Bartimaeus

November is famously a dull month but we have some events to perk it up. We had a bit of hanging around wondering if Shane would get picked for jury service, delaying future planning but in the meantime I was pleased to get a message from my friend Margaret in Aberdeen asking if she could come and visit. A date was fixed that suited us both well. 

I met her at the station in the evening and in the morning we made plans for a trip into town. in the High Street is a museum with an exhibition about craftivism. I had seen publicity about it a while ago, but forgotten about it. Amazingly I had never visited this free museum. We took in a cafe en route.

The High Street is a museum all to itself and we talked about the World's End pub being at the edge of the city in days of yore. We took a look up the street before heading inside.

Inside we read about craftivism and while we had both been involved in the COP26 display in Glasgow, I realised I had been involved in two of the events. The other was Wool Against Weapons. I remembered a "knit in public" event on The Mound that I had been involved with then, with local press attending to publicise WAW. Later photos were on display outside the Peace and Justice Centre and I had been surprised to see it there. We hadn't been able to go to any of the displays before but were happy to see some other examples. The panels from such events are often repurposed as blankets for those in need. A few are kept for exhibition purposes. I liked the panel, someone had made about the pandemic.

Some individual textile artists making material statements were also on display with detail about their pieces. Shane has often attended Critical Mass.

Apart from the temporary exhibition there were many rooms of exhibits showing aspects of the history of Edinburgh. A surprise exhibit was an advert for a tobacconist. The shop, selling snuff and tobacco, was run by John Gillespie, brother of James Gillespie, who made his wealth importing tobacco. Bryn and Nye had attended James Gillespie's High School, so I knew he had been involved in the tobacco trade, but not that there was also a family shop.

The style of neckwear reminded me of the pictures of Burns. although he isn't mentioned, another museum, The Writers' Museum, might give him a hearing - that is another one I haven't visited yet. Another writer got a passing mention with a model of the monument to Sir Walter Scott.

The lighting was low to protect the exhibits. some of them were pretty old. While sturdy in its heyday, this sedan chair (featured in the museum logo) was labelled do not touch so that oils in fingertips would not damage the leather. It had obviously seen much worse in its life on The High Street centuries ago. While saving the effort of walking for those who could afford it and keeping rich gents out of the filth, the sedan scored over a carriage in that it fitted through the narrow closes.

Further on were even more delicate exhibits, and lots of them, a favourite for Mugs was the ceramics. we both liked these birds on plates. 

I noticed a plate that looked ornamental rather than practical. the slate round the edge reminded me of the dainty ribbon plates, fashionable in canal boats as wall decor, though this had no ribbons on it. it seemed like it might belong to a set of twelve, but as luck would have it November was the one on display. I should revisit to see if the display changes with the months.

I was intrigued by a more sturdy ceramic with a very specific design and purpose. Far from table wear, these were designed to sit firmly in the ground to hold floral tributes at graves.

Some boat tethers are screwed in. we wonder if they work with a narrow boat as they are usually used with lighter boats but we met one woman who used them and found them much easier than hammering in stakes.

Margaret and I thoroughly enjoyed the museum and then headed back for a late lunch, passing some funky females dancing by the McEwan Hall where we both graduated. The modern building, which spoils the view wasn't there in our day.

We finished up with a trip to the wool shop. She knits much faster than me, but I have since managed to complete a scarf for myself. I was given the wool two years ago for my birthday.

I had another trip into town soon after to look for something for Shane who has a November birthday. There was another view of the Scott Monument as I waited for the bus home on The Mound, lit up in red.

On his actual birthday, it was a bright November day so we celebrated in Shane style with a cycle ride on the the coast and a curry.