The Johnstons' Edinburgh Adventure

Farewell to a good friend

2010-05-16T19:40:00.003+01:00

Riley Johnston
November 1996 - May 15, 2010

Our new vehicle

2010-05-16T19:30:00.005+01:00

The car we have borrowed from friends for the past year is soon to be returned to them upon their arrival back in the UK. So in anticipation we have been hunting for something to support our family over the next year at least while we remain in Scotland. This weekend we bought a new car ... well new for us ... it is a 1999 Honda CRV and we are as excited about it as much as we have been in the past to buy a brand new car off the dealer's lot.

Forever young at heart

2010-05-16T19:21:00.003+01:00

Peter Pan is the story of staying young forever and not growing up ... written J.M. Barrie. He was born not too far from Dundee in Kirriemuir and the house he grew up in is part of the National Trust for Scotland. We took a drive there in our "new" (1999) Honda CRV on Sunday May 16th. We all enjoyed it and the boys got a chance to dress up like pirates and play with some cool Peter Pan props.

Pictish stones from 1300 years ago

2010-05-16T18:44:00.004+01:00

Well on Sunday May 16th we took a road trip not only to Kirriemuir to see the birthplace of J.M. Barrie - the author of Peter Pan - (see above) but also to nearby Aberlemno where we saw fantastic (Class 1) stones from the Pictish culture about 7th or 8th century. We saw a great celtic cross and other symbology including a triple disk, a "Z-Rod", comb and mirror, cup and ring, and others. Some other interesting symbols were on gravestones from the mid 1700's (hour-glass, bell, skull, coffin, and cross-bones). Another great example of archaeology and a window to the past.

Down south ... history and archaeology

2010-04-11T20:13:00.002+01:00

For the Easter Weekend, our whole family decided to take a trip down to England. We took a night train to London, and went to the British Museum on Good Friday. We saw numerous famous pieces and amazing history of civilisations. We then travelled to Salisbury and returned to Stonehenge Saturday morning. The boys and I were there two and a half years ago but this time Harriet joined us. Like last time, we arranged for inner circle access and got to wander amongst the stones. Sunday morning we went to Highclere Castle in Newbury which is the estate of the current Lord and Lady Carnarvon (same family who funded Howard Carter to find the tomb of Tutankhamun). There we toured their castle, visited their Egyptian collection, and participated in an Easter scavenger hunt (part of an annual charity event to raise money for Children's Hospitals and care). Monday we travelled by train back to Dundee and Broughty Ferry ... but that wasn't the end of adventures and archaeology. Keep reading for more adventures!

Up North ... history and archaeology

2010-04-11T17:48:00.003+01:00

After returning the night before from England, on Tuesday (April 6) Harrison and I took the train (thanks to the averted train strike) north to Thurso at the very tip of mainland UK. Harrison was on school break and I took a week of vacation from work. We we welcomed into the home of the parents of one of the guys I work with near Thurso who fed us a great meal and gave us beds to sleep in for the night. The next day we crossed over to the main island of Orkney by ferry and took a guided tour of the island's spectacular neo-lithic stone-age sites including Maes Howe (a 6000 year-old tomb that was plundered by vikings in the 1200's who left several types of runes and grafitti ... including twig runes), Scara Brae (a 6000 year-old village that was preserved and buried until a storm in the 1800's uncovered some of it to human eyes once more), and two stone circles (Standing Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar). It was great!
Other highlights included hiking along the coast near Stromness, camping a couple of nights in Kirkwall, and having amazing suppers (such amazing meals we ate at the Kirkwall Hotel all 3 nights).
We departed by overnight ferry from Kirwall to Aberdeen (and with 50 other people literally camped on the lounge floor of the ferry in sleeping bags) ... very bohemian.
It was satisfying going somewhere so remote, camping, and seeing such amazing archaeological things ... point of note that Scara Brae is referenced by Professor Indiana Jones in the recent movie Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Chalks away!

2010-04-11T17:31:00.004+01:00

What a great way to finish up a vacation ... Harriet gave me a 30 minute flight lesson for Christmas. I took it today (Sunday April 11th) before going back to work and what is the best day of weather this year so far. Andrea, my Spanish flight instructor took me up to fly over Dundee and the Sidlaw hills to the north. I flew a small 2 seat propellar plane gaining altitude and descending and turning to either side. It was super fun and another great experience among a long list.

Glorius family bike ride

2010-02-21T17:59:00.004Z

What an amazing day today (Sunday February 21) ... a beautiful sunny spring-like day! Parker had a great idea that we go out for a bike ride so we "saddled up" and biked alongside the North Sea coast a few miles east to Monifieth where we all played in a park right along the water. On the way back we had an early supper and then finished the ride home with what might be the best sunset I have ever seen.

Awesome Hiking

2010-02-13T17:22:00.008Z

Harrison had Friday (Feb 12) off school on an "inservice" day so I took the day off work and together we took the train to the West Coast near Glasgow and hiked 10 MILES!!!! We then spent the night in a Wigwam (a small unheated wooden structure) on a rural farm. It was cold but we had warm gear and it was worth it to see awesome scenery and especially the most awesome clear and star-filled sky. We had a great time although it was hard walking. Pretty amazing hiking for a 9 year old I think!

We saw signs of spring already with a variation of crocus sprouting up. There were some gaggles of geese honking that we watched flying in formation. Harrison spotted a couple of deer too. Then today we woke up (Saturday the 13th) and after a bit of a slow start to the day we then walked another mile to catch a bus and then train back to Dundee. It was a very satisfying father / son outdoor activity together.

Dance Fanatics

2010-02-13T16:08:00.017Z

OK ... this is THE BEST! We have a video game for the Wii called "Just Dance" that Harriet and the boys love playing. Enjoy these videos of them getting their groove thing on.

40 years young today!

2010-02-06T16:43:00.003Z

Well today marked a milestone in my life. I woke up this morning no longer in my thirties ... I am now forty-something (well ok just plain forty). I find myself comfortably slipping into my forties and without any mid-life crisis ... I figure I already had a healthy mid-life crisis a number of years ago anyways (stay-at-home dad and yoga teacher). Besides, I have an awesome family, decent health, a job that I enjoy.

My colleagues at work decorated my desk and we all got together over tea/coffee and a birthday cake. Harriet decorated the house after I fell asleep last night so I woke up to a pleasant surprise. This morning before we went out she baked a cake (usually that's my job) and is now making a special dinner - roasted leg of lamb stuffed with currents, creme de cassis, almonds and prunes (prunes since I am old now) and with a balsamic vinegar, honey, basil sauce ... yumm! I am writing this blog while sitting with a special glass of french wine (Chateauneuf du Pape ... pulling out all the stops on my birthday).

We took Parker this morning to a birthday party for his best friend Ben. Then we all went to the cinema and for a light lunch. Tonight after the special dinner, we are celebrating in true Scottish tradition ... there is a family ceilidh (Scottish party with dancing and music) in our community of Broughty Ferry at a church hall. We are all putting on our kilts and going to do some Scottish country dancing (it is a riot and Parker in particular loves it).

Best wishes to all.

Phil

History on our doorstep

2010-02-06T16:36:00.003Z

Not more than a 15 minute drive from our home and just outside the Dundee city limits are some archaeological sites dating from the iron age (about AD100) called "souterrains" or earth houses. They are leftover stone structures about 1 to 2 metres underground and varying in length. It is believed they were used for storage of items and surplus food that would have been used to trade with surrounding communities. There are dozens of them around the Angus area of Scotland although most of them have been found accidentally by farmers ploughing their fields. We visited one of these sites last weekend (January 30) on a beautifully sunny but cold and wind day.

Christmas visit

2010-02-06T16:25:00.006Z

Phil's nephew Blake came to spend Christmas with us in the UK. We happily welcomed into our home and showed him many parts of the country including Edinburgh, Dundee, St. Andrews, and Stirling. Blake mentioned being amazed by Edinburgh in particular. We spent a great holiday together and shared many UK traditions (including mince pies, a dram of scotch) and some that we have continued from Canada (mostly in terms of food and mom's Christmas coffee cake). Harriet sewed Scottish tartan stockings for all of us and knitted a hat for Blake (super talented!).

Christmas greetings from the Johnstons

2009-12-06T15:22:00.006Z

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family reading this blog. We hope that for all of you this holiday season is shared with your loved ones and that it brings time to reflect on the good things over the past year. This has been a exceptional year for us with many things to be thankful for ... especially a new job for Phil and a move for all of us to Dundee where we bought a modest apartment a short walk from the beach and amazing views out onto the North Sea.

This year there were lots of highlights for us including hiking and camping , a family trip to Germany, and more exploring into Northern England and the Perthshire area of Scotland. Last year we returned to Canada for Christmas in Ontario with family. This year we are spending the holidays in our own home and are welcoming Blake (Phil's nephew and Godson) to spend it with us.

While our summers are considerably cooler than Canada (on a really exceptionally good day getting only into the low 20's) our winters are much more pleasant and today (Sunday December 6th) we enjoyed a sunny afternoon along the beach taking some family photos in regular clothes and in our "Scottish attire". All of us now have tartans and it's a good thing too since next weekend we are going to a family celeidh (party and dance).

May you all have a great holiday and have health and happiness in 2010.

Phil, Harriet, Harrison, and Parker.

New Wheels for Parker

2009-11-08T13:54:00.003Z

Some of our friends generously lent us a bike for Parker that their son had outgrown. Parker is having fun riding it to nursery school and back home a couple of times each week. I don't think it will be too long before the training wheels (called 'stabilisers' here) come off.

Halloween Partying ... no bones about it

2009-11-08T13:48:00.002Z

Both boys this year were skeletons and had several parties to attend (between school / nursery parties and also one in our building). Our pumpkins this year were Spongebob and those Mario fans reading this might recognize the 'bad guy' Bowser.

The Birks of Aberfeldy

2009-11-08T13:32:00.004Z

So last blog posting we wrote about being inspired by Shakespeare's MacBeth to hike Dunsinane Hill. This time we were inspired by Rabbie Burns to hike The Birks of Aberfeldy which he wrote a well-known poem about. Aberfeldy is in the lower highlands near Pitlochry (about 45 minutes north of Perth). Birks refers to a series of waterfalls that cascade over the course of a mile or so. Later October is known to be a particularly scenic time to do this hike what with the changing colour of leaves. In addition to being beautiful, this was really Parker's first decent size hike that he did all by himself ... the total trip was about 4 kms and with a bit of elevation. Then afterwards we had supper in Pitlochry and an evening walk through local woods / local park that held and light and sound show for Halloween. A fun way to spend a day and we got some great photos.

A family vacation to Germany

2009-10-11T12:22:00.003+01:00

Because the primary school year starts earlier here in Scotland than in Canada, they get more vacation. Harrison has a fortnight (2 weeks) off in October so we took the first week to travel together to Germany (we got a sweetheart of a deal with Ryanair). We returned (this time with Harriet) to the Rhineland area that the boys visited in summer of 2008. We had a great time there with highlights being cruising on the Rhine, hiking, and a ride up/down a small mountain/high hill by cable car. For the last few days we travelled to Frankfurt. We went to a great zoo, enjoyed eating Frankfurters (hot dogs) in Frankfurt, and went to a museum of archaeology.

Shakespeare brought to life

2009-10-11T12:08:00.003+01:00

Those of you who are familiar with Shakespeare's MacBeth might remember the line "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be, until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him." Well one sunny Sunday afternoon friends took care of our boys and Harriet and I decided to go hiking on a more challenging path than we could do with Harrison and Parker. Not more than 1/2 hour from here and towards Perth is Dunsinane Hill. We hiked up to its summit and then across some valleys and ridges to Black Hill and King's Seat (about 6 miles in all). We enjoyed fine views and vistas in every direction.

Harrison's fall harvest play

2009-10-11T12:03:00.002+01:00

Unlike North America, the UK doesn't have a Thanksgiving holiday but the harvest is recognized in different ways. At Harrison's new school there was a harvest pantomime (play) and Harrison was chosen for a role in it. He danced and sang with other classmates and he did a great job!

Harrison's 9th birtday

2009-10-11T11:51:00.004+01:00

When we moved to Scotland, Harrison was still 6 years old. So it hard to believe that in September he turned 9 years old and celebrated his third birthday in Scotland (although his first one in Dundee). We threw him a fun party with Parker and various new friends he has made through camps and through school. We all enjoyed bowling, laser tag, and a meal.

Flying High at the Leuchars airshow

2009-10-11T11:37:00.004+01:00

This year we went to the annual Leuchars Airshow just outside of St Andrews. It is held at an active Royal Air Force Military base and is a spectacular display of mostly military and some civilian planes and piloting. Too many to mention them all, highlights included seeing MIGs, F16's, Tornado's and the RAF's most modern plane the Typhoon. There were plenty of older style planes including Lancasters, bombers, and a really special flight of the Vulcan which is a famous plane in Britain that won them the Falkland Islands war with Argentina. For any flight enthusiast it is a must and especially when you luck out on the weather like we did! There was even a "special appearance" by some rather nasty security agents who took a liking to Phil.

Camping in Comrie

2009-10-11T11:19:00.002+01:00

Towards late September we went camping west of Perth in Comrie. We had a great time as it was the first time having a proper camp fire in the more than two years we have been here ... most campgrounds don't allow it. The Comrie Croft is a really cool place with options to stay indoors in a bunkhouse or outdoors ... we chose the latter and spent the night in a forested tent pitch section. Of course we gave our boys the full experience with toasted marshmallows and hot chocolate!

The next day we drove to Dunkeld and had a picnic by the river ... really charming. Had a short hike in the Hermitage nearby where we saw powerful waterfalls. On the way home we stopped off in Perth for supper ... an awesome weekend.

Harrison's 1st day at a new school

2009-08-23T12:23:00.003+01:00

Harrison began Primary 5 (equivalent of grade 4 in Canada) on Wednesday August 19. He looked really good in a new uniform that includes a dress shirt and tie ... I have been teaching him how to tie one. He has made a couple of friends in the neighbourhood who also go there so he knows some people already. I think it will be a great year for him! Parker has been enjoying nursery school over the past month and with both of them back full-time it gives Harriet more time towards her research.

Hiking "Hill walking" in Pitlochry

2009-08-23T11:14:00.007+01:00

On Saturday Aug 22 our family went hiking in Pitlochry ... a small town north west of Dundee and on the southern edge of the highlands. We also took one of Harrison's friends Daniel that he made at summer camp in Dundee. Longer hair isn't common in Scotland for boys but you wouldn't know it looking at these two. Anyways is was a stunning drive from Dundee taking backroads and "B" highways. Many fields of heather are starting to turn purple and it rivals some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen (and that's saying something).

I am hesitant to call our adventure proper "hill walking" since we chose a rather gentle route for everyone. The hike despite not having lots of elevation had many cool things to see including an impressive waterfall and a distillery about half-way through. A few months ago we wrote about having toured Scotland's oldest scotch distillery (Glenturret). Well on Saturday we visited Scotland's smallest scotch distillery (Edradour) which makes relatively small amounts ... a mere 90,000 litres a year - but that is what some of the bigger distilleries produce in a week. Their claim to fame is a blended scotch called "House of Lords" which can only be found at their distillery and Westminster Palace ... if you happened to belong there! Needless to say I had a 'wee dram' of it at their tasting bar but they were sold out of it otherwise and I couldn't get a bottle to bring home. As far as scotches go, it was pretty good (meaning the least revolting) and fun to try something kind of exclusive.

The last third of the hike was through town (included an ice cream stop for everyone), checking out a really cool hyrdo-electric dam and fish ladder. It was a great day and a reminder of how great it is to live in Scotland and close to the highlands.

The Gathering

2009-07-26T14:46:00.007+01:00

2009 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns (Scotland's national poet / bard). Visit Scotland has used this to plan activities throughout the year to draw tourists under the "coming home" theme. One of the biggest celebrations of the year is a 2 day celebration of celtic culture called 'The Gathering'. It happened yesterday and today (Sat July 25th & Sun July 26th).

Yesterday for Harriet's birthday she spent the day relaxing at the spa at the Fairmont St Andrews while I took the boys to Edinburgh to The Gathering for the day. There were highland games, chidren's races, celtic dancing, music, storytelling, dozens of clans with tents, food, and lots more. It was held beside Holyrood Park (the royal residence in Edinburgh) and Arthur's Seat (the large hill/mountain in the centre of the city).

Harrison and I put on our kilts (and I think I got one of the best pictures of Harrison ever standing on the side of Arthur's Seat). We saw many musicians but my favourite group was "The Red Hot Chilli Pipers" (a play on words from the more famous American Group). This band however is similarly innovative taking classic popular rock tunes and putting their own celtic spin on them with drums, guitar, and bagpipes ... super entertaining. Parker enjoyed the face-painting and rock-climbing.

Parker's 4th birthday

2009-07-14T20:58:00.003+01:00

In the middle of the week that we moved, we celebrated the boys' last day of school and of course Parker's birthday. We decided to throw him a big party and so we took him, Harrison, and about 8 other children to see a live stage production of "Scooby Doo and the Pirate Ghost" at the Edinburgh Playhouse. We got in the UK spirit of 'fancy dress' and we all dressed up like pirates ... it was awesome. Afterwards we had games and cake with Parker's friends from nursery school ... he felt very special!

Our new home

2009-07-14T20:07:00.007+01:00

Well we moved from Edinburgh to Broughty Ferry (a neighbourhood in the east end of Dundee) about 2 weeks ago. It feels great to have moved out of the flat we were renting and into our new home that we bought. It has taken some time to get mostly unpacked and settled but it feels very satisfying now that we have. On the weekend we even painted the kitchen, a wall in our bedroom and several doors. We think our new home is great ... it's small in size but big in personality and the location is simply amazing ... we live only 3 blocks from the coast. Dundee is known to be one of the sunniest places in Scotland (because of the surrounding hills that affect the weather) and after living in a basement flat the last couple of years we now really appreciate all of the sunshine we get in our new home (top floor of a 3 floor building).

Moving to a new home

2009-06-07T08:00:00.003+01:00

Harriet's doctorate studies through St Andrews university are really coming along well and she has been busy recently with 1st year summaries, coordinating with the hospital, and recruiting patients for research. I have now worked for more than two months and absolutely love the job and the people I work with. Needing to move closer to university and work, we looked around and bought a really small 2 bedroom flat in a great neighbourhood called Broughty Ferry which is a small village/neighbourhood towards the east end of Dundee. The flat (which we take possession of at the end of June) is a short walk to the primary school for the kids, along a bus route, and only about 4 blocks from the shore. There is a beautiful beach looking out to where the River Tay meets the ocean and across the firth of Tay south to Fife.

Buying a home seemed the right thing to do considering relatively low prices after the recent housing price tumble, decent interest rates, and knowing that we are going to be here for another couple of years. After that time we can sell it or maybe keep it and rent it out as an investment. Either way we are super excited to have a place of our own. Broughty Ferry really is a great area and is only a few miles away from Carnoustie where the world famous British Open is sometimes held. Our friends and family who are avid golfers might want to check out the link on the right. Even though our new flat is small (less than 700 square feet) it is done up nicely with a recently renovated kitchen and bathroom and we hope to entice people out to visit and stay with us (we can always make room).

Easter at Traquair House

2009-06-07T07:49:00.003+01:00

We celebrated Easter this year by taking the kids to Traquair House about an hour south of Edinburgh. This is the oldest residence in Scotland and as such has a lot of history tied to it. Among the more famous stories ... Bonnie Prince Charlie and his army stayed there briefly. When departing to head south to attack England, the Traquair house famous Bear Gates were closed after the army marched through. The governing Lord (Laird) at the time promised that the gates would stay closed until there was a Stewart king upon the throne of England ... they still have not been re-opened to this day and traffic must arrive via the rear of the property. The boys liked taking part in scavenger hunts, easter egg hunts through labyrinths and there were a number of really cool artisan shops, a restaurant, and a great micro-brewery. Check out the link on the right.

The Perth Air Show

2009-06-07T07:17:00.010+01:00

While Harriet and Harrison were busy in Edinburgh, Parker and I went to the Perth air show and had a great day. We saw lots of different planes from old ones with two wings, through WW2 spitfires, and right up to ultra-modern fighter jets. The UK equivalent to Canada's Snowbirds are called the Red Arrows and they are awesome ... flying in flawless formation, fly-by's in opposite direction and other tricks. Other highlights include getting to sit in the cockpit of a Harrier jet and on a really cool police motorbike. There is another show in September at RAF Leuchars near St Andrews that the whole family is looking forward to.

Whisky and Forests

2009-06-07T06:51:00.003+01:00

Harriet and I took a day-trip with one of the local companies to tour the Glenturret distillery in Crieff ... some claim this is the oldest scotch distillery in Scotland. While it's interesting to see how scotch is made, neither of us can say that we really enjoy it ... the surrounding countryside however around western Perthshire is beautiful and makes for a great trip. Concluding the day tour was a trip to 'the Hermitage' near Dunkeld which is a beautiful forest walk leading to spectacular waterfalls.

News

2009-03-15T08:31:00.014Z

Awesome news to start of this series of postings to our blog! I have accepted a full-time job working in Dundee that is a wonderful marriage of my academic background (a Masters in Criminology) and my experience with business improvement/efficiency (with TELUS). I am so thankful, relieved, excited, and happy with this development as it means a jumpstart to my professional career after a 3 year break to be a stay-at-home dad. Believe me, our whole family did a "happy dance" in the kitchen when I received the good news!

It also means that our finances will be considerably healthier while Harriet completes a doctorate degree and makes it likely that we will move from Edinburgh this summer (once the kid's school year has completed) about an hour north to Tayside to be closer to work and Harriet's university & research. I am looking forward to begin on March 23rd and will commute by train daily during the week until our family moves. We may even look to buy a modest residence in a good neighbourhood since housing prices and mortgage rates have dropped considerably over the past year. Anyone reading this who is unfamiliar with Dundee can check out the link on the right. YEAH!!!

Harriet received confirmation of funding to conduct detailed brain scanning for her PhD research. This is great since it will mean more data, a larger study group, and more reliability to extend or generalize results across to larger populations.

Phil took a 1 day tour with the "Rabbie's Trailburners Company" into the southern edge of the Scottish Highlands (into Crieff & Aberfeldy) visiting Scotland's oldest whiskey distillery Glenturret, an area forested with Douglas Fir Trees called the Hermitage, and Dunkeld. Super fun!

Lake District vacation

2009-03-15T08:30:00.006Z

The school year is different in Scotland than in Canada and here the kids get a week off during mid February. This year our family travelled by train to the Lake District in NW England for a long 4-day weekend. It is a really beautiful area that reminded us a lot of Canmore and the interior of British Columbia. What is pleasantly not like home is that even in February we enjoyed warm spring weather that you would have to wait for until May in Canada's Rocky Mountains.

We spent a night in Ambleside at a beautiful hostel on the northern shore of Lake Windemere and 2 nights at a hostel overlooking a stream in Keswick a little further north. On the Sunday we hiked a 9-mile circular loop from Keswick around Derwentwater Lake which was amazing!

This was a really beautiful area distinct from others we had already visited in the UK ... it fills up in the summer time as people from southern England travel north to this vacation area. Before returning we went to the Cumberland Pencil Museum (which most likely sounds boring like seeing a giant ball of string) ... surprisingly we really enjoyed it and picked up some supplies for arts and drawing.

A Christmas to Remember

2009-02-15T14:45:00.006Z

Well this blog posting is long overdue as it has been a couple of months since our last one. The delay reflects more our full and active lives than it does apathy to update the blog. We have lots to share with you but of course our "lead story" has to be our return trip to Canada over the Christmas and New Years Holidays. While others were booking vacations to tropical destinations, we booked travel back to the "true north strong and free" and back to frigid temperatures.

It was absolutely awesome seeing so much family again after a long time (too long as in many cases we hadn't seen some extended family in many years). We didn't get back to Alberta to visit friends and check on our house there since we spent the full two weeks in Ontario. Being rather homesick throughout the last part of 2008, spending lots of time with family was exactly what we wanted. Despite a delay due to heavy snow we arrived just in time on Christmas Eve for supper with Phil's family ... we were just glad that the plane wasn't cancelled because many were.

In London (Ontario, not England) we had a great time with Christmas traditions, fantastic food and company, and spending lots of time with our dog Riley who is now living with Phil's mom and dad (seeing how well he gets treated / pampered he certainly is "living the life of Riley" and enjoying his senior years). Huge thanks and love to mom and dad for having all four of us "back home" and ensuring we felt welcome.

We borrowed mom & dad's van and drove to Barrie to see our Feder family (immediate and extended). Neil and Jodie opened their home to us and it was pleasing to see how well Harrison and Parker played and got along with their cousins Kaleb and Kaleigh who are just about the same age. We arrived there just in time for the biggest family gathering we have been to probably since we got married. Neil and Jodie did a great job arranging it and it reminded us of the big Feder family events we used to go to early in our relationship when grandpa and granny were still with us. Other highlights from Barrie included a super fun "card night", celebrating our cousin Thomas' birthday, and (although I usually hate shopping) getting some amazing deals on clothes that would have been easily triple the price in the UK.

In as much as we enjoyed seeing family, it also felt great to get a reminder of how awesome Canadian culture is. Tuning into Hockey Night in Canada, watching Team Canada on tv for the world junior hockey championships, reading Farley Mowat, shovelling snow, sledding ... these are the iconic Canadian things we enjoyed (just about the only thing we didn't do was go to Tim Hortons). Our impression of Canada is that it seemed much less "developed" than we remembered it and it was a little odd to see so many houses (probably in contrast now to our experience in the UK which is more densely populated and we have become accustomed to tall city centre apartment housing).

Both of the boys loved seeing "proper snow" again ... Parker didn't remember what it was like since he was only a year and a half when he had last seen any snow. We had fun tobagganing with family throughout the vacation both in London and in Barrie. The cold weather was "amusing" for the couple of weeks that we were back in Canada but to be truthful we were glad to get back to a warmer climate in the UK (and we really haven't had much rain to speak of this winter).

It is tempting to have an "Oscar's List" naming people who we saw over the holidays but instead we will just say how much we enjoyed seeing everyone and a general but sincere "thank you" for taking the time to see us. Probably the highest compliment is that it gave us serious pause to consider the consequences of living so far away from everyone ... but our lives are here right now with Harriet benefiting from some outstanding educational opportunities and our whole family enjoying the "international experiences" we couldn't get living domestically.

Brothers

2009-02-15T14:44:00.004Z

Phil here ... Even though we would be visiting together in less than a week's time, I took a few days towards the end of December to visit my brother Paul in Baden Baden, Germany. Nearly identical in date, in location, and in activities to a year earlier when I visited Paul we had fun at the Caracalla Spa and Thermes, listening to the philharmonic orchestra, and eating some great food (actually that kind of sounds like we are Fraser and Niles Crane doesn't it?). Once again Paul was a great host and I had fun (and this time I was much more comfortable with the nudist atmosphere ... just to clarify that is at the spa, not the orchestra!).

Hiking up Arthur's Seat

2009-02-15T14:43:00.013Z

After 2008 in which we had many family hikes together, I am looking forward to another year of exceptional hiking and hill walking. So when in January there was a mild and sunny Sunday morning Harrison and I set out to hike up Arthur's Seat (one of seven hills that surround Edinburgh) that overlooks the city and has the Scottish Parliament and the Queen's Royal Holyrood Castle at its base. It would have been too steep for Parker and there is no way we could have pushed the buggy / pram up the mountain so he and Harriet did their own thing around town that day.

It was a beautiful morning but very windy and chilly on top of the exposed summit. Despite there being many other people, we had fine views in all directions to survey the countryside ... we could easily see across the Forth, east to Bass Rock and North Berwick Law, west to Beecraigs Country Park, and south to the Pentland Hills. As a special treat, I packed a campstove and supplies to boil up some hot chocolate near the summit ... with it being chilly at the top of the mountain Harrison and I were the envy of others!

Darwin ... rockstar personna long after his death

2009-02-15T14:43:00.012Z

Well since we returned to the UK one of the major themes in the popular culture is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of his publication about the Origin of the Species and Natural Selection. There have been several great BBC documentaries about Darwin (some narrated by Richard Attenborough) and his contributions to scientific understanding of the world not just around us but that we are part of and fully immersed in. The Royal Mint has issued a commemorative £2 Darwin coin, the Royal Post has issued Darwin stamp sets, and several universities are hosting Darwinian events and lectures.

Religous fundamentalist arguments aside (far far aside), we are huge fans of his ideas and they resonate with us and our love of nature having spent so much time hiking and camping in it. In particular I think that if you believe that all life is linked and genetically related going back far enough, then it is easier for many to take a more respectful and a conservationist approach. Believing that we are part of a larger web of life, then it follows even more imperatively that we should sustain the planet's bio-diversity and follow a harmonious role within it ... rather than an approach of dominion over and exploitation of other species.

Interestingly and I think pretty cool, Darwin went to the University of Edinburgh like Harriet did (although he didn't graduate from there).

Egyptology and the Louvre of Glasgow

2009-02-15T14:43:00.007Z

As you probably know by now, Harrison is fascinated with ancient Egypt (one which as his father I share and am happy to support). We have been to a couple of lectures organized by the Egyptology Scotland society of which we are members. One of them took place in Glasgow at the Burrell Collection / Museum in Pollok Country Park ... I had never heard of this before but I was amazed at the extent and quality of this collection. It obviously would be an overstatement to say that it rivals the Louvre but it certainly commands respect in its own right and is an impressive collection ... a less well known attraction than the popular tourist destinations but one which I would strongly encourage people to see if they are drawn towards enjoying museums.

Robert "Rabbie" Burns Day!

2009-02-15T14:42:00.005Z

Looming just as big as Darwin is another larger than life personality ... Robert Burns (the Bard of Scotland and the people's poet). I was reminded by a loyal Scot that it is not "Bobbie" Burns (as that is an anglicized or English version of his name) but instead "Rabbie" Burns.

Well however you call him there is no denying the extent of his popularity as there are thousands of "Burns Suppers" around the world each January 25th. This year the fanfare was "pumped up" as 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of the bard's birth which is one of the central themes of Scotland's 2009 tourism campaign theme of "Homecoming" (see the side for a link). All over Scotland there were big celebrations and the grocery stores which sell Haggis throughout the year sold out of them as they were in big demand. Seriously, I know that haggis is rather the topic of many jokes in North America but here it is just a common as meatloaf. Often, in speaking with friends and other parents at Harrison's school and asking them about what they are making for supper, I have been told that they are "bakin' or boilin' a haggis".

Well not to be "left out" we had a haggis for supper too. It sounds perhaps like an oxymoron to hear that there is a vegetarian haggis (since it is usually make from sheep intestine, lung, and heart) but the grocery store has a great version made of grains and spice ... we loved the vegetarian haggis that we ate! I didn't bother to recite the Burns poem "ode to a haggis" but we do have a bottle of Glayva (a Scotch liquer that we have the odd nip from now and then).

The theme is also blended into the schools that Harrison and Parker attend. Both of them had "Scottish culture and Scottish pride" days since returning from Christmas. In Harrison's class they have been learning more Scots' language. Something you may not know (I was surprised to learn it) is that Scots' language is not the same as Gaelic. They are completely different ... although both are baffling. Here is one short poem they had to memorize:

Rob Roy gaed tae Alice Springs
Tae teach the quines their Heilan flings.
A kangaroo lowpit on his hat,
Noo he's a tartan bannock flat.

Convocation Day!

2008-12-05T08:52:00.007Z

On December 4th, Harriet graduated with distinction for a Masters of Science in Human Cognitive Neuropsychology ... way to go Harriet! This was really a day to celebrate since the degree is the reason we moved all the way from Canada in the first place. Harriet looked great for the ceremony in her graduation gown. Phil & Harrison, who attended the ceremony at the University of Edinburgh MacEwan Hall, dressed up for the occasion too ... this was Harrison's first time wearing a kilt and we think he looks great (wouldn't Grandpa Rose be proud of him!). Celebrations continued throughout the day with a restaurant meal, flowers, and enjoying the bottle of champagne Harriet received for her 40th birthday earlier this year.

Moving up to Cub Scouts

2008-12-05T08:44:00.005Z

On the same day as Harriet graduated, Harrison too had an important ceremony ... he was inducted into Cub Scouts. Although a Beaver Scout last year, he has been attending weekly meetings of the Cub Scout troop since September during the transition. Infront of his Cub Scout group, he said (very clearly, loud and proud): "I promise to do my best, to do my duty to God and the Queen, to help other people and to keep the Cub Scout Law." And with that he moved up to the next level and received various troop badges to get sewn onto his uniform.

Halloween / Guising

2008-11-20T16:30:00.005Z

We had two very eager and enthusiastic children for Halloween this year ... Parker was fully into the concept of it. While there were some events at both of their schools, there was unfortunately next to no-one taking part on our street (except our house of course!). The kids had great costumes though. Parker wanted to be a frog so with our help and that of our awesome nanny Erin we created for him a great homemade costume complete with flippers. Harrison wanted to be a Pokemon trainer character from his favorite cartoon show ... Harriet worked extra hard sewing bits of his costume together.

Coming back to Canada for Christmas

2008-11-20T16:22:00.004Z

Great news ... earlier today we booked airfare to come back to Canada for Christmas. We are really feeling homesick and need a boost from visiting family for a couple of weeks in Ontario. We hope to visit with many of you reading this and will be in touch shortly to make some plans!

Graduation with distinction

2008-10-27T19:52:00.009Z

Great news! Harriet just heard that she will graduate with distinction for the Masters of Science (MSc) through the University of Edinburgh's program in Human Cognitive Neuropsychology. This is a very significant achievement since few people in the program receive this honour each year ... it requires a minimum overall average of 70% and not less than 60% in any single course. In the UK, grades tend to be much lower than in North America since courses are marked much harder. The actual convocation ceremony is December 4th ... way to go Harriet!

Trip to London for half term

2008-10-27T19:50:00.006Z

The primary school year in the UK is slightly different than in Canada. Our boys had their "half term" break recently (more than a week off from school) so we decided to take them for a vacation. Our trip began by taking the Caledonian Sleeper night train from Edinburgh to London. One of the several highlights was going to the British Museum which is a first rate collection of significant artifacts including an amazing collection from ancient Egypt. We saw the Rosetta Stone which was found in 1799 by Napoleon's troops and was integral to the eventual decipherment of hieroglyphs ... attributed most to Champollion.

We also returned to the Natural History Museum that we enjoyed last year. It is absolutely great and houses an amazing exhibit on dinosaurs including the first T-Rex fossil ever found (back in the early 1900's). One day we went to a farm and got to see some living reptiles ... we each took turns holding a live snake (even Parker!) We got to pet various farm animals including goats, cows, horses, and pigs.

We were lucky to get to stay just south of London with Uncle Peter and Auntie Naomi (Harriet's mom's sister) and enjoyed visiting with them and their hospitality. Harriet's cousin Hillary also came over for lunch one day so we had the chance to visit with her too.

Short trip to Oban

2008-10-05T08:50:00.003+01:00

With a few days between working (part-time teaching yoga), and since it worked out with our family's schedule, I decided to take a brief trip to the west-coast of Scotland to check out Oban (Oct 2 - 4). Although we do lots of traveling as a family, from time-to-time I enjoy taking a few days by myself to explore. While I normally take the train to travel, I got a fantastic deal on the bus (for a 4 hour journey in each direction only £5 return) and it was actually faster than the train which had longer connections. To keep the budget modest I stayed at the youth hostel (which by the way has a great view of the water) and cooked for myself rather than going to restaurants.

Oban is right on the edge of the mainland and looking across its bay one can see nearby islands of Kerrera and Mull. On the day I arrived, I hiked up to McCaig's Tower which is a large monument overlooking the town in the style of a Roman Colosseum. If Oban is a smaller Scottish town with a population of 10,000 then Kerrera is nearly deserted with only 30 residents on the island. On Friday (luckily the nicest day of the month), I took a tiny ferry over to Kerrera and hiked a 6 mile trail over its southern half. During the walk, I visited the ruins of Gylen Castle which was a fortified tower destroyed 350 years ago ... as it overlooks the ocean it was a scenic place to stop for a packed lunch. Exceptionally secluded, it was a great day of hiking with hardly anyone else around and I enjoyed the spectacular views!

Saturday I took a Cal-Mac (Caledonian MacBrayne) ferry to Mull and toured Duart Castle (belonging to one branch of the Maclean clan) which has been impressively restored in the past 40 years. I plan to return (with Harriet and the boys next time) having found the west-coast particularly beautiful.

It's elementary my dear Watson

2008-10-05T08:28:00.004+01:00

Recently I have been on a Sherlock Holmes "kick" and read two of Arthur Conan Doyle's books featuring this super sleuth. I enjoyed reading over the past month The Valley of Fear and A Study in Scarlet. Part of the fascination comes from being in Edinburgh and the connection to this famous author. Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh about an 8 minute walk from our flat and he is an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh (upon her convocation, something that Harriet will have in common with him).

Harrison's turns 8

2008-09-16T08:26:00.013+01:00

This year we went "all out" with a really special birthday party for Harrison. He had 10 of his classmates and Parker join him for a fun afternoon ... since we were planning on being out of town this long holiday weekend during Sept 14th (his actual birthday) we had the party on Friday after school finished early. As you may know from reading past postings, Harrison is really interested in Ancient Egypt and his primary class is studying it right now too. There is an indoor play centre and fun house in Edinburgh called Time Twisters which is incredibly well designed and themed around Ancient Egypt ... the perfect place for his party.

After playing for an hour on various indoor slides and climbing structures, the kids sat down to a meal and cake. Harrison, being the birthday boy, sat in an Egyptian throne and his classmates nicknamed him "Pharaoh-son" ... he loved it! Parker was happy to be included in his big brother's celebrations and had fun too. Harrison received countless books about Egypt, the history of Scotland, and many other cool toys from his friends and family. One of the really cool gifts was from mom and dad ... a membership to Egyptology Scotland so that he can get newsletters throughout the year and is invited to events in Edinburgh and Glasgow when various experts visit.

Harrison's Birthday Weekend in Aviemore

2008-09-16T07:36:00.005+01:00

Last year on Harrison's birthday we all travelled south to London. This year, in contrast, we decided to travel north into the Highlands to Aviemore (near Inverness). We had a great weekend camping (tenting) for 2 nights. On Sunday, we hiked 10kms including our family's first "geo-cache". Geo-caching is a very popular hobby where using a global-positioning-satellite (GPS) you find various things people have hidden (usually in remote locations). Check out the link at the right for more information.

On Monday we walked through town to a stone circle / ring cairn. While not on the same scale as what we saw at Stonehenge in England or at Cairnpapple in Scotland (see previous postings), these unassuming stones are estimated to have been placed there about 4000 years ago (amazing isn't it!). It was odd because they are literally right beside various houses and a health centre and there is absolutely no-one there watching them and no regulating agency.

Later on Monday we took the Strathspey Steam Railway from Aviemore to Broomhill ... a scenic journey through the highlands. We all love trains and in particular riding on old steam trains ... the engine was stoked with coal and in our picture you can see the pipe that fills the engine reservoir with water. On the return journey, we stopped at a small village called Boat of Garten where we took a small woodland stroll to the top of a "Fairy Mound/Fairy Hill". There are hundreds of Fairy Hills in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales and according to Celtic mythology they can be portals into the Otherworld / the land of the "aos sí". Some sources of Irish mythology describe them as the remaining survivors of the Tuatha Dé Danann who retreated into the Otherworld after they were defeated by the Milesians.

Fringe Festival 08

2008-09-01T23:43:00.002+01:00

We were fortunate to be in Edinburgh for another year of the Fringe Festival. Some of our favourites were the physical dance/acrobatic shows including the Ceasar Twins - Identical twins that put on an artistic acrobatic show, Alba Flamenca - spanish dancing and music, Balle de Rua - a Brazillian dance, and the Aluminum Show - puppetry and dance bringing all sorts of aluminum objects to life. We also saw a lot of great kids show including a dramatization of the popular children's book The Gruffalo, Potted Pirates and an Interactive Robin Hood show. Harrison also took a couple of acting classes for kids from one of the companies with themes of Pirates of the Carribean and Star Wars - he had a great time. The kids and I also got to see the famous Soweto Gospel Choir to experience some of our own cultural heritage. All in all we saw a lot of great shows and encourage our friends and family to come out next year to experience the festival for themselves!

New Lanark and Robert Owen Ahead of Their Time

2008-09-01T22:58:00.008+01:00

On the weekend we visited a historic milling town - New Lanark. We didn't know anything about the town before we came - except that it was nearby a large waterfall - Corra Linn falls - boasting the largest volume of water in the UK. We soon found out that Robert Owen - well known in fields of sociology - designed this community on principles of social justice, ensuring the citizens had good working conditions, fair wages, fair treatment and good education. In fact - New Lanark was the site of the first nursery school in the world - a fact we thought would be of interest to our many family and friends who have devoted their lives to the education of children. All around this world heritage site there were reminders of Robert Owen's wisdom with inspiring quotes reminding of the importance of education, equality and community.

Discovery in Roslin Glen

2008-09-01T21:14:00.013+01:00

On August 24th we went for a family day hike in Roslin Glen. This is the site of Rosslyn Chapel - the church made famous through its feature in the Da Vinci Code book and location in the Da Vinci Code movie. We did not go to see the chapel, but to take a hike in the Glen. During this journey Phil stumbled upon a piece of history. As we were walking he caught a glint of something hidden beneath the muddy trail. After a bit of digging Phil unearthed what looked to be a very old bottle. It was under the earth upsidedown with a bit of liquid left so the rubber on the stone screw stopper was still supple. It was quite a wet and muddy walk and we ended up getting (or at least feeling) quite lost as their were no signs along the trail to help guide our way. We eventually decided to cut through a farmers field and found our way back to the main town - not as lost as we thought.

On return home and after searching the internet and with the help of some local historians, Phil found out his bottle was likely at least 100 years old. It was from an old soda maker William Smith from Milton Bridge. Phil even got the help of Robin Barr, the CEO of the Barr soft drink company, makers of Irn Bru - a popular soft drink in Scotland. The Barr company bought Globe Soda that had acquired the Smith company some years before. Mr. Barr was able to provide Phil with an approximate dating of his bottle.

Back to School

2008-09-01T20:17:00.012+01:00

In the past few weeks both Harrison and Parker have started school. School starts in mid August here in Scotland - a bit earlier than for Canadian schools. Harrison has really enjoyed seeing his school mates again and quickly rekindled his school friendships. He also started back in his swimming and acting lessons.

We are happy to say that Parker is settling very well in his nursery school as well. In Scotland children from age 3 are eligible for subsidized nursery school placements so they start in a school environment a couple of years earlier than they do in Canada . We were worried that Parker would have some difficulty as he has not liked being at day care in the past. This time we really built up his excitement about school and bought him a special school back pack which he is keen to where almost anytime he goes out to school or when we go out on hikes. So far he likes his school and always says he has had a good day. Right now he is at school for half a day, however, later in September he will also go to nursery school in the afternoon at the same school Harrison attends. Parker has visited this other nursery and always asks when he is going to get to go to two schools.

We have also been fortunate to find a great nanny for the kids. She's a trained school teacher from Canada and she and the kids are getting along really well. Phil and I both don't have any major commitments right now but we wanted her to start building a relationship with the kids before we start back to work and school. Needless to say Phil and I have been enjoying the extra time right now we get to enjoy as a couple!

MSc All Wrapped Up With a Bow

2008-09-01T19:19:00.009+01:00

On August 22 was a celebration as this was the day I handed in my dissertation. This was the last requirement for the MSc in Human Cognitive Neuropsychology. Completing a Master's dissertation in the matter of a few months was quite a challenge and one normally taking a year or more in Canada. It was quite challenging however I did learn a lot in this process. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll graduate with distinction as I was on track for this with the grades for my coursework.

My dissertation was on cognitive functioning of patients with Motor Neurone Disease -(which you may better know as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). It is a neurodegenerative disease leading to significant physical disability and ultimately death. It was quite emotional working with patients who have a limited life expectancy. The patients ranged in age from early 30s to early 80s. They had very interesting life stories and quite a positive outlook on life for such a grim diagnosis. The families of the patients were inspiring as well as they had taken on the primary care of their loved ones and preparing themselves for the future. If you're interested a great book and easy read on one patient's experience of ALS is Rowing Without Oars by Ulla-Cairn Lindquist. She was a journalist who contracted the disease when she was quite young. She faithfully documented her experiences and gave insight on how the disease affected herself and her family as the disease progressed through to her death. It is quick and easy read, but quite a tear-jerker so be prepared.

As far as cognitive aspects of ALS I studied verbal fluency. A test of executive function that is sometimes found to be compromised in this patient group. I had a very small patient group and unfortunately my results did not clearly support or refute my hypotheses. I found a wide range of cognitive functioning which demonstrated the diversity of cognitive functioning in this patient group. Despite my results being inconclusive I had the opportunity to be fully involved in all aspects of the research and learned so much about designing studies, collecting and analyzing data and writing up results.

After this experience I feel very prepared for and excited about my PhD research at St. Andrews. As you may know I will be studying cognitive functioning in patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus. One interesting aspect is that I get to incorporate fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) into the study to determine if there are changes in brain activity that can be detected in this patient group. The scholarship I received is focused on research using various brain imaging techniques.

I start my programme at St. Andrews at the end of September. Right now I'm having a bit of a break and in the next few weeks will take in some conference workshops in neuropsychology and neuroscience mainly held at the University of Edinburgh. With a few movies, shows, and family weekend getaways thrown in between!

Harriet's 40th Birthday

2008-07-26T20:25:00.006+01:00

The day after I got home from travelling with the boys (read below), Harriet turned 40 years old (July 25th) ! This being a huge milestone we celebrated with a party and several of our closest friends from Edinburgh at a local pub. It was a great celebration that I organized and I even baked two birthday cakes for her (chocolate ... of course Harriet's favorite). Doesn't she look great!

Johnston Boys Endless Summer European Adventure

2008-07-26T18:06:00.020+01:00

All throughout the past year we have made an effort to bring adventure and new experiences into our lives (and particularly our children's lives) wanting to live life to the fullest. Well we decided to "step it up another level" for a couple of weeks over the summer and I booked a trip to take the boys to Europe with a 15 day 1st class Eurorail pass. Quite honestly Harriet had (still has) ALOT of work to do on her Master's thesis that is due towards the end of August ... and although she wanted to come along it was necessary to stay in Edinburgh ... which was really good since without distractions she had a quiet and peaceful household to put in some long and hard hours on research. Needless to say, 2 weeks solo parenting with two boys in unfamiliar settings had it's highlights and challenges and I put in some long hours too. I think you will be impressed / amazed by what we did (very ambitious) ... but it was really quite a bit easier thanks to awesome planning ahead of time to arrange accommodation and activities.

Day 1 - As soon as I returned home from teaching an early morning yoga class (6:45 -7:45am) the boys and I had breakfast and took a cab to the Edinburgh airport. Flew into Hahn, Germany (near Frankfurt). Took a bus and then train to small town on the Rhine River called Bingen. Stayed at an absolutely great hostel (easily the nicest one of our entire trip) ... they had great food, a terraced patio overlooking the town and river, playgrounds for children.

Day 2 - Took a KD boat trip up the Rhine from Bingen to Cologne (Koln) ... took all day from 10:30am to 8:00pm. This was included in the eurorail pass as a free benefit and we loved it. The boat trip passes several dozen castles and you get spectacular views of steep hills with Riesling grapes growing along row after endless row. The boys had a really fun time ... especially on the upper deck playing on a slide and sloshing around in a wading pool. The food on the ship was surprisingly absolutely jaw-dropping delicious. Stayed in a hostel on the north-east end of the city.

Day 3 - Went to the Cologne zoo which was conveniently a short walk from the hostel. The best zoo that any of us has ever been too (and that's saying something!) ... huge exhibits and a great aquarium onsite too. Highlights included a butterfly garden in which they came up and landed on us! Later that day went into centre town to celebrate the Cologne nights summer celebration (the biggest fireworks show in Europe). We had to goto the train station though and the boys fell asleep before the big light show. Caught a late overnight train from Cologne into Switzerland.

Day 4 - Great train connections to get into Geneva early in the morning ... went to their Museum of Art and History (I highly recommend it!) and saw awesome exhibits on many cultures including Greek, Roman, and Egyptian. I really wanted to include a lot of educational events for the boys in the trip. Harrison was really happy about it since he is seriously into Egyptian history (since going to the Tutankhamun exhibit in London at Easter time). A huge museum that really wasn't very busy at all. Later in the afternoon we took a tour of the underground ruins at St Peter's Cathedral in the heart of Geneva's old town (I wanted Harrison to see that archaeology is more than just about Egypt). In the afternoon, travelled to Lausanne where we stayed at a hostel for a couple of nights.

Day 5 - The day before Harrison had seen countless store windows with watches and Swiss army knives. We decided that he could get a small authentic Victorinox Swiss knife as a souvenir (to use responsibly) so we went shopping and Parker got some cute socks too! Once that was out of the way we took a short train to Montreux and had a great afternoon walking and playing along the shores of Lake Geneva (called Lac Leman there). We took a boat from Montreux back to Lausanne / Ouchy (also included in our rail passes) and then returned to the hostel.

Day 6 - A big travel day! Train to Montreux where we caught the Golden Pass (a particularly scenic train line) that took us through various alpine communities to see another and very traditional part of Swiss life. We had a 3 hour stop in Zwiesimmen so Harrison suggested we take the cable car up to the top of the mountain (great idea!). We enjoyed unbelievable views, a playground and restaurant at the top. Later took other trains through Switzerland until we caught an overnight train (this time with proper beds / couchettes) to the south of France.

Day 7 - Arrived in St Raphael in the morning and had a breakfast of croissants and fresh fruit on a sandy beach of the French Riviera. Checked into our hostel on the outskirts of town (in neighbouring Frejus) and then returned to the beach where the boys enjoyed playing in the sand and water. Later that evening Harrison starts to talk about not feeling great (I chalked it up to too much travel and not being used to the heat).

Day 8 - Super fun action packed day at Aqualand ... a waterslide park in Frejus ... a great way to beat the hot, hot, hot sun! Both boys loved the slides (particularly Parker who is a natural daredevil). Everyone is exhausted at the end of the day (not helped by walking over an hour back to the hostel since no cabs around and public transit ended early that day) and Harrison feeling really tired/sick at night.

Day 9 - Harrison feeling really sick and is now scared of being in the direct sun. So we spent the day trying to minimize activities and passing time indoors in threatres watching children's movies in French (hey, at least it was eductional for them to see "Kung Fu Panda" in another language). Waited at the train station until we caught a night train to take us to Paris ... Harrison very glad to be leaving south of France but not thrilled with the motion of the night train.

Day 10 - Arrived early in Paris to much cooler weather (thankfully). Simple plan for the day, check into our hostel along the north-east end of the metro system in Clichy and have lots of rest. Harrison had a big nap and went to bed early but still complaining of severe abdominal cramping ... I am getting worried it might not be the heat or travel. Another tough night!

Day 11 - I took the boys to the children's hospital ... all vacation since Switzerland I had been speaking lots of French but now I was particularly thankful that (for the most part) I am fluent in it so that I could interact with and understand the staff. The hospital was awesome and they even waived the hospital fees for us (lucky for us since although we had insurance we would have had to pay for it and then get reimbursed later). Harrison got looked at and x-rays of his abdomen showed he was severely constipated. A few hours later with medication and after an enema back at the hostel Harrison began pooping again and feeling better immediately. We took a metro into Paris, walked along the Champs Elysees, had the best cheese omlettes of our lives (ironically at an Irish pub in Paris), and then met up with very good friends from Calgary Canada who were in Paris at the same time. Meeting with them was probably the tipping point in deciding to go on a European holiday in the first place. They have been very good to us taking care of our dog Riley for the past year and their son Jake is one of Harrison's best friends ... so it was important to us to make the effort to see them while they were overseas. Harrison went to bed early and had the best sleep in a week.

Day 12 - Met Jake (and his dad Roland) and took an early train to Disneyland Paris. We had a great day there on various rides and really enjoyed staying on-site at the Disneyland Hotel Sequoia Lodge ... super swank, awesome pool, great restaurants! Our friends stayed with us at our hotel room.

Day 13 - Up early for breakfast and to enjoy Disneyland for a couple of hours before the general public could enter. Another action packed day at the park before returning to Paris where we stayed at our friends hotel for the night. I took care of all the kids swimming, returned back to the Irish pub for more cheese omlettes, and then put them to bed. Roland and Carolyn were happy that I could babysit their son too so that they could go out on the town as a couple for the evening while in the city of lights.

Day 14 - Our friends left to goto the airport and we said goodbye to them. Since their hotel was along Rue de Rivoli and we were close anyways, the boys and I went to the Louvre for a couple of hours and toured just a portion of their Egyptian exhibit. It is a massive place (as Harrison said 'you could get lost in it') and was very busy. Returned back to the hostel to wash some laundry and pack. Had a nice 'victory supper' to celebrate our vacation at a great Italian restaurant in Clichy ... by the way I loved this part of Paris (hardly any tourists go there so it is a real authentic residential part of the city).

Day 15 - Travelled home ... 3 metro trains, train from Paris to Beauvais, bus to airport, flight to Scotland (delayed 1.5 hours), train from Prestwick airport to downtown Glasgow, train from Glasgow to Edinburgh ... I'm completely done! Arrived home to a wonderful welcome from Harriet (decorations & all our favorite foods).

Parker's 3rd birthday

2008-07-04T08:52:00.003+01:00

Parker had a super fun birthday yesterday (July 3rd). We had a party for him with some neighbours and friends coming over with their children to celebrate. The highlight was a "Bob the Builder" cake ... Parker had been talking about wanting one for months (since we often walk by the local cake shop and they have one in their window). I also marked the occasion by placing another item and note in his medicine pouch for use and to read later in life when he is older.

Body Worlds ... cool anatomy

2008-07-04T08:29:00.002+01:00

Last week we took a trip by train to Sheffield in central England as we had an appointment there to meet with Immigration regarding extending our residency permits in light of Harriet's 3-year PhD program beginning later in the autumn ... we got permission and extended our VISAs so the trip was successful.

While we were there we planned a trip to Manchester (since we were relatively close) to see the "Body Worlds 4" exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. Body Worlds is an amazing exhibit of human anatomy through a process of plasticizing actual human tissue / corpses and then displaying them in ways (some quite controversial) that highlight the skeletal, muscular, circulatory, and digestive systems, etc .... Since we weren't allowed to take any pictures in the museum, I have included one from the internet and a link at the side if you want to check out more about it.

Harriet and I had initially planned a trip there just for the two of us but with a change of plans required, we ended up taking Harrison and Parker too. I was quite glad that Harrison went as the trip was really educational and illustrated the wonders of the human body and the importance of taking care of it through exercise and healthy eating. They also showed examples of healthy lungs and then those diseased through smoking ... I was particularly glad that Harrison could get that visual message loud and clear (especially in light of the culture of smoking being much more common in Scotland and starting at younger ages). Returning to Edinburgh to gyms and studios to teach yoga, it is really cool seeing so many people interested in taking care of their bodies ... and on a personal note it is quite satisfying having a small part to play in people's health and promoting wellness (physical and mental) through teaching yoga.

Summer break!

2008-07-04T08:05:00.004+01:00

Congratulations to Harrison on finishing another year of school (P3 in the Scottish education system ... equivalent to Grade 2 in the Canadian system). This past year Harrison did a great job in improving his reading and writing skills. His strength seems to be math and he has developed a particular interest in archaeology (I believe in part through going to the Tutankhamun exhibit in London and in part because of the new Indiana Jones movie).

Good news is that Harrison will be continuing at school there next year where he is happy and he will continue with the same teacher in P4 ... which we as parents are really happy about since it provides a sense of continuity and since his teacher is fantastic! Something we found very "classy" was on the final day of school there was a person playing the bagpipes dressed in full highland gear who piped out the graduating class on their last day as they left to move onto high school next year. Cool, huh?!

Harrison's extra-curricular activities are also wrapping up for summer with swimming lessons having concluded and acting / drama lessons finishing this weekend. This week (the first week of summer break) Phil has taken the boys to some of their favorite places including a water park and a museum about the Earth and it's various ecosystems.

We have decided to remain living in Edinburgh where Harrison is settled in school and where we already have daycare arrangements for Parker beginning in the late summer / early autumn. There are more employment opportunities here for Phil and Harriet will commute by train/bus to St Andrew's and Dundee as required for her PhD. We will try this for a while and re-evaluate later if it makes more sense to move north to the Fife area.

Outdoor Adventure Festival at Loch Lomand

2008-06-18T08:27:00.004+01:00

This past weekend (June 14 & 15) we travelled by train to Balloch at Loch Lomand for an outdoor adventure festival. On Saturday we all biked the West Loch Lomand Cycle Path which is about 17 miles from Balloch north to Tarbet ... Parker had an easy ride in his trailer but for the rest of us it was a stunning beautiful but challenging ride. Respect to Harrison in particular to ride that far at just seven years of age.

Harriet and I took turns kayaking and water-skiing. The whole family enjoyed boating (both on a speed boat and on a much slower paddle boat ... our legs were already tired from the bike ride!) Harrison and I tried canoeing one evening but unfortunately we tipped the canoe shortly after starting and decided to "cut it short" since we were wet and cold. Harrison did some high flying with a bungee cord and trampolene then he and Phil harnessed up to do a little bit of rock climbing.

This is really a beautiful area of Scotland and we had a great weekend. Harriet, who tends not to sleep well in a tent, really enjoyed the extra space and luxury of the holiday home / caravan that we rented. Our whole family being active together outdoors was the best father's day gift I could ask for.

Harrison & Phil get silver medals!

2008-06-18T08:19:00.003+01:00

Harrison has been taking swimming lessons in Edinburgh since our arrival ... Edinburgh Leisure at the Glenogle Pool (the venue where he has been taking the lessons through) held a fun swimming event & competition staged for people in their various programmes. Harrison took second place for front stroke in a group of about 8 and then later parents and children teamed up in a relay. Together we took second place (and nearly got first place) ... it was really fun racing together as father and son.

Harrison gets scouting badges!

2008-06-18T08:16:00.004+01:00

Harrison received 4 new badges for Beavers ... for creativity, friendship, the explorers badge (earned for our camping trip to Markinch a couple of months ago) and a Hikes Away 5 badge (for many of the recent hiking trips we have completed and written about). Harrison impressed me with his wisdom saying that while it is nice to receive the badges, the real fun is in earning them! Kids are so smart!

St. Andrews Bound

2008-05-20T09:19:00.003+01:00

A few months ago I found out that I had been offered a 3 year studentship (a scholarship that covers tuition and a stipend) to pursue a PhD in psychology at the University of St. Andrews. This is a SINAPSE (Scottish Imaging Network: A Platform for Scientific Excellence) studentship. As such my project, which will investigate cognitive functioning of newly diagnosed patients with Type II Diabetes, will involve the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This is quite a prestigious post as St. Andrews is one of the top rated schools in the United Kingdom, with the psychology department receiving top ratings for research. Since half my time will be at the University in St. Andrews and half my time will be spent at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, (an hour north by train from Edinburgh) we will need to move to Fife or Tayside area at the end of the summer. As you can imagine, there will be a lot to organize in the next few months for our extended 3 year stay.

Family Camping Trip to Beecraigs Country Park

2008-05-20T08:37:00.006+01:00

Harrison had another long weekend (May 17 - 20) with a school holiday and Phil had Sunday off from teaching yoga so we all went camping together to Beecraigs Country Park about 3 miles south of Linlithgow (about 20 minutes west of central Edinburgh by train). We continue to be amazed by the public transportation systems here ... we took a train and then a subsidized taxi to the park (the majority of the fare is waived since there is no public bus to the park). The area has beautiful rolling green hills and amazing views ... to one side the west of Scotland and to the other completely across to the east side of the country and the sea.

The park was awesome and is certainly off the main tourist path ... great camping facilities, an awesome play park for children (and adults ... yes that is Harriet at the top of the rope tower!), a deer farm, an outdoor activities centre, and a small trout-stocked lake/loch. They even have a restaurant in the park with very good food and even better views east to the Firth of Forth bridges, Arthur's Seat, and the south shore of Fife. While walking we noticed a huge rock formation that shone red in the setting sun and reminded us of Ayer's Rock in Australia ... it is actually a formation of Bing shale (a red russet colour of rock) in the nearby location of Winchburgh that in the past was used as a source of oil and other by-products.

We walked from Beecraigs in just under two hours to Cairnpapple Hill which few people seem to know about but is Scotland's most significant Neolithic site with remains of a henge and burial cairns. This place managed by Historic Scotland dates back to 3500 BCE and is Scotland's equivalent of Stonehenge. Excavations in the late 1940's suggest it was used over thousands of years for different purposes. Unlike Stonhenge, this site is very minimally managed and there are few restrictions in terms of when and how close you can get to the structures.

We highly recommend the park and Cairnpapple to people with similar interests when they visit Scotland. It was a great weekend.

Schools Out for Summer (Sort Of)!

2008-05-11T09:51:00.002+01:00

I've had a long hiatus from the blog posting business recently and I'm happy to be able to return to the job. What has changed you may ask. Well, all my classes finished in the middle of April and on May 1st I handed in my final essay towards the completion of my Masters degree. I had a particularly trying time as I needed to produce 6 essays/assignments in the period of 3 weeks. Needless to say that was dominating my time and energy. I have to give a big thanks to Phil for taking the lead role with the kids and running the house. Phil has the job of cook in our family and his excellent healthy meals that we enjoy on a daily basis were just what I needed to keep my neurons firing and complete my work. Phil also thankfully kept up the blog reporting and has done a great job not only in writing, but in seeking out new adventures. As it stands I'm on track to complete my Masters with distinction so I'm very pleased with the results of my hard work.

Its not all fun and games from here although I don't feel as pressured right now. The last and final hurdle is quite a big one. In just over 3 months from now I need to conduct and write up a dissertation/thesis. As many of you know this is no small task and normally given (in North America anyway) quite a bit more time than 3 months. I will work with Dr. Sharon Abrahams, the director of the Human Cognitive Neuropsychology program, a researcher, lecturer and practicing clinical neuropsychologist. I feel very fortunate to work with Sharon, she is a brilliant woman and well renowned in her field. For my dissertation I will be working with adults who have motor neuron disease, specifically amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. I will be investigating the influence of executive functioning and processing speed on their completion of cognitive tasks. I am hoping to have a group of 10 ALS participants in all. I'm hoping the results will be interesting and could potentially be published.

My dissertation is due August 22, however I will try my best to complete it before then so I'll be able to take advantage of being in Edinburgh for another round of the Fringe Festival!

Meditation and Hill Walking

2008-05-11T09:50:00.002+01:00

Harriet & I had planned that once she finished and submitted her final essay, I would take off for a week giving me some time for adventure and her some more time to spend with the kids since she had been so wrapped up in university lately. I booked myself into a 7-day retreat for introduction to meditation and hill walking in the Scottish mountains. The retreat was held at Dhanakosa centre which is a Buddhist centre in Scotland's Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park (see side for a link to it) right on the edge of Loch Voil. The hill walking was awesome and I joined several guided hikes including one to the top of a munro (a peak above 3000 ft) called Stob Binnein. Being very close to Balquhidder, I walked into town and saw Rob Roy's (Robert McGregor) grave at the church yard there. I also enjoyed the daily meditation sessions (3 a day each about 30 - 45 minutes in length) which are a nice complement to the style of yoga that I teach. The food was also a highlight (all vegetarian) as was the company of others on the retreat ... about 20 people in total.

Hiking in North Berwick

2008-05-11T09:49:00.002+01:00

Last weekend was a long weekend (bank holiday) and was quite an adventurous one. On Saturday we ventured out to North Berwick. Phil and the boys had been there before, however I had not. It is a picturesque little seaside town east of Edinburgh on the south side of the Firth of Forth. Phil and the boys spent some time exploring the beach areas last time they visited. This time our goal was to climb North Berwick Law. A law is a rounded hill in Scots language.

It took about an hour to get to the summit on a dubious pathway. It was quite steep in some parts and unfortunately we had Parker in the stroller on the hill which was quite difficult going at some points. Luckily there was a place to ditch it just before our push to the summit which made things a bit easier. From the top we could see beautiful views of the sea, town and surrounding areas. Afterwards we spent some time on the beach and built sandcastles (Parker's favourite activity).

Bike Trip from Linlithgow to Falkirk Wheel

2008-05-11T09:47:00.001+01:00

On the Sunday we continued our adventures in the form of a bike trip along the final stretch of the Union Canal from Linlithgow to Falkirk. Linlithgow is another beautiful little town that Phil and the boys had visited before. Before heading to the canal we spent some time biking around the loch in front of Linlithgow palace. Then it was off to the Union Canal. The stretch we rode is 11 miles long and a nice flat ride. There is one long dark tunnel that was cut through the rocks near the end that is about half a mile long which was quite an experience to walk through.

The grand finale of the ride was the Falkirk Wheel, an marvel of engineering in which boats are transferred from the Union Canal above to the Forth and Clyde Canal about 79 feet below. We spent some time watching the wheel transferring the boats and taking a short rest before making our way to the train station in Falkirk for our return trip home. We were so impressed that Harrison kept pace for the entire 25 kilometers we road during the day!

Boat Cruise to Inchcolm Island

2008-05-11T08:39:00.012+01:00

On Monday we decided to continue our adventures by taking a boat trip to Inchcolm Island. Inchcolm is an island in the Firth of Forth about half an hour boat ride from the South Queensferry dock near the Firth of Forth bridges in Edinburgh. It was a beautiful sunny day so we were glad to have left the boat ride for our final adventure. The island is known for its variety of bird life and sea life including seals, whales and dolphins. We were lucky enough to see some seals playing and basking in the sun in the waters surrounding the island.

After our boat trip we decided to have a pub lunch at Hawes Inn. The setting of Robert Louis Stevenson's book "Kidnapped". Then we took the long walk to North Queensferry across the Firth of Forth bridge and finally caught the train back into city centre.

A family hike in Dunbar

2008-04-21T14:32:00.006+01:00

On Sunday April 13th, all four of us took the train east to Dunbar (only about 30 minutes from Edinburgh). We had fun exploring some of the rocks and marine life at low tide, hiking along the rocky cliffs and (especially Harriet) playing on a sandy beach.

Earth Day / Beltane celebrated outdoors!

2008-04-21T14:10:00.005+01:00

Harriet is really busy writing papers but Harrison had Monday April 21st off of school (public holiday here) so after teaching yoga Sunday morning I took the boys on the train to Markinch and we went camping overnight in a tent. We walked into a caravan park located on the edge of Balbirnie Park. After setting up our tent and a short break, we hiked to the far end of the park and to a stone circle dating back to its construction 5000 years ago (circa 3000 BC)! We discussed the stone circle in relation to its date at the same time that Egyptians began to build pyramids. We learned together about the stone circle and nearby henge being used for ritual and burial purposes and considered it in relation to the Stonehenge site we visited last autumn. It seemed quite appropriate in relation to Beltane (the pagan celebration this time of year) to tent and hike this weekend ... also since it was Earth Day (April 21st) when we woke up outdoors the next morning. Also of interest (maybe), we found a dead hedgehog along the edge of a road in the park and spent some time looking at its anatomy and amazing quills. Harrison was also quite fascinated with a centipede-looking creature we found at the campground.

Spending St. Patrick's Day in Ireland

2008-04-13T08:47:00.003+01:00

Since it is close and there are great deals on air travel, a trip to Ireland for St. Patrick's Day seemed like a great idea! Unfortunately Harriet had university work to do and Harrison had school but I flew with Parker on March 16th into Shannon Ireland which is on the south-western part of the country and much more rural than the larger cities of Dublin and Belfast. We went to a little country village called Bunratty. Through the power of the internet I found a super cheap rate at a ritzy 4 star hotel (Bunratty Castle Hotel). On St. Patrick's Day we enjoyed going to Bunratty Castle (an impressive structure) and a 19th century folk-village park. That evening Parker and I returned a second time to Bunratty Castle and sat at a 300 year old table for their nightly medieval supper and Irish entertainment (singing and music). The food was great (including a welcoming drink of honey-mead). and when they sang "Danny Boy" I thought fondly of my grandma Johnston (paternal grandmother) who had that sung at her funeral and who loved St. Patrick's Day as the one day of the year when everyone can be Irish. Of course I indulged in a glass of Guinness while in Ireland and also returned with an Irish Waterford Crystal candle holder for our home.

France & London break

2008-04-13T08:06:00.007+01:00

Harriet's classes concluded near the end of March and after a blitz of work including writing papers and interviews our family took a planned vacation during the last week of Harrison's Easter school break. We flew on March 28th from Edinburgh to Limoges (via Stansted ... not Heathrow thank goodness with it's recent Terminal 5 problems) and visited our cousins Colette/Patrick and their children. Many of you know that they were the subject of a BBC multi-part documentary on the show 'No Going Back' which coincidentally is being aired on Canadian television at the moment ... about four years ago they quit their jobs as lawyers in London and bought a huge piece of property and a castle-like chateau that was in desperate need of repair. They have been renovating it in stages and for the past three or four years lived there and made it their business since they run it as an upscale accommodation with meals available. They have children including two close in age to Parker and Harrison and it was particularly nice for our children to play together since they don't often get a chance to see family. Colette is a fantastic cook and we ate some outstanding meals (many hours in length!).

When we weren't at their home we explored a bit of the countryside and attractions including a wolf sanctuary, a village destroyed in World War II and left in ruins as a testament to the horrors of war (Oradour-sur-Glane), and a very cool zoo that is designed more like an outdoor farm with huge enclosures (Parc du Reynou). Having rented a car, this was the first time that either Harriet or I had driven since July last year ... while a bit rusty at first it didn't take long to get accustomed to it again.

On the way back, we stopped overnight at Stansted airport just outside of London. The next day we took the train into town and went to the O2 stadium to see the exhibit of "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs". We all loved it, particularly Harrison who now wants to become an archeologist / Egyptologist. I was really glad to take him there because in 1979 my folks took me to Toronto to see the 1st Tutankhamun exhibit that toured the world and it made quite an impression on me ... it felt rather "coming full circle" to take Harrison there now. Later that day we flew back to Edinburgh and returned home.

Linlithgow is awesome!

2008-04-13T07:51:00.004+01:00

April 12th, Phil and the boys went by train to Linlithgow (about 20 minutes west of Edinburgh towards Glasgow). It is a weekend where all of the Historic Scotland sites are free so we went to Linlithgow Palace ... construction was started on it in 1425 and took more than 100 years. It was the home of the Stuart kings and the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots in 1542. It is absolutely amazing and, although in ruins, the structures are still intact and the guided tour brings to mind a vivid image of life at that time. While in Linlithgow we three also hiked around Linlithgow Loch (lake) ... about 4kms and enjoyed the swans, geese, playgrounds, and parks that we came across. It was a great day!

Other News

2008-04-13T07:48:00.003+01:00

Harrison got a new badge for Beavers (scouts) ... a badge for swimming Level 1. We are really proud of him and he is already well on his way to the next level ... just needs to build endurance to tread water for 3 minutes.

We have recently taken a couple of day trips to Dundee on the train to check out the town and learn more about things to do there. It is a beautiful train ride there ... about 1 1/4 hours north-east of Edinburgh across the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Tay. Dundee is right on the water and it is beautiful in that area with lots of beautiful little towns.

We have seen some really fun shows at the Edinburgh Playhouse ... the Sing-A-Long Sound of Music and the Rat Pack (which was a group of dancers/singers) impersonating Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra.

Mothers' Day comes early

2008-03-02T17:17:00.006Z

Well most of you reading this are in North America where Mothers' Day is in May ... you may be surprised to know (as I was) that Mothers' Day in the UK is celebrated at the beginning of March (today in fact, the first Sunday ... March 2nd). After I finished teaching yoga, we all as a family took a bus to a small village south-west of Edinburgh called Balerno and went hiking from the beginning of the Water of Leith walkway back towards Edinburgh for about an hour and a half ... we probably walked about 3 miles (Parker's pace which was quite enjoyably slow) but the pathway continues for another 9 miles passing close to our flat and ending at the docks in Leith / Edinburgh. It was a great afternoon and particularly gratifying to see our children enjoying being outside and getting a "natural high".

Harrison gave Harriet cards he made at Beavers (scouting) and at school. Parker gave Harriet a bookmark he made at play group and on behalf of all of us I gave Harriet flowers and a sports watch to replace the one she had that recently broke. As I write this blog it is the late afternoon and I am making a nice supper of roasted lamb (one of Harriet's favourites) while Parker has a nap and Harriet and Harrison are out watching an early movie at the cinema. While the lamb is roasting I am enjoying a quiet glass of wine and writing this blog for the last couple of weeks.

Lazy Town Live

2008-03-02T17:12:00.004Z

Last weekend (February 23rd) I took Parker to see a live production of Lazy Town which is one of his favorite television shows. The theme is actually really cool as the show promotes healthy eating and exercise ... the main hero character is called "Sportacus" (quite clever I think). Anyways we enjoyed the show (along with a thousand other parents and kids ... the theatre was packed full to the rafters ... all 5 levels!) and Parker is still talking about having seen his favorite characters.

Valentine's Day in Scotland

2008-02-19T11:02:00.005Z

Since this might be our only Valentine's Day while living in Scotland, I thought it would be romantic to meet Harriet, walk up the Scot monument together and look out over the city with a glass of wine and packed lunch. The top platform (after nearly 300 stairs) is only large enough for 8 people but luckily we were among the few people at the monument that day and had it practically to ourselves. We had been to the monument together more than 13 years earlier when vacationing here and in the autumn I had climbed it with Harrison and Parker. Later on Valentine's Day after Harriet's school and my continuing education course on Ancient Egypt we had a babysitter watch the boys and we had a delicious supper together at a restaurant not far from our flat.

A day at the beach ... in February!

2008-02-19T10:52:00.005Z

Yesteday (Monday, February 18th) was beautiful, warm (about 10 C) and since it was the last day of Harrison's winter term school break I took him and Parker to the coastline and beach at North Berwick. We went by train with a friend of mine and her two children (who like Harrison both have really red hair). It was great and all of the children had fun walking in the sand, climbing on rocks, playing outside, and watching the ocean. It is only about 30 minutes from Edinburgh by train and I am looking forward to going back there with Harriet later in the year.

How does my brain work

2008-02-19T10:38:00.004Z

As many of you know from reading Harriet's updates ... she is studying neuro-psychology and been learning about Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI) assessment and interpretation of the brain among other topics. This week as part of a research project at the university looking at neural imaging of people with schizophrenia I had a FMRI completed on me (this might be a good juncture to emphasize that I was part of the "control group" for comparison rather than the "experimental group"!). It was an interesting experience ... the machine was really loud and looked like the picture I downloaded from the internet. I was just happy to get confirmation that I have a "whole brain" and they didn't find an anomaly like half of it missing or something crazy like that!

A Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine

2008-02-12T06:56:00.000Z

Phil here ... Harrison is on school vacation (Feb 08 to Feb 19) so mid-week entertainment is back on the map! Yesterday (Monday Feb 11) I took Harrison and Parker on the train to York in northern England to see the National Rail Museum. Luckily, there was also a big Thomas the Tank Engine event on at the same time (only once a year for a couple of weeks). Parker started liking Thomas a few months ago and we have been reading his adventures at bed time. It was awesome with characters and huge life-size working engines from the stories. We got a ride behind the engine "Deisel" and "Percy" took us on a short steam train ride ... that was interesting in itself because we were in older carriages from the 1940's and they had warning posters about what to do in the case of wartime blackouts and bombings.

Among the highlights was getting our picture with Sir Topham Hatt (aka "the Fat Controller" who manages the fictional Tidmouth Rail Network) and his number 1 engine Thomas. The kids also got their faces painted like tigers and lions (which looked great with their longer hair resembling animal manes).

The Rail Museum was amazing too and we saw lots of train history including memorabilia over the years from "the Flying Scotsman" (the 10:00 am train departing daily from London going to Edinburgh), early locomotives, a high-speed bullet train from Japan, turning wheels, and many engines and cars that served as the Royal Trains for the exclusive use of the Royal Family when traveling by rail.

I remember being told that my great-grandfather Johnston worked on the rail lines in Northern Ontario and that my Grandpa Johnston (who is now deceased) was born near Jackfish Lake in Northern Ontario close to the rail lines. Jackfish, now a ghost town and no longer existing, is where the last connecting spike was driven, connecting the railroads in eastern and western Canada. My Great Grandfather Garfield Tomlinson worked as a train engineer on the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway and used to drive trains leaning out of the window and holding a pipe between his teeth (quite an image). Maybe that is part of the reason why the boys and I love trains so much.

Spring Fever in February? ... you bet it is!

2008-02-12T06:42:00.000Z

OK, most of you reading this are friends and family back in Canada where it is still in the heart of winter so while we don't want to "rub it in" it's hard to contain spring fever this past week as in Edinburgh we are moving out of winter. And it's not just the people who are excited since nature is getting in on the act too ... this past weekend while on a big family bike trip around Edinburgh we saw crocuses and many other flowers blooming already. It has been getting up into the high single digits consistently and all the snow from hills surrounding the town has melted.

For our friends in Europe reading this, you have to understand that in Canada we generally have to wait another couple of months until April for anything like this ... so our amazement with spring this early in the year is genuine.

We love ABBA and don't care who knows it!

2008-02-04T13:21:00.000Z

On Feb 3rd, Harriet and I went to see "Bjorn Again" which is an ABBA tribute band that has been covering their hits for the past 19 years if you can believe that! It was awesome. The theatre was packed and everyone was up singing and dancing. Amazingly, the guys in the band look really like the original group and they play the parts great. The music was awesome and we had a lot of fun listening to ABBA hits. For a blast from the past, check out the youtube link at the side for a video of one of my favourites.

Sing, Dance, and be Merry

2008-02-04T13:17:00.000Z

Harrison finished acting lessons in December that he had taken for a few months and since January we moved him to a different school of drama that is even more professional teaching singing, dancing, and acting each Saturday for three hours in the morning and early afternoon. He loves it (he has always been rather dramatic in his behaviour anyways!). The lessons are held at a dance academy in Edinburgh (DanceBase ... see links at right) and while Harrison goes to his lessons through Stagecoach Theatre, Parker and one of us go to a Creative Dance class for parents and kids aged 2 - 5.

An evening with Thoreau

2008-02-04T13:10:00.000Z

For Christmas I had asked Harriet for a book by Henry Thoreau who is an American naturalist and philosopher from the mid 1800's ... I received from her a copy of Walden chronicling his 2 years living in the rural woods mostly solitary. I read the book quickly and enjoyed many aspects of it. Coincidentally, there was a play performed about it this past weekend and I went on Friday (Feb 1st). Among more famous quotes are:
- "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck all the marrow of life …"; and
-“There can be no very black melancholy to him who lives in the midst of Nature and has his senses still … I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers … The indescribable innocence and beneficence of Nature, - of sun and wind and rain, of summer and winter, - such health, such cheer, they afford forever! … For my panacea, instead of one of those quack vials … let me have a draught of undiluted morning air.”

Mom and Dad Visit Edinburgh

2008-01-20T07:24:00.000Z

As you know Phil's mom and dad were able to visit us for 11 days at the beginning of January. We unfortunately don't have any pictures, but we all had a great time. As I was writing essays, Phil and the boys went along most of the time. The boys had a lot of fun with their grandma and grandpa. Harrison even learned to tie his shoes, with Grandma's help, and has been proudly tying shoes ever since. It snowed one day they were here. Since it hasn't before or since, we're convinced they brought the snow with them from Canada.

Phil's mom and dad took in a lot of sites while they were in Edinburgh. They visited Edinburgh Castle, the National Gallery, the University, and a train trip to see Stirling Castle. We all got a chance to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat which was playing at a local theatre. They had a contest in the UK called "Any Dream Will Do" to choose the person to play Joseph. Our Joseph was one of the finalists, Craig Chalmers. He is from Edinburgh so the crowd was very supportive.

I was able to take a few days out to spend some time with mom and dad. Phil, dad, and I visited Mary Kings Close - part of the city that is underground. It was very interesting to learn how people lived in the 16th and 17th century (pretty harsh). It is worth a look if you're in Edinburgh - as long as you're not afraid of the dark - they do try to scare you a bit as well.
On the last day of their visit, I took mom out to the Portrait Gallery which features portraits and biography's both historical and contemporary. Mom liked it so much we wanted to take dad as well. Fortunately, later in the evening there was a Scottish fiddler at the Portrait Gallery. Mom, dad, the boys and I went to watch the show and had a short chance to show dad around the gallery. Mom and dad were both very impressed and the gallery will definitely be on the agenda again for a future visit.

Phil and dad often took a long walk in the mornings and explored the surrounding neighbourhoods. Both mom and dad like to read books by Andrew McCall Smith (44 Scotland Street) who features many of the local highlights in the surrounding area. Mom and dad both had fun visiting some of the places they had read about.

Mom and dad were a big help with the kids. Dad enjoyed taking Harrison to school. Mom and dad also did a lot of homework with Harrison and helped in teaching him more tips to improve his reading. Mom and dad also gave Phil and I a few nights out which was great. It was definitely great to have their help around the house with the kids.

We had a great time with mom and dad!

One Down One To Go

2008-01-20T06:49:00.000Z

Although this picture has no relation to this post - I'm putting it in because it shows how I feel right now. Very happy. Well I've now officially completed all of my school work for my first semester! It was a lot of work between 5 essays and an exam all within the period of eight weeks - with 3 over the Christmas holiday - not very fun! Well its over now, I'm happy and my family is happy too given all the attention these essays took from them as well. Thanks to Phil he held down the fort so well, as he always does.

So you may be wondering what is in store for my next semester. Well the classes I'm most looking forward to are coming up now. This includes a course on frontal lobe functioning, clinical neuropsychology, and current topics in psychological research. The neuropsychology course is being taught by my dissertation supervisor ... it's interactive and intersting so I'm very happy. I also have to take some other mandatory classes - one on professional skills (e.g. presentation, essay writing) and the one I'm dreading the most is "Advanced Statistics Using R". R is a free statistical program, however, it requires learning the R programming language. I personally like the point and click method of SPSS (another stats package), but R is supposed to have a lot more versatility and functioning so in the long run I'm sure it will be a good thing. The only fun thing is that I can make up my own names for the functions I design so I'm planning to have a little (well a lot) of fun with that.

The good thing is that I will be finished all of my courses in March and my essays by the end of April. Unfortunately there'll be a lot of essays again in a short period of time. After I'm done the rest of the time will be devoted to my dissertation which is in the area of verbal fluency in motor neuron disease (e.g. ALS) - that will is due by August 22 and then I'll be all finished!

Well, I'm very happy in my courses and I am learning soooo much. I've done well in my grades so far, but I've only got 2 essays back so I'm crossing my fingers that I'll keep it up.

A relaxing Christmas in Spain

2008-01-02T08:01:00.000Z

Since trans-Atlantic travel is so expensive from Canada, we have wanted take advantage of already living overseas to goto some more exotic destinations when Harriet's schedule permits. We flew to into Palma on the island of Mallorca which is one of the Balleric Islands. Mallorca is part of Spain but is not part of the mainland. Thankfully we lucked out with good weather and with the choice of hotel ... we stayed in a wonderful golf and spa resort ... the Marriot Mallorca Son Antem (check out the link at the right). It is one of a handful of 5 star hotels on the island and they really lived up to this rating with great food, lots of opportunities for sports and best of all included in our room rate was a 30 minute massage every day for both Harriet and I (awesome!) Even Harrison went one day for a massage to try it out ... of course he loved it. Harrison went to their "Kids' Club" a couple of days to do organized arts & crafts and other fun things. Although our resort offered us nearly everything and little reason to leave, it wasn't either in the big city nor near the beach so one day we took a cab into town to check out their big aquarium and the ocean with amazing clear water and empty beaches ... this time of year but during high season it is packed! We really really really enjoyed this vacation, the warmer and sunnier weather, and the opportunity to "unwind" together.

Happy Hogmanay and a wonderful 2008 to our friends and family!

2008-01-02T07:31:00.000Z

Welcome to 2008! On New Year's Eve Phil's parents arrived in Edinburgh flying in from Canada ... we welcomed them to Scotland with big hugs and a great meal. Mom who was tired from the flight went to sleep early and while Phil put the boys to bed Harriet and Dad went for a walk around town and unknowingly into a gay pub a few blocks away ("not that there's anything wrong with that"). Later in the evening we went with Dad upstairs to a neighbour's flat to visit, ring in the new year, and hear/watch some of the Hogmanay (the scottish term for celebrations of the new year) fireworks out of their window.
Reflecting on the past year we have been particularly fortunate with friends, family, health and adventure. We have talked together many times that, although coming here felt like a "huge risk", moving to Scotland has been awesome and probably in hindsight not filled with as many pitfalls as we envisioned. It has been a good reminder for us to smartly welcome risk into our lives more often since it usually brings exciting and healthy things.
Looking ahead to the coming year, Harriet continues her studies towards a Masters in neuropsychology, Harrison continues with Beavers and swimming lessons and starts acting lessons this week with a more professional arts & drama company (Stagecoach), Phil gets a bit busier picking up some additional yoga classes and taking a couple of continuing education classes, and Parker continues to be lots of fun with toilet training on the agenda this year (sooner than later).
We love entertaining and welcoming friends and family into our home. We sincerely hope that many of you reading this might be inspired with some of the things we have written about in past blogs and consider coming to visit us in Edinburgh and discovering this wonderful city and country. Even if it isn't coming to the UK, get out and do something new and exciting!

Trip to Germany

2007-12-16T09:40:00.001Z

Phil writing here. I travelled to Germany this past week for a few days (Dec 11 - 14) to visit my eldest brother Paul who was vacationing there ... he usually travels there once or twice a year and since I was already overseas it was a comparatively short trip for me to see him. We stayed in a small town in the south-west part of the country called Baden-Baden which is known for its proximity to the Black Forest, a rather famous casino, and several spas and natural hot springs (thermes) ... even remains of Roman baths have been found there and partially excavated so it has a long hisory. The highlight of course was seeing my brother and spending a few days together ... a luxury in itself since for years Harriet, the boys, and I have been living several provinces away from family in Canada.

With not being into shopping and the weather not being great for hiking, we spent each day at spas which were a rather unique experience. There were many different saunas, swimming pools, jacuzzis, steam rooms, and relaxation areas designed to promote wellness at both the Caracalla spa and the Freidrichsbad spa (I encourage you to check out the link at the right). To enjoy them I think you have to be comfortable sitting for hours with your thoughts (something that would drive many people "squirrly"), you need to be in decent physical shape to handle that high level of heat which is quite demanding on the body, and lastly you need to be ok with nudity (others and yours) since at one facility clothing is not permitted and at the other only in part of the spa. I generally enjoyed it but its not where I would return on my own and it really isn't designed for a family vacation as Harrison doing a "cannon-ball" leap into the pool would quickly lead to us getting kicked out of places.

The town was decorated nicely for Christmas with outdoor market stalls selling various wares and food. The retailers were geared up for the holidays and there were traditional "stollens" (cakes), Christmas cookies in nice tins, mulled wine booths, and I indulged in one of my favourites which is roasted chestnuts (tasty!). One afternoon we went to a free indoor concert and watched their Philharmonic Orchestra play a series of pieces by "old masters" but led by "young conductors" (new and budding conductors) ... I really enjoyed the music but Paul with much more experience seeing philharmonic orchestras seemed to think it was only ok. The food was absolutely great at the hotel where we stayed (Hotel Udler also called Hotel Adler ... they have two spellings for it) and the rooms while modest were adequate with all we needed.

Paul was an exceptional host in helping orient me to a new place and he knows some German which made things easier since I know none. He was very generous and I am very happy to have met up together. A big thanks also to my brother Pete in Canada ... we had a great meal and a couple of beers on him!

End Of Term

2007-12-16T08:59:00.000Z

Hallelujah - I've made it through the first semester of my Master's program! I really enjoyed my courses and learned a lot in a very short period of time. The work is intense because they pack a lot into a short amount of time. This semester I had classes on the basics like statistics and research methods along with classes specific to my program including brain imaging, cognitive neuroscience and working memory. Although my classes on brain imaging were most intellectually demanding, I've gained an understanding and interest in the use of these techniques to see the inner workings of the brain.

By the beginning of December, I had to complete two essays and, unfortunately, one exam (statistics). I will not find out my results until January, hopefully things went well! I only get a short rest because I now have 3 more essays to complete for the second and third week of January. Classes start again on the week of January 14. I'm most looking forward to my course on clinical neuropsychology which runs over both blocks of the second semester and the course on frontal lobe functioning. I will also be getting into my dissertation starting in January.

Celtic mythology and faeries

2007-12-02T13:07:00.000Z

Alright ... I know this opens me up to loads of "fairy" jokes and jabbs but here goes. Yesterday (Sat Dec 1st) I took an all-day course through the University of Edinburgh Continuing Education department ... it was a course on art-history and specifically Fairies/Faeries in Victorian Art. I have read a fair amount of celtic mythology (both before moving to Scotland and some since) and thought that it would be interesting. It was cool taking a lecture workshop on art history and various themes presented were thought-provoking in terms of 19th century Britain and escapism, the malicious or benevolent presentations of them, and even a tie-in with what Harriet has been studying.

At the workshop, I learned about the rather gruesome story of Michael Cleary who in the 1800's was convinced his wife was abducted by fairies and replaced with an imposter ... he ended up killing her and there were various criminal and political implications which took much of Britain by storm at the time. Well, Harriet about a month ago told me about Capgras delusion which is a rare syndrome associated with brain injury where people either don't recognize faces or are convinced that someone else is an imposter ... a interesting tie-in between the two subjects.

Getting into the festive spirit

2007-12-02T12:45:00.001Z

Well, now that it is December we are gearing up for Christmas and the holiday season. This morning (Sunday, Dec 2nd) we walked together as a family to a tree lot in our neighbourhood and picked out a Christmas tree. This was the first "real" tree that Harriet and I have had during our 15 years of marriage ... in past years we either didn't put up a tree because we were travelling or we used an artificial one.

In particular I am quite pleased with our tree ... we got some l.e.d. lights, stand, and a few decorations from a hardware store not far away. At the German Market in Princes Street Gardens we picked out 2 decorations (a sun and conversely a moon). For the top I made a wooden star to celebrate the pagan connection with the solstice and festival of light to mark the return of the sun & longer days (seems particularly appropriate with being in Scotland & the celtic connection). As a tree skirt we covered the base in the Rose clan tartan blanket/wrap that Debbie made.

We also made wreaths for the front of our flat using boughs from the tree lot (we got them for free), wire ties, recycled speaker wire, and other odds and sodds. They look awesome and are most environmental (ie. recycle, reuse) considering the supplies used to create them. I am quite pleased with myself and feel rather crafty with these ideas and how they turned out.

Edinburgh Scholar

2007-11-26T07:43:00.000Z

This week I received my certificate for my Edinburgh International Scholarship. It was a grand ceremony with the heads of the university and schools with entertainment from the university choir and an organ recital. I was in the very first row so I was across the stage within a minute of the beginning of the presentations so I had a long time to study other people as they were receiving their awards. The awards ceremony took place at MacEwan Hall the beautiful building where we had our initial induction. Afterwards there was a wine and canape reception at the Playfair Library. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but as usual the room itself was large and ornate. We talked to a lot of other scholars and some of the university brass. Phil and I had a great time and finished off the evening with a quiet meal together at a restaurant near our home.

Winter Festival Begins

2007-11-26T07:19:00.000Z

Well it's the start of a new season of festive activities in Edinburgh! On Thursday November 22 was the kick off to Edinburgh's winter festival. Throughout the Christmas season there is a fair set up in Princes Street Gardens with rides, an ice rink, and a German market. As well, there are many events throughout the city to enjoy.

On Friday we all went out to take in the fair. We rode the big ferris wheel and got a great view of the city and the Scott monument. Parker thought it was a hoot and wasn't afraid at all although we were very high up. Then we took a stroll through the market and saw many traditional European Christmas toys and ornaments along with handmade clothes, arts and crafts, and a variety of seasonal food fare. The fare runs throughout Christmas and into the new year - just another one of the many reasons that Edinburgh is a great place to be!

Museum of Scotland

2007-11-18T13:02:00.001Z

On Sat Nov 17th, after Harrison's acting lesson, we all went to the Museum of Scotland for a fun afternoon. This was our 2nd time there and we still have only scratched the surface of things there.

Harrison inducted into Beaver Scouts

2007-11-18T08:19:00.000Z

We are very proud of Harrison who was inducted into Beaver Scouts this
past week and made his scout promise ("I promise to do my best, to be
kind and helpful, and to love God.") He received "joining in badges"
and a pack scarf to wear which is a tartan design.

The Gruffalo's Child

2007-11-18T08:00:00.000Z

On Sat Nov 09th, Harrison and Phil went to see a play based on a popular children's storybook and by perhaps our favorite children's author (Julia Donaldson). It was a fun children's play with all of the typical children yelling out to characters on stage and younger kids crying when the monster came onstage. Quite well done and with singing and dancing too! If it comes back to Edinburgh I think I would take Parker next time.

Check out the link at the right or paste http://www.seeitfirst.co.uk/gruffalolive/ into your browser to see a short video clip of the performance.

Remembrance Day

2007-11-18T07:35:00.000Z

Harrison joined his scout troup on Sunday November 11th at a local Church of Scotland service for Remembrance Day or as it is called here an Armistice Ceremony. The impression we receive is that there is much more emotion associated with this day than we have experienced in North America. For starters about 80% of people wear poppies (even the young people in their teens and twenties that I wouldn't expect to). The war years appear to draw stronger memories here I suspect as it was geographically closer and a more immediate threat. It was a very nice service remembering the sacrifices made and our responsibility to honour those people through living a peaceful and loving life.

In terms of religion here, there are different names for faiths than one might be familiar with in Canada. Speaking with another Canadian who has lived here some years and whose son also goes to school and Beavers with Harrison, he explained the Church of Scotland is probably most similar to the United Church of Canada. He also said that Episcopalian is closest to Anglican faith.