August 5th, 2019.
After breakfast we walked to Greyfriers Bobby and visited the Kirkyard.
“Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all”
Over 160 years ago, a wee Skye Terrier was about to become the most famous dog in Scotland’s history. Greyfriars Bobby is a remarkable story, and a heart warming tale.
On 15th February 1858, in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, a local man named John Gray died of tuberculosis. Gray was better known as “Auld Jock”, and on his death he was buried in old Greyfriars Churchyard. Bobby, a wee Skye Terrier, belonged to John, who worked for the Edinburgh City Police as a night watchman, and the two of them had been virtually inseparable for approximately two years.
Bobby led his master’s funeral procession to the grave at Greyfriars Cemetery, and later, when he tried to stay at the graveside, he was sent away by the caretaker.
But the little dog returned and refused to leave, whatever the weather conditions.
Despite the combined efforts of the keeper of the Kirkyard, Auld Jock’s family and some of the local people, Bobby refused to be enticed away from the grave for any length of time, and he touched the hearts of the local residents.
Although dogs were not allowed in the graveyard, the people rallied round and built a shelter for Bobby and there he stayed, guarding Auld Jock.
Bobby was well cared for by the people of Edinburgh, but he still remained loyal to his master, and he continued to stay faithfully guarding Auld Jock’s grave for all those years, until he died on January 14th 1872, aged 16 years.
Bobby was also buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, just seventy five yards away from his masters grave. He has his very own red granite headstone, which was unveiled by His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester CCVO, in 1981.
“Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all”
From there we walked to the Waverly station to catch a Hop on Hop off bus for a spin about the city. The Green Bus has a live narration and it is rather good as the narrator can improvise and add to the story as needed along the route.
Before boarding the bus we went to the Scott Memorial, rail station, and had a nice chat with a bus person at the stop.
I really like Train Stations
Dr Livingston I presume
We did a full circle tour with the bus and then went to the Tattoo shop, so as to avoid any madness this evening.
Then we walked back to Greyfriars and had lunch at the pub and got a small Bobby for the Adventures Club.
Back to the hotel to start some packing before heading out again.
We walked to the Museum of Childhood and I found it fascinating and interesting in many ways. The best overall thought I took away from this visit was that childhood and play are very important to our developmental individuals and society.
One display case had some Golliwoggs (a racist symbol) on display. They also had a placard apologizing for having them there on display. Further they suggested to use this bit of the past to further discuss current feelings and how things may have or may not have changed.
As the firing of the one o’clock gun sounded froAs the firing of the one o’clock gun sounded from As the firing of the one o’clock gun sounded from
Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo
The story begins almost seven decades ago and had humble beginnings. It was inspired by a simple show called 'Something About a Soldier' performed in 1949 at the Ross Bandstand. The bandstand is still there, on Princes Street Gardens just below the Castle. Lieutenant Colonel George Malcolm was the first Producer of The Edinburgh Tattoo. He aimed to bring the Army's contribution to the Edinburgh International Festival to life. The Tattoo has gone from a modest event in a park to today’s global showcase at the Castle.
This year the Tattoo will capture the imagination in Kaleidoscope. Exploring color, music and light, the 2019 Tattoo is inspired by the optical invention created by Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster in 1816.
For this evening we had chosen the Wallace Package. This started at the Scotch Whiskey Experience with a private tour of this facility followed by drinks, canapés, and a meet and greet with some of the performers.
I will highly recommend the Scotch Whiskey Experience as a part of ones Edinburgh visit. Great information was presented in a most engaging fashion. Don’t miss it.
Worlds Largest Scotch Collection
I enjoyed chatting with the performers. One was a Gurkha from Nepal, we chatted about his country, his unit and his role in the Tattoo. He is the Drum Major representing his unit.
Another performer I chatted with was from Victoria BC and he is part of the Highland dancers. It was his third year at the Tattoo.
From the Scotch Whiskey Experience, we were escorted to our seats. Our seats were in row J about the middle of the esplanade. Soon the performance started.
I am finding it rather difficult to describe the Tattoo as it is much more than pipes and drums. There are performances from various military units and dance groups from around the world. There were bands from Germany, France, Trinidad and Tobago, Norway, New Zealand, and China. Each brought a bit of their country to the Tattoo.
The theme this year is Kaleidoscope, and yes it was a mixture of music, color, dance, and light. The projections on the castle were great and they complimented each section of the performance.
The finale includes all performers including the massed bands and is very stirring.
A DVD and CD of the 2019 performance can be preordered and I am sure I will be ordering one.
One thing I will suggest is if one wants souvenirs of the event, go to the the shop on Cockburn Street and make your purchases there to avoid the rush after the performance. We were happy and pleased with our choice of the Wallace Package and there are others available which include meals.
It is a difficult event to photograph from the stands, for many reasons.
All this said, I am so glad to have experienced the Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo.
If one can, they should plan at trip to see this amazing event. I would consider making this a day trip from London during the Festival and returning to Edinburgh during the off season to enjoy a wonderful city.
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