many chats, sat on a bench watching the seasons change and the landscape shift from green to brown and gold to wintry grey, he revealed this lovely tale, promising to bounce pine cones off my head if his secret was ever passed on. So you see you can enjoy the tale of the Jelly Babies, smile at their antics ...... and then forget. Enjoy a glass of wine, walk the dog, relax in a long. hot, bubbly bath, get out your x-box, your i-pad or your kindle, do whatever it is that floats your boat ..... but please forget. Look into my eyes ..... you are feeling very sleepy ........ count to three and when I snap my fingers all thoughts of Jelly Babies will be erased from your mind forever. Or will they? If I pass by the Botanics after closing time and I see folk climbing the gates, tunnelling under the walls, vaulting the fences, then I know I have failed.  But just pause for a moment and imagine a world without Jelly Babies, a world where these loveable little creatures are no more. Look at these pictures. Do they not tug at your heart-strings, bring a tear to your eye, have you sobbing into your hankie at the thought of these sweet little people -  for people they are - joining the ranks of the extinct and the defunct? Then leave them to enjoy their moments of freedom, leave them to play in peace .... and save my head from the inevitable onslaught of deadly cones if this story gets out!!!

We shall remember them ........

"When you go home tell them of us and say: for your tomorrow we gave our today." The Kohima Epitaph, so few words yet words that say so much. At eleven o'clock as the chimes of Big Ben ring out across the land, the world falls silent. On this day we remember, as one, the sacrifice made by so many, a sacrifice that continues to this very day and will continue well into the future. Young men full of hopes and dreams, their journey through life just beginning, only to be tragically cut short fighting for their country, for freedom and for the right to live life without torture, without imprisonment and without oppression. As we stand, heads bowed in silence, all around is still. For a brief moment the traffic pauses, conversation lies resting upon the lips, the hustle and bustle of everyday life ceases. The only sounds to be heard are birds singing in the trees, the gentle cry of a baby too young to understand, the barking of a dog in some distant garden. Each year we give two minutes of our time to remember, two minutes from our lives to remember those who no longer have two minutes to give. Pain is etched on the faces of the veterans, a pain we cannot understand nor begin to feel. Tears trickle from eyes that have witnessed the horror of war, a horror no man should have to behold, a horror no man, or indeed woman, should have to live through. So many friends lost, so many families torn apart, and yet it continues. The blood of our young people is shed on foreign soil, the grief goes on, the list of the fallen grows ever longer. And every year wreaths of poppies will adorn our memorials, standards will be lowered, prayers will be offered up ... and the list of conflicts will increase. Memories stay with us, however sad, however hard to bear, hearts will be broken time and again as they have since time began. A letter, a photo, a medal are all that remain to keep these memories alive ...... but keep them we must. The past paves the way for the future, but this path may not always be easy to follow.
Every November, in towns, villages and cities across the country, we remember in our own way. We gather at war memorials, in churches, in Gardens of Remembrance, each one of us touched in some way by the sacrifice of so many men and women. Look upon the Field of Remembrance in the heart of Edinburgh, cast your eyes upon the simple crosses, each with a poppy in its centre, laid out in row after row. There are around 11,000 symbols of remembrance here, dedicated by members of the public in honour of past and present members of the Armed Forces. Such an unique display of both individual and community remembrance, every cross bears a personal hand-written message, a regiment, maybe a photo. So many crosses, so many poppies, yet this is just a drop in the ocean, just a handful of names in a rollcall of millions. Leaves freshly fallen from the trees lie amongst these memorials to those fallen in battle. Yet unlike the leaves lying on the ground, leaves that have lived out their natural lives to return again in spring, those named upon the crosses will never live out their natural lives, will never see another spring.
Why, you may wonder, after two World Wars, do we continue to destroy so many lives, devastate many others and bring death to countless innocent men, women and children. Will it ever end? Will lessons never be learnt, will our leaders never listen. How many conflicts have vented their fury upon the earth since 1945? Korea, Suez, the Falkland Islands, Northern Ireland, the Middle East, Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan to name but a few ........ From every corner of the globe the futility of war tears the world apart. Those who died in the Great Wars died to protect our freedom, to allow us to live our lives in peace and harmony. Is it not time we began to respect their memory, respect the ultimate sacrifice they made for their country, by making war a thing of the past. It will not be easy, it will never be easy, we may never achieve peace in our lifetime, but we owe it to these brave men and women to try. Their lives should not be lost in vain, yet lives will continue to be lost, we shall continue to mourn ...... I shall leave you with some of the most poignant words to be uttered throughout these days of remembrance, words written by a gentleman called Laurence Binyon, a Red Cross medical orderly on the Western Front, taken from his poem "The Fallen."

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them."