Old Friends and Older Buildings

After leaving my new friends in Edinburgh behind, I was thrilled to spend a day in St Andrews with friends from my old high school. Pearson College is an international school; when I was there 82 countries were represented, despite there being only 160 of us! At breakfast that morning the eight of us were repping Canada (New Brunswick and Newfoundland), Germany, Slovakia, Guatemala, United States (California), Scotland and Denmark. Quite a bunch!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — The knave of the cathedral.

Anyway, they might be old friends, but the ruins of St Andrews beat them all by a couple of centuries. The city itself is rather quaint, but you can get a pretty good sense of the place through the half-standing cathedrals and worn spires. The remains of the St Andrews cathedral are particularly impressive; it certainly evokes a feeling of majesty despite the remains being strewn about on the seaside.

Sibia (my friend from Guatemala) and I also walked the pier – out to the ocean. The windswept coast was a sight to behold. You could almost hear the Selky’s cry over the vast expanse.

In the evening, my German friend, Alex brought me to an alumni gathering of the German Society of St Andrews. Not only did this offer a great look into how other universities doe their alumni fundraising (lots to talk about at Cambridge!), it was a chance to have a vigorous debate about Europe with a few Germans studying international relations (I promise I didn’t start it). A light-hearted but vigorous evening!

I’m writing this from an Oslo airport, and am now excited to see what the Nordic countries hold – I’ve come to realise that this unfortunately includes different plug sockets.

Some Top-Notch People

As I leave Edinburgh today, I can’t help but think with gratitude of all the alumni that have made my stay in this city so amazing. Their thoughts and stories have given me ample things to write about and have been excellent company the past few days.

In particular, Ian Robertson has been super in ferrying me throughout my few days here. He even managed to secure a meeting with an MSP in the Scottish Parliament.

I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with MSP Jaime Johnston, who had a number of insightful things to say about how the Brexit referendum will impact the devolved administrations. Thanks as well to his staff for the superb tour.

Ian also recommended the brilliant National Gallery, where I spent my afternoon. I particularly enjoyed the Dutch collection – there was a particularly well done Rembrandt self-portrait – did you know he painted one every year for almost 40 years?

I also managed to get great pictures of some of the marble busts. This one of Lucius Verus, co-Emperor with Marcus Aurelius. He was known as a wise ruler, and eventually deified by the Roman Senate in the 170s.

I’d also like to profusely thank Mary Jane and Professor Laidlaw, the Secretary and the Chair of the Edinburgh Alumni Society. I was lucky enough to stay with Mary Jane one evening. We had an absolutely fantastic discussion about the workings of Boards of Directors (she manages some of the Scottish Government’s investments), and her life in Brussels. Watching and discussing the 10 o’clock news was also brilliant. Professor Laidlaw’s hospitality at the New Club was stellar – it was a very good first time for haggis! He also made sure I had a number of alumni: Hugh, Barry, David, Rosemary and Neal. David’s advice as a young graduate was particularly helpful!

I should also say that I was lucky enough to stay with my friend from high school, Sean, but I’ll be seeing him in Dublin so more then!

I leave Edinburgh so glad to have met members of the alumni society, and I’m excited to see what St Andrews and eventually Oslo hold!

At the Top

I spent the day at Edinburgh Castle! What a majestic site. You could see as far as the eye could see on its ramparts, from the Firth of Forth to the Pentlands. I also managed to snap a stunning photo of Arthur’s seat from the top of the castle.

Edinburgh Castle has been besieged 26 times in its history (the most besieged location in Britain). Yet it remains in remarkably good shape. This is likely due to the large-scale restoration and expansion works in the 1850s (when all things Scottish were the rage). In fact, the main gate was a Victorian addition, added specifically because the castle didn’t look ‘medieval’ enough – or at least didn’t seem to live up to stereotypes.

By far the most dazzling aspect of the castle were ‘The Honours’ – the Scottish Crown Jewels. I didn’t manage to take pictures (no photography allowed), unfortunately, so I’ll try to relay in words. The sceptre, a gift from Pope Alexander VI – the pope of The Borgias fame – is gilt silver with a splendid crystal orb; it is much smaller than the English one. The sword is massive, and was very probably the inspiration for the great longsword in Game of Thrones.

It also has a silver handle and was a gift from Julius II. The Crown has a less ‘foreign’ history, and comes from the 1540s. Taken together, they are the oldest surviving crown jewels in the British Isles.

The quirkiest element of the day was the ‘1 o’clock’ gun’, which is fired every day except Sundays, Easter and Good Friday. I then walked through the War Museum, the Scottish branch of the IWM. The display was impressively reverent and captured the important role Scotland has played in the British Armed Forces. Interestingly, Scotland was the prime recruiting ground for the army, both because enlisted soldiers don’t rebel, and because it was one of the prime ways a young Scot could escape poverty. Thus, the Scots formed the crack troops of the British Forces, and it was a Scot from the Royal Scots Regiment (the oldest in the British Army) who took the imperial standard from Napoleon’s forces at Waterloo.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the regimental museums, where individual stories of gallantry took center stage. At the IWM, history is often portrayed through grand arcs, while the Regimental museums at the Castle did well to focus on the real impact and bravery of ordinary men and women.

Finally, I stopped at the profoundly moving War Memorial. Each regiment has a small shrine in front of which are placed two red books. One records those killed in World War I. The other has printed all those killed in World War II.

Thumbing through, it was most revealing to see lists of names, which were placed in alphabetical order, noting that they had all been killed on the same day. Alphabetical or not, it was a testament to the sheer loss of life experienced during those two conflicts (Scotland lost more per capita than any other part of the UK).

Departing the Castle, thoroughly sobered, I was of course greeted with a bagpiper, whose sounds are becoming more and more amenable…

Coming up later today, a great conversation I had with an alumna (from Emmanuel!), and my thoughts on the Scottish Parliament.

Home Away

I had hoped to post this much earlier, but I’m happy to say Edinburgh’s been such a thrill that I simply haven’t had time to sit down and write!

The city is unlike any other in Europe. For the first time in my two years in the Old World, I’ve come across a place that, at least in geographic terms, reminds me of home. In Edinburgh, the flat English fens are transformed into undulating cobblestones and majestic peaks. I did a morning run up to Arthur’s seat, and was awestruck. Edinburgh is by far the only European rival to Canada’s geographical beauty – the hills and crags roll on into the horizon effortlessly. I wish I had brought my camera.

I’ve only seen a small part of the city, but I’m already enamoured. The 18th century architecture is almost perfectly preserved, and the interweaving of the ancient and modern uncommonly deft. The University is probably the only one of I’ve seen that rivals Cambridge’s beauty (sorry Oxford – well, not really).
I also managed to get to the National Museum, where I was thrilled to see a Canadian connection. Our very own Tommy Douglas! The glass made it very

difficult to get a decent photo. Very good to see such a great Canadian (the greatest according to a CBC poll) get the recognition he so richly deserves. Socialism is indeed international!

I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed meeting amazing Canadian alumni, of whom I unfortunately do not have pictures yet. I did however enjoy a fantastic evening at the New Club, where I tried my first haggis – very pleasantly surprised! Much spicier and richer than expected. Over the next few days, I can’t wait to have more haggis (I’m already looking) and to meet even more Cambridge friends. I’ll hopefully see the Parliament too!

Lift Off!

I’m so excited to start my 19 day long journey across Europe. Starting in Cambridge (Emmanuel College), I’ll take the train to Edinburgh, followed by a flight to Oslo, then to Aarhus, then to Copenhagen. I’ll be finishing in Amsterdam and Brussels.

I’m also really looking forward to meeting Cambridge Alumni from across the UK and the world over my travels. I’m lucky enough to be undertaking this trip as part of the Student Travel Award, and I can’t thank Cambridge enough for this opportunity! Throughout my 19 days, I’ll be sure to post about my conversations with the interesting men and women who once called Cambridge home. I’m thrilled you’re reading my blog and I’m looking forward to sharing my travels with you!

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