Visiting Scotland: St Andrews The Home of Golf

St Andrews, Fife, Scotland

St Andrews Castle Fife Scotland

I went to university in St Andrews (many years before Prince William and Kate Middleton), so perhaps I am bias, but to me St Andrew is one of the places in Scotland everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime. Find out what to do, where to stay and where to eat in St Andrews. The British Open Golf Championship return to St Andrews for 2015.

Memoir: Carrou Mor Vignettes

Carrou Mor Vignettes: Memories of Kirriemuir

Richard Slessor [CC BY-SA 2.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons

Continuing my little vignettes of life in Scotland in the 1950s.

National Gallery of Scotland and Queens Gardens Edinburgh

The National Gallery of Scotland Edinburgh                          

The National Gallery of Scotland is a must-see for everyone visiting Edinburgh. It sits on The Mound at one end of Queen's Gardens - which incidentally was a lake many years ago. Today it runs the length of Princes Street and is well-loved and well-used by visitors and residents.  

National Gallery of Scotland Edinburgh

The Gallery houses not only many famous Scottish artists but many of the old masters - my two favourites being contrasting Van Gogh paintings that sit on either side of a doorway. On one side the trees he paints are pastels and peaceful, the other was painted while he was in a sanitorium and is vivid slashes of colour. Maybe they stick in my mind because I can relate to the contrasting moods. 

National Gallery of Scotland Edinburgh

There is a nice cafe on the lower level which is actually the start of the Gardens.

Steps in Queeens Gardens leading down to the Gallery Cafe

Queens Gardens Edinburgh

A Scottish Poem: Hame by annmackiemiller

Poetry by Ann Miller

Hame

by the fire

Yer asking me whit hame is?

Well, haud yer wheest a mo and let me think.

Weel then -

Hame is whaur the hert is -

is it no?

and once upon a time

twas whaur wallie dugs graced the mantle

and 3 geese traversed the wa'

in endless flight.

Hame was faither's pipe and the coloured cleaners

I bought him every year - you mind the kind.

He'd duly mak them intae wee men fer me,

He'd say 'here ye go bonny lass',

faithful pipe clenched tight in teeth

wi groove long worn.

Hame was couerieing in by the fire

tartan legs and cauld lugs.

It was a tully lamp in power cuts

and lightning visits tae the lavie.

It was a box foo o half pennies

we used when playing cards.

It was listening to the radio

while mum knitted socks

and dad mended shoes,

or tinkered wi his clocks,

ye mind? the anes he'd

be winding up to tell fowk

was time to leave when visiting;

'Here's yer hat and whit's yer hurry'

we'd laugh and joke

but that was him,

and his bedtime ritual.

Hame was sing-a-longs

when mum played piano;

it was books and music,

friends and fowk comin rund

for tea and sugary pancakes,

for help, or crack and telling jokes.

Hame was an open door

Mum's baking and dad's gerden.

Ye want mair?

Och weel

let's just say

Maste o' a' -

Hame is in the past.

Poetry copyright to AnnMackIeMiller

Clunie Bridge Pitlochry Perthshire Scotland

The Clunie Bridge Pitlochry

Cluny Bridge Pitlochry Perthshire Scotland
Misty Morning

I took this picture on a misty Sunday morning while I was attending Dougie MacLean's Perthshire Amber Folk Festival.

The footbridge crosses the River Tummel and was built about 1950 - it replaced an old road bridge that was lost when Hydro Electric built the reserviour and dam here. It is a suspension bridge so will sway while you cross - not great for those of us affected by balance issues.

If you are wondering about the name - it seems to relate to the land ownership at the time the first bridge was built in the 18th century. Clunie itself can date back to a pictish clan.