THE EYE OF THE SKY

NOVEMBER 6 2014

Sitting up on the ledge, below Arthur's seat, the city sprawled before me and I could hear my breath in my ears, in my chest, as the silence caught me. The climb was long, and, as usual, I had let my excitement take me with leaps and bounds up the rocky incline, until I could feel my lungs squeezing too tight. I sat down, a bit light headed, and felt my eyes adjust to the scene...

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The sun sent down a layer of misty light to settle in the folds of the town. 

A raven circled, taking the wind under its feathered arms. My eyes followed as it floated across the thin air... over the city... nothing beneath it. I imagined what it would be like to leap out into the blue eye of the sky, weightless. 

Beneath me the sounds of the city made a muffled murmuring noise.

Cold wind ruffling strands of my hair, wafting them in gold threads across my vision. 

Freezing fingers on warm legs, wrapped close. 

It was such an inward-looking moment,
such joy at nothing; at everything. 

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PRINCES STREET AT DUSK

DUSK | THE DAWN OF THE LIGHTS

MAGIC OF DUSK

They say that dusk is a time of magic, as it falls 'twixt the day and the night, thus being a kind of in-between. Those things that fall in-between are often inhabited by magic; it is here that the veil of our world and the spirit world becomes thinner - so that one might just reach out, and grasping correctly, grab the coat tails of a passing ghostly gentlemen. 

WALKING AT DUSK 

My mother and I would always go walking at dusk through my hometown. We would wait till all the day-trippers had gone home, and the lamps shone puddles of light on the paths, and we would peer into the windows of the shops to see the treasures that glinted within. 

I love walking through a city at this time. The heat of the day, having soaked into the pavements, is now leaving again - rising upwards to meet the cold air that chills my cheeks to a ruddy pink. Lights are turned on, here and there, and soon all the city will be aglow with golden fireflies. Squint just right, and you can see them hovering in the air. 

Dusk is that time when all things are quieted, till I can hear a buzz in the air... It is the promise of the evening, when all the restaurants will be brimming with wine-drinkers, and all the pubs are overflowing with the lively connoisseurs of beer. But, for now, there is only the plodding of my feet and the seething wind in bare branches. 

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Solitude at dusk is a wonderful thing.

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OCTOBER 25 2014

It seems strange that night should come so early: that at around 7pm the world should get dark after such long summer evenings. But, in another way, this is a welcome change, as body clocks are set back and inner mumblings speak of cold hands wrapped around hot chocolates. I find the lights in the windows comforting, and there is nothing like the feeling of coming in from the cold, cheeks rosy red and glowing with warmth. These are the days of firesides and silent wanderings...

I found myself wandering upon an evening, in the gardens of Princes Street, beneath the gaze of the ever present castle. Down there, it seemed looming and close, wrapped in twiggy branches like a vision from the Adam's family. 

Then the blues of the sky paled...

And dusk came on.

The lights of the city were twinkling through trees, as if each tree was adorned with fairy lanterns.

The hues of land and sky were beginning to deepen to sombre purples. Yet, towards the city the light spilled out from monuments.

I knew it was time to go home, dinner was calling. And as I walked I watched night fall across Edinburgh.

CLOSES & WYNDS

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EMBRACING ADVENTURE

The hustle and bustle of the Royal Mile recedes, and you are lost in a realm of peace. A few cooing pigeons accompany you along the way, and you may get a nod from a passing Scottish stranger. Sometimes, as you explore these lanes and passages, you will see a tourist pop their head in, looking apprehensive. They take a few steps forward, then blanch and turn back.

However, if you were to take those next few steps, what you would find might surprise you... The closes, courtyards, and narrow wynds lead the unsuspecting traveler into new arenas - those hidden aspects of Edinburgh that exist only behind tenement walls - houses so close you could not swing a cat between them.

The trick, you see, is to go unheeding into the dark passages. That way, you will step beyond the norms of the street, and into a warren of adventures. 

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Each close and wynd has a story to tell. 

The closes, well, they are often characterised by dark passageways, opening onto a courtyard, fountain, or even, in the case of Dunbar's Close, a secluded garden filled with small stone benches; just perfect for whiling away the time.

The wynds are more of a thoroughfare, a kind of hidden passage, if you will. They provide the locals with a shortcut to their destination, and the foreign explorer with a chance to get a little lost. The Old Town is simply riddled with them

As for the stories that lurk behind those dim doorways, the clue is often in the name... Such wonderful names too: Lady Stair's Close, Old Distillery Close, Castle Wynd, and World's End Close.

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““Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

”That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”

”I don’t much care where –”

”Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
”

— LEWIS CARROL - ALICE IN WONDERLAND

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