Scotland 2002

Scotland - August 2002



Loch Sween looking south from Castle Sween

Thursday, August 8 - Philadelphia / London / Edinburgh

Okay, its 7:00am local time here in London at the Gatwick Airport (that's about 2:00am our time). So far the trip has been smooth. Left Philly on time! At Gatwick, we take a "shuttle" to the North Terminal, but it was more like a subway. Must go through immigration and customs first though. I was spot frisked coming through the gate here. She even asked to see the bottom of my shoes.

Thursday, August 8 - Edinburgh
We have finally arrived!



Royal Mile, Edinburgh 2002


Grassmarket, Edinburgh


Friday, August 9
The big trip.

Up at 7am for the much anticipated full Scottish breakfast. Off to Avis to pick up the car. A nice, bright blue Citroen Xsana. Peter drove off at 9:30am. We both had a hand at driving 'backwards' as we call it. Driving on the wrong side of the road isn't so bad once you get the hang of it, but driving a manual transmission while seated in the right seat and shifting left-handed is the tough part! Watch out for that wall! The drive west took about 6 hours through Sterling, Inveraray, Lochgilphead, and Tarbert.



Inveraray, Scotland


Tarbert, Scotland

It seems Tarbert was too far as Castle Sween is northwest near Tavilish. We back track up to Lochgilphead, then down a single lane road about 10 miles to Castle Sween. What a fun road to drive on - sheep everywhere, along the road, in the middle of the road, all along the hillside. They were fairly calm and would move off the road when approached. The single lane road was unique. When another car was coming the other way, one driver had to pull off the road on turnouts to let the other pass.


road to Castle Sween


The impressive Castle Sween ruins sit on a hill overlooking Loch Sween. It is surrounded by a 'Holiday Trailer Park' (quite cheesy) which distracts from the view looking east from the Castle. Peter was surprised so much of the original building remained. We took several photos of the castle interior, exterior, and adjoining Macmillan Tower (the castle kitchen area). We did not see the Macmillan Cross and wondered where it was kept. We asked the park shop keeper, who informed us that the cross was at Kilmory Chapel about 2-1/2 miles down the road. Luckily, we saved a few photos for the Cross.



Castle Sween, Scotland 2002


Macmillan Cross is in the Kilmory Knap Chapel. I made a "rubbing" of the bottom of the back using some dirt picked up off the ground and a white paper bag from our purchase at the Castle Sween park shop. Peter also used the back of the bag to transcribe the story of the cross. Improvise!



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The Macmillan Cross
Kilmory Knap Chapel. August 9, 2002

"This cross was carved for Alexander Macmillan who was keeper of the Castle Sween in the late 15th Century. It was carved locally and shows the crucifixtion on one side with the Virgin Mary on the left and St. John on the right. On the other side is a hunting scene with a woodsman looking on. The scene has been cleverly twisted to fit the space available on the shaft. The cross's original base is still in place on the west end of the church yard."
Another cross in the chapel:
"This cross was carved on Iona for Duncan Macmillan and his father Malcolm around 1505. At the foot of the shaft is a rider with a spear. Around him there was an inscription which was still legible in the 17th Century."

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Saturday, August 10

Our first show at the Assembly Rooms, believe it or not, was a marvelous production called Jerry Springer - The Opera. What a hoot. True opera, true Jerry. Then off to the Pleasants to see Gulliver done by the Blacklight Theatre of Prague. Innovative use of projections, lighting, and of course Black Light. No spoken words, it was part film, part puppetry, part mime. Very good and unusual. We would recommend both of these shows.


Edinburgh Castle / Marsha and Peter in front of our venue

Sunday, August 11

Met Peter after his rehearsal at noon. We had a few hours to kill before the first show - so we found a place with internet access on Rose Street. Good deal at 70 minutes for 1 pound! Sent off a quick email to the folks back home. Today is the first day of rain (all afternoon). At 2:50p we saw Goering's Defense. All about Herman Goering, Hitler's second in command. Took "afternoon tea" in the room at 5pm, then went to see The World Is Just About Enuff at 7pm. A silly spoof on James Bond. Very low budget, but very cute.


at rehearsal / on Rose Street


Monday, August 12
The Tiny Closet

Peter's show opened today. Fringe Inge, two one-act plays by William Inge - The Tiny Closet and A Rainy Afternoon. We took a bagged lunch up to Nelson's Tower which overlooks Holyrod Palace and the city, just off the east end of Princes Street. Great views on such a gorgeous, sunny day! Also up on Colton's Hill was an observatory and a replica of the Greek Parthenon. We later saw a one woman show called Correspondent at 2pm at the Assembly Rooms. Very good. Then Peter and I split up to see something different. I hung around Starbucks for an hour before going back to the Assembly Rooms to see musician Robyn Hitchcock at 6:30p, while Peter travelled to the Pleasants to see Caveman, Inc. We met up afterwards on the mile and had a nice relaxing dinner out at Jirada Thai Restaurant, just down the road from our B&B on Gilmore Place.



view of Arthur's Seat / Nelson's Tower and other Monuments


Tuesday, August 13

Memorial Hall at Edinburgh Castle



a rainy afternoon at Edinburgh Castle / in front of St. Margaret's Chapel

Early dinner on Rose Street. Mr. Chippy's fish and chips eaten al fresco on a Rose Street bench. Nice atmosphere as the street guitar playing musician serenades us. At 7:45p we saw Owen O'Neil's My Son The Footballer. What can we say, we like this guy! We paused on the way home at the castle to listen to the Military Tattoo (sold out all summer) and to catch the nightly fireworks. A chilly evening. Weather has been cool, misty, sometimes rainy, sometimes sunny.

Wednesday, August 14

I spent the morning at Greyfriers Kirk Churchyard - catching up on the journal writing. Sunny, beautiful weather today. I went to see Horse Country at 12:30pm. Excellent! My favorite of the fringe. Like Mamet on acid does Waiting for Godot! Meanwhile, Peter did his show and a vault tour at 1pm. He claims this tour was much better than the ghost tour we did a few nights ago. We met up at the Starbucks at Hanover and George Streets where we both had coffee and sandwiches for lunch. We went to see Goner in the Assembly Rooms at 3:15p. A too fast paced comedy by the same NY group that did Horse Country and The Lost Works of Sam Beckett....



along the Royal Mile

Thursday, August 15

Today is beautiful and COOL. We just came from a show called Slaves of Starbucks, a dark comedy about Corporate Americana - spot on. The Canadian actor was excellent, good with accents and movement. Earlier, we saw Seinfeld Conspiracy also at the Hill Street Theater. Joey West's conspiracy theory of how the Seinfeld tv show was all his idea. Yeah, uh-huh.


our favorite shop on the mile

Friday, August 16

Met Peter after Fringe Inge. Then we saw a humorous show at the Assembly Rooms at 1:25p called The Complete Lost Works of Samuel Beckett As Found In An Envelope (Partially Burned) In A Dustbin In Paris Labeled 'Never To Be Performed, Never, Ever, Ever! Or I'll Sue! I'll Sue From The Grave!!!'. In the afternoon, we took a walk quite a way up Leith Walk. Strolled back through the lower east end of the Royal Mile to do a little Christmas shopping. A quick stop at the Pieman to pick up early dinner, then back to the room for a much needed rest.


around town

Saturday, August 17


in the breakfast room at the Cruachan Guest House

Up for our last full scottish breakfast. I enjoyed a visit to the Royal Museum of Scotland today (free). Spent a few hours looking at the artifacts in this newly built modern building. I thought the stones in Kilmory Chapel were much more impressive (and whole) then the ones in the museum. Left the museum and walked up Leith Walk to the Gateway Theater to see Fugart's A Place With The Pigs. Fine acting, but a hardly believable script. Peter had a much better day, lunch with the cast, then he went to see Shuteye by Philadelphia's Pig Iron Theater. I met Peter at the Traverse Theater after the show, then we walked to Rose Street for our last dinner at, you guessed it, Mr. Chippy. Another nice evening sitting on Rose Street devouring our greasy chicken and chips and breathing in the festival atmosphere. A fine end to a fine week!

Sunday, August 18

Up at 4:30am to grab a cab to the airport. Our flight left at 6:30am for London Gatwick. Arrived in London with 6 hours to kill before our flight home. We decided to take a train into the city to visit the British Museum, one of our favorite places. . . . .



the Elgin Marbles


British Museum


London

Stuck in London.
We missed our flight home. Turns out, we did NOT have 6 hours to kill in London (don't ask!) Called USAir to confirm our reservation on the next available flight to Philadelphia which was at 11:45 the next morning. We booked a hotel room for the night at one of the fine airport hotels. Expensive, but by then we didn't care. Oh well.



so long!

11/02/02