Blog 5 – Scotland

Blog 5 – Why not put whisky in the porridge?

We were in Scotland last week splitting our time between Edinburgh, Glasgow, and a day trip to the Highlands – we just could not go that far without seeing Loch Ness.

Plenty of old stuff to see. The Edinburgh Castle (https://www.edinburghcastle.scot/) has a history going back to 900 BCE. It has been attacked, re-built, expanded, attacked, rebuilt, expanded for centuries and still maintains a military contingent; as well as multiple museums, artifacts, two cafes and a whisky shop. It takes hours to see most of the castle grounds. We had a great tour guide, Dave from TripAdvisor, who shared so many stories with us. One such story was about the one o’clock gun. This is a working, piece of artillery that is fired every day at one o’clock so that all in hearing distance know the exact time. Back in the day, this was important for the navigation of ships which docked in the harbor – it is now done for tradition and because tourists expect it. Important note; the gun only fires blanks. (https://www.edinburghcastle.scot/discover/highlights/one-oclock-gun) Edinburgh, according to Dave, was the first location in the UK to be attacked in World War II. Luckily many of the bombs dropped did not explode, so major damage was avoided; the city though did not want to appear undefended, so they fired the one o’clock gun. In effect shooting blanks at planes that dropped bombs that didn’t explode. This story may, or may not, be true. Edinburgh was bombed repeatedly during the war causing much loss of life and extreme damage which I in no way intend to minimize by repeating Dave’s anecdote of the first bombing and the only ‘use in anger’ of the one o’clock gun.

Ebenezer Scroggie. No, this is not a misspelling of Scrooge. Taking the Dark Side tour; at night, in the rain, we heard many stories and legends of people and places in old Edinburgh. Anna, our tour guide, shared one such story regarding how Charles Dickens came upon the idea for A Christmas Carol. The version of the story shared with us in the Canongate Graveyard is this: Charles Dickens was visiting Edinburgh and walked through the graveyard as a visitor to the city might do. The graveyard is a mix of markers, crypts, and vaults arranged in narrow and steep paths; it is interesting. Dickens happened upon the grave of Ebenezer Scroggie, where he read the headstone inscription as: “Here lies a mean man”. His writer’s imagination took it from there. What kind of man would bear such an inscription? What must his life have been like? Changing the name slightly, the character of Ebenezer Scrooge was born. The resulting story becoming one of the best loved Christmas stories of all time. To thank his inspirational muse, Dickens arranged to have the grave and marker cleaned up – it was then that he learned that the inscription was actually: “Here lies a meal (not mean) man”. Scroggie was a merchant of corn and supporter of the poor, loved and respected within the community. Sadly, over time, as the origin of A Christmas Carol became known, the grave became a tourist stop; the marker being eventually removed to eliminate disturbance to the site. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4y78YB9vVMG1xYrW8CmzjPw/that-ebenezer-geezer-who-was-the-real-scrooge)

The Dark Side tour also included stories of witches, 4,000 burned in Edinburgh, cannibalism, vampires and a mountaintop inhabited by faeries. Not Tinkerbell fairies, mean and spiteful faeries. There were the Brownies. Brownies were willing to help humans in a pinch, completing chores such as dishwashing and bedmaking when the people just did not have the time. But, if you did not properly appreciate them, or if you planned for them to do the dishes instead of you – they would become angry and burn your house down. These faeries served to keep children in line and chores completed. We also learned of Kelpies which are demons who usually appear as horses. Harry Potter fans may recognize the Kelpies. And, the last of the three, whose name I do not remember; were naked old men who would chase you through the woods. I think many of us recognize these too.

In Glasgow, we took a walking whisky tour. A little fresh air is a good thing when tasting whisky. Our guide, Cam, took us to four very different and interesting pubs/whisky bars where we learned some of the history, categories and customs regarding the ‘water of life’. I know, I’m not a whisky drinker; but when in the land of whisky, you cannot ignore its pervasiveness in the culture – we had to know more and not just by ordering shots on our own.

I learned that there are five, or six, major areas in Scotland that each have their own category of the drink that are divided by Smoky versus Delicate and Light versus Rich. (https://www.malts.com/en-gb/whisky-guide/the-flavour/) The Islands are slightly salty and smoky; the Islays have a powerful peaty smokiness; the Campeltown distilleries are famed for their smoky, oily character and distinct briny flavor; the Speyside are the lightest and most subtle; the Highlands has many varieties, lighter to smoky and peat styles and the Lowlands are known to be more gentle, floral and frequently triple distilled creating a more delicate drink. Turns out, I am a Delicate whisky drinker who really does not like the smoky or peat flavors found in the Highlands variations; preferring the Lowlands brands such as Auchentoshan. The lighter, Lowlands, whiskies are also known by another name; Breakfast Whiskies. Yes, breakfast; there is no time that whisky is not appropriate.

It seemed no trip to Scotland would be complete without a day trip to the Highlands. Looking up the area before the trip I learned it had been ‘scrubbed by glaciers’ creating a landscape that is too rocky and barren to support agriculture but does sustain the grazing of sheep. The weather is harsh and the people friendly. So, while we knew there would be lakes (lochs), we did not expect much in the way of landscapes – we were so surprised then to see the Munros (mountains) and the glens (sharp sided valley between) and the largest lakes in the UK. The Highlands are beautiful; green valleys, snow-topped mountains, lakes as clear and still as mirrors. Weather-wise we were lucky too, with the sun shining and little wind. For twelve hours we were awed by the rugged landscape, old, old castles, and the stories of all shared by our tour leader, Andrew. We know we had a rare glimpse; a day later the Highlands were covered with snow and what green was left is surely now gone – but the green will return in the spring and most likely so will we. (https://www.visitscotland.com/destinations-maps/highlands/)

Whisky in the porridge, why not?