Wednesday Evening in Edinburgh; the Fiddle Lesson

Fiddler in the garden at Holyrood Palace

Our first full day in Edinburgh began with a morning jaunt to Rosslyn Chapel (see yesterday's post), and we returned to Edinburgh for lunch at Deacon Brodie's Fish House.

We traipsed up and down the Royal Mile, taking in the sights, smells, and shops of Edinburgh, and working off a bit of the fabulous fish and chips Deacon Brodies is known for.

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I've been taking fiddle lessons for about 4 years, and sometime before the actual trip to Scotland, realized the country is full of fiddlers and I might be able to find time for a lesson.

After a few emails with the ever-so-kind Susie Malcolm, I settled on a lesson from a brilliant fiddler named Rachel on Wednesday afternoon. My day was beginning to look rather full.

The upside was, the Edinburgh shop for Sheila Fleet Jewelry https://sheilafleet.com/ was just up the road from St. Vincent's Chapel where I'd take my fiddle lesson. I haven't mentioned yet, but this trip included my mom and two cousins, all of whom are huge Sheila Fleet fans. So, my fiddle lesson was eagerly anticipated by me, and by the women who would have the taxi drop them off for an hour of shopping for some truly exquisite jewelry.

The trip went rather wrong at this point.

After always seeing taxis outside the hotel, there were, of course, none when I needed it. I'd given myself 30 minutes to make the 15 minute drive, and spent 30 seconds convincing the concierge I needed a taxi quickly.

Ten minutes later, our chariot arrived. With a nod, the driver zoomed off through Edinburgh traffic and eventually came to a stop at the bottom of a cobbled street.

Next to a pub. I'd already gotten out since I saw two likely structures with lovely spires, but when I asked which was St. Vincent's Chapel, the driver merely shrugged.

After checking road intersections and the directions I'd been given, I felt a bit reassured I was in the right place, and chose the closest church--but didn't find the distinctive red door I'd been told to enter through. Nor did I see one at the other church.

By this time, the taxi was a mere smudge in the distance, and I was at the bottom of a very steep hill with no other churches in sight. As luck would have it, a lady with two small children rounded the corner, and I politely stopped them and asked if they could tell me where St. Vincent's Chapel was. The lady said she didn't know, but the older of the two little girls said, oh yes, it was just up the hill, to the busy traffic, then turn left.

Seriously? The little girl assured me she was right, and who was I to argue? Did I mention the hill was steep? I was going to be late.

I started up the hill, not having kind thoughts about taxi drivers (please forgive me--every other driver I've met has been perfectly wonderful), and made it halfway up the hill before I decided I was going the wrong direction. I found another young lady who also said she didn't know where the chapel was (this was beginning to sound ominous), but helped me ask a third young woman (apparently my American accent was quite bewildering to these helpful Scots), and finally got a definitive answer. The chapel was at the bottom of the hill, and she pointed out which building.

Back I go, charging down the hill. I pulled out my phone and called Rachel--and got voice mail. My message went something like, "Um, Rachel, hi, this is Cathy. I'm wandering St. Vincent's Street, looking for the chapel--would you mind calling me back or maybe stick your head out the door and give me a wave?"

I got back to the chapel and proceeded to walk around, determined to find the red door. It was tucked in a nook of a small garden, and it was locked. As it was only a minute or two after 4, I didn't think she'd given up on me and left. After a quick knock, she opened the door, and we laughed at my misadventure.

The fiddle lesson? Pure gold. Lots of comments on technique which were hugely helpful, and I learned a lovely melody called Maggie West's Waltz. You can hear a YouTube version of it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVowiz9FIDs

The journey from St. Vincent's Chapel to the Sheila Fleet store was largely uneventful, and the rain mostly held off until we were all safely back in a taxi and headed to our hotel. Dinner was fun at Canon's Gait Pub with a concert by Susie and Jim's daughter, Beth, who is quite an accomplished musician. What an evening!

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Dinner with new friends!