EDINBURGH, THEO AND ALDYTH

I recently visited Edinburgh for two days in August. It is indeed the best time to visit this ancient city, as this is the time of their annual "Festival". Summer is glorious and, the flowers are a riot of colours. We had actually gone there to visit friends - Theo and Aldyth. I was introduced to them about 13 years back.

Edinburgh is a place which is very easy to fall in love with. The old world architecture, its streets, The Royal Mile, the castle looking over the city, the Old town and the New town are well laid out and appear to be planned. Looking in any direction, one can only see beauty. It is either the sea, or church spires or steeples or the Scott Memorial. It is a small city, which is quiet ancient and still retains its old world charm. The Royal Mile, which starts from the Castle and ends at the Holyrood Palace is actually a little more than a mile long. The road is full of history and historical buildings. The Royal Mile is at a height on a hilltop and therefore almost all the openings between two buildings lead downhill to more buildings and passages. These passages are called "Close". One can see the Advocates Close, Fishmonger close and so on and so forth. The famous tollbooth is also situated on this road. This was the place where toll had to be paid, before entering Edinburgh. The Tollbooth was the administrative focus, the tax-collection point, the council chamber, the court and the jail for the burgh of Canongate, which lay outside Edinburgh at that time.

The house of John Knox is also situated on this road. Knox was the person of whom Mary Queen of Scots had said, "I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe." He lived at the time Mary was Queen of Scots. Knox was known to have no respect for women.
In the late I770s, Deacon Brodie, who also lived on the Royal Mile, was a respected town councillor by day, and believe it or not, it is a fact which is stranger than fiction, but he was a criminal by night - he was a thief. Something about his outer veneer of polished respectability and his inner delight in dodging the law has made him a local hero. He was the model for Stevenson's "Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".

Other famous residents of Edinburgh were the English novelist Daniel Defoe, Adam Smith, poet Robert Fergusson , Robert Burns, George Drummond, six times Lord Provost, and the driving force behind the New Town, Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, George Thomas De Quincey, and John Napier, cursed by many a schoolchild as the inventor of logarithms, Alexander Graham Bell, and Sean Connery.

A well known figure of this city is Greyfriars Bobby( photo on top), the most famous Skye terrier in the world. His master, John Gray, a farmer from Midlothian, died one Wednesday market day in 1858 and for 14 long years the ever-loyal little dog refused to leave his graveside in Greyfriars' Kirkyard. Bobby was looked after until his death by the local people, who gave him a collar. Bobby could not be buried next to his master when he died. He was quietly laid to rest in a different part of the graveyard, in a patch of unconsecrated ground. There is a statue of the terrier near the graveyard.

The Royal College of Physicians which gives the MRCP degree is located in this city. It also has the Edinburgh and Napier University. There are Banks and Financial institutions galore almost all on the St. Andrews Square.

There is a beautiful hotel The Balmoral on Princes street which was originally a Railways hotel. Their clock was always kept advanced by 3 minutes, so that no one would miss their train.

We all have read about King Robert Bruce and the spider. He was the King who tried and tried again and regained his kingdom after 7 attempts, after being inspired by a spider weaving his web.

Tartans, kilts, Scotch whisky, haggis, black pudding, there are a lot of things about Edinburgh which one could write about. More of that some other time.

Right now, I want to talk of my two dear friends, Theo and Aldyth ,who live in this enchanting historical city. Theo is in his nineties and Aldyth is in her eighties. They are teachers by profession - Theo studied at Oxford, taught there, later at Wales and then at Edinburgh university. He was a professor of Ancient History-Roman and Greek, to be precise. Aldyth taught Russian at Edinburgh, and she continues to do the same, to this day. Now of course the students come to her house and it is all gratis.

They are real teachers, they teach by example - "the art of living". I haven't seen a better teacher than them. Theo is hard of hearing - he needs a hearing aid. His memory however is exceptionally sharp. He can recall names, incidents, anecdotes and has an immense memory bank, which he dips into often. Time spent with him is a very happy and educative time. The way he can talk on any subject and keep the interest alive is stupendous and amazing. He is a "Guru" in the true sense of the word. He is a very loving person, and is an excellent host.

He has difficulty in walking. That does not deter him - ever.... He travels to Oxford once a year to visit his sister, then travels to London to visit his friends. He travels by train and tube and is ever ready to walk to his destination. He smiles, never complains, never appears helpless..... simply because, he never is.

Aldyth is a very graceful, cheerful and loving lady, who always makes one feel very welcome. She is a very happy, bubbly, and energetic person. She is full of life and optimism. Aldyth too has difficulty in walking. She too uses a walking stick. She loves to travel and there would be few places in the world which she has desired to see and not seen. She goes to Greece, Egypt, Poland, Turkey, Russia as often as she can. She recently visited Iceland. Last year she was in India travelling in the backwaters of Kerala - all by herself!! Never one to look for company or help-she is an example to follow. Her cheer will not let you see the distress she is facing as Theo is in hospital, having recently suffered a stroke. I marvel at her strength and fortitude.

They have a big house and the kitchen is on the lower floor, while their living room is upstairs. They continue to walk up and down the stairs. They maintain their style, and there is no compromise at all, for their age. They give themselves no concessions. Aldyth uses the computer and wants to learn to use the Internet even more adeptly. Who says age is a deterrent? Learning can be done at any age and stage. Only the will has to be present.
Meeting them both at Edinburgh was enlightening. It was a lesson to me to carry on happily, in the face of any adversity in life. When we were walking towards Theo's room in the hospital, we could hear loud singing - that was Theo. He had a book by his bedside, about the First war of Independence of India of 1857. It was great to see him. He was cheerful, interested in all that was happening, not complaining at all about anything. I could think of all the various things about which both Theo and Aldyth could have complained, but no - all that they could talk of, was us and our trip to Edinburgh. I thought they were such a perfect couple, thinking only of others. Thinking of ways to be happy, comfortable, accepting their problems so stoically. They knew that their problems were their own, and they were happy to deal with them alone. Not once did the smile go from their face, not once did I see despair, sadness or anything but bon homie and cheer. Aldyth is on her way to Poland again for a week, and Theo said to her, "Be sure to get home safe". I was very touched by his care, concern and devotion to Aldyth.

I kept thinking of their attitude towards life and thought to myself that life teaches us so much. One only has to observe and absorb. There are some messages that come to us, which teach us so much about life and how to live. The need is for us to read the message and try to make our own lives happier. It was so lovely meeting them. My trip to Edinburgh left me with very happy thoughts.

DOVER - THE WHITE CLIFFS

Dover, has been the entry point to England, from the English Channel side, since ancient times . It is the closest point to France - Calais to be precise. It is said that Julius Ceaser also wanted to land at Dover,in 55B.C. but actually landed at some other beach. Dover existed in my mind, as the place from where Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton crossed over to Calais in "A Tale of Two Cities". It was the port town where people wanting to go to France, stopped before catching their ferry, and stayed in inns.
Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria landed here when he came to marry Victoria. Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth I, King Henry VIII, all visited Dover. Wordsworth and Mathew Arnold crossed the Channel from here. Charles Dickens visited often, Daniel Defoe came and wrote about it. Ian Fleming lived here for some time and wrote some James Bond books here.

When I visited it recently, I was visualizing all these people travelling from London to Dover slowly and steadily in their horse drawn carriages, looking out for highway men and inns. Our journey took us less than two hours, on the motorway. The scenery on both sides surely was the same as it was then. Then also it would have been as picturesque, with its green meadows with cows, sheep and horses grazing in them, and long stretches of cultivation and farms. It was undulating expanse of beauty! How lovely is the English countryside- has to be seen to be believed!

As we reached Dover, the first view of the famous white cliffs was stupendous. I have seen a lot of mountains and hills, from the mighty Himalayas, from very close quarters right from Uttaranchal to Darjeeling, Haldi ghati, the Vindhyas, the Pir Panjal, in Kashmir, to the Yosemite Mountain, Grand Canyon and the White Mountains in USA. But the sight of these white cliffs was so very unique. They looked flaky. They are chalk cliffs which are composed mainly of soft, white limestone. They go straight into the sea. A sheer drop.
After our picnic on the cliffs we walked over them. The walk across is very scenic. The view of the busy harbour where one after the other ferries docked and departed on their way to Calais or some other close by harbour across the Channel was interesting. The comings and goings were very frequent. Walking on the cliffs, looking at ships go by, little fishing boats, sail boats, motor boats, huge liners at a distance, the seagulls flying about and making such a lot of noise was very relaxing. The blue colour of the sea and crystal clear water from a distance was soothing.
The path where we walked was full of beautiful wild flowers. The pattern made by nature is really beautiful. No one can replicate it. The wind from the sea was very fresh and a bit cold. The flowers and bushes swayed gently with the wind. The effect is quite soothing. It made me feel very free. It seemed as though all the cares of the world had vanished and nature, beauty, freedom, and fresh air had taken over.
Far away in the distance one could see the coastline of France. From our imaginative eyes we could even see houses-but that was only imagination. However in reality, the mobile phones started getting messages of welcome from the French network, welcoming us to France!! Without a Visa!!!
We walked over the cliffs and after 2 miles reached the Light House. We went into the Light House which is no longer active but has been taken over by the National Heritage Trust. It was interesting to go in and see how life must have been for the Light House keeper who lived so far away from the town, constantly watching the sea perched up in his lonely tower. He kept vigil and helped ships stay away from the cliffs and go in the correct direction. From where he would sit perched up, are two instruments with which he could communicate with people in his house. There were ventilators too. All made of brass and shining.
This tower has history behind it. It has a 100-year-old working clockwork mechanism.
This was the Light House from where the world's first ship-to-shore transmission was sent on Christmas Eve, 1898, from the East Goodwin lightship by Marconi. The test message was Greetings for Christmas. Again in 1899 the lighthouse was used for exchanging wireless messages across the Channel to Wimereux in France. It was also the first light house where Faraday experimented with his electrically powered light bulb.
The first person to cross the Channel was Captain Matthew Webb's. He covered himself in porpoise oil, and dived into the Channel from the Admiralty Pier at Dover. Although he was stung by jellyfish, and strong currents kept him off the French coast for five hours, he finally landed at Calais, recording a time of 21 hours 45 minutes. Mihir Sen was the first Indian to swim the English Channel, from Dover to Calais on September 27 1958 He took 14 hours and 45 minutes.

Dover town is beautiful too. It has a castle, a nice market place with cobbled roads and for modernity one has a giant TV screen where one can watch the BBC news very loud and clear.

A lovely town, beautiful cliffs, blue waters and noisy sea gulls. A lovely walk across with nature in its beautiful bounty was a trip worth taking. Lovely, memorable, relaxing and setting the mind free.