***Addendum: Emergency Room

Not the way anyone would want to spend an evening, especially not an evening in Scotland, but we had a very interesting evening. First of all, Ray announces that he thinks he has a UTI. The man is never sick and refuses to go to the doctor when he is, so when he said we were going to the hospital, I grabbed my purse and off we went. Only problem, there was a car blocking the gate at our flat so we couldn’t get out. So I suggested a taxi, so we hailed a cab on Nicolson and off we went to the hospital that the website for BCBS for overseas visitors said we were supposed to use. It’s all the way on the other side of town so it takes a while. We pay the cabdriver and wait in line at reception only to be told that they don’t treat those kinds of illnesses there and we need to go to the Royal Infirmary—just down from our apartment. The receptionist says it is easier to use the bus and tells us where the bus stop is. I thought we should take a cab back but was overruled.

So we wait for the bus and then get caught in a gridlock on Princes Street but finally arrive at the Royal Infirmary—where J. K. Rowling’s husband worked as a neurologist before they married—and thus began our time of waiting. Actually, it was better than the US system as far as care and waiting. And we finally ended up with a great doctor who used to be a flight surgeon, so he and Ray hit it off.

Turned out to be a UTI and Ray now has meds to fix it, so we were lucky. Took another bus home exhausted from worry. But all is well.

Fast Castle July 27, 2011

Well, the other morning, I had a message from McAfee on my laptop that suggested I do updates. I asked Ray, for he is the computer expert in this family, and he said always good to do them. Told him what it was for and he said go ahead.

Tada---so now I somehow have Internet Explorer 9, which doesn’t seem to work with many websites and certainly not with my blog! Something about the scripts. And it can’t see the Publish Post button. So frustrating. I figured out a work around for posting, but now if I see an error in spelling or something in a past post, I maddeningly can’t correct it! I just have to leave it. It drives me crazy! So if you see any errors, just overlook, please, and know that I am over here pulling my hair out. Being a “nutter”—Scottish for crazy person.

Given that our first rental car suffered a crash, Ray picked up a new one this morning. A much better one. The seats in this one are very comfortable. It also has that system where the car turns itself off when you are stopped and instantly turned itself back on when you press the clutch again. This system save fuel and saves having to keep the clutch engaged at stop signals.

There are many more policemen around town now that it is getting closer to the weekend and Zara Phillips’ wedding day at Canongate Kirk. All the royals will be here including Will and Kate. I wonder if Kate will seceretly wish that her wedding could have been as small and private or if she was happy with her big to-do.

We drove east today to find Fast Castle. The walking route to Fast Castle may be relatively short, but it is one of the most thrilling in the southern half of Scotland, they say. A clifftop path winds down to the ruins of a castle, which has its origins in the Iron Age, perched on a promontory jutting into the North Sea. From the start, the views were amazing as we looked up the coast to Bass Rock. We had parked in an isolated car park near a house and climbed over a stile, then through grasses knee-high. I should’ve known that this was not a good idea. Suddenly, we were accosted by this hum of creatures—insects of all kinds—buzzing around our heads. The din of the noise was terrifying. Ray kept saying they wouldn’t hurt me, and true, their “barks” were stronger than their bites, which were non-existent, but still I have never been so glad to get over to the cliff. A pleasant stroll followed, through purple heathery hills, along the side of a hill sloping down to waves crashing below.

A little further on, the going becomes harder as you gain sight of Fast Castle and drop down the increasingly steep hillside. You have to take care as you reach the cliff edge for if the winds are strong, there could be danger. We satisfied ourselves with a long distance view of the castle. The platform on which it stands was originally only accessible via a drawbridge. Today a concrete walkway or bridge crosses the gap with rusting posts linked by chains to give a sense of security from the sheer drops on either side. Just before you reach the ruins you have to clamber up a slab. On the website, you are reminded of how serious the consequences of a slip could be. At the far end of the bridge there is what on a mountain might be called a "bad step", a smooth sloping slab of rock perhaps three feet high, that needs to be scrambled over to gain access to the concrete steps above it. The ruins are then laid out to explore. We were happy exploring from where we were and also admiring the shattered cliffs along the coast.

The ruins of Fast Castle cling grimly to a steeply sloping platform on top of a rocky promontory which projects from the cliffs. The site is surrounded by sheer cliffs which fall 150ft to the sea at its landward end and 100ft to the sea at its seaward end. The sea cliffs to the north west and south east of the castle are around 300ft high, and the land behind them rises steeply to the 570ft summit of Telegraph Hill. The cliffs on either side render the castle relatively impregnable. The path runs under Telegraph Hill, which once had a beacon on top to relay warnings up and down the coast,including one for the English invasion of 1547.

The layout of the castle is very similar to that of Dunnottar Castle, though Fast Castle is on a smaller scale. Access to the sea was via a pulley system with basket. There is a cave at the foot of the cliffs, which, it has been suggested, could once have acted as an access to the interior of the castle by its inhabitants. Fast Castle was originally known as Fause (lit. False) Castle, on account of the lights that were hung from it to mislead shipping. Shipmasters would see the lights while travelling in darkness, and consider that they had reached a safe haven, only to find thet they had been guided on to rocks, where wrecking parties awaited for plunder.

The castle is thought have inspired Sir Walter Scott’s description of the fictional "Wolf's Crag", which features in his 1819 novel “The Bride of Lammermoor.” Despite its apparent remoteness, this place has its fair share of history and once gave shelter to Margaret Tudor on her way to marry James IV and Mary, Queen of Scots after her Rough Wooing by Henry VIII of England on behalf of his son Edward had ceased.

After sighting the castle, we turned and made our way BACK through the path from Hell.

Pictures from top: Heathered hill looking down to the ocean from atop the cliff; Fast Castle; from atop the cliff; looking north to the jagged cliffs; Arthur’s Seat from the back side.