I had a 48 hour stopover in London en route to Edinburgh which I had planned to use as a little rest break, catch up on some reading, and spend a little time resting from daily adventures, but my friends in Windsor had much much better ideas of things to do with my time.
We went on a little walk around Runnymede, which I did not know of, but is the site of the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. It set the stage for a millennia of restricting powers of absolute rulers. It laid the ground work for individuals being judged by a jury of peers rather than an absolute ruler. In these times when rulers seek to rule in absolute, without restriction, and jury trials are not always perfect, it was a powerful moment to reflect in this meadow along the River Thames and the legal, judicial, and political processes it set in motion.
But in Runnymede — there is more. I didn’t know that adjacent to this same meadow, Queen Elizabeth II donated an acre of Crown Land to the people of the United States, in perpetuity, as a memorial after the assassination of John F Kennedy.
We then went back to the house, where the whole family joined in cooking a “little” dinner for my arrival — what a family . . .
I left thinking, how lucky the Windsor family is to have this mob as neighbours.
No trip to London would be a success without catching up with a former colleague and former student from Sydney times . . .
Then Edinburgh decided to give me all it had to give. I am becoming obsessed with walking through fields and forests.
And using my gumboots to walk through water.
And stumbling across ruins.
I have to admit, the one thing I had to do in Edinburgh was visit Arthur’s Seat; solely because it was an integral setting in the Netflix romance series One Day. I had to. But I didn’t realise the top was much higher than where they got to in the show, and it is usually raining in EDI, so my experience came nowhere near theirs in the show. But it is still a magnificent place.
Nothing beats reunions. This trip has given me the chance to reconnect with a lifetime of friendships, and a side-trip to Glasgow allowed three of us who haven’t been in the same room together since Sydney circa 2010 a chance to toast to our reunion . . .
A year ago, I flew from Sydney on a Friday night to attend a wedding in Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon (22 hrs not including stops) and flew back to Sydney on Sunday morning just after breakfast with the bride and groom. Very important folk in my life. And the groom who has since moved to the US to be with his wife just happened to be in EDI while I was.
And Edinburgh just kept on giving.
I had heard about a restaurant located on the site of an old whisky distillery, Glenturret Distillery, which has been around since 1763 in the countryside an hour and a half outside of both Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Glenturret Lalique Restaurant is a Michelin starred masterpiece of experiential eating. Our dining experience lasted 4.5 hours, and I could have probably stayed longer if they let me.
And yet, twas not all fancy restaurants. One of Jonathan’s friends took us on a little hike to the coast where she also forages a type of seaweed that can dried or frozen and used in dozens of ways. We finally found some and had a taste; it tastes just like nori . . .
What speaks the most about Edinburgh is its monuments. In most cities around the world, their greatest monuments are erected to honor politicians, noble men and women, military heroes, and triumphs over the defeated.
In Edinburgh its grandest monuments which can be seen from all around are erected to honour artists, poets and writers. This says a lot about a city. It says the right things about priorities and what is importantly in life.
Norbert on guard
Next stop . . . Ireland! 🇮🇪
