UK Diary, Day 3
On Visiting the Writer's Museum, the National Gallery, and a Graveyard
Welcome, friends, to my ongoing chronicle of my family’s three-week long experience of the UK. We are currently in Edinburgh, and will be here till Sunday. Yesterday Edinburgh was in its fully foggy mode. This gives it a certain mood which does fit the ancient, medieval city like glove on hand.
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But before we move into the recap, let us again hear some wisdom from Evelyn Underhill:
“Real, fully corporate worship, genuine institutional religion, rest on the solidarity of the whole Christian family: the blessed company of all faithful people past and present, living and dead, from S. Peter and S. Paul to the last baptized baby. Every time we join in that worship we are joining with the whole Communion of Saints; who are just as real and living as we are—probably in the deepest sense much more living and real. They form part of that environment in which we worship; and our services ought to have in them a sufficient historical element to remind us of this fact. A preservation of historic continuity—something that ensures remembrance of our unbroken fellowship with the little company of the Upper Room, that reminds us of those spiritual ancestors on whose rich inheritance we largely live—is essential to the corporate character of Christian worship.” (from her book, Worship)
We started our day by heading to the Writer’s Museum, about a seven minute walk from our apartment. It was a foggy day from the start, especially fitting for reflecting on the importance of three writers in particular: Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson.
The small museum has various items exhibited related to each of the three writers. The one who gets a bit more emphasis than the others is Sir Walter Scott, and that emphasis comes in the replica of the monument to him built elsewhere in the city. Here is the replica:
Everyone enjoyed this quaint little museum. Books by Sir Walter Scott were acquired by the girls to read: Rob Roy and Waverly and, by Robert Lewis Stevenson, Treasure Island. Then we headed out to see the actual monument.
Really, a very impressive monument. I cannot think of a monument for any writer like this in the United States. This one, for Sir Walter Scott, is on part with the monument for Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C.
After this we decided to walk to the National Gallery of Scotland, to look at some artworks.
The highlight for me of the museum collection was a triptych by Bernado Daddi. I like it because it shares an iconographical tradition with the Christian East, but also had a western quality. I also really like that S. Nicholas was included, in the upper right. This one is really worth praying with.
After the museum, we found a cafe for a refreshing bite to eat (and coffee/tea to drink). The cafe happened to be next to the Greyfriars’ Church and Cemetery. Following our meal, we went there next.
This cemetery is famous for its connection to the Harry Potter books, as you can read here:
After the cemetery, which I must say was very quiet and peaceful in, oh yes, a grounding sort of way, we headed home to prepare for dinner. There were not one but two trips to the Sainbury’s Local grocery shop, and during one of those, Twyla, Oona, and I snuck a little treat of gelato. Just to top off the day!
