Bill Hill's blog

Met Ron and Sherry Colburn from Dallas, Texas yesterday for a full day tour. The wind was strong, westerly and cold ( the TV aerial was blown off my roof overnight). The day was interspersed with showers of horizontal rain but we soldiered on in the spirit of Culodden meets the Alamo. Ducking in for coffee, lunch, the odd comfort stop and sheltering in the Royal Mile's 100 closes, wynds, courts and entries, I nevertheless had a great time with 2 interesting, mature and hardy people. Exhaustion finally brought us to a stop.

Spent yesterday with a group of students from Germany, Holland, Belguim, England and Finland on a coach tour of Stirling and the Trossachs. Scotland threw its worst November weather at us. Nevertheless the students were polite, well mannered and attentive and we had some good laughs along the way. I think they enjoyed their first introduction to the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and, despite the grey, murky, dreich weather they loved the beauty of the area. Safe home kids and haste ye back!

When Lyn, Erwin's wife, asked me to give her husband a half day tour, I was struck first of all by the incongruity of his name. Erwin and Montgomery, the first and last names of the opposing generals at the Battle of El Alamein in World War II.

I had a message yesterday from an American lady who is coming to Edinburgh next weekend with her husband. He is a professor of Neurology with an interest in David Hume and she wants me to take him for a tour with as many Hume references as possible. David Hume was the shining star in a galaxy of 18th century Scottish philosophers such as Adam Smith, father of Economics and Adam Ferguson, father of Sociology.

Dear Bill,
Thank you for your message. And lots of thanks for being with us and telling so many exciting stories. For all of us it was an unforgettable holiday in Edinburgh. Best regards from Natalia (haven't contacted the children yet).

We arrived yesterday early in the morning and felt sleepy all Sunday. And it is only today when I checked my mail. It's very nice of you to remember us. Great news about your trip to Riga, it's a wonderful city and the climate is very similar to ours.So, I hope you won't get cold. Well, as for Robert Burns, I haven't read it yet : -)

I spent a lovely 4 hours yesterday in the company of 2 female teachers from Moscow and their 3 teenage kids. Irina and Natalia were extremely enthusiastic about Edinburgh, particularly Irina who had been here before. Scots have played a significant role in Russian history, from the architecture in St Petersburg through founding the Russian Navy and one, James Wylie was personal physician to Cszar Peter the Great, While Edinburgth's own, Elsie Inglis set up the Scottish Womens Hospital in Russia during the Great War of 1914/18..

I have just heard that some ticketing websites are advertising tickets for the Military Tattoo and they are offering them at twice the face value. I lost count this Summer of the number of people who asked if I knew where they could get tickets because the event was sold out. The answer is book early, but not this early. The official date for the opening of the box office is December 1 and no tickets are available yet. So these sites are selling tickets that don't exist. Think about that before parting with your money.

What a wonderful month of mild weather we have had. Not too much wind to blow the colour from the trees, lots of sunshine and mild temperatures. Such a day it was yesterday when I spent a half day in the company of Kati from the Czech Republic and Lini from vermont. Kati manages my friend John MacGregor's Prague office and Lini, who has been staying with me for 3 days in her quest to land a new job. I offered Lini my guest room as she was having difficulty getting accommodation during the english school holidays and Edinburgh was, as we say in Scotland, 'hotchin' with people yesterday.

Apart from many Scottish names, This year its the spectacular Fall, or as we call it Autumn. On Monday I spent a glorious Autumn day in the company of Sandy Craig, his girlfriend Zelie and their 2 boys. Sandy had prepared well for the tour by reading up on Scottish history so it was more of a seminar on the hoof than a tour. He is a doctor from the North of Vermont, so I did some tweaking to bring in a bit of what Scotland has contributed to the field of Medical Science. It was a super day spent in the company of intelligent and enthusiastic people.

Getting ready to participate in the annual Walk the World for Brain Tumour Awareness event..Its when support groups for people who have suffered from this condition and are recovering from surgery, along with their carers, people from all around the world, try to walk the equivalent of 3 times round the world. I am priveleged to have been asked again to lead the Edinburgh group. Its a humbling experience to spend time with these incredibly brave people, and one I wouldnt miss.