A mostly rainy day

We spent nearly all morning in the hostel chatting while it rained heavily. Then to the Scottish portrait gallery. It’s fantastic.  Just looked at two rooms:
 - modern portraits, some of which are shown in the 1st extra: -  professor Sue Black, forensic anthropologist working in Kosovo in 1999, investigating human remains for evidence of war crimes; Rose Reilly Scottish footballer who played her career in France and Italy in the 70s and 80s because women were not allowed to play professionally in Scotland - she was voted best female player in the world in 1984: Jackie Kay wonderful poet, writer  and novelist, who was the Makar - the poet Laureate of Scotland, until recently. And lastly Alec Douglas Home who was Prime Minister briefly when I was a child.  I love this, because he looks so like my dad, and - as my dad did - and unlike some men - he is taking up the absolute minimum space possible. 
The second extra is of a current exhibition commemorating 40 years since the miners strike. The first image is part of a huge banner made for a commemorative March in Edinburgh this March, then two of miners taken in 1982, when some local pits were still open.  Finally a map showing where all the mines were, right across the central belt of Scotland.  There is no sign of them now. There’s no doubt that coal is bad for the environment, or that miners suffered terribly from lung disease and pit accidents - but something huge was lost when the pits were closed down.  Close communities, dignity in the job, solidarity, strong unions. And there is absolutely no doubt that Margaret Thatcher is still hated with a visceral loathing in these areas. The main part of the exhibition was a recently made film of those involved 40 years ago speaking their memories.
We went to a Vietnamese restaurant for tea - I had never been to one before, the food was really delicious, consisting mainly of a huge variety of fresh vegetables.  When we left at about 9 it was still quite light, so we walked down Princes Street a bit. What a spectacular place it it, if you ignore the closed down department stores and tat shops. The main blip is standing by the National Gallery looking back towards the Scott memorial. The third extra is of various views showing the National Gallery, a grand building, Scott inside his memorial, and Arthur’s seat with a tram power cable in front. It’s an amazing city. Though I know of course that what I’ve seen today isn’t the whole story.