Bartimaeus

We have had a quandary over recent days – whether to be, or not to be, in Edinburgh beyond the time we had paid the marina  – that was the question. We could extend the time as the marina said the mooring is ours as long as we want it, so it is okay for Bartimaeus to be there, we would just have to pay per night or for another month. Shane had a dental appointment cancelled and the crown had not arrived so he wondered if it was coming or if there was a long wait perhaps we shouldn’t delay departure and he would  just return when the dentist said they had it and offered a new appointment. Tickets remained unbooked with no new information.

On Friday he decided he would pop into the dentist on his way to his bike ride and got a response that was indefinite but not to expect it anytime in the next week. We had had warmer days so the lure of Spring sailing made him decide to go south on Monday and leave the marina. 

He messaged me his decision. I was relieved that the indecision was over and I had managed to repair the hat for Ewan, and even better Shane remembered to take it with him before their last bike ride. Ewan was delighted and donned it immediately. I had no green wool left to replace the missing green bits and so there was rather more black and purple than there should be but as long as he was happy to be seen in it, that was all that mattered.

When he returned from cycling he told me that his other cycling companion, Sally had a spare ticket to a play the next day in the early evening. She had offered it but he had been invited out cycling with Kenny and didn’t think he would be back in time so he passed the title to me to research and decide if I wanted to go. It was called Piece Of Work and sounded appealing,  with both humour and poignancy promised in this one man show, written by the performer, James Rowland. So I messaged Sally and the ticket was available so I had a date at The Lyceum.

I had just been thinking on my way home that evening that it was a shame to have been in Edinburgh for 4 months and not taken advantage of the theatres nearby. I had planned to go to The Merchant of Venice last month, but somehow let It slip by, though it was playing for a week. I was extra happy to be fitting in a theatre trip and arranged to meet Sally at the theatre fifteen minutes before the start the following evening.

I was there a few minutes early and I realised we hadn’t arranged whether to be inside or outside. I checked in the foyer and didn’t see her so went outside. After a few minutes I thought she might also have been early and gone to the toilets, so I checked the foyer again. Then my phone buzzed, Sally had messaged to say she was inside and downstairs. Since that was where the queue to enter the theatre and the bar was, so a sensible place to be now I thought about it. She didn’t accept my offer to pay for the ticket but was happy to stay in the queue while I got in drinks.

I hadn’t read the full description of the piece, but early on he explained that he had once done a one man Hamlet and throughout the autobiographical performance were  Hamlet quotes illustrating or underlining his points, as relevant now as then. I had not recognised that the title itself was a fragment from a Hamlet monologue which includes “…What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculty…” His reflections on life and death were excellently woven in. I kept thinking I must remember that, so well put, but when we left I found I couldn’t remember them. Sally remembered one and I felt it was something I thought about often while on the boat. He travels to do his show all over the country and said that wherever he goes he comes across kind, lovely people going out of their way to help and support others. He loves going from place to place and meeting them. Yet if you look at the media, it would seem like nobody ever agrees and people are greedy and dangerous. The worst of humanity is broadcast to us and we become afraid. Given ideas of suicide is a recurring theme, to be or not to be, it was a surprisingly fun and uplifting performance.It makes such a difference to treat each other with trust, respect and good humour. Also one of the people he speaks about with great warmth and excitement was a child called Nye – an added interest for me.

When I went home I had a message from Nye. He was out making dinner at a a friend’s flat so would eat there so that was helpful…to them that he was making their meal and to me that I didn’t have to guess how many I was cooking for.

When we were going to bed there was obviously a party on in the next door stair. Jolly chat and laughter was to be heard in the street and at the back of the house, and in the stairwell. We did manage to get to sleep fine though. The next day a couple of beer cans were in the back garden, probably fallen off the window sill from a flat above. In the front garden the bird bath was broken. I knew Nye would be very unhappy about that. It had had a crack already and I assume it accidental. There was no other damage in the garden. Shane researched a suitable product to repair it and spoke to Nye about it. 

I went a walk with Sandra, meeting her at two o clock and we had a lot to chat about. We were surprised to notice it seemed to be getting dark before we went our separate ways. We were getting cold standing still, we should have gone another lap! It had been a haar day so it wasn’t bright but it really was after sunset by the time I walked home.

Shane was keen to tell me about the progress with the bird bath; they had put the two halves together and they hoped it would hold. Nye was planning to put a second layer on hoping to seal the crack better, as it did seem to be whole but leaking. Nye gave it a scrub to clean it before for the next application. It is getting a new lease of life.

As it was the last evening together for a while we decided on a carry out and while I was busy blogging, Nye and Shane played chess. We didn’t have much packing to do.

Our journey went smoothly, for us at least. There was a shout on the second train, asking if there was a nurse or doctor on the train, but there was no delay. At Carlisle I found a book stall with an honesty box for a charity donation and there were tasty pies to eat while we waited and it was lunch time.

We arrived in Chester on time. Walking to find a shop, we crossed above the canal. We found milk and butter and that would be enough and good use of the time before the bus came. We had time to fill up with water,  swap over the thick ropes for ones easier on the hands, run an equalisation charge on the batteries and have a hot drink. Shane found a very large resident spider in a crate and I took it away for him. Shane went to get the keys back from the boatyard that had done the blacking and I popped into the marina office building to let them know we were leaving. The reception was closed but a staff member took note of our boat to pass the message on. I saw a resident swan on the way back.

The timing was perfect as I saw the sole staff member from the office walking along the path behind the swan just as I was lining up for the photo. Soon it was time to unplug and cast off and Shane drove us out of the marina, past some ducks and a diving cormorant. 

We didn’t have time to go far and there were ample mooring rings just outside the marina so we tied up there. We like being in Edinburgh but this is also a very nice place to be.