Arthur
I don't know why but when I posted yesterday, I totally forgot to tell you what happened at lunch!
I had a quick lunch and decided that I wanted to go for a walk around Dunfermline Abbey. I often do that - to take in the fresh air, to get a wee bit of exercise. I love the peace I feel when I'm there.
So after I walked into the little whirlwind, I continued walking around the grounds. I walked over to the wall where the Palace meets the cemetery. I soak the sun up when I'm there. I can see over to the Firth of Forth and can see the rail and road bridges from there. I often hear seagulls, which is a constant reminder of how close I am to the sea - which is still quite surreal to me.
I turned to walk back towards the Abbey and again, I noticed that there was a very distinct difference in the stones from the Abbey to the Church. I stood there, staring, studying, gazing, thinking - trying to figure it out. I'm sure I have a book somewhere about it ... but I wanted to try to figure this one out without doing homework. So I walked closer to get a better look. At this point, I noticed an elderly man sitting on a bench looking much like he was taking a nap.
I didn't want to disturb him so I continued on - studying the building from all sorts of angles and distances. Finally, he looked up at me and started to speak a couple of times and I decided to speak first.
"Magnificent building, huh?"
That was all I had to do. In a second, he sprung up from his seat, walked towards me, and started pointing at things and telling me all about his precious building. It was then I noticed his nametag.
Arthur. He is a caretaker of Dunfermline Abbey - a volunteer who knows so very much about this fantastic building.
You see, Dunfermline was, at one time, Scotland's Capital. Queen Margaret lived there with her husband Malcolm. She is the namesake of the two Queensferry's - North and South. She is also the subject of many legends and stories that to this day, filter all over the country.
There was a church on the spot we were standing since at least 800(something) AD. Probably before - but the foundations of the original church still stand under the floor of the present Abbey - you can see them in grates they've provided in the present floor. The building you can see, the one you can walk into and have your breath taken away in, is from the early 12th century - built by Queen Margaret's son, David.
The actual Abbey itself isn't spectacular for any real reason. Its not adorned with jewels and dozens of graves of well-known names (although it was the burial place of many Kings and Queens of Scotland). What it does have is a personality - of sorts. I've never walked into the Abbey and didn't feel more peaceful for doing so. There's just something extraordinary about this building.
The Church, which is connected to the Abbey, is actually only a couple hundred years old - built in 1818. Its where Robert the Bruce is laid to rest under a golden burial plate. The obvious difference I noticed in the stone was that the Abbey was built with local stone - very hard, gray in color, and extremely sturdy - I mean, it IS over 700 years old, for heaven's sake! The Church, on the other hand, was built using a pinky-red sandstone from the West Coast and in Arthur's words, is falling apart and is in constant need of repair.
Arthur loves this building. You can see it in the glint of his eye, the lilt of his voice, the smile on his face. Its like he's speaking of a child - one he'd reared since birth. A little hard of hearing and at least in his 80's, he was a pretty spriteful little fellow. I say little but he wasn't little at all. He's very tall, not overweight at all, and has absolute presence.
He could've talked about this to me all day. He showed me paintings on the ceiling in one corner that I'd never noticed any time I'd ever gone into the Abbey. They're original, never been touched up - been there since the 1500's. They're beautiful. I was standing on the floor a couple dozen feet below, staring at history. What an amazing feeling!
He told me stories about the medieval church ... about the reformation ... about this building. I'm fascinated by it. And I felt very special - I got a personal tour of Dunfermline Abbey. And I got to meet Arthur. What a joy he is!
I told him I'd love to spend more time but I had to get back to work. He looked surprised.
"Work? You live here?"
"Yessir."
"My you're polite, aren't you? You're from America, right?"
"Yessir."
"Where 'bouts?"
"Arkansas. You know where that is?"
"Well, let's see ... that's Bill Clinton country, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is."
"What brings you here, then?"
Now, normally, this sets me off - not in an obvious way. But I honestly am getting so very tired of hearing that question. However, I didn't mind telling Arthur one little bit.
"I'm married to a Scotsman."
"You tell your Scotsman he's a lucky lad."
I blushed.
"I'm lucky myself!"
"Yes, I know, young lady. (He obviously needs a new prescription!) We Scotsman are the best in the world!"
And with a wink, he patted me on the shoulder as I said good-bye and walked away. I had the biggest smile on my face. He made my day! I will go back looking for him. He was a sweet little fella.
Today I had a very busy lunch! First, I took books back to the library and rechecked one of them.
I walked up the hill to the post office and got a new tax disc for my car (it expired today).
I had a quick lunch and while I was sitting there having lunch, I got a text from Argos (can't think of a good American equivalent, sorry). We'd ordered a couple of backpacks from them the other day. After I got the text (and I inhaled my lunch), I went to the store, paid for the backpacks, and I was told what my queue "pick up point" was and my number. Then I waited for them to bring the backpacks up from the back, they called my number, they checked my receipt, and then I got to leave. It was bizarre.
I had to rush back to work. Ended up having to use my inhaler when I got back from having to walk up all the hills! Great exercise - but I can't do much of it without needing my inhaler. Speaking of which, I need to go back to the doctor again soon about that ...
Its been a great day. Tomorrow night we have company coming for dinner. I'm excited about having our first dinner guests! (Full report --hopefully-- before the weekend!)
Sorry about not having any photos for this post. I'll try better next time .. ::grin::
I had a quick lunch and decided that I wanted to go for a walk around Dunfermline Abbey. I often do that - to take in the fresh air, to get a wee bit of exercise. I love the peace I feel when I'm there.
So after I walked into the little whirlwind, I continued walking around the grounds. I walked over to the wall where the Palace meets the cemetery. I soak the sun up when I'm there. I can see over to the Firth of Forth and can see the rail and road bridges from there. I often hear seagulls, which is a constant reminder of how close I am to the sea - which is still quite surreal to me.
I turned to walk back towards the Abbey and again, I noticed that there was a very distinct difference in the stones from the Abbey to the Church. I stood there, staring, studying, gazing, thinking - trying to figure it out. I'm sure I have a book somewhere about it ... but I wanted to try to figure this one out without doing homework. So I walked closer to get a better look. At this point, I noticed an elderly man sitting on a bench looking much like he was taking a nap.
I didn't want to disturb him so I continued on - studying the building from all sorts of angles and distances. Finally, he looked up at me and started to speak a couple of times and I decided to speak first.
"Magnificent building, huh?"
That was all I had to do. In a second, he sprung up from his seat, walked towards me, and started pointing at things and telling me all about his precious building. It was then I noticed his nametag.
Arthur. He is a caretaker of Dunfermline Abbey - a volunteer who knows so very much about this fantastic building.
You see, Dunfermline was, at one time, Scotland's Capital. Queen Margaret lived there with her husband Malcolm. She is the namesake of the two Queensferry's - North and South. She is also the subject of many legends and stories that to this day, filter all over the country.
There was a church on the spot we were standing since at least 800(something) AD. Probably before - but the foundations of the original church still stand under the floor of the present Abbey - you can see them in grates they've provided in the present floor. The building you can see, the one you can walk into and have your breath taken away in, is from the early 12th century - built by Queen Margaret's son, David.
The actual Abbey itself isn't spectacular for any real reason. Its not adorned with jewels and dozens of graves of well-known names (although it was the burial place of many Kings and Queens of Scotland). What it does have is a personality - of sorts. I've never walked into the Abbey and didn't feel more peaceful for doing so. There's just something extraordinary about this building.
The Church, which is connected to the Abbey, is actually only a couple hundred years old - built in 1818. Its where Robert the Bruce is laid to rest under a golden burial plate. The obvious difference I noticed in the stone was that the Abbey was built with local stone - very hard, gray in color, and extremely sturdy - I mean, it IS over 700 years old, for heaven's sake! The Church, on the other hand, was built using a pinky-red sandstone from the West Coast and in Arthur's words, is falling apart and is in constant need of repair.
Arthur loves this building. You can see it in the glint of his eye, the lilt of his voice, the smile on his face. Its like he's speaking of a child - one he'd reared since birth. A little hard of hearing and at least in his 80's, he was a pretty spriteful little fellow. I say little but he wasn't little at all. He's very tall, not overweight at all, and has absolute presence.
He could've talked about this to me all day. He showed me paintings on the ceiling in one corner that I'd never noticed any time I'd ever gone into the Abbey. They're original, never been touched up - been there since the 1500's. They're beautiful. I was standing on the floor a couple dozen feet below, staring at history. What an amazing feeling!
He told me stories about the medieval church ... about the reformation ... about this building. I'm fascinated by it. And I felt very special - I got a personal tour of Dunfermline Abbey. And I got to meet Arthur. What a joy he is!
I told him I'd love to spend more time but I had to get back to work. He looked surprised.
"Work? You live here?"
"Yessir."
"My you're polite, aren't you? You're from America, right?"
"Yessir."
"Where 'bouts?"
"Arkansas. You know where that is?"
"Well, let's see ... that's Bill Clinton country, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is."
"What brings you here, then?"
Now, normally, this sets me off - not in an obvious way. But I honestly am getting so very tired of hearing that question. However, I didn't mind telling Arthur one little bit.
"I'm married to a Scotsman."
"You tell your Scotsman he's a lucky lad."
I blushed.
"I'm lucky myself!"
"Yes, I know, young lady. (He obviously needs a new prescription!) We Scotsman are the best in the world!"
And with a wink, he patted me on the shoulder as I said good-bye and walked away. I had the biggest smile on my face. He made my day! I will go back looking for him. He was a sweet little fella.
Today I had a very busy lunch! First, I took books back to the library and rechecked one of them.
I walked up the hill to the post office and got a new tax disc for my car (it expired today).
I had a quick lunch and while I was sitting there having lunch, I got a text from Argos (can't think of a good American equivalent, sorry). We'd ordered a couple of backpacks from them the other day. After I got the text (and I inhaled my lunch), I went to the store, paid for the backpacks, and I was told what my queue "pick up point" was and my number. Then I waited for them to bring the backpacks up from the back, they called my number, they checked my receipt, and then I got to leave. It was bizarre.
I had to rush back to work. Ended up having to use my inhaler when I got back from having to walk up all the hills! Great exercise - but I can't do much of it without needing my inhaler. Speaking of which, I need to go back to the doctor again soon about that ...
Its been a great day. Tomorrow night we have company coming for dinner. I'm excited about having our first dinner guests! (Full report --hopefully-- before the weekend!)
Sorry about not having any photos for this post. I'll try better next time .. ::grin::