We checked into the apartment, were shown to our room and had house rules explained to us by James. He is studying computer science, his parents own the apartment & he rents out two spare rooms on AirB&B while his flatmates are away on summer break....... a sensible idea in festival mad Edinburgh.
We got ourselves cleaned up (the ride had been a mix of on road, tarmac surfaces & dirty, sandy mountain bike type paths on a wet day so we'd got a bit covered in mud & grit) then headed out to eat before going onto the show.
We at at a vegan/vegetarian Indian restaurant Annakut just around the corner from the B&B, which turned out to be 5mins along the road from the show venue. We found the staff really friendly - the woman who served us loved our accent and was really interested to learn something of NZ, and was also interested in whether we were actaul vegans or vegetarians. Apparently it's not a big community in Edinburgh but I am sure that there are many more than she imagines ..... anyway, especially at festival time.
The show we went to was on at the Canadian Hub and was a production out of Halifax - Caroline's friend, Carol had told us about it hence our choosing to book tickets for it. Old Stock: a refugee love story was certainly a high energy telling of a poignant story of two young Jewish refugees from the early 20thC pogroms of Russian Empire who meet in Halifax, marry & create a family ...... their story very much resonates with issues of today with respect to Syrian refugees. Well worth seeing; the type of show that one mulls over afterwards. As it was late starting we didn't get out until 11.20pm so once back at the B&B we fell into bed & slept like logs.
We got up sometime after 8.30am & pottered about before making our way over for brunch at Ruth (Mt Pleasant Glen Metcalf's daughter) & Richard's place, which proved to be only a 15 minute walk away from our B&B through a delightful part of central Edinburgh. The sun was shining so we took it slowly looking in shop windows and over garden walls, and wandering down interesting little alleys.
It was a lovely brunch with Ruth, Richard and their two Kiwi friends from Southampton. We had stopped by a fruitier on our way to their place to purchase some fresh raspberries as well as a bottle of elderflower fizz, and both were added to the mix of fruit and drinks already on the table when we arrived. Ruth had prepared a yummy breakfast feast of home-made muesli, strawberries, blueberries and nectarines with yoghurt. Richard had made a seed-filled wholemeal bread, which had turned out superbly and went well with the scrambled eggs Ruth prepared as we all continued to talk about life & politics in NZ & the UK. No one approved on Brexit nor the recent election results – the uncertainty about Britain’s future was thoroughly analysed.
After brunch we had a tour of their third floor apartment – wonderful paintings, wall hangings and Persian rugs as well as a beautifully sounding grand piano in the music room. The south facing rooms also get a lot of sunlight so the place felt light and bright – delightful. In the stairwell Ruth has a number of potted plants and they, combined with the glazed cupola, provide a natural ambience; they share only a ‘drying space’ outside which comprises a area of grass with a clothesline but further long other areas have gone wild and trees have grown quite large.
We left around 2pm to trot along to the Summerhall, a major festival venue, to see whether any tickets were left for the dance-theatre piece entitled Border Tales, which explored race, integration & interrelationship issues of modern Britain. It was a preview show so some elements were not as polished as perhaps they will be later in the season but nevertheless the issues explored made me think about how we in NZ treat or respond to new migrants i.e. what preconceived notions we may hold as to what they think, how they behave or like to eat. There were 7 performers with only one representing an Anglo-Saxon Brit, who seemed to be in a gay relationship with the Irish guy ….. and they tell the story of the party they hold to which the ‘different’ Brits re invited. One of the dancers is an Egyptian Muslim – how the others react to him carrying a backpack may seems a bit obvious but it does allow the dancers and musician to build a story of fear, misunderstanding, misrepresentation and mistrust that is too often pervades British society today.
At the end of that performance we wandered the streets looking at other festival events, checked out the castle and streets (Cowgate & Grass Meadows) around it – crowded with people in town for festival & the Tattoo – but loved the ambience of the place. A very different impression than the one I gained when visiting back in 1987. We then decided to check out a performance at the Daisy Theatre@ The Underbelly, KMT, by a stand up called Athena Kugblenu as a a flyer for her had been thrust into our hands. She is a Brit of Ghanaian and Indian heritage who, in her performance, explored Brexit, racism, classism, neo-liberalism and colonialism. Pretty heavy stuff but we did have a few laughs ……. mind you we did miss some as we didn’t know the people she referred to being either UK politicians or TV personalities.
We thought of going to another show in a pub we passed but decided instead to find a Thai restaurant for our evening meal. We found one not too far from where we were staying True Thai Cuisine, which had tasty food but not quite as good as our favourite Thai place in Chch. Post meal we again had a wee wander before heading back to the AirB&B to pack up our gear & catch some sleep.
Our host was home when we got in but didn’t really say much to us – pleasant enough chap but it did feel as if he was just renting the room for money rather than playing a welcoming host. The instructions he had handwritten on a piece of paper taped to the wall made us feel more like we were being treated like flatmates rather than paying guests i.e. don’t take things from the fridge, tidy up if you use something…. anyway, gave him some feedback as I am sure he will get more guests keen to be so close to the centre of town yet quiet.
We slept well, ate our own breakfast – James didn’t supply anything except tea or coffee – showered then headed off to the railway station to catch our train to Doncaster & on to Beverley. Waverley station is huge and full of every shop you may possibly need before taking a train journey; we didn’t need much except perhaps another postcard or to take another photo. Chatted with an American who wandered over to look at our bikes as he had toured extensively in the States & Canada – loves Surly Long-haul Truckers!!
[Note to self: Edinburgh is a place I could revisit as many interesting galleries, museums & nooks and crannies we didn't explore]
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| Lots of wind farms on the way south |
Getting our bikes on the guards' van was no problem; about 4 other cyclist were also using the service so a guard we helpfully present and we didn’t need to take our gear off the bikes. Our change at Doncaster worked well despite having to go up in a lift, then down and back again because they changed the platform at the last minute. By 2pm we were in Beverley having a late lunch at a local café - Lempicka. The easiest way to cycle tour! 😃😉
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