The Backblog

I've got loads of stuff to blog about, but since it takes me longer than you think to write each entry, here's an abridged version of everything to help me clear house.

1. Monday: Business Society speed dating

This wasn't speed dating in that the goal was to find someone to go out with later (at least it wasn't my expectation), it was just a fun and unique way for new business students to meet other new business students. You got two minutes to talk with the others participating before you moved on to the next person, and I met a bunch of interesting people from around the world.

2. Wednesday: National Museum of Scotland

Nice museum, but difficult to navigate, which is apparently the point as the "labyrinthe feel" is supposed to represent the "interconnectedness of the layers of Scotland's history."

Photos:

 Canoes. It was easier to navigate by sea than land.

Sculptures "wearing" artifacts. 

Elaborate lock. 

Cast of Mary Queen of Scots coffin. The real one is in Westminster Abbey. 

This is the Maiden, a precursor to the guillotine. About 150 people were killed with this method. 

The lead weight made the iron blade drop pretty quickly. 

Cradle and chair possibly owned by James V of Scotland (I think. There are a bunch of them), who came to power at the age of 1, which everyone knows to be the age of rational decision-making.

The two photos below are text from the Treaty of Arbroath, the declaration of Scottish independence. The whole thing kind of parallels the Quebec situation in Canada, albeit way earlier.

 "As long as only one hundred of us remain alive we will never on any conditions be brought under English rule."

 "For we fight not for glory, nor riches, nor honours, but for freedom alone, which no good man gives up except with his life."

Biblical scenes carved into the church ceiling so even the illiterate would be afraid of sin. 

The mask worn by Alexander Peden, a Covenanter (Scottish Presbytarians) who held illegal services once Episcopalianism became the official religion of Scotland. He wore this mask to keep his identity hidden when preaching to avoid prosecution and the hair and beard are made from human hair. Creepy.

Sweet. 

Making tartan. 

An pulpit for what I can only describe, even though Scotland is protestant, as "Popestock"—an outdoor festival where many different preachers would give services over several days to large groups of people.

First double-sided printing press. 

Hearse. Scots used to keep the corpse in the house so people could come a pay their respects before having a proper burial. 

The museum corridor.

Other fun things I learned:

• The land mass that is now Scotland originated in the southern hemisphere and slowly moved its way up to where it now lies. Because of that, Scotland was a desert at one point.
• Scotland once had moose and bears, but they've since died out.
• 17 minature coffins were found buried on Arthur's Seat. No one knows why they're there, but a popular theory is that they represent the 17 people that were murdered by the infamous bodysnatchers Burke and Hare.

3. Thursday: Birthday

It was my 21st birthday on Thursday, which was scary in its own right, but I decided to make it even scarier by going on a haunted walk of the Edinburgh vaults. For those who don't know, there's basically an entire abandoned underground city of about 120 vaults lying beneath South Bridge right off the Royal Mile. The vaults were originally used for storage by the business on South Street but eventually became a red light district known for heinous activities as the area beneath the bridge turned into a slum. They were abandoned sometime in the 1800's and rediscovered in the 1980's, and there have been many reports of paranormal experiences inside ever since. We descended into the Blair Street vaults (supposedly the most haunted of all vaults) and while being incredibly creepy, I didn't catch any sight of a ghost. Maybe next time. The ghost stories however were excellent and helped conjure some pretty frightening imagery, at least in my mind. I didn't take any pictures for fear of ruining the mood, but here are some good ones from the internet:

Not pictured: ghosts.

Overall, it was spooky good fun, and a great way to start my downward spiral into senescence. Thanks to Sarah for the delicious cake, Becky and Claire for being good sports, and everyone else that came out! You made this Canadian feel truly welcome.

Friday: Mary King's Close

I did another underground tour on Friday, this time of a completely covered Mary King's Close, a side street that ran off of the Royal Mile (think of closes as alleys). The close is notable for many reasons, but an important one is that it's named after a woman, something that was very uncommon back in the day. What's special about Mary King is that she was incredibly rich and had the right to vote. Again, pretty much unheard of. 

The tour was far less creepy and more informative than the ghost one even though they had mannequins displaying such lovely things as murder and how plague victims were treated. For instance, did you know people just used to throw their raw sewage out the windows and let it roll down the close into the loch at the bottom? Maybe you did, but did you know that it often resulted in an ankle-high river of poo flowing past your front door? That's how bad it got.

It was amazing how well preserved it was and to think that people actually lived in this way. What's even more mind-blowing is how they actually built overtop of these old streets. Seriously, the city chambers sit on top of the close (which is why no pictures were allowed) and I can't figure out how it works architecturally. I highly recommend you check it out for yourself if you ever get the chance.

Saturday: St. Andrew's Day Trip and the Big Cheese

My first trip outside of the city and it was a good one. It's named after the patron saint of Scotland (St. Andrew, duh) and home to a prestigious university, a castle and cathedral, and the home of the wonderfully elitist sport of golf. Fun fact: the diagonal cross on the Scottish flag is called a saltire and is the type of cross on which St. Andrew was martyred. Cheery!

Not so pretty now, is it?

Blustery January beach. 

 The university.

University courtyard. 

Another campus building. 

Castle. 

Note the moat. 

Hole for cannon. 

View from said hole. 

Courtyard. 

View from Castle. Cathedral on the left. 

Me and Kelly at the end of the tunnel. This was the coolest part of the castle. Attackers were attempting to tunnel into the castle when those inside became aware of the plan, so they hastily built a counter-tunnel to intercept the attackers and successfully drove them off. We're standing in the original attacker tunnel. It was impossible to stand in the resistance tunnel because it was so narrow and you wouldn't be able to fit if you were bigger than 6 ft.

Part of the cathedral. It was once the largest cathedral in Scotland and was destroyed during the reformation by supporters of John Knox.

Original columns. 

Graves. 

St. Rule's Tower, where the relics of St. Andrew may have been held. We wanted to climb it, but the line was too long. 

More graves. 

Old course. 

The reason it's dangerous is because you have to shoot over part of the course hotel to get to the green, which is exactly where we were standing. 

Intense sandtrap. It looks more like a sinkhole. 

Course hotel featuring one of the nicest bathrooms I've ever used. 

Unfortunate street name. 

Standing on rocks in St. Andrew's Bay.

Saturday evening was spent at the Big Cheese, the student venue on campus that plays 80s and 90s music. After a little more than an hour of a wait, we finally got inside and proceeded to let the good times flow, quite literally, as I was showered in a multitude of drinks throughout the evening. That and I spent a good majority of the night wedged up against large, drunken Scottish men fighting for a position on the dance floor. And while the music was nostalgic (Bewitched, S Club 7, Aqua, Soft Cell) they didn't have "Walking On Broken Glass" by Annie Lennox! And she's Scottish. Quite disappointing. Either way, there was some fun to be had, but the evening mostly reaffirmed my anti-clubbing stance. Maybe it's my old age talking, but can't we just go talk at a pub?

Congratulations if you made it to the end of this gargantuan post. 100 points for you.