“Cast ne’er a clout, till May be out….” my Mum used to say. And a feature of Retirement seems to be paying closer attention to the weather than I ever have before. Is Spring over? Have we jumped Summer? Is the Jekyll & Hyde weather connected to global warming? Be still, my beating heart, because another aspect of Retirement is taking a mid-week (term-time) break in Edinburgh, Scotland’s fine capital.
 |
| New Town, Old Town, Princes Street, the Athens of the North |
The gargantuan dark edifices of Old Town and the benevolent strand of Princes Street Gardens anchor the city for all eternity, but we also spent time parading round New Town’s Georgian elegance, visiting the squares and churches built to lift the volcanic city out of its Burke&Hare reputation. As ever, food and drink were on the menu and I can recommend Veeno’s (where we had a lovely lunch on Day One) and Wedgewood (where we had a fancy dinner on Day Two) but, better than both, was eating in the home of old friends from university, one of whom was the subject of a book launch (mine in 2022?)
 |
| Literary Edinburgh: Dorward, Spark, Boswell & Johnson.... |
was the book, launched in Edinburgh at Waterstone’s on Princes Street. The author was Edinburgh GP, Dr Peter Dorward, and the subtitle says it all: A Doctor’s Stories from the Heart of Medicine. I always felt Peter, like Sally, was a cultured and literary medic, a man who discussed patients not conditions and who, back in the heady days of learning at the University of Manchester in the 1980s, didn’t fit into the debauched world of medical training (I’m sure it’s all much more civilised these days.) His book is part-memoir, part-reflection on a career dealing with ethical, moral, economic and humanitarian issues whilst simultaneously attempting to keep in mind the individual human consulting about their…. disease…. injury…. distress…. ShitLifeSyndrome…. A masterpiece of philosophical rumination on the current state of the NHS – very personal, highly recommended.
 |
| Hotel Indigo on Princes Street, the lovely room 203.... |
The Athens of the North is a fitting place to think about books with monuments to Burns, Scott and Stevenson everywhere, including in our hotel where our room was plastered with facsimiles of the original edition of Kenneth Graham’s Wind in the Willows. Happily our literary experience was not all male as we stumbled into the Library of Scotland where there was an entertaining exhibition about the comically sinister and waspishly poetic Muriel Spark whose words in her most famous book are an apt place to end:
Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur.
 |
| A Room with a View and, among highlights, Gladstone's Land with its secret-filled ceiling.... |
No comments:
Post a Comment