The Tour begins….

 I know you will all want first impressions, of well, everything. The word is good. Our leader is a bubbly talkative historian, very young, early 30s, hides her tragedies well. The support person on the trip is her partner, and he is the cautious, planning, get us a stool to sit on in the National Museum of Scotland kind of person - but I am getting ahead of myself. 

My room is nice, it has a bath, a small foyer before entering either the bedroom or the bathroom. It is an old Building with uneven floors and a few creaks, but triple glazing so no street noise. I have had 2 nespresso coffees, for as you’ll read I’d had nothing to eat or drink since 8am except water. 

Let me tell you about the pathway to the 2pm meetup at the hotel. I woke, as is my unavoidable pattern due to lack of a curtain, at 5.30am. I reached for the iPad to check on the progress of my query to the tax agent. It was of course the final day before tax returns were due, and I had received the draft only the day before. And I thought they had made a mistake. I was right, saving myself $6,000. That was a good start to the morning. I quickly booked a hotel around the corner for the last night in Edinburgh, then a plane from Edinburgh to London Heathrow on my second last day ( to be ready to fly home). Hoping all the while that I had not buggered up the dates!

I returned to entering BDM data into Ancestry for about 2 hours. My bus from Kelso left at 11.17am, connecting with my train from Galashiels at 12.18, there was supposed to be an 11 minute interval, and I had never been on a bus that was not on time. So far, my frantic rushes to the train at Galashiels had always turned out well - I think 60 seconds and then 30 seconds sounds about right. But I had not banked on the busy mid-day traffic - mums and bubs and strollers, old people, young people; people getting on and off at nearly every stop. We were running late, and the bus driver seemed to have given up the challenge to be on time. At the station before mine, I thought perhaps I should get off here and catch the train earlier. But my ticket only starts from the next station, would I be in trouble?

Well the time of the train’s impending departure came and went, and as we pulled into the bus station I could see passengers still on the train platform. It was running late! I jogged, yet again, but this time with my very heavy suitcase, onto the platform, no train. I had to print a ticket, but that I had checked with the ticket details had vanished! In my haste I had sent it to trash! I boarded the train hoping I could download a barcode - not a chance. 

Here is the first weird thing. When I rechecked the ticket, I had booked it from the earlier station anyway - it is where the train starts from, so I should have got off the bus at the earlier stop, no time panic, paper ticket to be printed.

The lovely train guy said he’d let the ticket guards at Edinburgh deal with me. For the rest of the trip I tried all sorts of ways to get a barcode, but failed. I resigned myself to buying another ticket at the end. Because of the heavy suitcase I let everyone off first, and was at the end of the queue for the ticket guards. The first guy had said they would charge me the price of another ticket. I Told my story, because I did have a receipt on my phone - he waved me through! I do like these Scottish people.

Got the lifts up to Princes St, and then walked the 10 mins to the hotel - unfortunately all uphill, and was still the 5th out of 9 to arrive, with 8 mins to spare.

So the tour group. A married couple Ian and Susan, sisters Pam and ?, singletons like me, Anne, Robin, Cathy, Monica. I might be the youngest I suspect. We went off to National Museum, a 15 minute walk, and they had to ask me slow down the pace. We all have wearable audio links to Lauren, so I could still hear her talking.

Really great private tour of the museum, based on 10 objects/display cabinets, including:

Darien money chest

Bonny Prince Charlie items

Lewis chess people

Statement of Arbroarth - as long as there are 100 Scot’s alive, we will never be unde English rule.

Newcomin power machine, which Watt improved

Chair for carrying people around mucky Edinburgh

Medical excellence such as use of chloroform in childbirth

Replica tomb of Mary Queen of Scots

Drinking vessel of early kings, re the Stewart dynasty.

The guide was very witty, very droll, and always sticking it into the English. She found out who were all our Scottish ancestors’ names; pronouncing Buchan as Buccchan, as the ch in loch.

We are eating at a restaurant across the street so no more walking.

I think it is going to turn out well!

Dinner was at The Dome across the road, a building that was once that of the College of Surgeons.