Skip to main content

Settling In

It's now eighteen months since we settled in Edinburgh after a couple of delightful decades in rural Banffshire.

Having never lived in a city, we viewed the move with caution and a degree of planning.

The car sits relatively idle in residents' parking in our street. It did only about 2,000 miles between its 2021 and 2022 MoT checks. With the nearest Edinburgh City Car Club pickup point just round the corner, I have only to persuade herself that a further conversion of lifestyle would make sense.

The garden flat in which we now live suits us fine. Quite a substantial downsize has meant a clear-out of much impedimenta from 50+ years of marriage. And for the first time, we live permanently together. Big changes.

With the time to pursue what has been a hobby since the 1960s - genealogical research - that is precisely what has moved centre stage in my daily activities. Enrolment in an MSc course at the University of Strathclyde.

Edinburgh is a large village, and on my daily walk, I will meet people I know or who know me about half the time. In 2022 I walked 1,321 miles and currently average about five a day.

It is also a city of societies and lectures. One need never be bored. So in Edinburgh, I am now
And I attend most meetings, in my capacity as an ordinary member, of my local Branch of the SNP.

Comments

  1. Great to hear you are enjoying Edinburgh. I think I may have seen you this evening at the Queen's Hall?
    Also great to hear you have enrolled for the MSc in Genealogical Studies at Strathclyde University - I have done their two excellent online courses on Futurelearn and also attended the recent online launch of the new Institute for Genealogical Studies.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Your comments will be read before adding to the blog.

Abuse, illegality or comment at odds with prevailing medical advice will be excluded.

Popular posts from this blog

Genealogy Series: Bigamy, Adultery and Murder - Talk to Scottish Genealogy Society

  Transcription to follow.

Departures

Yesterday was a mixed bag of a day. The warm, welcoming start to the day turned into a cold, damp afternoon just at the point I was going for my walk. On the other hand, my phone returned to normal function. But we lost Tim Brooke-Taylor and Stirling Moss. For people of my generation, Stirling Moss was a hero. A man who risked life and limb on the motor racing circuit. But also came second in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1952 when driving a Sunbeam Talbot 90. That is arguably when he first came to serious public attention.  He certainly influenced my father. For my father went out and bought a Sunbeam Talbot 90. He bought the coupe version, that is to say, the one with a fabric roof which if one had time and energy, that could be rolled back to experience the joy of open-air motoring. What on earth induced him to buy one painted a gold colour remains a mystery. At a later stage in its life, it was, to general relief, resprayed black. It must have been a very substantial co...

Cruelty

Yesterday saw me on the road again after a couple of bad weather days. That didn't mean no exercise. It just meant 30 minutes on the rowing machine instead of 90 minutes brisk walking. The machine is ineffably boring. The scenery never changes. There are no new smells or sounds. But as exercise, it's about as good as it gets. And helps shrink the waistline. It's also an excuse to put the headset on and listen to some new music. The weather had actually been so bad that I got blown off the road onto the verge. A soft landing but not good. My walk was in pleasant early summer weather, 15 degrees, little wind and high clouds to give some protection from sunburn. The Met office predicts similar or better for a week ahead with Friday pitching for 21 degrees. Today's the day I cross the 350 miles walked mark since lockdown. It's also going to be a good day for our animals. Not just our two cats who rule the roost at home. They have a good day every day. Rather for...