Landing in London: Touring Scotland with Ciara Ballintyne

In 2016 I’m returning to Scotland, but I’m in planning phase right now, and I love it. So come along with me as we tour Scotland before I actually even leave the country!

Day One

We’ve arrived!

Kind of.

It’s a long way to anywhere from Sydney, Australia, and Scotland isn’t one of those places you can get a direct flight. In fact, you’d end up on three separate flights – two international and one domestic – if you try to fly there from Sydney.

Ever switched from an international flight to a domestic flight? If not, I don’t recommend trying it. There’s not usually much time between flights (especially if your last international leg runs late as ours from Venice to London did in 2008) and you’ll have to clear customs, collect your baggage and – wait for it – check back in to the domestic terminal. When we did it there were in excess of 100 numerical gates, each with sub-gates A through E, and we ran from one end of the terminal to the other. We had just enough time to stop at an ATM for some local currency, grab a muffin at the gate for a very late lunch, and for my husband to declare the British Starbucks coffee ‘undrinkable’ (bearing in mind that the Australian version is barely drinkable by Aussie standards).

Let’s not do that again…

So if we’re not flying to Scotland from London, our options are drive or train. You can get a train from London direct to Edinburgh, but there’s some places in the Scottish Borders I’d like to see, and we’d miss them if we went straight to Edinburgh. Escaping London by car is reportably nightmarish, and our travelling party consists of four adults and two children aged 6 and 3, which means two cars. So we’ve decided to catch the train to York, stay there overnight, and continue on by car to Scotland.

But not today.

Because can you really be in London and leave without seeing any of it? Plus, who wants to go and immediately board a train after coming off a 24 hour flight?

My husband was initially resistant to the idea of sightseeing in London, but as my enthusiasm grew, he realised there are places in London he’d like to see. Big Ben, he told me. The London Eye. Buckingham Palace, I insist. The Tower of London! Shakespeare’s Globe! Westminster Abbey, the Royal Mews, Madame Tussauds…

The list goes on.

But don’t forget we have just stepped off that 24 hour flight.

On the other hand it’s 7am in the morning, the hotel room isn’t ready, and we have to do something. We touched down in Rome at 7am in 2008 and then did a 5 hour walking tour of the forum in the afternoon! I am prepared! Possibly the kids won’t be though… OK, maybe less walking is better.

Hello hop on hop off bus. The one in Dublin was excellent, and I’m hoping London’s is as good. So here’s the places we’ll be hoping to see in our 2 days in London before embarking to York:

• The Tower of London
• Westminster Abbey
• Shakespeare’s Globe theatre
• The London Bridge Experience
• The Royal Mews (I thought a mews was where you kept falcons for hawking, but apparently it’s a stable…)
• Buckingham Palace (although it will probably still be closed to visitors when we are there)
• Madame Tussauds
• St Paul’s Cathedral
• The London Eye
• Big Ben

Windsor Castle turned out to be too far out of our way for a visit with small kids in tow, so we’ll be giving it a miss.

What we don’t see today we might see tomorrow before check-out – then it’s onwards to York on a train around lunch-time. 

If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to check out my previous posts if you haven't already. If you're finding yourself here often, you might like to join as a member, sign up to the blog through RSS or email, or sign-up to my newsletter. Check out my March Newsletter if you missed it. 

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Monday Morsel: Pray For Nothing Worse - An Excerpt from In the Company of the Dead

Welcome to the Monday Morsel feature, where I share short excerpts from the first draft of my adult epic fantasy/fantasy romance, In the Company of the Dead.

* * *

Something brushed his hand, and he glanced down. A couple of tiny finger bones twitched across the ground. With a yell, he scooped them up and flung them away.

‘Fire,’ Ellaeva said, her voice faint. ‘We’ll need to burn them.'

He saw, then, the hand he’d originally severed inching its way across the stone floor. He closed his eyes, pressing his face against the cool metal of the door, and fought the dizzying nausea flooding him.

‘What was it?’ His voice emerged thick, as though he had a mouth stuffed with food. He swallowed, and felt the bile burn his throat.

‘Animated corpse.’ Her hair had pulled free of its bindings, and she tried to brush strands free from her face. They clung to her face instead, damp with sweat. ‘A trick some Rahmyrrim are fond of, but one only granted to the most powerful of them. Our adversary is very powerful.’

Though this seemed bad news to Lyram, eagerness filled her voice. What isn’t she telling me? 

‘Animated corpse,’ he said, voice dull. The sick feeling redoubled in strength. ‘Of course. Why didn’t I think of that? Can it be killed?’

‘Generally only with fire.’ She gave up on her hair, and passed the sword back to him. ‘Better to leave it locked up.’

He took the blade, grateful she’d managed to save it. The sword had significance for the entire clan. ‘Will there be more of them?’

A frown pinched her brow. ‘Maybe. This one was old – well, the corpse used was old. You saw it, with little flesh left. A practice piece, I would say. I wouldn’t want to see more of them within the walls. I suggest you instruct Leinahre to burn all our dead. ’

He saw the merit in the suggestion, but what would he tell the men? Burning the dead, instead of giving them a proper burial, would hit morale bad.  

        ‘And pray we see nothing worse.’

* * *

Thanks for dropping by! Don't forget, this is a first draft, and as such won't be perfect. If you like what you read, and are so inclined, show your support by leaving a comment, and In the Company of the Dead will be available in the future. I've temporarily had to shelve it while I work on Stalking the Demon, the sequel to Confronting the Demon. If you'd like to sample more of my writing, check out the free short stories available on this site.

If this is your first visit to Monday Morsels, find others in the series by clicking on the ‘Monday morsel’ tag, or go to the first installment.

More about In the Company of the Dead:

Lyram already crossed a prince, and now he finds himself on the brink of crossing a god. 

Son of a duke and second in line for the throne, Lyram is exiled to a lonely castle after assaulting the crown prince. When a hostile army arrives to besiege the castle, he believes the prince wants him removed – permanently.

As though answering their prayers, Ellaeva, the Battle Priestess of the death goddess, arrives unexpectedly. But she has not come to break the siege. Instead, she is in pursuit of a necromancer of the evil god of decay. When misfortune after misfortune befalls the beleaguered defenders, Lyram realises the necromancer is hidden within the walls, sabotaging the very defence.

Against the backdrop of clashing gods, Lyram must fight to save himself from the political machinations of his prince, and the dread plans of a necromancer. But as the siege lengthens, he realises the greatest threat may come from another quarter — a woman sworn body and soul to a god tempts him to pay a terrible price.

If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to check out my previous posts if you haven't already. If you're finding yourself here often, you might like to join as a member, sign up to the blog through RSS or email, or sign-up to my newsletter. Check out my March Newsletter if you missed it.

Don't forget to share the love and spread the word on Twitter, Facebook or StumbleUpon (or other social networking site of your choice) if you know other people who might also enjoy this.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting!

New Blogging Schedule - Scotland, History, Mythology and More!

Whew! The A - Z challenge was fun, but boy am I glad it's over - it was getting a little gruelling there towards the end.

In the wake of the Challenge, I'll be returning to my usual bi-weekly posting routine with a few changes. So here's what you can expect going forward: 

• Mondays  - The usual Monday Morsel feature, but as I've just started writing Stalking the Demon, the sequel to my novella, Confronting the Demon, I'll be alternating morsels from In the Company of the Dead and Stalking the Demon.

• Fridays:

• In 2016, I'm returning to Scotland! It's been six years since my last visit, and this next one is so close I can taste it. To share the experience with you, every second Friday I'll be posting about one of our planned destinations on the trip. Come tour Scotland with me!
• Once a month I'll be posting an historical feature on medieval arms and accoutrements;
• I'll be reviving my mythology series, with a twist - instead of looking at mythological creatures, I'll be looking at various aspects of European mythology. This feature will also be appearing once a month; and
• If there's five Fridays in a month you'll get a special feature post, or otherwise from time to time I may make additional posts at a time of my choosing.

I hope there's something in the new feature to interest you, and I hope to see you soon. 

If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to check out my previous posts if you haven't already. If you're finding yourself here often, you might like to join as a member, sign up to the blog through RSS or email, or sign-up to my newsletter. Check out my March Newsletter if you missed it. 

Don't forget to share the love and spread the word on Twitter, Facebook or StumbleUpon (or other social networking site of your choice) if you know other people who might also enjoy this. 

Thanks for stopping by and visiting!