ONCE UPON A DREAM; Edinburgh Magic!

 

I have just returned from my pre-birthday autumnal trip to Scotland. This year I decided to go to Edinburgh, which is a place I have never been before. Usually, I prefer to go to more rural parts of Scotland and I was a bit apprehensive that a city break wouldn't be as enjoyable, but I need not have worried. Edinburgh has the same feeling as any Scottish village, despite it being a bustling city.

I had the most magical time here and I already know that I want to visit the city again, as there is so much to do, you simply cannot pack it all into one holiday! As soon as I arrived, I felt Scotland working its magic on me. There is something very enchanting about the city. Parts of it are so old that it feels like stepping back in time. It is a place of cobbled streets, tall spires, twisted towers, crooked buildings and narrow alleyways. It is very atmospheric, hinting at ghosts and spirits from the past, exuding magic, mystery and murder.  There are so many nooks and crannies located around the old city that it comes as no surprise to find there are lots of murder holes for would be assailants to hide in, ready to leap out at their victims. Its all so very Dickensian and Gothic and old fashioned. I loved it!

The weather was perfect and its the first time I've been to Scotland in ages and haven't got soaked in the rain! Instead, it was chilly but dry, with wide blue skies and glorious golden sunshine. It was so nice in fact, that we were able to enjoy some of the many street cafes that offer pavement dining areas.  I went with my mother and she said how nice it was to explore part of Scotland together that neither of us had ever visited before.  We had a great time, drinking fancy hot chocolate and coffee, sampling specialty whiskeys and eating lovely food.We even stopped by Deacon Brodie's Tavern, who is the man that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. 

Edinburgh is full of history and Scottish culture, from the Scott Monument that commemorates the life and work of Sir Walter Scott, to the magnificent castle that dominates the horizon, glimmering in golden lights in the evenings.  Its a very busy city, but the people are all so friendly, it gives it that village feeling as you walk around.

I loved the Royal Mile. There were so many things going on there, from street entertainers and lone pipers on every corner, to a beautiful owl and his handler who had come down from the castle falconry to visit the crowds. He was wonderful! 

I managed to do everything on my list for this first visit to the city. Of course I had to go to the castle because I wanted to see the statues of my heroes, King Robert the Bruce and William Wallace, who stand guard at the entrance. I've seen pictures of them in books, but its not quite the same as seeing them in person. The castle is a keystone of Scottish history and it was lovely to just wander around and soak in the atmosphere there, as the sound of the piper swirled around us. It made my Bruce spirit soar. 

We spent a little time looking for the Witches' Well. As it is tucked away in a corner, we missed it the first time and walked right past, but then found it by accident!  This was quite a sobering place. It is a Victorian drinking fountain that was built to mark the place where the women accused of witchcraft were burnt at the stake on Castle Hill. This is the spot where Geillis Duncan and other women like her were burnt to death. Some would have been strangled first, but only if they admitted their crimes. Brave Geillis famously retracted her confession, claiming that it was made under duress of torture and therefore carried no weight, but her retraction was denied and she was burnt alive on Castle Hill, with the great fortress standing behind her. 

The Witches Well had lots of coins, pebbles, crystals and seashells placed upon it. Offerings left in honour of the poor souls who met their end in such a barbaric way. I have visited other witch-burning sites dotted around Scotland and England, such as the Witch Stone at Dornoch and the Brahan Seer Stone at Chanonry Point on the Black Isle, and of course Pendle Hill in Lancashire. It is always a somber experience.  It can be quite chilling, because it is only the passage of time that keeps me and women like me, from meeting a similar end. Had I lived in Geillis Duncan's time, I probably would have burnt beside her. Such was the fate of many an outspoken and independent woman; women who were often labeled as difficult by the men who couldn't tame, control or break them. 

It felt fitting to be at the Witches Well though, just a few days past Samhain and Bonfire Night, it was an appropriate time to visit and pay our respects to the witches and wise women who came before us and who paid the ultimate price for their skills. Interestingly, the well depicts the duality of magic and how it can be used for good or ill, with the sides of the well being carved into Healing Hands one one side, and the Evil Eye on the other. This suggests that the Victorians were not quite ready to admit that many of the women burnt here were actually completely innocent. They preferred to highlight that it was the individual's responsibility to choose whether to use their magic to heal or harm. Alas, many of the women who burned here were not witches at all, simply old women with no-one to speak up for them. 

The injustice can still be felt emanating from these stones and the Witches Well is a place that will make you shiver and thank your lucky stars that you live in a safer time.  I said a silent prayer for the victims of the most brutal witch hunts in the UK and left feeling immensely grateful that I can practice my Craft without fear, even writing books about it, which help to dispel the superstition and prejudice against witches and pagans.  History lives and breathes in each of us, and as a Bruce and as a witch, I come from a long line of rebellious hearts! No place brings this home to me more than Scotland. 

Another place I wanted to visit was the Writer's Museum. Again, it took a little time to find it as it is tucked away down an alley, off the Royal Mile.  It felt like walking through a portal as we went under a stone tunnel and along a narrow cobbled alleyway, emerging into a pretty Gothic courtyard, with the turreted home of the museum standing before us. 

The Writer's Museum is dedicated to three of Scotland's classic authors - Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott. Each floor is assigned to one of these authors and full of personal items and memorabilia of their accomplishments in publishing.  We spent quite a long time in here as it was so interesting, and being a writer myself, I just love being close to the belongings of famous authors from the past!  The ground floor was all about Robert Louis Stevenson and they had his equestrian gear in a glass case - his riding boots (he had quite large feet!), crop and spurs were in wonderful condition and it was lovely to see this day-to-day aspect of his life. There were locks of hair belonging to his romantic dalliances and his mother, plus early copies of his work.

The next two floors were devoted to Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. They had two writing desks here - one that belonged to Burns and which was so fragile it was housed in a glass case, the other belonging to Scott, which was out in the open. It was a bureau with pigeon holes, and the open desk part was overlaid with glass, with all his writing things laid out within, as if he had just stepped from the room. It was amazing to be able to lay my hands on Sir Walter Scott's own writing desk! Truly a magical moment for any author to experience and I will never forget it!  

They also had Sir Walter Scott's childhood rocking horse, and his personal printing press on which he self-published his first Waverley Novels. Plus they had his writing quill and silver ink stand. However, my favourite aspect of the museum, (apart from touching Scott's desk!) was the handwritten manuscript of Scot's Wha Hae, which is my favourite of Robert Burn's poems. It was wonderful to see this as an early draft, written in his own hand! Truly a memorable experience and well worth a visit. 

I bought quite a few books in the Writer's Museum shop, including Neil Oliver's Hauntings, which is an anthology of ghost stories, a big book of Scottish folk and fairytales, a collection of Edinburgh ghost stories, an anthology of Scottish poems, a biography of Robert Burns and finally, the tale of Greyfriars Bobby. So I have plenty of books to read which will help to prolong my Edinburgh holiday and I'm looking forward to diving into the Neil Oliver one first. Or maybe Greyfriars Bobby. 

Then, as it was the start of my birthday celebrations, my mum treated me to a new Harris Tweed handbag! I've wanted one for a while, but they never had one in Bruce tartan, or a plaid that I loved, until now. In their new A/W 2023 collection they have just released a pretty pink and baby blue leather and tweed saddle-bag. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it, so my mum got it for me as an early birthday present. I love it - it's so pretty and Scottish!

All in all it was a wonderful, magical holiday and I know that it will not be my last visit to Edinburgh, as there is still so much I want to see there. I will definitely go back again another time.  But for now, it is back to the grindstone, with three more commissioned projects to write before the end of January. So let's hope that the magic of Sir Walter Scott's desk rubs off, as I have lots of work to be getting on with. 

Also, I got home to news from my editor that some of my work is being translated into French and published in France this November. I now have a French publisher - in Paris!! How mad and fab is that?! What a fabulous birthday surprise! 

All I can say is La Vie Est Belle! 

BB Marie x

BOOK NOOK; You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce

 "If you have a husband you cannot truly be that bad.

If your husband is handsome and capable too, more glitter falls on you. If you don't have it, you are deemed unworthy, different and possibly wrong. Without the love of a good man, any man, you are spoiled fruit, lacking an essential stamp of approval. Never mind if you are ill suited for it and would have been much better off alone. Never mind if your inclinations are such that living with another human being is difficult and even harmful. Live with another you must, or face eternal shame and disgrace. Forever be second-class. No stamp of approval for you."

You Let Me In is an extraordinary novel. Part fairy-tale, part psychological drama, it weaves together two very different strands of the same story. I have never read a novel like this one before. Its weird and wonderful and very, very strange.  Its a difficult one to review without giving anything away, but it has been such a great reading experience that I had to share it.

It tells the story of Cassandra, a young girl who has a magical friend called Pepper-Man. Lost in her own little world, she makes friends with this faerie being and he introduces her to other faeries. When she is excluded from her sister's birthday party for bad behaviour, Pepper-Man comes along and whisks her away to a fairy revel at midnight, where she feasts and dances with the fey. In this respect, it is a lovely fairy-tale, of a blossoming friendship between an unhappy human child and the magical, whimsical world of the fey. 

Yet the second strand of the tale tells a completely different story. In this version, Cassie is ill and her faerie friends are all imaginary. Her therapist says that these fairy-tales are her form of escape, a coping mechanism for her mental illness.

But which story is the truth? As the novel plays out, it is difficult to guess at what the author wants you to believe. I found myself swinging between the two narratives, being first sucked into the fairy-tale and reading the book as a fantasy novel, then changing my mind and thinking that yes, the therapist is quite right and its all imaginary. 

As the two strands weave closer and closer together, it becomes apparent that the fey characters are real, though not in the way that they appear to be. I remember feeling quite nauseous when I realized who Pepper-Man might actually be, and why he was so central to the storyline and why Cassie is so defensive of him, and at the same time so distrusting and resentful. 

This is a very dark tale, one which deals with difficult issues such as child abuse and parental cruelty. It illustrates how it might feel to be the black sheep of the family, or to be singled out for all the wrong reasons. Cassandra is the family scapegoat, while her sister is the golden child.  It makes for a very unsettling read.

As a psychotherapist, I was utterly beguiled by this Freudian novel. I have never read anything like it before, although I greatly enjoyed the author's second novel The Witch in the Well.  However, You Let Me In really is a unique story and one that makes you consider the immense power of the human mind, what it is capable of and how it works to protect us, with or without our consent. 

This is a fantastic book, though it is rather disturbing at times. Its not your standard fantasy novel, but if you like a psychological twist to your tales, then you will probably love this one. I have certainly enjoyed reading it. Give it a go and see what you think. 

BB Marie x

AD; this book is available now in all formats.