In search of words...

Imagine you worked in a library. (Go with me for a second on this one.) Imagine you worked in a library and one very normal, average day, you came across a box sitting on a shelf and no idea how it got there. Inside that box was this.

The Poet Tree (Poetree). This is the book sculpture that started it all. The first book sculpture was found at the Scottish Poetry Library.

It is a gift, and an anonymous one at that. It is entirely made from paper and is incredibly delicate and beautiful.

But it doesn't stop there, over the course of a year, more book sculptures mysteriously pop up at other libraries, museums and even an old cinema. Each one carries a message and the media goes into a frenzy. Who is this book sculptor? Why is she leaving these all over Edinburgh? How is she getting them in without anyone noticing? Will there be more? Where will the next book sculpture be left?

Gramophone and coffin. The second book sculpture, one of the 10 sculptures that was not on display - source

In the months between March and November 2011 there were a total of 10 book sculptures left all over Edinburgh. The mystery and artistry of the book sculptures got so much attention that people were dropping into these libraries and museums just to see the sculptures. They even went on tour towards the end of 2012. At the end of the tour, a 13th book sculpture appeared at the Poets Library, back where it all started.

So much detail in this one, be sure to look closely. The third book sculpture - Cinema, found at the Edinburgh Film house

But that wasn't to be the end of the story. The artist was commissioned for 5 book sculptures as part of Book Week Scotland in late 2012 (I didn't get to see those though) and last year two more sculptures showed up at the Scottish Poetry Library and Leith Library. Despite the media and the commission, the artist has maintained her anonymity.

Who hasn't grown up with stories of dragons? The 4th book sculpture - Dragon's Nest, The Storytelling Centre

I had read about these sculptures a couple of years ago but completely forgot about it until late one night while seeking things to do in Edinburgh, I came across it again. So I got myself a map and went on a literary hunt to find them all.

"Nothing beats a nice cup of tea (or coffee) and a really great book...except maybe a cake as well" The 5th book sculpture, Tea, cake and a book, Edinburgh International Book Festival

Who hasn't been lost in a good book? Book sculpture 6 - Lost in a good book...left at Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust

Notice the E crossed out below? Cheeky comment on funding cuts. The 7th sculpture - Magnifying glass, Edinburgh Central Library

The feathers made from paper actually look like they might be soft to touch. And how cute is the bumblebee on the glove? The 8th book sculpture -Cap and gloves, Scottish Poetry Library

The 9th book sculpture roars and charges out of The Lost World - Dinosaur, National Museum of Scotland

The 10th book is a little Jekyll and Hyde. Street Scene - Edinburgh Writers’ Museum

During my quest for the book sculptures of Edinburgh, I detoured to Greyfriars Kirkyard to say hello to Bobby and Old Jock again and stop for a bite.

I'm not sure how it had escaped me, but I forgot about Edinburgh's most famous writer. As I was sipping my coffee and watching people walk by on the street my eye caught a sign, this sign.

To digress for a moment; there are two interviews with JK Rowling that talk about her writing in cafes Edinburgh. The famous cafe everyone knows is Nicholsons (which is now Spoon Cafe). But in a very early interview, she is interviewed in The Elephant. I stopped in there for a peek later and it was busy, full of people writing, friends chatting and Harry Potter tourists. Of course JK Rowling isn't Edinburgh only famous writer, there is Ian Rankin (who received his very own book sculpture), Sir Walter Scott, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Kenneth Grahame to name a few.

Not part of the original 10 sculptures, this one is more recent and was found in May 2013.

Possibly my favourite. This sculpture was presented at the end of 2012 after the original 10 sculptures completed their. A Child's Garden, Scottish Poetry Library

Anyway, if you are a book worm or literary enthusiast, Edinburgh has a lot to offer. You can seek out the book sculptures, visit the Writers Museum, do a literary tour (departs from the writers museum), visit the Decon Broadie pub or cafe, say hi to Greyfriars Bobby, write in a cafe JK Rowling wrote and much more. Heck, why not visit during the Edinburgh Book Festival which starts in a week?

If you are interested in seeing these sculptures for yourself, you'll find book sculpture map of Edinburgh on this page, my tip is to start at the Scottish Poetry Library and work your way up the Royal Mile (or vice versa) rather than trying to see them in order.

Would you travel for a literary fix? 

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The Loch Ness Monster has been Spotted!

Spotted! The shy Nessie, known around the world as the Loch Ness Monster was spotted by Globetrotter Postcards blogger, Sam, on a recent trip to the famous Loch Ness in Scotland. Not much has been seen of Nessie recently and it has led to rumours that the monster has died, although, a sighting in Australia has led others to believe she is simply on holiday. The Three Sisters of Glen Coe As part of a tour that took her through some beautiful Scottish Highlands, glens and castles, she boarded the Jacobite Queen boat to cruise along the silent loch when the sighting is said to have occurred. "It was amazing!" She said. "I was sitting on the upper deck listening to how John Cobb was killed trying to break water speed record on the loch and watching Urquhart Castle recede into the distance. All of a sudden, I had the overwhelming urge to have my photo taken against a particularly serene view." She grins with excitement.  Jacobite Queen on Loch Ness "I asked a particularly bored looking girl if she could take my photo and she must have not been paying attention because when I looked at it moments later I saw it! I saw her! Nessie! I couldn't believe it, I glanced up just in time to see her head dip back down into the water and her tail quickly follow! I was so shocked I couldn't speak!" Urquhart Castle Sam goes on to say that it no one else in her tour group seemed to have sighted the mysterious creature of the loch but the photographic evidence of the loch Ness monster takes pride of place on her desk. "Every time I look at it I remember that moment and how the world is full of wonder, mystery and magic." Urquhart Castle is along the banks of Loch Ness its history steeped in bloody conflict and noble families. Sam has granted us exclusive permission to print a copy of this image of Nessie for our to share the secrets of Loch Ness. So, obviously I didn't see the Loch Ness monster, but I hope you enjoyed the spoof article anyway. I visited Loch Ness as part of the Original Loch Ness Tour. It was a different company to the one I went with for the West Highland Lochs Mountains and Castles, and although the guides were informative, they weren't as great. Be warned that this tour is long so check where you actually stop off as we only did two scenic stops during the whole day! Have you ever travelled in search of myths or legends?

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West Highland Lochs, Mountains and Castles - Scotland

After the gorgeous weather Edinburgh had the day that I arrived, the skies decided they would return to the more authentic grey and drizzly weather of a Scottish summer the next day. Would you believe that I actually didn't mind it? In fact, although I missed out on some great scenery due to the mist, I did get some amazing shots...very atmospheric don't you think?

Winding our way through the mountain, glens, along lochs and rivers I heard about the battles, the clans, and the infamous Rob Roy, all of which shaped Scotland's history. Our tour guide was funny and had an accent I could listen to for ages. So I listened. I listened as he talked about politics, agriculture and how rain makes a Scotsman happy because he knows one day it'll become whisky and how wrong Braveheart was, but why let history get in the way of a good film?

Our first stop was at Doune Castle, which Monty Python fans will recognise from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. A quick photo stop at Kilchurn Castle next before finding ourselves on the set of Downton Abbey's Scottish relatives. Inverary Castle is the very real home of the Duke of Argyll (who married into THE Cadbury family), sections of which are open to the public. I'll have you know that I braved bucketing rain with a teeny umbrella just to get you some pics from the gardens. Your welcome ;) hehe.

Now how about this for atmospheric? Loch Lamond, it was our last stop before heading home. The water was beautifully clear and not as cold as i was expecting, but still too cold for my taste, not that I was planning on a taking a dip, I was happier on the banks of the loch hiding under a tree and watch it lap against the shore.

One of the things that really stuck with me was how crisp and clean the air was. You breathe it in and you just know that up until then you have been breathing in crap. Forget the pollution of London, I could tell the difference even in Edinburgh. The other thing that stuck with me is how unspoiled everything is, there is very little development and you can go for miles with only a small cottage here and there dotting the landscape. Scotland. Simply beautiful.

I know I'm a bit odd but am I the only one who notices how a place 'smells' when travelling?

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Hello from bonnie Edinburgh!

Its amazing to be here during "summer" and im having a gret time. Even todays typically Scottish weather only served to add a bit of an authentic air to my tour of the West Highlands, castles and lochs ;) Cant wait to share more with you but for now im off to bed to rise early to search for the loch ness monster for another tour tomorrow so here is little taste of what I have been up to in Edinburgh and Scotland so far to keep you company till the next installment of my adventures in Scotland!

Edinburgh Castle in the sun

Love the name of this pub on the Grassmarket

Couldnt agree more!

For Monty Python fans

Just beautiful!

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The end.

Hearing: the drone of my bus.

I really dont want to go. I just feel so at home here. They have started decorating the streets too. Its been such a wonderful holiday, i just dont want it to end. Im sad i admit but happy that this trip of mine turned out so well. I guess theres just one thing left to do.

Goodbye Edinburgh.

VP

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Rosslyn Chapel and The Real Mary Kings Close, Edinburgh

Hearing: TV noise

Happy Birthday to Me!!!


A quick trip out to Rosslyn Chapel today. I actually didn't know that it was so close to Edinburgh, only about 1/2 an hour by local bus. So out i went, there were a few others who had the same idea and located in a small village, off a side road, there it was. For those who don't know, this chapel is home to one of the places that Dan Brown wrote about in his book The Da Vinci Code. It also featured in the movie. Its rumored to have masonic ties and no wonder, the stonework is so detailed. Everywhere you look there is something to see. There is so much religious symbology but mixed in is a "mother nature" feel which i suppose helps the myth Dan Brown wrote about. This chapel is actually only part (the choir) of what was to be a much larger church but when Sir William St Clair (the founder) died it was left incomplete.




















The ceiling of the main alter has all sorts of symbols running along the arches. A recent theory was that they were musical notes. The guy who came up with this theory actually played the music he thought they depicted at the chapel earlier in the year though the music according to the guide was a bit unusual.

An interesting story about the place is based on the 2 pillars you can see on the left. One straight and one curved. Its called the apprentice story and it goes a little something like this. Out of all the masons employed to build and decorate this chapel one was in charge of these 2 pillars and he had an apprentice to help him. This master had finished the pillar on the left and wanted something different for the other so he was sent off to find inspiration leaving the apprentice behind. One day the apprentice approaches Sir William and says he saw a dream of how the 2nd pillar should be and could he please be allowed to do it. Sir William agrees and the apprentice comes up with the pillar on the right. When the Master comes back and sees that the apprentices work is better than his he is jealous and beheads his apprentice. The master is also beheaded as punishment for such a crime and if you look carefully, there is what is believed to be, a carved version of his head, the apprentices head in the corners just below the organ.

At the moment the chapel is covered with a temporary roof to keep out the moisture that had been seeping into the stone through the years. Its presence allows you to see the chapel from the top (also minutely decorated) and gives you a chance to see beautiful views of the valley and Rosslyn Castle.























I also paid a trip to The Real Mary Kings Close. It is basically the remnants of 16th -19th century closes and houses preserved as they were. The unusual thing about this is that there is a building on top of it! The building of the Royal Exchange (Council Chambers) knocked down a few floors of the existing buildings but left the bottom floors intact to be used as foundations! When you step inside the close it looks like any other close you can see running off the Royal Mile but there is no sky, just the floor of the Council Chambers.

The tour takes you underneath and shows you the homes of people who lived there, tells you about the plague and how it was dealt with and how if you were poor your home was one room where 12 people lived including the livestock. There is one house still preserved exactly as it was before only you cant go inside as the floorboards may be unsound and the walls are painted with arsenic treatment (as if we're going to lick the walls??!!). But you can take a peek inside from the doorway and right at the back can see a lovely old "thunder box" LOL!

As with a lot of other places in Edinburgh, the Close is haunted and one particular room is haunted with the spirit of a little girl from a well to do family (they had 3 rooms) who apparently was sick and had to be abandoned by her family.

I have to say its as close as you can get to stepping back in time going down Mary Kings Close, just standing in the close and looking down - everything is as it was all those years ago - a lot cleaner but still the same. They have added a few things here and there (like laundry hangings across the close above) but nothing to take away the feel of the history of the place. I really wanted to take photos but they weren't allowed - total bummer.


VP

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Calton Hill and Mercat Tours, Edinburgh

Hearing: TV noise

Ok, laugh if you want but im sleeping with the TV on tonight. That ghost tour really gets your heart racing. But before i get carried away let me just start at the begining.

First up are photos of Calton Hill and views from it since i was there this morning.

























One of the more famous shots of Edinburgh. Looking out from Calton Hill to Princess street Edinburgh Castle in the distance and the top of St Giles to the the left.



































































































All Mercat Tours start here at the Mercat Cross next to St Giles Cathedral. At around 2.30pm i met up with my tour group and did the Secrets of the Royal Mile Tour which was really interesting. It pointed out things that you wouldnt notice normally.





 




Here are a few things the guide told us about:

• The Parliament building and carpark are built on top of St Giles Cathedrals graveyard. There is a yellow square slab on parking bay 23 marking the grave of John Knox.
• The Mercat Cross acted as the town centre. It was much bigger back then and acted as a market, a place for entertainment, where gossip was shared, public announcement were made, public punishments were delt and where the stocks were kept (kinda conveinent since you could buy rotten fruit from the market and throw it at whoever was in the stocks).
• There is a golden "I" at one of the intersections which marks where the hangings and beheadings happened.
• The real life person the character of Dr. Jykell/Mr Hyde was based on lived here and apparently had 1 wife, 2 mistresses and 18 kids!

Now the tour that has gotten me into the state I'm in was also by Mercat Tours and is called the Ghosthunter Trail (no under 16yo). It started at 9pm and there was a huge turnout. Couples, friends even a few singles like myself. Our guide Faith, was brilliant. We started with a visit to the haunted underground vaults. As we walked through we were told all sorts of stories about people who lived here and met with their deaths, about other group tours where people felt or heard something and ran for it about the 3 main ghosts who were most active down there...I must admit it was fun having your heart race and watching how others were dealing with it too. Some of the girls demanded their boyfriends hold their hand at all times and stay close and the guys i could tell were just putting on a brave face. Everywhere people were imagining something tugging on their sleeves or a cold draft as a ghouls breath. The atmosphere was pulsing and everyone was holding their breath just waiting for something to happen. What a rush!

Ghost story after ghost story and then out of the underground vaults and onto a graveyard for more ghost stories. I remember one being about a lady being buried alive because her family thought she was dead only to be found by grave robbers. That lead to people insisting on being buried with a string tied to their wrists and attached to a bell outside their grave so if they were buried alive they could pull the string and ring the bell to alert the grounds keeper. One of the stories that really got to me was this...

A long time ago there was a building - number 13 - which was home to a family. Then one day they disappeared and no one ever went in or came out of there for a long time. One day the place was bought and turned into a hotel of sorts, there was no problem until a maid doing her rounds came across a room that was at the very top. Hearing something inside she went in to investigate and never came out - they found her on the floor frozen dead with a look of fear on her face looking up at the centre of the ceiling. Two men decided to investigate. One would spend the night in that room and the other in the room next to it. The deal was that if the man saw anything he would ring a small bell, if something big was happening he would ring a larger booming bell and his friend would come running. The clock ticked away and soon the friend heard the tinkle of a small bell, he waited, heard it again, and then got up and headed for the door by the time he reached the mans room the other big booming bell was ringing out and the minute the friend put his hand on the door knob everything went silent. The friend stepped inside and there was the man, on the floor dead, the same as the maid staring at the centre of the ceiling. The large bell was on a shelf in the corner of the room. The friend looked at where his friend was looking and ... died. Now the thing is no one knows which building this is anymore, since that time, the streets have changed and so have the numbers and guess where I'm staying? The topmost floor of my hotel...LOL! Just to prove I'm not such a big scaredy-cat i did look at the ceiling of my room when i came in but I'm still sleeping with the TV on tonight!!!

VP

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