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Heck, it’s hot!
Tag: edinburgh
Early …
Early … and oh, so calm and quiet – my soul, and the loch.
I’ve been watching a heron for a quarter hour or more. And I think he / she has been watching me.
And then on towards mid-morning. Hot, dry and very out of puff after the climb up to St Anthony’s Chapel but, all year round, the view is always worth it. And above the sound of my heart’s pounding I hear ‘rest awhile’ – and I do. Then it’s time to wend my way down towards breakfast …
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Reflection
The one just minutes from the other – reflection is a feature in the presence of each, ancient and modern.
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Holyrood Snapshots
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Mixed weather, changing by the minute, makes Holyrood an exceptionally photogenic place. Morning and evening walks, often along the same route, showcase the dynamics of the area. Here ancient and modern meet, and it’s said that time spent alongside any body of water is good for us. I have a favoured bench beside St Margaret’s Loch in the shadow of the ruins of St Anthony’s Chapel. There I wonder sometimes whether a stranger might be able to tell how much I love this city and its marvellous mix of cityscape, countryside, seascape and skyscape all in one?
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Summer days
26th July and it’s a busy, hot and humid late afternoon in Edinburgh. It’s going to get livelier, quickly. In the course of the next four weeks the population will increase by more than a million people come for the numerous festivals, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh International Festival, and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Ticket sales for these events often exceed 3-4 million.
Street performers draw huge crowds on the Royal Mile, colourful posters, city-wide, announce who and what’s on where, in 265 venues. Eyes and ears are entranced by the Castle as home to the spectacular Tattoo, there’ll be astonishing acrobatics, comedy, every kind of music and drama imaginable, millions of meals served, laughter, appreciation and energy in the very air. By way of a sample, one of my favourites last year was the charismatic Camille O’Sullivan, seen here in Reading, whose Loveletters at Edinburgh’s Roxy will be another sell-out. Summer days and nights …
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Morning
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and it strikes me that
this city has come alive
like this through aeons
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Something in the air
Ricoh GRIII – click photos to enlarge
Blossoms, blue sky, cloud and sunshine made for a fabulous Sunday in Edinburgh today. Days that look like this one make people’s spirits soar. From cherry blossom walks, to the Royal Mile and onward to Waverley Station, Princes Street, or a peaceful ten minutes on a bench in St Andrew Square – Edinburgh (anywhere, really) comes to life under the sun!
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A gilded change of name
for nothing is set in stone forever –
as epochs come and go art’s records too
are crowned with gilded new nomenclature
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Revisiting: Entranced by the light
One of the joys of keeping a journal is, of course, ‘flipping through the pages’ and bringing to mind people, things, places and experiences that made an impression. Today I was delighted to revisit Entranced by the light … first published here on 22nd May 2021
Time and time again, I am moved and entranced by the movement of tide and cloud and light – sometimes stormy, bracing and energising; sometimes calm and colourful and wide inside 😊
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Haircut ‘n’ Tuk Tuk
I rarely choose to eat out alone, but the cheering effects of a good walk and a haircut on a sunny day drew me in again to a spot recently enjoyed with a friend. Edinburgh’s Drummond Street Tuk Tuk serves great food that speaks for itself. Special hat tip today to Michael who ensured that a solo guest felt as welcome as a large party. I appreciate it. And I’ll be back.
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Sunday evening mellowness
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared
calendar thought for the day supplied by the meditation app Aura
Reflection, by candlelight, in late evening, brings a procession of causes for gratefulness into my quietened mind. Conversation with a friend who enjoys both candlelight and quietness as much as I do. My first Feldenkrais class via Zoom. Books that draw out aha! or eureka moments on the one hand, and deep and glad recognition on the other. Creativity. Shared art. Shared imagination. Photographs made by two friends today, miles apart, but each depicting eerily beautiful morning mist in winter wonderland. Plans for comings and goings. Teamwork. Letters. Phone calls. Prayer. Celebration. Contemplation. Meditation. Daydreaming. Growing. Hoping. Learning. Longing. The illumination that relationship with others brings to life and love every day. Here in this candlelit, quiet Edinburgh night, the word ‘connection’ appears as though it were an illuminated sign before me. Connection. I am warmed and held as I think of all that can be brought to birth by a single candle contributing light to potentially thousands of others – lucky old me among them …
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The 2nd in ‘21
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How I loved these snowy Edinburgh views beneath Arthur’s Seat back in January 2021. And in January 2024 this old city just keeps growing on me! Thank you, Edinburgh – everything you are adds up to an extraordinary panorama …
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Monday 1st January 2024 😊
More a way of life
Edinburgh isn’t so much a city, more a way of life … I doubt I’ll ever tire of exploring Edinburgh, on foot or in print
Ian Rankin
A beautiful, crisp blue day, a few days before Christmas. There’s music in the air, and a bit of a bite in the tousling wind. Sun’s rays in mist over the Pentland Hills. Conversations in multiple languages. Laughter in the universal language of laughter. Architecture, sky and sunlight in the very particular language of Edinburgh. WhatsApp with friends glad to be away for holidays, but whose presence here is felt ‘in spirit’ until they return. Not so much a city, more a way of life …
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Touching the stars
I love this open-hearted city, celebrating life’s richness and diversity in multifarious ways, all year round. I love Edinburgh with a love that simultaneously resembles both an ache and an ever-present undercurrent of joy …
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