Border, boundary or barrier ...

I can't believe that nearly a whole month has passed since we were in Canada. It feels like only yesterday that we were enjoying family times with Gordon, Lianne, Murphy and Rosie.

Recently, I have been travelling across to the east coast of Scotland, catching up with chums who prefer the bracing east coast wind to the wet westerlies! Each to their own.

While walking in Edinburgh ... yep still keeping up the walking, I found inspiration in the most unlikely of places!

I was staying with a friend in her fab new pad and as I walked out towards the Firth of Forth I came across some Viking tenders, taking passengers to and from an ocean liner basking in the sunshine out in the estuary.

As I have been on a few cruises and enjoyed visiting various places of interest in several other countries, I appreciated all the palaver of getting on and off the ship. However I had never considered that other nationalities would come and visit Scotland. Tsk, tsk I thought to myself "How insular"! especially when I was told of all the delights that had been organised for the day. A visit to the castle ... a walk up and round Arthur's seat ...  a shopping trip on Princes Street ... and a viewing of the Royal Yacht Britannia! Although, maybe not all on the same day ...


So, as I walked in the glorious sunshine, I reminded myself of the many blessings that Scotland has to offer. The list is a very long one! Sunshine on Leith was definitely thrilling me and I don't necessarily mean the film.

I took a short cut back to the apartment and came across some building works and a sign that made me smile. A little whimsy on what I was contemplating on my walk. The sign reads "Danger keep out" and the poppies and weeds have done just that. They have kept their distance. I do realise that they can't read!  but perhaps they felt the barrier, the exclusion zone that made them unwelcome.

There are signs everywhere,   if we care to look,  that separate us from others.
A border that dictates who we are as a nation.
A boundary that keeps us at arms length from other people's worlds.
And barriers that we erect all by ourselves in order to prevent "contamination"!


Yep, I was in a very whimsical world that day, considering how best to share what we have and how to break down barriers, both the hidden agendas and the obvious "separatisms" that are all around us
... and just when I thought I couldn't get more inspired by the day's offering I passed some flats where one resident had decided to make a difference to their patio ... and what a difference it was!

Did they get fed up with people looking in?  Or maybe they just like rocks! As you can see, an open frontage is on the left and a barricaded one is on the right. I can see that the area is very exposed to passing pedestrians however it seems to me that there is a particular message that shouts "Keep well away. Intruders not welcome". A barrier of sorts, albeit attractively designed.

I am still pondering what I hold as a border, as in what is mine and what is yours. Or what boundaries I have that I expect you to respect! What barriers I have erected to keep myself separate from my neighbour and most importantly what barricades I hide behind to prevent anyone from seeing the real me...

Such is the power of whimsy that it may last into next month while I try to figure it out ...