Literary Connections Throughout the City

In the city, it's a treat to come upon the Greyfriars Bobby statue, which was erected in 1981. Wikipedia says: ''Bobby belonged to night watchman John Gray, and they were inseparable for about two years. Gray died of TB in 1858 and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. ... Bobby, who survived Gray by 14 years, spent the rest of his life sitting on his master's grave. A more realistic account has it that he spent a great deal of time at the grave, but left regularly for meals at a restaurant beside the graveyard, and may have spent colder winters in nearby houses.'' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby)

''THE BIRTHPLACE OF HARRY POTTER''

Several of us also stopped in at The Elephant House, which urges its patrons to ''experience the same atmosphere that J.K. Rowling did as she mulled over a coffee writing her first Harry Potter novel.'' I can't wait to see what future best-selling tomes my colleagues are penning, as you can see in this photo!
(http://www.elephant-house.co.uk/elephant.htm)

WRITERS' MUSEUM HONORS BURNS, SCOTT, STEVENSON

On Wednesday morning, July 25, our class went to the Writers' Museum (pictured above) on the historic Royal Mile. It has quite comprehensive exhibits on ''three of Scotland's best-known writers'': Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. There is also space for temporary exhibits and I was thrilled to see that the current one is on mystery writer and Edinburgh native Ian Rankin. It is called ''Rankin & Rebus: Partners in Crime. Celebrating 20 Years of Inspector Rebus.'' (I have seen lots of the shows on PBS and now I realize there is only one problem: I have a whole new series of books that I'll just HAVE to read!)