Peacock at the Palace

One of the first things a new visitor to Scone Palace will notice is the peacocks. Everywhere you look, each way you turn are peacocks. This particular day there were several peahens running about, too. So, obviously the cocks were strutting their stuff, and in a big way. This beautiful young stud was fanning and shaking for all he was worth, but to no avail. Eventually, the hens lost interest and moved away, but we tourists got quite the show. As noisy & as nasty as these birds are, an ostentation of them is quite the sight. On the footy front, that prat Sven Gorn Eriksson has finally admitted that he fucked up made a mistake or ten and will be abandoning his post as England Head Coach immediately after the World Cup. 'Bout time I say! Oh, and good riddance! He's been nothing but an embarassment for several years now. So now the FA get to try and find a new coach while launching a probe into potential bunging managers through the EPL. What a sorry situation. There are several names being bandied about for replacment coach with Curbishly (nah), McClaren (nope) and Allardyce (yep) leading the way for English nationals and Guus Huddink being the odds-on favourite to take the spot. Personally, since only English players can play on the damn team, leaving me out in the cold being American and all, I feel that only English coaches can coach the damn team. Makes sense to me. Arsenal are, at the moment, taking Wigan to task in their final bid for silverware this year. After the tepid performance on the weekend against Everton, Arsenal best have unknotted their knickers and brought a real team to the match. Else the Highbury faithful will turn the stadium into a library and Arsenal will leave this season & their stadium to chants of "boring, boring, Arsenal" or worse. However, it appears as though Arsene has figured this out and has pieced together a pretty potent starting XI in the likes of Henry, Reyes, Campbell, Lauren & Bergkamp while also handing nods to a couple of the new boys. Kerrea Gilbert, & Vassiriki Diaby line up beside Almunia, Hleb & that useless bag, Gilberto Silva. While Poom, Flamini, Pires & RVP sit the bench. It's a strong side, excepting Gilberto. Of course, with a penalty miss by Reyes on the 22nd minute, things could get all cock-eyed pretty quickly. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Regulate by Warren G & Nate Dogg)

Scone Palace

Scone Palace. To quote from scone-palace.net

Scone is a place that breathes history like nowhere else in Scotland. Today, in the 21st century, it is the home of the Earls of Mansfield, and a major attraction to visitors from all over the world. Fifteen hundred years ago, it was the capital of the Pictish kingdom and the centre of the ancient Celtic church. In the intervening centuries, it has been the seat of parliaments and the crowning place of Kings. It has housed the Stone of Destiny and been immortalised in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

I've been here a couple of times, and it never ceases to amaze me just how beautiful it is. Of course, like most of the palaces & houses in Scotland, taking photos inside is verboten, however there's nothing wrong with taking outside photos. This is one of the first days on our trip where we actually had sun. Warm enough that I was in shorts today and had relegated the hoody to the boot. Finally. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Nightfist - Chapter III by The Herman Spectre Legacy)

Everton 1 Arsenal 0

What? I don't know that I've beent his irritated or angry after watching a football match in a long time. Everton scored in the 13th (or so) minute and Arsenal was unable to secure a response. Hentry was off his game. Reyes, Ljungberg & Pires were anonymous, with the exception of Ljungberg's excellently saved shot in the 12th minute. Fabregas was a joy to watch throughout, but his youthful exuberance let him down in the end and he walked early to the showers after a straight red card. NEVER raise your hand to a fellow player on the pitch, your team or theirs. He knows that, Arsene knows that, EVERYone knows that. There's NO excuse, he deserved his red, he deserves to be fined. Campbell & Senderos were useless and occasionally scary at centre-back leaving the messes for Gilbert & Lauren to clean up. Gilbert, a teen-ager played remarkeably well and in my mind earned his spot on the team with his display today. Certainly a better player with more intelligent decisions than Hleb who replaced him or that idiot Gilberto in the centre. New signing Diaby who came on for Pires with 10 minutes left looks like he will eventually grow into those legs of his and become a solid player in mid-field. Certainly he's not afraid to get stuck-in and chase the ball. But he looked a bit out-of-sorts and out of place. But, what do you expect given only 10 minutes to prove your worth in the mighty Arsenal team. Bah!

Mary King's Close

At some point in our day in Edinburgh, as we were walking the Royal Mile, we were accosted by sales hawkers in the guise of historical characters. They were dressed in typically bad 16-19th century costumes. However, they were hawking something that appealed to me: The Real Mary King's Close. See, anything remotely fortean or supernatural has always appealed to me and Auld Reekie is rife with Ghost Walks & the like. Here was my opportunity to do something that would appeal to my wife's love of history & my love of the supernatural. I shan't wax about the close itself, you can read about it by following the link above, but suffice it to say that it was worth every bit of the £6 per person. Photos are not, by the way, allowed during the tour, so typical of me, I hung back, turned off the flash and snuck surreptitious photos whene'er I could. No ghost, sadly, was to be had during our trip underground, but I intend to do it again, and one of these days the ghosts will find that a believer walks among them and come to visit me. At least that is my hope. Arsenal finally have completed the signing of Theo Walcott. He's sixteen, so obviously this is a future enhancement. I wouldn't be surprised to see the lad loaned back out to some team, such as Southampton. But it's a delight to see two Chelsea targets snub them to join the Gunners. A delight indeed. Been sick for two days, but back at work now..which means I have time to write. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Girl in Green by Blue Rodeo)

Deacon Brodie's Tavern

It intrigues me how the two characters in history most often associated with dual identies are both Scottish. Jekyll & Hyde is the invention of Robert Louis Stevenson while William Brodie was a popular & important member of Edinburgh society in the mid-to-late 18th Century. Brodie was a cabinet maker, a Deacon of the Wrights & Masons (a trade guild) , a juror and a city councillor. He was also a burglar. Using his daytime job of cabinetry to glean information about the security mechanisms of his clients (some of the wealthiest people in Edinburgh), he would make wax impressions of their keys and revisit them in the night. Eventually, Brodie became the victim and was captured in 1788 in the Netherlands. He was shipped back to Edinburgh for trial where he and his henchmen George Smith were both found guilty & hanged at the Tolbooth on October 1, 1788. Ironically, a gallows that Brodie had designed & funded the eyar before was used to render him lifeless. It is this amazing double-life that, rumour has it, inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to create & pen The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, one of the most enduring of all stories. Deacon Brodie's Tavern is a traditional style 2-storyed pub on the Royal Mile and a popular watering hole. Food can be had upstairs while the downstairs seemed to be reserved for the drinkers. A delightful place to visit and escape the rain, or sun, if you're on the Royal Mile. In other news, Thierry Henry has reportedly thrown his weight behind the signing of Theo Walcott, something I'd truly love to see. Walcott is 16 years of age and already playing regular football for Southampton's youth squad. His agent claims he will be the next Wayne Rooney, but that's what they said about Freddy who? Adu. He's too young to make that kind of claim, but apparently he's full of tricky, savvy & speed. I'd love to see Thierry & Theo play together. It would seem that Chelsea is also trying to pry this kid away from Southampton, but hopefully Theo has his head up & is watching Wayne Bridge & Wright-Phillips languish on the bench at Chelsea. Let's hope so. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Papa Was a Rolling Stone by the Temptations)

View of the Castle

Edinburgh Castle.
This is the view that many tourists don't get because they just simply don't get off the Royal Mile. We're standing on Prince's Street; more accurately, I'm standing on Prince's Street while Marita Beth is shopping for shoes. I've acquired the Scottish Strip and done with my shopping, but MB is just starting. So, I while away the time and amuse myself with photo-snapping. The weather was very misty, raining at times, prompting many an umbrella or slicker to come out. We have neither with us, but I'm dressed in a fabulous Cross of St. Andrew hoody that I picked up at the Glamis games early in the trip (one of my better buys) while Marita Beth has her hoody from Cairn O'Mohr.
Manchester United have lost their appeal against Ronaldo's dismissal on the weekend, which rules him out for the Burton Albion FA Cup replay tomorrow at Old Trafford. Personally, having seen the clumsy, retaliatory lunge he performed I think he should be banned for more than just one game, but so the jaffa cakes crumble, eh?That piece of shit Wayne Rooney is also ruled out, but I don't know why exactly. Meanwhile Arsenal claims that once Emirates -- HATE the name -- is finished, Arsenal will have the greatest take in gate receipts in the sporting world. Rubbish, I say, but I can't really comment because I don't know what the full value is when every ticket is sold. I do think, however, it would be hard-pressed to compete with the value of these indiotic NASCAR tracks when they're full. I mean, really, those friggin' tracks hold half a million people or more! Emirates -- HATE the name -- will hold only 60,000. Far cry.
That crazy wanker Swede, Sven Gorn has gone and put his foot in again. This time commenting to a sheikh (whom he just met) about the state of his team and the foibles of his current charges using such lovely, moral-boosting terms as "greedy," and "lazy." Saying also, while he was at it, that he'll quit if England win the World Cup (go on and quit, already!) and purchase Aston Villa ensconcing himself as the manager. Pogo Stick! What's he thinking railing on his players to some person he just met (who turns out to be a reporter undercover) and then telling existing EPL managers that he'll fire them as soon as he can. What a miserable, unbelievable, wanker man. Wastrel On! (Listening To: Sgt. Pepper's Loney Hearts Club Band by the Beatles)

Scottish Architecture

I'm not sure what this building is. Nor am I sure what road runs on the bridge in front of it.
Thanks to IDG (an excellent photographer with a pro Flickr account - check it out) who informed me that this building is the Balmoral hotel ( a luxury hotel)- located just off Princes street Edinburgh - close to the Railway station. There are other photo examples of this building out there, like this one, but it doesn't have a description either. Do you know? I'd love to come back & edit this post some day soon with the proper information.
Added 17 January 2005: According to Nad, the "bridge goes over Waverly Station", while mrry adds that "the bridge in the foreground is North Bridge, which meets Prince's Street to the right of the picture."
Don't you LOVE the internet and social communities within it's confines?

Marita Beth & I, having completed lunch and sent Ginger, Larry & Denise on up to the castle, continued on our quest. Desperately seeking the Scottish National Team Football Strip, we trolled many of the kitschy shops that dot the Royal Mile. After way too many of them, we decided to pop off the Royal Mile & check the side streets looking for a sporting goods shop of some sort. Sometime after leaving the Royal Mile, we walked down the street/hill and around the corner to see this magnificent sight. It's magnificent, isn't it? Shortly after this photo, we stopped into a "Sports Bar" to ask the bartender & grab a pint. The barkeep was clueless, but luckily they had these stainless steel (yes, monitor, keyboard & mouse were all stainless-cased) computers set up all 'round the place with a free hi-speed connection. As long as we were eating or drinking, the surfing was free. So, we located a JJB Sports (the largest sporting goods conglomerate in the U.K. - the owner also happens to own Wigan, an English Premier League team), finished our respective pints (cider for her, pint of the 70 shilling for me (McEwan's I believe) and set out to finalize our adventure in the Edinburgh shopping district. Eventually we worked our way to JJB and purchased my Scottish Stip (I buy a national strip in each country I visit). While there we noticed a HUGE Arsenal poster advertising the fact that Arsenal were soon to release their new commemorative strip...but that's a story for a different (brilliant!) day.

Speaking of Arsenal, they thrashed Middlesborough over the weekend with a full 7 - 0 score. Henry got a hattrick while Hleb, Senderos, Pires & that useless bag of dung Gilberto each bagged one. 'Borough were outclassed, outgunned and it seemed their defence decided not to show at all. All this while ManCity stomped on ManU(re) 3-1 with Robbie Fowler, having not played since April of last year, putting the final nail in at the death. And then of course, Sunderland surprised everyone by scoring first in the Chelsea/Sunderland match at the 12th minute. If only they could have held on, but sadly, Crespo & someone else, probably Robben or Cole, put two in the bag sealing Sunderland's loss & pretty much assuring their relegation at the season's end. What a miserable season they're having. 7 - 0! Up the Arse!

Wastrel On! (Listening to: Eye in the Sky by Alan Parson's Project) & (Listening to: Drowning by Boiled in Lead)

Flagrant Disregard Mosaic

Flickr. Certainly the coolest photo-sharing site available. Right. Flagrant Disregard. Definitely the coolest photo-enhancing set of toys. Just tell it what you want from your Flickr. and it gets it, builds it, and displays it. Tres Magnifique. Wastrel On! (Listening To: Noisynight by Portastatic)

The Jolly Judge Pub

We've walked up the hill to the castle, but decided upon arrival that we were hungry. So, we walked past the castle down Lawnmarket until a pub was located. That didn't take very long. The Jolly Judge is a typically Scottish basement-bar just off Lawnmarket in James Court. It apparently is frequented mostly by tourists and is actually a stop on a number of the walking tours that are so prevalent in this Edinburgh's Old Town. We popped in and took a seat, Larry (in the photo) ordered food for himself & Denise while I took my spot at the bar and ordered a half cider (for the wife) and a pint of the 80 shilling for myself. Quaint pub with friendly folk. The ceiling was plastered in paper money from all over the world. We did the only touristy thing we could do, we pulled out an American dollar bill, wrote our names on it and gave it to the barkeep to staple to the ceiling. I hope someday to return to the Jolly Judge and locate it. As a point of interest, the Jolly Judge has just installed free WiFi in their pub. Arsenal has FINALLY landed a player or two and are swooping in on a third. It's about time, we truly needed to shore up our midfield. The unfortunate thing here is that it appears we have just purchased a 19 year old & a 16 year old and are trying to close on another striker. Shame I'm not the manager, eh? Wastrel On! (Listening to: General Taylor by Great Big Sea)

Edinburgh Castle

Quite the image. Walking up the hill toward the castle from the carpark I looked up to see this. This imposing structure on top of an already imposing rockpile was a photo I couldn't resist. The Castle is such an overwhelmingly dominant structure that the city of Edinburgh would be lonely, indeed desolate, without it. It lords over the city like no other city in all of the British Isles. It exists to prove every childhood dream of a castle true. The epitome of the castle, it is the subject of countless stories & legends. It is visited by more than one million tourists every year who after visiting the castle & marvelling, wander out, down the esplinade and into the Royal Mile where they spend their hard-earned dollars, yen & euros on Scottish trinkets. A fantastic sight, a fantastic site. Wastrel On! (Listening to Burning Bridges by Garth Brooks)

Castle Terrace Car Park

Ahh, the Edinburgh Castle. Astonishing in it's rocky glory, no? My previous visit to the castle, I had recalled a street on which nearly no one parked that had easy access to the castle. Marita Beth navigated & I drove us to Grassmarket (Haymarket?) Street where we were to park, only to find that they had erected this HUGE parking garage, which made it doubly easy to park. It also explained why in Project Gotham 2, I was racing down familiar, yet unfamilar streets in Edinburgh. They'd put this monstrous parking garage in the game, I didn't know it was there. We parked & we walked, through the rain, up the hill to the castle. Marita Beth & I had a different agenda on that day, so we didn't go in the castle, but Larry, Denise & Ginger did...and loved it. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Rock the Casbah by the Clash)

Unknown Castle Burleigh Castle

We got up early this morning and headed toward Edinburgh, that fabulous auld city. Ginger, Larry, Denise, Marita Beth & myself in our little Ford headed to Auld Reeky. Marita Beth got a wild hair, which she does often enough, and decided that we should take the scenic route to Edinburgh & stop at every available scenic/historic/touristy stop...ok, scratch the touristy bit, we don't really do that. So, she grabbed the map and located a "castle" icon that was somewhere near our intended route and off we went. What a treat this little castle/fort was for us. Utterly empty, it was locked but bore a sign indicating we could pick up a key at the little housing complex across the street. I ran over, caught the lady just as she was leaving, got the key and walked back to the castle to go exploring. It was, originally, three stories, but only 2 of them have floors now, the third floor having long since rotted away. The stairs up to the second floor were slick with bird shit, but it was worth the climb. I regret that I do not recall the name of this little gem. We'd been there perhaps 30, maybe 40 minutes when the continuously darkening sky decided to open up. This photo is taken from inside our vehicle parked on the side of the road just after the rain really started coming down. Having just found out, the castle is Burleigh Castle. I'll search & find more. Wastrel On! (Listening to: August by Shooglenifty) (now listening to: Loch Lomond by Runrig)

Lady Stair's Close

Ahhh, Edinburgh, the Auld Reeky, truly one of my favourite places on Earth. According to the Scottish Place Names dictionary, the name Edinburgh means 'Fort of the Rock Face'. The 'edin' part comes from Scottish Gaelic and means 'rock face', while 'burgh' comes from Old English meaning stronghold (this bit of text taken directly from Stuck on Scotland). It didn't take long to find ourselves in the wynds & closes of the Royal Mile, the investigation of which could take days. The Lady Stair's Close is where the Writer's Museum is located and why we were walking into it. The day was misty, as so many of them were on this vacation, and most of us were bundled in hoodys, sweaters or other keep-warm clothing. Ginger & Marita Beth went the extra mile when entering this close & huddled together for warmth. I love those girls. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Let Your Troubles Roll By [LIVE] by Carbon Leaf)

Hogmanay

For the past few hours I've been waist-deep in preparations for our annual Hogmanay party in Arlington, TX. A far cry from the mac-daddy of all parties, Hogmanay in Edinburgh. But, it's our own nod to the ancestral home & home of my heart. Many hours days spent compiling & organising a musical selection of purely Scottish artists. Many hours spent cleaning & prepping the house; lights strung, plaid hung, pavilion set, twigs snipped. Soon, the traditional Wassail will begin it's creation and the kilt will be donned. A right blythe Hogmanay to yese aw! Wastrel On! (Listening to: TCU vs ISU)

Well, what else do you need?

A phonebooth & an abandoned wagon wheel. What else is necessary? On a previous trip to the United Kingdom, I had focussed on the staple "Red Telephone Booth" as a photographic subject. I experienced much ridicule for that. This time, around I found a differnt subject, pubs, on which to exert my photographic energy. Sometimes, the two just go hand-in-hand. I suppose it's just as well, for the "Red Phone Booth" is slowly being replaced by modern non-enclosed booths that are more functional & considerably less decorative. I find it the end of an era and am saddened by it. By the time I return, i expect that there will be far fewer "Red Telephone Booths" to photograph. Sad, really. This is the side of the Old Smiddy Restaurant in Errol, Perthshire, Scotland. A day full of distilleries & a winery deserved nothing less than a pub for dinner; and a pub we had. A delightfully charming location on High Street (the only street, really) in Errol. It was impossible to miss. The Old Smiddy even had a selection of Cairn O'Mohr wines by the bottle or by the glass. I, if memory serves, switched back to beer at this point, and likely had a pint of the 80 shilling. I recall my dinner being delightful, however. So, should you find yourself in Errol, Perthshire, make sure you drop into the Old Smiddy and let them know you found them on the Wastrel. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Mercedes Boy by Pebbles)