Final Days in Scotland

I left Scotland on December 14 wishing I could stay a little longer. It has been a great semester. The picture above is the debate chamber - we were given a tour on our first day, then watched daily as various issues were debated here. I particularly enjoyed First Ministers questions - I wish greater accountability among politicians would be introduced into the American Political System.

Here we are with John Fellows. It's been good to work with him - I've enjoyed the association with him that the interns get working in the press office. He is sharp, persitent and devoted to the Party and it's cause. He took us all to lunch and we talked about future careers and the things we had learned in Scotland.

Here we are, hard at work. You can see the newspapers in the foreground, one of them marked with a yellow sticky note. We spent a lot of time copying articles that mentioned the SNP. That's part of the Press Office job - it's important to know what people are saying about the party.

This is just a random picture. We actually did some filming on our last day about the highlights of Scotland. I think Nichole snuck a photo. I gained some great work experience and living in Scotland was a blast - I highly recommend that university students get out and see the world!

On our last Monday at work, we invited some friends from the ward and went to the restaurant at Parliament - very nice and very reasonably priced. Here are the interns with some of the people in the ward we got to know - what an awesome group!

I highly recommend practicing a lot before playing pool with Tom Cruise.

Well, that's it for my Scotland Blog. Did anyone actually read all this stuff?

Edinburgh Castle

I was quickly nearing the end of my trip and had yet to visit Edinburgh Castle. Liz also needed to go, and Tiff liked it so much she wanted to go again, so off we went to see the most visited site in Scotland (according to the statistics). The entrance fee may be slightly high, but the castle is full of museums, which actually outnumber the tourist shops. It truly is a great landmark. Without the castle on a hill in the middle of the city, I would have gotten lost countless times. If you ever visit Edinburgh, just get a map and look for the castle.

This castle has cannons and statues, it's so extensive, it even has a signpost telling visitors where to go! It rained at the most random times in Scotland. I'm so glad I had my umbrella with me! One of the exhibits features a history of the crown jewels of Scotland, which are housed in the castle now. Would you believe the jewels were lost for hundreds of years! Sir Walter Scott found them again, and now everyone can see them, along with the Stone of Destiny, which is where the Kings of Scotlant were crowned. On the way home, I stopped by a cemetary, and found a statue of Abraham Lincoln, which commemorates the Scottish-American soldiers that fought in the Civil War. I did not expect to see President Lincoln in Scotland, but there he was.

VOTE SNP

The City of Elderslie recently held a bi-election for a council seat. The incumbent passed away, which left the seat open, and the SNP campaigned hard to get one last council victory before the Parliamentary elections in May. Rich and I spent some time at headquarters sending mailings out for Douglas Chapman, the campaign manager. He decided it would be a good idea to send some interns out to help, so Nichole, Liz, Rich and I rented a car and headed out to do some campaigning. After a longer-than-necessary drive (we got lost... whose idea was it to send the Americans out on their own…? oh well) we arrived and went to the polling station. We met some good SNP supporters. The candidate, Tracie was upbeat and anxious – she ended up losing by about 50 votes, but the SNP gained 12% on Labour. We also met a gentleman that has been campaigning for the SNP for 30 years. He gets out the loudspeaker and records his voice saying, ‘It’s Time For Change, Vote SNP’ and driving around town letting everyone know. Much of the last minute campaigning was making sure the SNP supporters got out to vote. In a bi-election, every vote counts.

Craig Miller Castle

Craig Miller Castle is just few minutes outside Edinburgh – it is one of the best Medieval castles I visited. The Historic Scotland guide told us it had only been invaded once. It sits in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, so to speak, and I doubt many people make the visit. It may not be ornate, but it is surprisingly well intact - it's a great place to explore and imagine. I've visited enough castles now to know I'm glad not to have lived in them - they are generally cold and damp.

St. Andrews Day

November 30 is St. Andrews Day. St. Andrew is to Scotland as St. Patrick is to Ireland. Unfortunately, though, the same comparison can’t be made of the respective holidays. Well, we four interns set out with Alex Salmond to try and spread some enthusiasm among the people of Edinburgh. The Scottish Parliament is soon going to make St. Andrews day a slightly official holiday – hopefully down the road it will reach new heights. Maybe they’ll dye the Firth of Forth blue. We had fun handing out flags and getting people to talk with Mr. Salmond about the holiday. BBC and STV News came along, too, and guess what? We made the news that night! At least, Nichole, Liz and I were on, they seem to have left Rich out.

In the evening, we met up with the SNP again and went to the ‘One Scotland Ceilidh’ at the top of the Royal Mile. I met some SNP members from the University of Edinburgh - whenever I stuff envelopes over at headquarters I wonder where the volunteers are. Well, I found them, and they work hard for the SNP, just not stuffing envelopes. We heard some great live music and even did some traditional Scottish Dancing - 'Strip the Willow' and 'Dancing White Sergeant'. You can see Nichole and Liz dancing away in the picture below.

Da Vinci Code

Well, Dan Brown isn’t the only one who is making tons of money because of his book. Thousands of people have visited Roslin Chapel since the novel ‘Da Vinci Code’ was published, and with the Chapel so close to Edinburgh, how could I resist? It took a few months, but Liz and I finally took a morning off and hopped on a bus to Roslin. We paid the 8-pound entry fee (I imagine that has gone up over the past few years) and were amazed by the intricacy of the stonework and the countless symbols hidden inside. I understand why there is so much speculation about this place! I’ve included here pictures of the Apprentice Pillar, a ‘Green Man,’ and a carving of the Fallen Angel. Unfortunately, the outside of the building is surrounded with scaffolding that supports a roof that keeps the Chapel dry. Apparently, years ago the Chapel had turned completely green inside, and they’ve had to clean things up. After leaving the Chapel, Liz and I walked down one of the paths and found a house – if I’m not mistaken, this is where a portion of the movie was filmed. Perhaps descendents of the Masons or the Knights Templar still live here? I love the mystery surrounding the Chapel, and the questions raised about its history. What do I think about the ‘Da Vinci Code’? Some of it is rubbish, of course, but parts of it may well turn out to be true enough.

Standing Stones and a Smart Car

The Isle of Arran – I’d recommend this place to anyone who visits Scotland. It’s so much closer to Edinburgh and Glasgow than the Northern Islands; Arran is just off the coast west of Glasgow. Rich and I took the Cal-Mac ferry, rented a Smart Car and spent the weekend exploring the island. The travel books say Arran is like a small version of Scotland. I’d have to agree – it has everything! Standing stones, sheep, a lighthouse, caves, mountains, a castle, nice people, rain and wind… you name it, I found it all on this island.

On the second day, we turned in the Smart Car and made our way towards the highest mountain on the island, Goat Fell. We crossed the beach, and met a kind, vary talkative old man. He must have been in his late sixties. He’d lived on the island his whole life, and shared some of his memories with us. During WWII, he remembers watching as Allied troops used the beaches to train for landing in Italy. He also gave us directions to the mountain. Later, we tracked through mud and woods looking for the path (yeah, it’s poorly marked) and by the time we found it, with the peak in sight, we had to turn around to run for the ferry. Luckily, another kind resident gave us a ride part of the way and helped us eventually reach the ferry on time.