Story 2: Nor Loch
So I mentioned in my earlier post about Edinburgh being known as Ol' Reeky? Well, this is why...
Back before there was a city, the volcano (King Arthur's Seat) ERUPTED! And lava went everywhere (obviously). And this lava hardened into rock. Then, the ice age came along and a large glacier tried to move through the area, but couldn't get past the bit of hardened lava. So as the glacier melted, the North Lake or "Nore-Lock" (that's how they pronounce it) was created. Well, then people started to come into the area and settle there and named the town Edinburgh. They built lots of houses, a castle, and a palace. But there's a key to this story - there was no indoor plumbing. So...if you heard "Guardie-Loo!"
Don't look up.
Don't run out your door.
Because...well...they didn't have indoor plumbing. And so when someone shouted that...it all got thrown out the windows and into the close or alley way below. Disgusting. And due to the rain and downward slope of the closes, all of the waste eventually made it into...you guessed it...the NOR LOCH. NASTY. At one point in time, the smell was so bad that people in Glasgow could smell it (roughly 40+ miles away). So that's how Ol' Reeky came to be the nickname for Edinburgh. But this isn't my whole story. No, no, I'm just setting you up. This was just part one.
Part Two:
As you should know from any sort of history class, that at one point in time, people were terrified of anything that had to do with witches. So mass witch hunts broke out and people were going crazy (over something that didn't really exist, I might add). The "witches" of Edinburgh were not spared from this hunt either, Many women were bound hands to ankles and thrown in the...Nor Loch...to see if they drowned or floated. If they drowned, then they weren't a witch, but they died anyway. If they floated, they were witches and were then burned at the stake. So really, lose-lose situation, eh? Not that this wasn't awful enough...but I want to point out that they threw women into the NOR LOCH. THE PLACE WHERE ALL THEIR TRASH AND SUCH WENT. Gross. Really an awful way to die.
So...how do these two parts really come together in my story? Let me tell you:
Well, finally Edinburgh had had enough of the nasty lake and decided to drain it. And drain it they did. What they didn't expect to find?
Around 800 human skeletons.
From the witch hunt.
You may now run away from the computer screaming in horror.
The End.
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Ahem.
Anyway. We also ate at a lovely little Italian place that served delicious tortellini. And coke with lemon. Like I had a lemon slice in my coke. Very tasty. And apparently that's completely normal. I'm going to start doing that when I get back to the US.
After we ate we ran up to the castle to take a couple of pictures and such. We didn't have enough time to take a tour, sadly, but I still got some pretty good pictures. And I bought a few things in the gift shop there. We then made our way back to the train station to head home.
That night I got to stay with a couple who lives in Lanark.
Hopefully this name rings a bell.
I'll give you a hint: Mel Gibson.
If you thought Braveheart, you're correct! I've never seen the movie (please forgive me), but it was still really neat to be in such a historical place! (No worries, I plan on watching the movie very soon)
After going to church that morning in Livingston, we headed back into Edinburgh so that I could catch my train back to England.
So what did I do today?
It was bank holiday, and what a beautiful holiday it was. It was SEVENTY DEGREES AND SUNNY. Absolutely gorgeous. So I took full advantage of this and went into Nottingham. Where I happened upon a festival of sorts honoring a certain day in the 1945 called VE Day or the day that World War II ended in Europe (this actually happened officially on the 7th of May, but I guess they were celebrating early since it was bank holiday?). How cool is that? I paid £3 to get in and got to explore! Many people were dressed in 1945 fashion or in a soldier's uniform. People were dancing to music of the era, and I was standing in line for some 1945 style ice cream. Until I was told they ran out of chocolate flavor. Sad. I also went inside a mini museum about the 1940s in Nottingham. So interesting! I also found out that the city of Nottingham has the most caves out of any city in England, but ALL of them are man-made. Apparently people used to live in them, too. I got to explore a few of these caves as well.
Overall? Today was a great day. And I got to eat fish and chips one last time. Perfection.
Tomorrow, I head in for my last day of student teaching. I'm excited to teach my lesson tomorrow, but sad that it's my last. I'm off to put the finishing touches on it now...I'll let you know how it goes!
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Picture time!
Cheers!
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