Saturday started off in the usual way and then turned into a day of surprise and absolute delight!
I took the older grandchildren to meet up with my son and his girlfriend who were taking the two youngsters for a birthday rock climbing session on the other side of Edinburgh. I drove home via Prestonpans and Port Seton. The 3 Harbours Festival was still in full swing. On my way through Prestonpans I saw a mural which has been painted on the end wall of a row of cottages which sit looking across the sea to the Kingdom of Fife. It was a well executed mural so I stopped and walked back to photograph it.
Work from the local potteries can be seen on this website http://www.prestoungrange.org/pottery/html/galleries.html
Some of the pieces have inspired a few of the images portrayed in the mural.
So, as you can see, Saturday was far from being an ordinary day. It was a voyage of discovery and visual delight!
Finally, this bumper sticker is for my son in Australia who checks in daily to therunningwave! Good morning J xx
I took the older grandchildren to meet up with my son and his girlfriend who were taking the two youngsters for a birthday rock climbing session on the other side of Edinburgh. I drove home via Prestonpans and Port Seton. The 3 Harbours Festival was still in full swing. On my way through Prestonpans I saw a mural which has been painted on the end wall of a row of cottages which sit looking across the sea to the Kingdom of Fife. It was a well executed mural so I stopped and walked back to photograph it.
John Muir was an East Lothian born man who emigrated with his family to America when he was 11 and as an adult achieved amazing things. He was an inspiring man and well worth reading about here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir .
Behind me, down on the beach, there was another mural which looked interesting so I gingerly clambered down some ancient steps and a rocky bit on to the sand to go and have a look. This mural shows aspects of the local colliery in days gone by.
The mural continued around the corner, along the wall facing the sea. It is a little faded and weathered by all that the sea can throw at it, but perfectly visible and quite beautiful. The murals were created by an Edinburgh artist called Andrew Crummy (http://www.smallandcrummy.co.uk). He has most recently worked on the much acclaimed Prestonpans Tapestry. His website is worth exploring, he's a very talented chap! The seawall mural, which you can see in more detail here http://www.prestoungrange.org/arts-festival/html/murals/muralstrail.html depicts the town's industrial history and various aspects of local coal mining showing steam trains, horses and trams, mining pulleys, and images of men, women and even children hauling and carrying the coal.
Some of the pieces have inspired a few of the images portrayed in the mural.
Prestonpans has the most incredible history. The Wikipedia entry for the town gives a lot of information about this small coastal community (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prestonpans) which dates back to the 11th century. During that time it has involved itself in salt panning, witchcraft, brewing, coal mining started by early 13th century monks, pottery and brickworks, soap works, fishing, harvesting oysters, and of course the Jacobite versus the Hanovarians Battle of Prestonpans in 1745. These days it is bang up to date and became a Fairtrade Town 2011.
Moving on along the coast the 3 Harbours Festival was in full swing throughout Cockenzie and Port Seton. The harbour in Port Seton was buzzing with activity. Fishing boats were decked out with bunting and flags, jet skis were flying around on the other side of the seawall and visitors and seagulls were enjoying the bright sunshine and blue skies. Magical!
Finally, this bumper sticker is for my son in Australia who checks in daily to therunningwave! Good morning J xx
Comments
Post a Comment