(that's pronounced EDIN-BURRA. and do practice rolling your R's if you want to fit in around here).
we took the train from LEUCHERS (the CH sounds like you are clearing your throat of a big lugy) which was simple and fast. plus CLEAN. (imagine public transit that is CLEAN?) also true of the DELIGHTFUL DOUBLE-DECKER buses we rode around town when we weren't walking our tootsies off.
we arrived via the Forth Bridge which is a cantilevered railroad bridge from which we could view the Forth Road Bridge, for automobiles, further down the glorious Firth of Forth upon which Edinburgh majestically sits. it is a CITY OF SPIRES. churches, of course, but all manner and means of amazing pointy skyward projectiles. it is built on the remains of a VOLCANO from around 300 million years ago and has been in continuous occupation by scottish culture for several thousand years.
Forth Road Bridge seen from a train crossing the Forth Bridge on the Firth of Forth
the skyline is packed with chimneys that have these clay tubes sticking up. birds love to sit on them.
casual corner kilt
impressive edifice that's no big deal - they are EVERYWHERE 
more and many chimneys
piper notices ladies - ladies ignore piper
glorious horizon view
i have a lot of other lovely things to write about but must include a brief appliance review.
don't buy BEKO washers or dryers. they might hijack your life.
i remember old car advertisements about "european styling" which was thought to be superior. i beg to differ, at least in this instance.
the machine says, on a bright sticker, FILL ME UP!, which i did but it was late and i hoped to do a quickie wash then go to bed. but there is no short cycle. if there is, it is poorly marked.
i was challenged in denmark by a foreign language washer, an industrial machine that had special "programs" represented by numbers rather than words.
but the machine that messed with us last night, the one that held us HOSTAGE in Scotland, speaks ENGLISH. no excuse.
the regular cycle is INTERMINABLE. i am saying Beyond Long. are Scottish clothes especially dirty? my load took forever but finally ended. Andrew's load was positively INFINITE. every time it made that promising fast whirring which would normally indicate termination, the machine would sit quietly for a spell then begin to fill and swoosh again. i left the kitchen and returned 25 minutes later, Andrew was sitting cross-legged staring at the tumbler saying: i'm going to kick it.
meanwhile, the DRYER was a piece of work.
it had a CONDENSATION CHAMBER - a long plastic rectangle that COLLECTED WATER and had to be EMPTIED at regular intervals - like a dehumidifier. plus, the lint chamber required constant management. the clothing limped toward a state, not of dryness, per se, but of increasingly less wetness. a BRAND NEW DRYER (just like it's washing machine mate). perhaps they needed breaking in?
i'm not an expert but no matter - don't invest in BEKO...
the culprit ("condenser drying"? is this like "slow food"?)
Its all about PHILOSOPHY dear Lori. Is laundry a DAY spent in the Stations of the Wash, ending in IRONING, the smoothing of wrinkles, the final rebirth, returning our spirit pure and unsullied back to the world.
ReplyDeleteOr is laundry minimal: something to do mindlessly, thoughtlessly, dare I say UNCONSCIOUSLY?
Fun post Lori.
DEEP, dear sarah, VERY VERY DEEP. the Existential Housekeeping Metaphor!
Deleteas for the washing saga, need i remind you of the european combo washer/dryer i owned at the lodge for a decade -- which took about 5 hours for a full wash/dry cycle. it ruled my life, if i wanted anything cleaned and dried. i do -- so -- feel your anguish.
ReplyDeleteit's miserably hot and soggy here, and i share with you one key word: mumu! keep enjoying the kilted lads, as will i enjoy your forward forth or not-forth entries.
i always WONDERED about that machine, why you never let me run it, why you were always nursing it but i thought you had a special "relationship", sort of monogamous or something, that wouldn't permit outsiders... now i UNDERSTAND!
DeleteOkay. I laughed out loud. I laughed so hard spittle flew from my mouth. I read it aloud and Sam laughed too. We promise we will not buy a Beko.
ReplyDeleteha! wonderful! SPITTLE FLEW - a high compliment in the land of humor.
ReplyDeleteand you read the condensed for publication version. there was a LOT more foul language in the unexpurgated text with Andrew threatening to do many unthinkable things to the machine. all this, of course, as we were planning to get an "early start" and "a jump on the day" - travelers fantasies...
can you believe the dryer had to be EMPTIED OF WATER?
that was the coup de gras.
It's not that the washing of the clothes takes longer, but that there is a whole lot of rinsing and spinning that goes on so as to minimise dryer time (mostly because electricity is so expensive). I have never had the pleasure of using a condenser dryer, but I know someone who has one (their building wouldn't allow any other type). Apparently they are popular in cold climates and are great for apartments because they do not vent to the outside (meaning they can be installed anywhere). And they supposedly draw less electricity which is somehow still true despite the length of time it takes to actually dry a load of laundry. Crazy but true. Glad you lived to tell the tail, though. :)
ReplyDeleteah, Caprice, thank god you have some information that creates real rationale for these appliance choices!
ReplyDeleteyes, no venting required - in fact, the entire room filled up with STEAM!
i do know there is often a SUPER-SPIN option on the washers and in denmark, years ago, you could take your wet wash and put it into a Hyper-Spinner BEFORE it went into the dryer which would save drying time.
it's a fascinating set of comparisons. i KNOW that europe is WAY ahead of us in certain ways in terms of energy and resource conservation - they have been aware for a LONG time that LIMITS exist and sustainability is the name of the game for cultures that prize longevity.
and... what exactly do WE prize?
(oh, right - you're a CANADIAN. you are not a U.S.A. "we". Canada is somewhere between europe and USA in conservation, yes? or more euro?)