We attempted to find an art exhibit that I wanted to see, but the venue had changed. No one knew where to, though, and the schedule booklet was out of date. There is so much going on that they can actually lose an entire art exhibit...
So we walked through the park, by the castle up on the cliff, to a craft fair at an old church. It was basically set up around the graveyard, with different levels and types of shops. Some seemed permanent, because there were a few spaces inside. I did not spend much time looking through the stalls (though Megan did), because I became completely distracted by a little library dedicated to books on peace and justice.
I had wandered in, curious, and an older man sitting with a young woman explained that it was a free library and I was welcome to join. After telling him that I was only in Scotland that day, we started a conversation (since I asked; I tend to ask things like this) about politics, war, peace, and relations between Scotland and England. He spoke about the unwanted nuclear weapon being stored in Scotland, the reactions to the Iraq war, and the destruction of the rainforest. I have never heard someone express these thoughts so clearly, and it was an incredible opportunity to have found him. When I asked about hope for peace, they were positive, and believed that there were many decent people out there that just needed to be united; I tend to ask about hope after someone expresses a particularly negative view.
I remember that at one point he said that when he was young, all they had to worry about was the Vietnam War...
I eventually had to say goodbye, and Megan and I went to sit on a bench to have lunch. It rained on and off, and was quite cold, but I prefer that weather to oppressive heat. I had an umbrella, but Megan only had a poncho that she kept on putting on and taking off, and that swished when she walked.
We spent the afternoon wandering along the main street of Edinburgh, looking in various shops for the tartan wool associated with her family clan, and other various emblems that belong to them.
We stopped to watch street performers juggle, ride unicycles, and toss flaming torches. We also saw a very strange excerpt performed in the streets as an advertisement for a production of Metamorphosis by Kafka. Strikingly similar to the Theatre School's production of The Trial...
When we stopped in M&S for some lunch and so that Megan could get a cup of cocoa, the fire alarm went off just as she sat down with her cup. So she took it outside with her, and eventually she, quite embarassed, had to hand the mug back to the security guard at the door who was keeping people from entering.
After wandering a bit, seeing a collection of funny signs, and getting a little lost (ended up going down a tall, anciet set of steps, towards the train tracks), we went to a club that had free comedy shows.
And ended up seeing one by two intense atheists, who used a slide show and a few props to challenge religion. Even though their arguments were ones I had read before, I thought they were pretty funny. I actually had a great time, and really loved being able to see a side of Scottish interpretation; we had been in the U.K. long enough to get the jokes, even the one about Middlesbrough.
After the show, we went to the bus station, and went to Glasgow.
Sounds like fun!
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