Edinburgh (by Ben)

 Our time in Scotland started with a cheer as we crossed the border from England. We had driven from Bristol to a campsite called Drummohr. It was near a city called Musselburgh where Fancy Nancy’s friends Graham and Steven live. We didn’t all actually camp at Drummohr, we “glamped” in a Harry Potter themed hexapod which is a hexagonal hut. The hut was fitted with two bunk beds and special birthday decorations for a certain someone. It had almost everything you needed, although I think it needed a sink and Clara thinks it needed hooks to hang things on. One fun thing about it was that there were lots of things that you could do with the things that were there. For example, I took a stray hook and a ledge and turned it into a phone charging station. But we also booked a campsite because there are only four beds and five of us (because Nana Maggie was with us) and Mama slept in the tent (much rejoicing happened as she hasn’t had a quiet night in a long time).

                   

Our first morning there we met Fancy Nancy to pick her up on the way to Edinburgh. When we were picking her up, we also saw Graham and his dog Cookie. Even though Cookie is an innocent sounding name, she is a ferocious monster. Then we walked to the bus station and took the bus to Edinburgh, to the start of the Royal Mile. We saw the Palace at the bottom of the mile from a distance, adding to our list of things that are seeing but don’t go inside. Then we walked up the Royal Mile going into the occasional shop and eventually went to the long-awaited Fudge Kitchen. We continued walking up the Royal Mile, looking at the intricate architecture. Near the end of the Royal Mile we saw the youth hostel that Fancy Nancy lived in for about three years. We went to reception and saw the sign that she made for the youth hostel all those years ago. Then the list of seeing things from the outside expanded as we saw the outside of the Edinburgh castle. 

The next day we went to a place to Dishoom with bottomless chai and delicious Indian cuisine. The rest of the day was spent walking around Edinburgh going into many outdoor stores and running errands. The 18^th was Clara’s birthday. I’ll leave that to her to write about. The day after that we went to Stirling, the city that contains the factory of uncle Barclay’s wealth (aka Daddy’s flat). 

We walked around Stirling and went to an Italian coffee shop and had some nice cakes and tea. Then after some more exploring we saw an art shop with a fabulous sheep pillow in the window. I said, “We have to go in!” We walked around the fabulous art store and I came out with the sheep pillow and Daddy came out with a sheep brooch. Me, Clara, and Mama drove back to Musselburgh to meet up with Graham and Steven for board game night. Graham taught me how to play a game called Abalone. Then we played Catan with Steven and found that they play with many “house rules”. As we left for the night Graham joked to both of us that it was rude to come to someone’s house and beat them at their games.  

On our last day in Edinburgh we went to the Meadows and had a picnic with some of Fancy Nancy’s friends. We had a fun time and as it was overcast it wasn’t heaving with people. After that we went to a museum and saw Dolly the first cloned animal (who happened to be a sheep). We said our goodbyes to Fancy Nancy and got on the bus home whilst watching the ridiculous lines for the Beyonce concert that evening. We had cereal for dinner and left Scotland early the next morning. 

 

Now, you might have one question. Who is this Fancy Nancy? Well… remember in the first post I did, that person who calls herself Alison, and I said that we all know her real name? Fancy Nancy is her real name… (dan dan daaan).