The fellows gather for our first joint meeting since September in London. Our first speaker is Owen Dudley Edwards, a writer and historian based at the University of Edinburgh. He has written several books on Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, and some histories of the Irish troubles. He weaves a tale of Scottish history that is thoroughly relevant today.
Since the BC’s Edinburgh office is located nearby on a square named Bruntsfield Crescent, Edwards tells us that, in the 19th century, this square contained a unique type of soil that was not found anywhere else in Edinburgh. A young Conan Doyle was a medical student at the school on the other side of Brunstfield Green and observed his professor saying to a student that the student must have walked across the green. Surprised, the young scholar wanted to know how the professor knew that. It was the soil clinging to the walker’s shoes, of course. A few years later, Doyle’s detective Sherlock Holmes famously says to an astonished Dr. Watson on their first meeting, “You’ve recently arrived from Afghanistan, I presume.”
I am constantly amazed at how much of what I’ve read in literature or history is right here at my feet as I journey around this country.
The tour of the new Scottish Parliament is very interesting and exciting. It is a whole new system of government and one of which the Scots are very proud. They are trying to correct all the things that they think are wrong with the British system. I didn’t realize until now how deep the feeling against the English Government runs and how strong the sentiment is that the Scots should govern themselves. When the current Parliament was opened, the Speaker declared, “The Scottish Parliament adjourned in 1702, today it is reconvened” (not that it was newly opened, but that it was re-opening—the small matter of the intervening 300 years, irrelevant). We learn very quickly that Members of Scottish Parliament are not MPs rather MSPs.
The current Parliament is temporarily located in quarters belonging to the church while their new, £180 million home further down the Royal Mile near Holyrood is being built. There is a little gift shop in the Parliament building, and we all buy souvenir mugs and pencils.
Later, reading my back issues of Majesty magazine, I come across an article on the Queen’s opening of Scottish Parliament. There is a big picture of the parliament assembly room that we toured today. During the ceremony, the article says, a congregation sang a hymn in which a kilted Sean Connery lustily sang along threatening to steal the show.
Our group has dinner together. Most of the spouses and families who were here for the weekend have gone home. We eat at a place called “Mussel Inn.” It is a nice little seafood place, heavy on mussels and scallops. Andy and I banter about the correct way to pronounce “scallops.” He finally admits that his Bostonian mother pronounces it the way I do. The traditional New England pronunciation is “skawl-up“, rhyming with “trollop.” I have a Caesar salad and prawn cocktail.
- In today’s news: George Mitchell has been in the news a lot this week. The Irish peace settlement seems to be falling into place. There were terse announcements from both sides of the talks indicating that a compromise had been reached. The Ulster Unionists are willing to accept a vague statement from Sinn Fein about possible future disarmament. Although hailed as courageous by the press and politicians, it looks like David Timbley, Head of the Unionists, will have a battle on his hands to unite his “no guns, no government” party behind the latest proposal. However, it seems to be the last chance for the peace process to succeed.
Jody’s UK Memories 