Miss Brodie's Edinburgh

     I thought anyone reading The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie  (for the Book Group) who isn't familiar with Edinburgh might like to see some pictures of the city, just to set the scene, so I'll begin today with a view from out of town.
     Miss Brodie and her girls spend a lot of time at Mr. Lowther's house in Cramond, and these shots were taken a little way along the shore from there, dodging the showers, and looking across the Forth and the famous Rail Bridge to Fife.
"The rain had stopped and was only now hanging damply within the salt air. All along the sea front Miss Brodie questioned the girls, against the rhythm of the waves, about the appointments of Teddy Lloyd's house, the kind of tea they got, how vast and light was the studio, and what was said."

Comments

[lindsay]

In the absolutely wonderful Secret Vanguard by Michael Innes (largely set in Scotland, you'd love it)the heroine recalls her disappointment at her first crossing, as a child, of the Forth Rail Bridge (you didn't need to say "rail" in those days, of course, because the book is set in the 1930s). She was devasted to find that the train went through on the level, rather than switchbacking up and down over the orange girders!!

[Peter the flautist]

I remember (just) catching one of the very last car ferries (paddle driven) across the Forth before the new road bridge was built. I've always called the one that carried railway trains the "Forth Bridge" and the other the "Forth Road Bridge". I think this shows how ancient I am!

While marvelling at the wonderous engineering of this rail bridge, we should not forget that it was built in a time when people's (men in this case) lives were held cheaply; I believe nearly 60 (including some Italian) were killed during its construction. Think of them as your train crosses over and remember how the West was won.

[Kelly]

Very much looking forward to more pictures from Edinburgh -

[Claire]

Oh no, Peter, that makes me very ancient too.