Halloween

We spend a quiet evening last night watching a movie, reviewing the fourth day, learning how to speak Scottish, and just generally relaxing.

I asked a local if Halloween was spent by children dressing up in costumes and trick or treating. He informed that indeed they did. When I asked him if they received candy he said, "Yes, but mostly money." I then reconsidered my plans for the evening.

Unfortunately several of our neighbors decided to have a Friday night Halloween party.  A Scottish party evidently involves HOURS of loud rambling incoherent discourse.  Simply closing the windows solved the problem.

The following morning our normally (except for the previous evening) quiet, little neighborhood turned into an impromptu (?) concert this morn.

About quarter ‘til nine we were in mid-coffee when the sound of a goose being throttled coursed through the rooms.

As Ms. Pith remarked,  the sound of bagpipes is so much more enjoyable when played outdoors.  Her conjecture is that the hotel provided this ‘entertainment’.

The day was yet another in a series of drizzly ones.  The plan was to scope out the Haymarket rail station for tomorrow’s trip to St. Andrews, check out the Farmer’s Market, check out Greenmarket Square and the the Scottish Historical Museum.

As we immediately set out my feet felt fine, but as we approached the station, a mere four or five blocks from the residence, my hips reminded me of my age and my walk turned in to a stroll which devolved into a lurching stumble punctuated by frequent bench stops.  By the time we hit Greenmarket I was balking at taking another step.

So we sauntered our way back through the Princes Street gardens, where much to our surprise the crocus was in bloom. Ultimately we found lunch at Harry’s near our temporary digs.

We hope to rest the hips in order to be ready for tomorrow’s jaunt around the Old Course and the continuing quest for Bjőrk. One may deduce that we are getting closer as the Pith has finally figured out how to properly key in the letter 'o' in her name, or rather the letter ő.