My cycling pal John gave me his copy of Pints of View (cover below) which is the magazine of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale). The magazine has news on new real ales and on pubs in the area which sell real ale.
My attention was drawn to an article in PoV by Michael Slaughter and Geoff Brandwood entitled “Tiled paintings in Edinburgh pubs. Part 2: The Cafe Royal Oyster Bar”. The Cafe Royal is a very well known pub just off the eastern end of Prices Street in Edinburgh. The main bar itself is highly decorated and you can walk around the bar, with its beautiful wood, before choosing what to drink and perhaps eat. On the walls are large tiled depictions. The Oyster Bar is the restaurant next to the main bar. The photo below shows the lavishly decorated room – the exquisite ceiling tiles, the eye-catching tiled pictures on the walls, the impressively marbled bar and the inviting tables with traditional chairs and sparkling white table cloths. The article notes that behind the marble topped bar, ” The windows of this room have eight large stained glass depictions of British sportsmen, designed by Ballantine and Gardiner of Edinburgh” and the sports include fishing and rugby. When you are in the Oyster Bar, these windows are a magnificent backdrop to those dining at the tables.
(Photo by Michael Slaughter LRPS)
One of the most striking of the tiled panels is one showing two of the leading lights in the earliest photography in Europe. This panel (see below) shows Nicephore Niepce and Louis Daguerre . There is no agreed inventor of photography but Niepce was certainly the earliest to experiment into what was to be become photography. Daguerre’s work took the process further and the two men became partners in 1829, after which they made further experiments and were able to produce more sophisticated images.
(Photo by Michael Slaugher LRPS)
The 3rd photo (below) sent to me by co-author Michael Slaughter shows a cherub playing the Pan Pipes and while the 4 cherub tiled panels are not examples of high art, they are nevertheless quite singular and joyful additions to the varied panels around the Oyster Bar. The Cafe Royal main bar is always busy and it is often difficult to get a seat. You need to book a table in the Oyster Bar but it is a rewarding experience – especially if you like oysters.
(Photo by Michael Slaughter LRPS)
On our visit to Tauranga in the north island of New Zealand, we stayed at my sister and brother-in-law’s house. It has a large garden and next to the well-filled woodshed, there is a beehive. The bees are looked after by another Scottish emigrant to New Zealand – Heath, who was a renowned ships’ captain before retirement. This beekeeper hails from the bonnie wee village of Echt (good photos) in the north of Scotland. The first photo shows Heath taking out one of the internal boards in the hive and inspecting it. As you can see, he is very well protected and your photographer was keeping his distance from distracted bees who had been disturbed from their hive activities. This is the equivalent of a giant lifting up a whole village or town and shaking people out of their houses, so it’s unlikely that the bees welcomed this intrusion. You can see the structure of a hive here.
In the second photo below, you can see how the bees have filled holes in the mesh structure and formed combs. The beekeeper will inspect the combs from time to time to ensure that the bees still have room to expand their food store. It looks a very complicated life that these bees lead but hives are highly structured in terms of hierarchy and what work is done by the different bees. In terms of logistics, bees can teach much about organisation of production and management of the workforce.
I took a video of Heath checking various boards in the hive and you can hear his commentary on the healthy state of this hive. For those not accustomed to Scottish accents, you will hear phrases such as “drones – useless brutes o’ things”, and “they’ll run out of space and say that ‘we’re oota (out of ) here”. So, it’s probably worth viewing twice. It was a fascinating visit from this expert on bees and a real learning experience for me, who had never seen the inside of beehive before. Click on full screen to get the best effect from the video.
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