yes I'm sure us Shippies in the lothians will have the kettle on for you, Piglet
We liked living in Edinburgh, but when the time came to be grown up and get a proper house with space for a family to grow into, it was too expensive - the affordable places ended up so far out it didn't feel like Edinburgh anymore. But now we're only 15-20 minutes away by train whilst being in a proper little town out in the countryside
I visited Edinburgh briefly quite a few years ago. It's on my lists of places I'd love to see again for a longer visit (i.e., more than part of a day).
That looks like a very handsome station, BT - but in Edinburgh that wouldn't surprise me.
Firenze, did you mention a cheesemonger? Mmmm ...
I've started looking on estate agents' websites, but I doubt that my meagre savings are likely to run to anything within miles of the city; the only places I've seen anywhere near my budget have been out in the wilds of Fife.
Princes Street Station is just a flashy hotel these days, but if you walk round behind it - Rutland Street, I think it is - you can still see evocative fragments of the real railway station. At least there is still something to see, unlike one of the Caledonian's other fine stations, Buchanan Street in Glasgow. We could easily have a sentimental thread on Scottish railway stations... I am sure Piglet would be grateful.
One day, they might extend it back down into England (or just to the new border post/refugee centre, perhaps....), but it would cost quite a lot of £££ (or Euros).
Definitely worth a detour!
It looks as if they are all going to arrive at once: Countertop Blokes are coming at 9, and Junk Bloke is going to phone between 9 and 10.
I'd better go and get an early night - it's going to be a busy day tomorrow.
The cheese lounge looks good, I might pencil that in for our next visit.
Big cheese fan, I used to organise an annual cheese swap on a parenting board (we sent £12 worth of artisan cheese through the post to each other).
Speaking of Fife et al, I'm currently ordering some (I hope) rather fine moleskin trousers from Hoggs of Fife. I've had one of their fabulous moleskin shirts for many years, but that appears to be coming apart. I'll have to get in touch with them about the shirts, I don't think they still make them.
I also got another one of my absolute favourite jumpers, Niffy brand, British wool, chunky, with the suede leather shoulder and elbow patches. I've had two others for certainly ten or more years, they're still wonderful and my autumn and winter staple, and I wanted to get one more, just in case.
The new woolly jumper smells soooooooo nice, ... he said sheepishly.
Gone rather chilly here, definitely autumnal, some rainy misery, but (as pointed out often on this 'ere thread) rain is needed. Chunky British wool sweaters, your time has come round again!
Rosemount has lots of small independent shops, such as a florist, a dance costume shop, a wedding cake shop etc as well as the cheesemonger, but I'm not sure I'd describe the area as bespoke. It's within walking distance of some nice areas, though.
The North East Man and I once looked at a tenement flat in Rosemount, which was being advertised as having a library. It turned out that the owners had done a rather odd internal reconfiguration, converting it from two bedrooms and a shower room, to one bedroom large enough for a king size bed, a bathroom large enough to include a two-person bath "with thruster jets" and a corridor. The corridor contained a couple of small bookcases filled with Barbara Cartland and Jeffrey Archer type paperbacks. There were less than 100 books. This they had dubbed "the library" presumably because "awkward corridor to connect the living room to the rest of the flat" didn't sound great. The owners had large "arty" black and white photos of themselves snogging whilst deshabille on the walls.
It was an entirely unsuitable flat for us, but we had seen the magic word "library" and hadn't read any further before booking a viewing.
What a disappointment, and how cringy the photos.
We would love a library but instead have a landing lined with several overfull bookcases with more piles of excess books stacked in front. More bookcases can be found in the kitchen and lounge and my study. We have grand house-buying plans for our retirement which will involve better book facilities.
I'm rather sad that our plans for a library aren't going to come to fruition: Junk Bloke should be here in a few minutes to remove all the scruffy old shelves.
I don't doubt that Mr Mellis' shops are better stocked than Mr Wensleydale's!
I didn't even have to click. As an American I think this skit was the only place I'd ever heard the term "cheesemonger" and thought of it immediately when the term was first used upthread.
Junk Blokes have been and gone, along with two tall shelving units, ten short ones and a complete set of Encyclopaedia Britannica, circa 1961 and its hideous bookcase.
That was $100 well spent; the spare bedroom now looks quite like a bedroom, and the study looks twice as big as it did.
Counter-top Blokes are now merrily (if noisily) installing, and so far I haven't heard anything about "having had a right cowboy in here".
Madame Fromage in Cardiff isn't bad (though I actually think Wally's is better and has lots of other goodies, not to mention a Kaffeehaus upstairs). The deli on the High Street in Monmouth is small but nicely formed. Possibly the best non-metropolitan cheese counter I know is at Larners in Holt, Norfolk.
I don't think anyone would have called Buchanan Street a "fine station" - although, in its latter years, it did have the A4s.
But St. Enoch - now you're talking. I was fortunate enough to see it (train shed and all) after it closed but before it was demolished.
Funny you should mention that about Buchanan Street. I looked up some pictures, and right enough, it's not a grand station like the others. But when I was five years old it was huge! A lost opportunity, though. Properly developed, it could have been a greater gateway to the north than the hole in the ground that is Queen Street.
I’m taking the puppy to the shopping centre today just to sit and watch the world go by and get used to settling in a busy place.
Not as much fun as cafe training, but I don’t mind a bit of people watching.
An absolutely adorable young black lab guide dog trainee came into the emporium of Messrs Wait & Rose yesterday, and after getting permission I gave him a bit of a fuss. I guess it won’t be long before he has to be a sensible puppy.
This afternoon I got my flu jab and then covered up my caravan - 2 signs that I’ve given in to the season.
Now it’s fright night and I’ve been fright-ed by 20 spooks (well, more than that but I am mean to groups of more than 3 or 4, and I’ve had one of those already) so far. Now I’m marking the evening in my own way - ginger wine and a binge AutumnWatch (another sign of the season) catch-up in between knocks on the door.
We've had a lot of kids (30+) all with adults, some good at being scary and some very shy. Treats strictly limited to one each, we have now run out and Are Closed. We enjoyed it a lot!
No Halloweeners here so far. But if any do arrive, a fuss for the puppy is their treat. 🐾🙂
There's a good idea - and it won't rot their teeth or give them a tummy upset!
The porcine kitchen still looks like a war zone - apparently the bloke who did the counter-top cutting made a couple of goofs, so the chaps are coming back tomorrow with re-cut bits.
I sympathise - I myself have, in the distant past, been a goof-maker, and I know what annoyance it causes to the householder...which in my case was Mrs BF...
We had our last Hallowe'en trick-or-treater here about 21 years ago when our neighbour's daughter was three or so. This year we helped a friend in the next town whose street is known as a gold mine to the smaller people, and we worked hard. Lewis Carroll's line, "Thick and fast they came at last, and more and more and more" came to mind until around 8 o'clock. There were some funny encounters when we asked what the costumes were, such as, "A character from a video game - you wouldn't know", followed by her companion's, "Another from the same franchise". There was a splendid Beethoven, but he admitted that he couldn't bring his piano. A little Dracula said he had left his teeth in his Dad's pocket (Dad came out of the shadows to show us) and there were endless Harry Potters. Some ugly stuff, but mostly fun, and were impressed at how many said, "Thank you".
We gave up on Hallowe'en lo these many years ago, when we went out leaving Master S, a strapping 18-year old, and his younger sister, with a giant bag of sweeties. When we got home they'd had about 40 visitors and Master S had been breaking up fights on the drive, where the big kids were mugging the little ones for the sweeties...
I think they were often bussed in from the poorer estate about a mile away, as we had richer pickings.
One of the many benefits of living on the very edge of our village is a complete lack of trick-or-treaters - hooray!
We live on a council estate and had a good number of callers, mostly small children with parents but a sprinkling of teenage girls too who looked like they just wanted the fun of dressing up and had made a good effort with their witches’ costumes. Friends on the high street (private housing) had no visitors.
Here, trick or treaters usually only visit those houses which are decorated, with a pumpkin outside, and the rest are left in peace. Unfortunately a yob element opted to lob a large pumpkin through someone’s front room window, caught on CCTV, so we hope they will be arrested and charged.
Unfortunately a yob element opted to lob a large pumpkin through someone’s front room window, caught on CCTV, so we hope they will be arrested and charged.
A few uncouth youth in the bigger towns in Continental WesShire apparently were chucking eggs at houses and buses, setting fire to wheely bins etc.. Silly buggers. They have proper Carnival traditions here, luckily, where people can let off some steam, but that's in spring, when it's warmer anyway and creative costumes and floats and music and parades and other joviality are indulged in, and within reason mostly. I don't mind that at all.
However, I don't think Halloween belongs into this part of the Continental Woods really. It's not part of the local tradition. I, myself, subsequently did have to stare down a couple of male teenies last night, non-disguised as they were (of course - too lazy for that!) and just out for a bit of nonsense, and I am very happy to report that I was rather successful in doing so, and they slumped away.
On a bus home in the evening, the bus driver said that the vehicle had been pelted with eggs earlier, and how annoyed he was about this. The general mood here when this happens is one of anger and possibly rage, as it just seems a pretext to anti-social behaviour. In a mostly farming village we passed through, though, there was one group of small dressed-up children, accompanied by some adults, so I guess they had a bit of good-humoured fun.
I, myself, subsequently did have to stare down a couple of male teenies last night, non-disguised as they were (of course - too lazy for that!) and just out for a bit of nonsense, and I am very happy to report that I was rather successful in doing so, and they slumped away.
When 3 male teenies turned up here non-disguised I went over the top praising their Halloween costumes. They slunk off into the gloom, bearing loot (a chocolate digestive) which I got a polite “thank you” for. In fact, all my 31 spooks were very polite, some even saying “oh cool!” - so much excitement over a chocolate digestive!
The pumpkin is currently being transformed into hummus and soup
I've been whinging on another thread about the cost of going for a service wash at my local laundrette (£17!!!) My machine is out of action for a few weeks. Anyway, I've decided to try another laundrette, and do the wash myself. Can anyone advice me about the change I will need to take? Do these machines take £5 or £10 notes, or do you have to go armed with a bucket of change? I feel most embarrassed that I don't know these things...
Comments
We liked living in Edinburgh, but when the time came to be grown up and get a proper house with space for a family to grow into, it was too expensive - the affordable places ended up so far out it didn't feel like Edinburgh anymore. But now we're only 15-20 minutes away by train whilst being in a proper little town out in the countryside
and Boogie, I wish you Viel Spaß beim lernen
Or was it Prince's Street Station? Long time ago...
Firenze, did you mention a cheesemonger? Mmmm ...
I've started looking on estate agents' websites, but I doubt that my meagre savings are likely to run to anything within miles of the city; the only places I've seen anywhere near my budget have been out in the wilds of Fife.
Now if Junk Bloke would just arrive ...
But St. Enoch - now you're talking. I was fortunate enough to see it (train shed and all) after it closed but before it was demolished.
One day, they might extend it back down into England (or just to the new border post/refugee centre, perhaps....), but it would cost quite a lot of £££ (or Euros).
Mr Mellis
It looks as if they are all going to arrive at once: Countertop Blokes are coming at 9, and Junk Bloke is going to phone between 9 and 10.
I'd better go and get an early night - it's going to be a busy day tomorrow.
Big cheese fan, I used to organise an annual cheese swap on a parenting board (we sent £12 worth of artisan cheese through the post to each other).
I also got another one of my absolute favourite jumpers, Niffy brand, British wool, chunky, with the suede leather shoulder and elbow patches. I've had two others for certainly ten or more years, they're still wonderful and my autumn and winter staple, and I wanted to get one more, just in case.
The new woolly jumper smells soooooooo nice, ... he said sheepishly.
Gone rather chilly here, definitely autumnal, some rainy misery, but (as pointed out often on this 'ere thread) rain is needed. Chunky British wool sweaters, your time has come round again!
I’ll get your coat
I’m taking the puppy to the shopping centre today just to sit and watch the world go by and get used to settling in a busy place.
Not as much fun as cafe training, but I don’t mind a bit of people watching.
Mellis' also have a shop in Aberdeen's Rosemount. I recommend it.
And indeed the West End of Glasgow.
Yes for Glasgow...
The North East Man and I once looked at a tenement flat in Rosemount, which was being advertised as having a library. It turned out that the owners had done a rather odd internal reconfiguration, converting it from two bedrooms and a shower room, to one bedroom large enough for a king size bed, a bathroom large enough to include a two-person bath "with thruster jets" and a corridor. The corridor contained a couple of small bookcases filled with Barbara Cartland and Jeffrey Archer type paperbacks. There were less than 100 books. This they had dubbed "the library" presumably because "awkward corridor to connect the living room to the rest of the flat" didn't sound great. The owners had large "arty" black and white photos of themselves snogging whilst deshabille on the walls.
It was an entirely unsuitable flat for us, but we had seen the magic word "library" and hadn't read any further before booking a viewing.
We would love a library but instead have a landing lined with several overfull bookcases with more piles of excess books stacked in front. More bookcases can be found in the kitchen and lounge and my study. We have grand house-buying plans for our retirement which will involve better book facilities.
When I looked at their website, I thought exactly that: Morningside and Stockbridge.
Mind you, my brother used to live in Morningside and my sister used to live in Stockbridge, so maybe they aren't as posh as all that ...
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Hz1JWzyvv8A
I don't doubt that Mr Mellis' shops are better stocked than Mr Wensleydale's!
I didn't even have to click. As an American I think this skit was the only place I'd ever heard the term "cheesemonger" and thought of it immediately when the term was first used upthread.
That was $100 well spent; the spare bedroom now looks quite like a bedroom, and the study looks twice as big as it did.
Counter-top Blokes are now merrily (if noisily) installing, and so far I haven't heard anything about "having had a right cowboy in here".
If you mean cheese shop, then would that be the one in the small arcade by the fabric shop in which Mrs Sioni can disappear for days at a time?
Yes, very near the Cathedral and on the way to the Lichfield Vaults pub.
I've never stopped in (the cheese shop, that is -- I've been in the pub many times), because I couldn't bring cheese home with me to the U.S.
Ah, the family-run Tebay Services. Not a franchise in sight, instead there is a proper Farm Shop and a Fishmonger on the Southbound side too.
Funny you should mention that about Buchanan Street. I looked up some pictures, and right enough, it's not a grand station like the others. But when I was five years old it was huge! A lost opportunity, though. Properly developed, it could have been a greater gateway to the north than the hole in the ground that is Queen Street.
An absolutely adorable young black lab guide dog trainee came into the emporium of Messrs Wait & Rose yesterday, and after getting permission I gave him a bit of a fuss. I guess it won’t be long before he has to be a sensible puppy.
This afternoon I got my flu jab and then covered up my caravan - 2 signs that I’ve given in to the season.
Now it’s fright night and I’ve been fright-ed by 20 spooks (well, more than that but I am mean to groups of more than 3 or 4, and I’ve had one of those already) so far. Now I’m marking the evening in my own way - ginger wine and a binge AutumnWatch (another sign of the season) catch-up in between knocks on the door.
The porcine kitchen still looks like a war zone - apparently the bloke who did the counter-top cutting made a couple of goofs, so the chaps are coming back tomorrow with re-cut bits.
It's a bit of a pain, but can't be helped.
I think they were often bussed in from the poorer estate about a mile away, as we had richer pickings.
One of the many benefits of living on the very edge of our village is a complete lack of trick-or-treaters - hooray!
Mrs. S, just call me Scrooge
My roast pumpkin seeds are a failure - not sure where I went wrong. I'll be making pumpkin pie tonight.
However, I don't think Halloween belongs into this part of the Continental Woods really. It's not part of the local tradition. I, myself, subsequently did have to stare down a couple of male teenies last night, non-disguised as they were (of course - too lazy for that!) and just out for a bit of nonsense, and I am very happy to report that I was rather successful in doing so, and they slumped away.
On a bus home in the evening, the bus driver said that the vehicle had been pelted with eggs earlier, and how annoyed he was about this. The general mood here when this happens is one of anger and possibly rage, as it just seems a pretext to anti-social behaviour. In a mostly farming village we passed through, though, there was one group of small dressed-up children, accompanied by some adults, so I guess they had a bit of good-humoured fun.
When 3 male teenies turned up here non-disguised I went over the top praising their Halloween costumes. They slunk off into the gloom, bearing loot (a chocolate digestive) which I got a polite “thank you” for. In fact, all my 31 spooks were very polite, some even saying “oh cool!” - so much excitement over a chocolate digestive!
The pumpkin is currently being transformed into hummus and soup