Coming Home

Today was a good day.

Today, I stood on the ground where my forefathers stood.

I stood in the middle of the square, breathed deep, and let the feeling of history wash over me...

I left out this morning and drove up to Dunkeld, not really knowing what to expect. I'd hit a dead end at the General Register Office (GRO) and decided that the best way to make some headway was to just go to where we were from and see if I couldn't figure it out. Before I left, I did some research and found that the records were actually more likely to be found at the Tayside Family History Center in Dundee, but decided to go anyway...most likely because that's the way I do things, just dive in and see what stroke I come up with while swimming...and dive in I did.

Dunkeld is a small little town right next to Birnam which seems a little bigger, but essentially the same kind of place. Each has a main street with shops, restaurants and hotels, and then homes and religious/historical buildings off the strip...except for the fact that they whole place is historical...past fiefdoms ruled by Dukes and other leaders. And I use "home" in the purely general sense...more cottages and what would be apts or condos if they weren't one to two hundred years old....

I went down to the visitor's center and talked with the staff person and there made one of the most fascinating discoveries. Now here in Scotland, since things are so small that houses, streets and buildings often don't have numbers but rather names, or are used interchangably. All this time I had been researching, I kept coming up with people being born at "The Cross", which I'd thought was a hospital or convent. It turns out that the Cross was actually named for the "cul-de-sac" that held the cross market, and would have been the area of town where people came to sell their wares and trade. It was the small sections of houses that was a region of this small little village, like Georgetown or Uptown.

What was more incredible was that I was standing in the middle of it.

Yes, the information center was in the small section that was called the Cross, and so here I stood coming to this revelation and realizing I was right where my ancestors had been. I was standing on the soil they would have played as young children, learned their lessons, had their first kiss, grown to adulthood and toiled at their labours, and yes, even died. I was right where those who had come before me had stood.

I was home.

Next we began to look through the grave marker books to see who had been buried that might rise to the occasion of fitting the relative bill. This only produced more challenges and questions, because while I couldn't find a definitive connection to those I knew lived and died there, I found so many others with the same name....with the same spelling..and the variations...and so while I have yet to find that definitive connection, I cannot believe that these other McFarlanes (MacFarlanes) were not related closely in some manner. We are all members of the Clan, but there seems to be no way that so many from the family could be living in such a small place and not be connected....

My course is clear, and I take up the new challenge joyfully.

So now, after getting my legs reattached, I got up and moved around for a bit. Whew!

So today I was going to meet Brian MacFarlane in Dumferline where he lives. It was my first meeting of another officer of the Society, so I was quite excited. We decided to get together at 7:00pm, so I figured I'd make a quick jaunt up there early afternoon and look around the town (a lot of historical stuff) before going over to Brian's house. I also wanted to head out early to make sure I could find everything.

Unfortunately, I decided to make some stops in town. Went into this comic store that for some reason is always closed when I get there in the evening, so I finally hit it in the day. It has a wealth of fun products but I was dissapointed not to find a lot of "British" comic stuff. Ended up getting some fun gifts for some friends (you know who you are) and a parking ticket. (What the f-???) So, since I had the ticket, I went and had lunch, bought so more souvenirs, and finally headed out around 4pm.

WHO THE HELL PLANNED THE ROADS?????

I couldn't get on the damn A90! Every time I turned down a street that was supposed to connect on the map, it ended up being a one-way, or not a thru street, or some idiot had put up iron barriers?????? Who does this cruel trick to visitors???? It took me 45 minutes just to get out of Edinburgh!

So I finally get on the road and find Dumferline. It's a nice quaint place. Tomorrow more about meeting Brian!

Coronaries and Cakewalks

Day 2

Our hero, having fully recovered from his dramatically reduced caffeine intake and overwhelming jetlag, launches out at the brave hour of 12:30pm into the day...nothing can stop him.

Okay, so I needed some rest, but that's what vacations are for, so I took it. I feel a little like Arlo Guthrie without the Thanksgiving Dinner.

So once, the day had begun, I decided to head over to the General Register Office (GRO) to try and confirm research before I headed anywhere. Now I don't know if they switched things on my or what, but I remember there being more information on the computer than there seemed to be. No matter, though. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't pull up records corresponding with family from the mid 1800s. It was getting pretty frustrating, so I decided to go into the round room, and pull some of the microfiched and filmed records. I took a chance that the same record number would correspond for previous years, and as luck would have it found both the 1841 and 1851 censuses (censui? Sensei?) which confirmed the birth order of my great great ather and the time period of the death of my great great great grandmother. As luck would also have it, I think that I found her parents...and it looks like her mother was a MacFarlane! I still need to confirm some things, but it's still very fascinating.

So after finishing the record search, I decided to take a quick drive and ended up in Holyrood Park. It seemed pretty nice and was still light (about 4:30pm) so I took a walk and a small climb (which actually turned out to be a big climb) up to St. Andrew's Chapel ruins at the top of the hill. It was quite exhilarating and tiring. But once I got to the top, the view was great and it was a fascinating piece of history. Interesting enough that I decided to go over to the second ridge which were the remains of one of the fort barricades. Again, not too bad, but a bit longer than I expected.

Once I got there, I realized that what I had mistakenly thought was Arthur's Seat, was actually the Parliament (no one had every really pointed it out or described it, just kind of gestured in that direction), and the big ass hill behind me was actually Arthur's Seat.

Well, I'm on Holiday.
And I'm in Scotland.
And I'm a guy.

So naturally I decided to climb it......crack smoker!

It wasn't bad enough that I decided to venture that way, but after walked the mile along the precious ridge to the base, I also decided that it would be "fun" (FUN?!?!?!?) to climb the face rather than walking the "path" (more on that lie in a moment). So here in Scotland for one day, recovering from ankle surgery, and about as in shape as Marlon Brando after Oktoberfest, I began to scale the peak.

Who made this thing?!?!? It's deceptively taller than it seems when you first get under way. My God! And those aren't footholds. They're pockmarks. Wet, slippery, muddy pockmarks that don't provide you any traction, but rather allow you to slip back two feet while you struggle to regain your balance while keeping the camera clean.

Luckily, right before the coronary kicked in, I made it to the top. Now, I will admit that the view is breathtaking. And on a clear day, you could probably see Glasgow. It was well worth it, and I enjoyed it once I was at the top, but man what a climb!

Then there was the journey back down, where the "path" actually isn't, and you keep slipping into nooks and crannies that are filled with more mud. I thought going down would be easier, but instead it seemed a lot harder. At one point I was tempted to just lie on my side and role down the hill.....but then I remembered that I had the cameras.

Oh well, after this I headed back to the hotel, showered and found a quick bite before resting for the evening. More tomorrow.

The Return of the Man

Day 1

Have arrived in Scotland...so tired...must sleep. Will write later......