Edinburgh 1

The Men of Note concert tour of Scotland started out in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland since the 15th century. The population of the whole city area is approximately 1.4 million people, fairly small as cities go, but what a lovely place it is. We stayed at the Apex Waterloo Hotel, right in the downtown area. The first day we went on a walking tour of historic Edinburgh, ably guided by Mike, who was not only very knowledgeable, but entertaining with personality plus!
A selection of Edinburgh streetscapes.... sorry, I can't remember the names of all the streets or the history of the buildings. I should have taken notes but........

King Raedwald

Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk, is the site of two 6th and early 7th century cemeteries. I spent a day there in the company of my cousins, and the ghosts of ancient Anglo-Saxons.
There are around 20 earthen burial mounds in the Sutton Hoo area. Under one of those mounds excavated in 1938 was a ship burial.... yes, a whole wooden ship 89 feet (27m) long was hauled up the hill from the river estuary below and buried with a very important passenger, the body of an Anglo-Saxon warrior.
You can read details about the Sutton Hoo ship burial here and here.

The warrior was buried in an oak burial chamber inside the ship along with many of his valued possessions. The collection of 263 high status objects included weapons, silver cutlery, gold buckles, coins, and a distinctive full-face war helmet, many things that were needed in the afterlife.

The identity of the warrior is unknown, but it is believed to be King Raedwald, the most powerful of the English tribal kings. He was the son of Tytila of East Anglia, in the present day British counties of Suffolk and Norfolk. He reigned from about 599 until his death around 624. He was the first king of the East Angles to become a Christian, although he still maintained a pagan temple.... hedging his bets just to be sure!

A reconstruction of the king's burial chamber. Coins found at the burial are dated approximately at the time of Raedwald's death. Other items found are: An iron standard, a sceptre, spears, an iron-bound wooden bucket, a bronze bowl, a hanging bowl containing the remains of a musical instrument, drinking horns, a shield, a helmet, a sword, the iron head of an axe, the remains of a coat of mail, ten silver bowls, two silver spoons (engraved respectively with ‘Saul’ and ‘Paul’ in Greek), thirty-seven gold coins, three unstruck circular blanks, two small gold ingots, and various pieces of jewellery.

The iron warrior helmet found in the burial chamber, now on display at the British Museum.

A reconstruction of the warrior's shield.

A replica of the helmet was produced for the British Museum by the Royal Armouries.

Other burial mounds in the area have been excavated, with surprising results. A young man was buried with his horse, and a man and woman were buried with a horse and a dog. Another mound contained iron ship rivets from a small wooden ship. The cemetery also contained bodies of people who had died violently. Not all the mounds have been investigated. A fascinating place.

Return of the Traveller

I'm back from my travels. A week with family in England. Two weeks touring Scotland in the company of the Men of Note male voice choir. Then a week wandering in my favourite city.... St Johns, Newfoundland.
And now I'm back home in Ontario, Canada, the suitcase is stored away, the laundry is done and folded, the fridge is restocked, and I'm waiting for the next adventure to start. Not quite sure what that adventure is going to be though, as I have nothing planned other than enjoying the remains of the summer with my grandies.
Meanwhile I'll post some pics of my travels and hope I won't bore you too much.
Here's my cousin's house in Suffolk. This gnarled cherry tree was grown from a cherry stone planted more than 30 years ago.

It was a small farmhouse back in the 1600s, then was expanded in the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s. When my cousins bought the property, it was derelict with weeds growing through the broken windows and holes in the roof. They moved in, along with workmen of all trades, and subsequently brought up four daughters here.
We had a week long mini family reunion here. Five cousins, sisters E, J, J (all from England), M (from Australia), and me (from Canada), and including cousin's children with their spouses, and cousin's grandchildren, and a couple of foreign exchange students from Spain and Germany. It was HOT and sunny and we made good use of the swimming pool.
Such a joy to be able to keep in touch with extended family, even though we are scattered around the globe.

Packing

I'm taking a short break...... I've started making long lists and collecting things that need to go into the suitcase.

Yep.... there are piles of clothes all over the place, and I'm busy doing laundry, clearing out the food in the fridge, changing money, making phone calls, arranging a ride to the airport.
I'll be in England for a week, then Scotland for 12 days with the Men of Note Concert Tour.  I'm definitely not singing, I'm just a hanger on.
I bought a new rain jacket as it always rains in Scotland, but the weather forecast for the area in England where I'll be is HOT! I hope it's not too hot, I wilt in the heat.

Mrs Henny Penny

Here's Mrs Henny Penny and her 3 chicks....

.... created from wire, aluminum foil, masking tape, paper, glue, gesso, paint and googly eyes from the dollar store! All sitting on an egg-shaped field of daisies.

Painting en Plein Air

Yesterday I joined some of my painting group and we went into the green Ontario countryside, armed with chairs, easels, water bottles, paints and canvases to do some outdoor painting, something I'd never tried before.
We went to a secluded spot which used to be farmland before the Federal Government took it over to build an airport that never happened (and I hope it never will, long story!). The trees have grown tall in the past 30 years, and the land is overgrown.
I set up my chair and easel in the shade, put on my big floppy sunhat, and stated to sketch, and then paint. Our instructor said only use 6 colours (a warm blue, red and yellow, and a cool blue, red and yellow) and white.
It wasn't easy, so much detail, so many shades of green, so many trees to choose from, how to fit those huge trees into a small canvas. And then there are the bugs, mosquitoes, ants, the breeze, the sun drying the paints, the moving shadows, so different from painting indoors.
But the sunshine, the clouds, the birdsong all combined to make it a fun experience. I'd do it again. Here's my basic painting.... lots more to do on it.

On the Roof

When I first moved here, the cable TV from the previous occupants was still hooked up and working, so I continued to use it for over a year until the cable company came knocking on my door and disconnected it. Spoilsports!
So I decided that cable TV was far too expensive to pay for all those channels showing TV programmes that I don't want to watch, so up went the antenna on the roof.

It's connected through my TiVo, and I  have a choice of about 25 channels.... most of which I never turn on, they are either religious, or in a different language, or ancient American TV shows that I'm not interested in.
CBC, CTV, PBS and TVO provide everything that I want to watch.
I share Netflix with OlderSon.
And I can follow the sadly dwindling fortunes of the BlueJays on MLB.TV via Chromecast.
So I have lots to entertain me.

Next was the internet.... which I can get through a private internet provider for less than half price of my previous monthly bill. Then it was time to get rid of the land phone line and sign up for VOIP internet phone..... after an initial outlay of money to get started, just top up the account two or three times a year. Definitely a lot cheaper than any of the major phone companies.

I've been successfully using these innovative systems for 3 or 4 years now. It all works just fine! Thank goodness for YoungerSon who has helped me connect all this technical stuff, I would have never been able to negotiate through this minefield by myself.