The People's Story of Edinburgh

Can someone please find me a copy of 'McDougall's Cookery Book?' Thanks a mil!

The above photo actually does a decent job disguising the fact that The People's Story Museum in Edinburgh is full of mannequins in period dress. Throughout the whole thing... it's kind of creepy actually, especially in the first floor exhibition room where a policewoman stands guard in the center of everything. When there aren't any other real-life people around, it's sort of startles you over and over again to turn around and see expectant faces that aren't even alive.

But seriously, what is a local or regional history museum without a little weirdness? That's the joy of some of these small museums.. they are strange. And in a super good way. There's so much on display, it would take hours to look through every little thing, and read every little plaque. To my mind, that's not really the idea. Visitors generally pick out the cases they like best, perhaps read the first paragraph of an information board, and move on to the next thing. But it's all there, and if you want to see artifacts of a bygone (sometimes recently bygone) Edinburgh, this is surely a place to get a glimpse of some of the people and things one would have seen everyday in the city. From fishwives to Scotmid horse-drawn milk delivery carts (they were used until 1985!), Women's Suffrage to the 'demon drink,' bits and pieces of the past are on display.

It was a truly windy winter day, though the sky was blue and sun was shining... it was wonderful to step inside this historic building, the Canongate Tolbooth. Edinburgh and Canongate were, several hundred years ago, two separate burghs. 'Burgh' is a Scots word, and means it was an official town, which in the Middle Ages usually had a kirk (church), a castle and/or a city wall, and was a place for trade (denoted by the mercat, or market cross).

Canongate was originally associated with Holyrood Abbey, which sat on the far eastern end of the Royal Mile, the ruins of which are still attached to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Tolbooths were the courthouses, jails and town halls of the burghs, and sometimes they incorporated schools as well, but they hardly exist anymore today, at least in their original form. The Canongate Tolbooth was built in 1591, but the way it looks today is due to a major restoration and remodel undertaken in 1875. The restoration was meant to give the building an appearance more closely related to how it may have looked when it was built, based on this awesome map from 1647 by Gordon of Rothiemay (it's zoomable, and so rad).

So there's your Edinburgh history lesson (and a few Scots words to take with you)! On that note, I'm so grateful to have taken a Scottish architecture course during my studies here because it has made my stay here so much more interesting.

And, hey, it's Christmas Eve! I've got a couple of quiet days ahead with plenty of reading, perhaps a Christmas movie (or two or three) and lots of tea, cookies, and some fresh-out-of-the-oven homemade salmon cakes. I'd rather be with my family, but this holiday could be far worse!

Best holiday wishes to you and yours -- Merry Christmas!!

Cheers,
Kate xx

Stockbridge Market

I determined that Sunday would be a real day off for me: no research, no writing, no work. I admit I ended up doing a bit anyway as the day wore on, but my intentions were good. ;) It was a gorgeously sunny day. The wind was light I could actually feel the sun, and it was the kind of day where I just have to get out of the flat and walk. I left without much of an idea where I was headed other than in a general northerly direction. This seems to be a pretty common area to walk to when I've got some exploration time on my hands (okay, to be honest, I set aside time on purpose for this sort of thing; there's always something "important" that I could be doing, but often coffee and a stroll is just better).

Stockbridge is an area north of New Town in central Edinburgh that feels a little more like a village than a city -- a far cry from Princes Street or the Royal Mile. For one, it has a nice (read: less congested) shopping street with charity shops and high end gift boutiques together with the basic convenience shops and some sweet little cafes and coffee shops. It also has a residential area that I discovered during one of my very first walks around the city, called the Colonies. They're really amazing little rows of townhouses, quaint and kind of bohemian-looking, in some cases with the laundry out to dry on lines in front and wild plants in the yard left to their own devices. I like that sort of thing. They're very close to the Waters of Leith and are quite a creative community unto themselves -- they host an annual Creative Colonies event which was held after the Stockbridge Market last weekend.

Stockbridge Market itself is really, really, really (did I say really?) nice. I knew it existed, but had totally forgotten about it and apparently never walked by Jubilee Gardens on a Sunday. Needless to say, after ambling around kind of haphazardly after a quick cup of coffee, I was really glad to find this! It's not huge, but it's not tiny either, and it packs a punch in the little tree-filled park with vendors stocking fresh fruits and veg, artisan cheeses and chocolate, fresh "street food," gourmet pastas and oils, fresh seafood and meat, local craft beer, soaps, bread, and some arts and crafts as well. I bagged some excellent croissants and brie, along with some fruit. There's a pretty wide range of edibles and wares for the size of the place, and they had a great setup with a coffee van (you'll see!), some tables and a decent guy+guitar to keep everyone entertained.

It's definitely on my calendar every week now, as it runs year-round! And in the summers on Thursday. So all the more to look forward to. And of course... the snaps:



I love these guys: Steam Punk Coffee Company... based in North Berwick, which is a suburb of Edinburgh, they're not really accessible to me as a regular stop, but a Volkswagen bus with an espresso machine setup in back? YES PLEASE! And a good latte it was too. They're supposed to be there every week, though, so at least I can get a fix every now and again. ;)




I love a good market. I should get in the habit of keeping a list through the week of things I'd like to look for, either here or at the Edinburgh Market that still goes on near the castle on Saturdays.

  

The weather has been marvelous. I have zero complaints, and am soaking up every second of sunshine I can get before the "worst winter in decades" hits Scotland. (Please. I'm from Wisconsin.) ;) Tehe!

Cheers!
Kate x