I definitely feel twenty-four. Twenty-four seemed old a couple of weeks ago, but now I think I definitely feel twenty-four. I think it’s a good age. A good point in my life and a good, strong age.
Edinburgh was a fricking sweet place to spend my birthday.
This morning I got up and read my birthday card from Rob, which was v sweet and lovely, and May gave me a card she’d bought from the Beatrix Potter centre with a water-colour of the opening frame of Peter Rabbit in which Mother Rabbit is buttoning up the bunnies’ coats and reminding them not to go into Farmer MacGreggor’s garden because that’s what there father did and he was cooked in a pie.
(I’d had May take a photo of me at the Beatrix Potter centre behind a display of Farmer MacGreggor in his garden in which I feined booting him up the bum – as he did to Peter in the story. She took it but she so wasn’t impressed and thought I was thouroughly silly!)
We mainly just walked up Princes St and did some shopping then had lunch in a restaurant opposite what I think was the parliament buildings.
I HAD HAGGIS! See, I am grown up! (Only grown up people are brave enough for such things as Haggis). So I’m still not entirely certain of what Haggis is exactly but it didn’t taste too bad and smelt better than the Lambs’ Fry (sheep liver) and looked better than Sheeps’ Brains, Eyes and Kidney – all of which we used to serve at the Ocean Grove Bowling Club to the Baby Boomer lunchtime regulars once upon a time when I was chained to that particular wheel.
They served it with ‘neeps’ – turnip mash – and ‘tatties’ – mashed potato – which made it awesome because mash is pretty much one of the foods that Jesus invented to be served at meal times three times a day in Heaven.
The meal title on the menu read ‘Haggis with neeps and tatties’. Well it was my birthday and I was in Edinburgh with my most favouritist sister in the world so trying Haggis with neeps and tatties seemed like the most logical pathway – that was me sold.
May pointed out that she had been moderately adventurous herself in ordering local venison and boar burger. Tasted quite good itself!
Took a few photos of the amaaaaazing castle that just absolutely dominates every view worth seeing. We turned a corner into Princes St and there it was. I felt so struck by its presence and was at the same time aghast at the way people were just walking up and down the street like normal. I couldn’t take my eyes of it.
But I guess you get used to magnificence when you see it every day. It’s more than ‘magnificence’ though, the castle has this incredible presence of proud, tragic history and solemn, dogged majesty with strength in solidarity for all the turmoil its calmly stoical turrets have seen.
Such significance in one structure.
We are staying on the east coast about 45 minutes out of Edinburgh on an out-of-the-way farm off an out-of-the-way road in an out-of-the-way pocket of the coast-line.
East Linton is a cute little town with coastal views and a coastal smell that reminds me of home. The farm is owned by a lovely couple who love to chat and are really open about showing us around and letting us use their laundry and such things. They booked us a table at the Linton Hotel in the town. Because they had told the hotel that it was my birthday there were champagne glass and bottle sparkles on the table and they gave us a gass of champagne each. The meal was great, I had Highland venison and May had ribeye – most likely local. I figured I had to have highland produce!!
The champagne made me a bit giggly so I suppose I got a little tipsy on my birthday and that’s the way it should be, eh. I’m a bit beyond my ‘let’s get wasted’ days I think!
