Back in July I caught a Singapore Airlines flight back to the UK. Changi Airport in Singapore never ceases to have something interesting to offer on the way through from Australia. On previous transits I've been entertained during the layover by the butterfly garden, hanging out in the massage chairs, having fun trying on myriads of perfumes till I make my precious choice and of course all the food places to eat. This time they surprised with the world of Marine Fantasy @changiairport, with sea creatures made from moss and flowers. Who wouldn't love the clownfish (reminiscent of Nemo) nestled between bright disco lights and the turtle with the brightly coloured shell hanging out with the jellyfish?

On arrival back in Edinburgh, I thought I'd take the opportunity to reacquaint myself with a few of my favourite places and to visit some I never had. Not surprisingly, the first place I visited was the National Galleries of Scotland on the Mound. I worked here one summer while studying painting at Edinburgh College of Art. The medieval and gothic section (that used to be upstairs at the top of a spiral staircase) was always my favourite haunt. I love some of the peculiarities of medieval art and some of the (interesting) humour.

My favourite painting wasn't on display this time and the medieval and gothic section is now downstairs, but I still found a couple of intriguing medieval tempera paintings. One of these was The Adoration of the Kings with Saints Ursula and Catherine of Alexandria by Artist Vitale da Bologna about 1350, a painting about the magi and a couple of important saints. I took the closeup photo seen below. You can find more about this artwork and the full image at the National Galleries of Scotland website. In between the jostle of other visitors, I contemplated this particular section of the painting for as long as I could. Was this horse wearing a hat and was there some fierce horse whispering going on by the guy in the fancy double peaked hat with his intense gaze at what looked to be angry horses? Or was the hat actually perched on top of a third person hidden in the shadows behind? I posted my conjectures on the socials and one of my friends shot back that “the hat was actually a traffic cone and was the inspiration for one of the most famous art exhibit in Glasgow”! Funnily enough, I had just been to Glasgow a couple of days before and had taken this photo of “the most famous art exhibit” being the statue of the Duke of Wellington with a traffic cone on his head (apparently he hasn't been without a traffic cone on 40 years).

Another friend suggested that “the dude with the fancy hat put the other guy’s hat on the horse and now everyone is angry with him”, which could also be very true. I like that art can bring out so many interpretations. Vitale was no joke by the way. I read he was the most important Bolognese painter of the first half of the 14th century. I just wish I could ask him what was going on here, but maybe he would give me a mysterious little smile and keep it a secret.

*Triptych with the Crucifixion and other Scenes*
*Artist Bernardo Daddi, 1338*

I also quite liked the depiction of this seemingly everyday chat between this musician and shepherd/goat herder in the midst of all these big saints, literally and figuratively. Is this saying something about the ordinariness of life amongst the miracles? Not sure. Or that the small everyday things are also of importance. Or did the painter know these folks and he wanted to give them a cameo?
You can find more about this artwork and the full image at the National Galleries of Scotland website.

If you have read some of my previous journals you will know I have a bit of thing with Botanic gardens and growing fruit and vegetables. A friend of mine enjoys the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh as much as I do and we like to traipse around together to explore the beauty. Every time without fail we end up in the fruit and vege growing section of the gardens. Summer was in full swing when we caught up together for our favourite jaunt. The wildflowers were blooming, the apples were turning red and juicy and my oh my, did you see the size of that fennel?! I generally get vege envy when I see how well the vege prosper in this section of the gardens. One of the RGBE folks had also suggested we head to the rock garden as the grasses were flowering and she was spot on, they were and were lovely.

I am also a fan of the squirrels and woodland pigeons that can be found in the RGBE and around Edinburgh. The squirrels are looking particularly chubby lately with all the peanuts the tourists are feeding them!

Speaking of which, a beautiful and nifty way to get around some of Edinburgh is by walking the old train paths. These are lined with woodlands and home to wildlife, including squirrels, little birds flitting here and there, badgers and foxes to name a few. Quite often the paths follow the Water of Leith, where mallard ducks, white swans and both woodland and feral pigeons hang about. I had some fun sketching the feral pigeons which often cluster on the Water of Leith. Such a variety in their colours. A particular striking pigeon was almost all white but had these patches of grey as if a painter had dusted it irregularly with blotches of spray paint. Another had feathers a mix of white and ginger brown. Even the more usual grey pigeons had a sparkling sheen of purple and green around their necks. A few of the pigeons seemed to enjoy craning their heads over the wall to look to the water below. One even found a storm drain pipe to sit on that was fixed into the wall, it's head, chest and feet just visible. Here are a couple of the live sketches I did with my (now) trusty SB pen.

*Sketches of feral Pigeons Water of Leith - looking over the water and nestled in a storm drain pipe*

Another treasure on the Water of Leith is the Dean Village, close to the West End of the city. Leafy glades provide sheltered and sun dappled walks by the water. I walked these on the way to meeting friends at the Modern 2 art gallery. The day was gorgeously sunny and warm and many other people were out exploring these paths as well.

The above was a memorial to James Buchanan by his wife in the Dean Cemetary, adjacent to Modern 2. Buchanan was responsible for founding the Buchanan Institution (established in 1859) to provide education and industrial training for destitute boys in Glasgow as per TheGlasgowStory.com (read here). It struck me that the memorial is a poignant depiction of grief and a heartfelt statement of how it feels to be without the person that you love. I didn’t see it at first, but if you look to the bottom right hand corner there is a lid of one of the urns on the ground. I wondered if the fallen lid and thus uncovered urn is symbolic of his wife’s life still to live while the covered urn is symbolic of her husband.

I forgot to say that on the old train paths there are a number of tunnels with graffiti art. I came across this one of a pig that I thought was fun. I like the matching pink grumpy cat beneath it, with the pink echoing that of the pig.
Guessing it is a different artist despite the colour but I could be wrong…

A place I hadn’t been inside before was the Mansfield Traquair centre. During the Edinburgh Festival, the centre was open to the public so I finally took the opportunity to view the 360 degree spectrum of murals painted by Phoebe Traquair from 1893 to 1901. I can't believe how she had the perseverance and ambition to paint all this - absolutely amazing! One of my personal favourites were what I am calling the rainbow angels. I love how their clothing changes colour as it interweaves with the rainbow.

There was also a long panel of goats interweaving with the vines and fruit. Try as I might, I couldn’t get a great photo due to the length of the panel and the light coming through the window, so I suggest you visit to check out this for yourself. This is what I wrote when I was sitting there at the time:

The goats winding their way among the vines speak to me. The ago old fascination for me of animals and plants intertwining and interacting together. Of enjoying and adventuring. The bright white of the goats and their playfulness in contrast to the mute greens, reds and gold.

Sometimes with reflection I need complete stillness and silence. Other times I need a distraction from the pain and the stress life blows along.

Scottish heritage, wending along the Celtic knots. In some places the vines mimic Celtic knots, weaving over and under, under and over. The unbroken path gives my eyes distraction, inviting me in with fascination. I could sit here for ages tracing around and then my gaze stopping to rest on the delightful goats.

*Wildflower labyrinth, St Mary's Episcopal Church Edinburgh*

Another place I hadn’t really spent much time in is St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in the West End. I had been to St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral for a carols by candlelight service years ago but hadn't looked at the permanent and temporary artwork in the cathedral.

I visited in early August to see the Tentacular Cathedral Exhibition, by artists Sarah Gittens and Jonathan Baxter, which explored the concept of a Regenerative Cathedral. This was held in the A+E (Art + Ecology) project space at the Cathedral and was open until 31 August. I really enjoyed the beautiful work and the subsequent group discussion as part of the A+E event. There were also a number of other artworks on display at the time, including Crisisium humanitarus by artist Jenny Pope, an installation of contemporary ‘fossils’ made of waste plastic and suspended in the main body of the cathedral.

*On the home front - Nymphaea Odorata Firecrest - Pink Water Lily*

On the home front, to say my garden was a total jungle on my return to Edinburgh is probably an understatement. I had to hack a few of the plants right back even though it was probably the wrong time of year to do it. If I hadn’t, the apple tree would have uprooted itself in the strong winds.

At one point, I had hacked back the rosemary bush and tried to dig up the crazy huge grass stuck underneath it when I took a break and stood up to have a think about what next. A flutter of movement caught my eye and there was a little brown soft downy juvenile robin perched on the garden fence, peering at me through the rosemary. The little robin saw it had been noticed and hopped across the fence to where it was for the most part hidden by the rosemary. I could see the timid black eyes peering out at me. Next I knew the little robin had hopped near my feet and had grabbed a worm that must’ve come up when I was digging and after a couple of goes managed to fit that big fat worm down its gullet. What a cute little newbie! I chatted to it while it looked up at me with those gorgeous black eyes and said, I probably knew your great great grandparents! I am so pleased to have always had an inquisitive little robin in my garden from the onset. On the up news, aside from the wee robin, after 3 years of no flowers, my Nymphaea Odorata Firecrest - Pink Water Lily has finally flowered - miracles happen folks!

And that was summer…..

I should have published this journal back in August but life sped by and I had been hoping finish the small watercolour pigeon painting I had started for this journal. Hopefully this small painting will be completed soon for my Dilly-dallying in Edinburgh (Winter) post.

Dilly-dallying in Edinburgh (Summer), Scotland

Geelong & Werribee Open Range Zoo, Victoria