Inverleith Park and Fettes College. Edinburgh.

                                                 ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN.

The free exhibition in Inverleith House proved to be better than expected... because it was all about soil/earth and its uses. A lot of modern art galleries are not to my taste as they don't really mean anything. I've been in both Glasgow's and Edinburgh's Gallery of Modern Art years ago and can't think of one single work that made a real lasting impression on me.... Like instantly forgettable songs.... yet certain songs...music or lyrics...or certain books....or certain paintings... or certain ideas.... will haunt me forever.

 Not so these beautiful colourful toilets in Edinburgh's GoMA done in vibrant primary  palm-sized tiles. That was wonderful and I still remember them. A photo from 2017.

Unexpected and amazing. Definite Wow factor here.

Back to Inverleith House and giant waist high pots. Or chest height if smaller. This exhibition was all about soil and it's myriad uses. But it wasn't about highly polished pieces of art/sculpture. It was more about what you could make that was useful... and raw. Still basic earth.

Like these blocks of soil. All different kinds of earth.

Soil data. This is why it matters. Obviously war is another way to ruin soil, either land mines taking up growing room, sprayed with poisons, covered in burning oil, open cast mines, soil simply power hosed away into rivers looking for gems or rare metals, an increasing trend worldwide... the list is endless. We do not treasure it enough... or our plant pollinators...

Straw and mud/soil/ peat. The earliest house bricks/ building materials and fuel. Still used today. From stone age to modern life.

The 'snake of soil.' All different types.

This snake tail reminded me strongly of chocolate. Maybe that's why they had someone guarding/ watching this one particular exhibit. And with good reason. I felt a very strong compulsion to put my finger in this then lick it and I'm never usually a 'I've got to touch things' person at all. And being gravel/ soil it would be grim to taste I'd imagine, unless I was a worm, but the eyes were completely deceived. It was chocolate on that table.

This was one item that seemed out of place here but also fascinating. The warrior daughter of a Pict. I don't think I've ever seen a Pict depicted before. They existed in Scotland before the Romans arrived in Britain, left carved objects in many places but then vanished. Either wiped out by the Romans or other tribes, assimilated into the Empire, or more probably, severely reduced to pitiful numbers by first contact diseases ( the biggest killer of ancient people worldwide.) And left few traces of what they looked like. The Romans called them 'the painted people' The Picts.... as they painted or tattooed their bodies, as seen here in this reimagined work. Ironically, it is mostly from Roman accounts of their startling appearance that they are remembered at all.

Weirdly, the only other mention of Picts and a Pictish Kingdom that I've read about (outside of real Scottish history) is in Robert E Howard's Conan books. Set before the dawn of recorded society in a primitive age this gifted USA small town Texas writer nevertheless created a very believable ancient world. His brilliant memory retention for facts and natural storytelling talent lifted these books into popular culture from the 1930s right into the 1960s and 1970s due to speedy pace and dramatic landscapes, filling each short story, often under 10 or 20 pages long, with a wealth of fine detail and gained knowledge without it showing up in the story at all. Marc Bolan was a fan of his books.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Howard   In this link look at First Writings. 2nd paragraph down for his introduction to the Picts and his lasting obsession with them.

Info here. I had not heard of this explorers name before so  being curious I looked it up. It's amazing how there is always new stuff to learn and absorb. Enough for one thousand lifetimes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Le_Moyne

After that I was ready for something different so I picked Inverleith Park which is right beside the West Gate of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Being in an upmarket area, (Inverleith,) this is still a grand park. Unlike the twisting trails and hidden hollows of the Royal Botanic Garden Inverleith Park was refreshingly open and spacious. Seen above. Both parks are a similar size but feel very different in character. 

Entrance gates. And a park I had not properly explored before. I whizzed through it on a bike tour years ago taking under two minutes to cross it. This time I wandered slowly on foot, visiting all corners of the park from end to end.

Popular with dog walkers. Unless you arrive on foot or by bus or are a local living nearby you will be paying £4:50 an hour to park here mon to fri. £18 for 4 hours max stay.

Inverleith Park pond. A substantial one.

Different angle.

They had a marsh area with a raised walkway closed off to give birds a nesting and breeding zone away from the open bare pond.

A coot paddling past.

Pentland Hills in the distance.

Edinburgh Castle.

And you also get a glimpse of Fettes College from the park. One of the most exclusive private schools in Scotland. PM Tony Blair studied here along with many of the ruling classes. Future MPs, CEOs, entrepreneurs, hedge fund types all sent here to learn the connections, methods and skills required to rule the masses and get ahead in business... or whatever else they fancied on the menu. 

The entrance gates. Need a magic password to get in though.

The full view from a decade ago. Impressive building. I would not be surprised to learn that this was an inspiration for Harry Potter's School in Edinburgh based JK's books. My own school was rather different.... but just as exciting... in its own way.