Bartimaeus

We were travelling to Edinburgh, from Selby, via York. We were both highly relieved that the boat was off the river as recent heavy rain was making the water rise rapidly. We had an hour in York and we went to buy lunch and also checked the water levels on the way. When we had been moored there before it was an awkward step down on to the boat. Now looking over from the bridge to the station at the same mooring area, it was clearly an awkward step up and the water was almost level with the riverside mooring bollards. On the other side the steps down to the water for canoeists were all submerged. It looked like it might be up a metre, and we knew recent rain would mean more was to come. The crowded conditions of a few days ago had changed to empty moorings. It wasn’t the weekend, but also possibly some people had moved to safer moorings. We were certainly glad to have moved on to the canal and off the river Ouse, where flood safe moorings seemed few and far between. 

It wasn’t rainy today or yesterday, but the rain from two or three days ago would be making its way downstream soon.  We headed off in search of lunch. We didn’t have time to trust the serving speed of a cafe but I remembered a nice looking bakery. There were plenty of interesting things to choose and we both selected a sweet and a savoury item. I hadn’t seen an almond and cherry croissant before and couldn’t let the opportunity pass to try it. The server double checked in case I hadn’t read the label. Clearly they had experienced some negative feedback from customers who had not seen the label and expected only almond paste inside and were surprised by the red tart filling. For savoury items I noticed a helpful guide to customers who had made multiple purchases. I hadn’t seen it before but thought it was an excellent idea. Someone expecting a plain pastie could be taken aback by a mouthful of chipotle.

Our walk back to the station took in the museum gardens that were looking lovely in their autumn colours. The park is a calm spot in the middle of a busy city and a pretty patch in our hurried return to the station.

We had a smooth journey. Immediately on arrival we had a visit from Kenny and it wasn’t long before we got invited to theirs for dinner later in the week. We had less than a week in Edinburgh so knew we wouldn’t catch up with many people. Nye of course knew our dates and had already made a plan for the next day to meet up with his friend and help with child care. He asked if we would like to meet the little baby, and it being a damp day the museum seemed a good bet. Shane got a good cuddle with baby Kirsten and I joined them at the museum. Nye and I were taken by the unusual portable light or taper arrangement. The wax included paraffin to prevent it from cracking when coiled. Being able to see in the evenings used to be a much more tricky thing to organise, and this was a flexible solution.

At the fashion section I was surprised to find the opportunity to say “look a kingfisher!” Nature’s colours were beautifully copied in the textiles by Klein.

While perusing we could all tell she was tired, but fighting sleep. Having earlier wiped her nose, I was for a while understandably treated with distrust, so I was glad she relented and fell asleep in my arms. It was good timing as we were looking for lunch and she stayed asleep on her uncle’s lap while the adults ate, even though we were sitting outside on a breezy day.

Then I caught a bus and went for a walk with my sister taking in two waterways in quick succession, the Water of Leith and the canal. We didn’t see any kingfishers in either place but got a good workout. A stroll beside them is gentle but the steps from one path to another were steep and required a bit of dodging round a large puddle too, part way up. It had been raining here too. We were glad it was a clear sky, so we could enjoy the two waterways walk.

The next day we met Pete for lunch at an African cafe Khartoum and we’re having a post prandial stroll in the sun. Shane wished he had brought his sunglasses, even more so when he realised that he would be heading soon to the opthalmologist and sometimes eye checks result in eye sensitivity when the pupil is dilated. It is unusual for him to hope for cloudy weather rather than sunshine. Pete showed us a gateway and tower we hadn’t noticed before near Holy Corner at Napier University’s Merchiston campus.

I found myself walking on the canal again but at a different section from the day before. Eagle-eyed Shane pointed out a tiny piece of artwork under a bridge. I have seen similar artwork many miles away, but also on a bridge. Each square was about three centimetres across.

Meanwhile Pete got a call from a university friend that knew but hadn’t seen in a long time. We arranged to meet for coffee. Shane went off to have his eyes tested while I was having extra unexpected socialising.

With our meal at Kenny’s in the evening with all our ‘children’, we both felt like we were definitely making the most of the short trip and benefitting from unexpectedly good weather. Shane’s eyes were given a clean bill of health and he had kept a weather eye on the situation in the rivers in Yorkshire out of interest. Jude also sent photos from Boroughbridge of the high levels at the Ure there. Where we had moored was completely submerged. The water levels in the Ouse were now up three metres.