Literature

The main reason for my Scotland trip was to stay in Pitlochry for the festival theatre there. I love going to the theatre but – at least locally – we don’t seem to get many proper plays so I was very much looking forward to my trip.

The theatre famously states that you can, ‘Stay six days, see six plays.’ We were a little early in the season for that but I still had a choice of four. I decided against The Crucible as it traumatised me when I had to study it at school. Watching Jo March (Winona Ryder) playing Abigail Williams in the film was just too disturbing for me!

The theatre has the best views

That still left me with a choice of three shows though. The first I went to see was Blonde Bombshells of 1943, which tells the story of Betty – a band leader whose band has landed a BBC performance just when she has lost half her players. The auditions and rehearsals were so entertaining and it was a great show. I especially enjoyed the performance of Tilly-Mae Millbrook who played Miranda.

Next I saw Blithe Spirit – a story I know very well as I have seen the film several times. This was my favourite of the week – a real classic play. I loved Eddie – played by David Rankine – a different take on the maid character.

Finally, I went to see Summer Holiday which was of course a lot of fun. It was a bit too noisy for me but that is the case for any musical. I enjoyed myself but it reinforced something which really I already knew – for me, plays are the thing.

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I’ve never had the opportunity to see repertory theatre before and I loved being able to watch the same people play different characters through the week. They really did change, which just shows what great actors they are.

I had the best time – a whole week immersed in stories was just wonderful. I do so enjoy the theatre and I must make the effort to get to more plays – even if I have to travel a bit further to get there.

I have recently been spending some time in Scotland, a place which I love. I stopped off on the way up to spend the day in Edinburgh and I had a great time soaking up the culture.

My first stop had to be the Scott Memorial. It really stands out on the skyline and as I was reading Waverley at the time I couldn’t not pay it a visit. There is a little café in the park there which I found was the perfect spot for breakfast.

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I had a lovely time wandering through the streets before moving on to the National Library of Scotland. Unfortunately the main exhibition was closed due to technical problems with the lighting but I did get to see a small display of letters and manuscripts relating to the publication of Byron’s Don Juan. It was wonderful to see and I was especially fascinated by the proof copies annotated with Byron’s corrections.

I loved this staircase at the National Library of Scotland!

By then it was lunchtime. I was meeting an old university friend and we had a lovely catch up before going on to the Writers’ Museum. I had been so looking forward to this and I was not disappointed. I had actually been before but not for several years and even then it was just a flying visit. This time I could really take everything in, although we still had to be kicked out at closing time!

If I lived here I would have to have that little tower room!

The museum mostly focuses on Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott. Obviously, as I was reading Waverley, I was excited about seeing the Scott displays. I was especially moved by his rocking horse – with uneven steps for his feet as he had polio as a child.

I was also fascinated by the Stevenson displays. He lived such an interesting life all over the world, although sadly that was mainly due to his ongoing ill health. Last year I read an excellent book by Joseph Farrell about Stevenson’s time in Samoa so I loved seeing some of his belongings too.

The Burns exhibition was also great, although I am perhaps less familiar with his work. I’m afraid that I also came away with the impression that he was the least likeable of the three men!

Having left the museum I had half an hour to spare before my train left, which gave me just enough time for a very fleeting visit to The Fruitmarket Gallery. I had seen the title of their current exhibition – The Annotated Reader – as I passed in the morning and naturally I was intrigued. It hadn’t been open then but was now so I sacrificed my chance of a cup of tea and dived in.

The creators of the exhibition – Ryan Gander and Jonathan P Watts – had asked a whole range of people to annotate a page from the book they would choose to have with them if they had missed the last train home. Those pages were hung from the walls around the gallery and visitors were positively encouraged to take them home. I found the whole idea fascinating, picked up several pages for myself and would have loved to be able to spend more time there.

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Catching my train north I learnt both that Edinburgh Waverley is the only railway station in the world named after a novel and the there is such a thing as a UNESCO city of literature. I had no idea that was a thing but I thoroughly approve and would love to find some more!

I had the most fantastic day – I couldn’t live in a city but I do enjoy my occassional trips. I love discovering literary and other cultural places to visit and I always come away feeling inspired to write and to read everything.