Another Christmas party today, combined with a house warming do. Our friends Alison and David have recently moved to Dunfermline, and had a general open house party.
So far, so good. We drank the mulled wine, admired the large greenhouse, views of the golf course behind, and tried to stop their (currently) youngest from eating the entire contents of the coffee table. (Actually, if he ate the lot, that would be worrying, given the toys stored in the boxes that are part of the table. Anyway, you get the picture.)
In good pedestrian mode, we got there by public transport, and trecked up through town from the train station. Dunfermline needs to market its ownership of a Primark to inhabitants of Edinburgh.
Why go to Glasgow, and pay lots more on the train, when you can go to Dunfermline? And, indeed, continue your shopping in Peacocks next door? (Peacocks is particularly favoured by 9 year old girls who have an eye for current fashion trends, but I’m pretty sure it would say its appeal is wider than that.)
Heading back, all going fine, until we hear that points failure a couple of stops up the line mean that trains are all quite delayed. The nice station guard arranges taxis, and by the time we are at the head of the queue, they are running them all the way through to Edinburgh.
However, this move, while generous, means that all but two of Dunfermline’s taxi fleet has been pressed into service to get people back over to Edinburgh. On a Saturday night in December (a rather chilly one by that time), this would probably not be popular among other evening party goers.
On our way over to Edinburgh, the lady on the taxi radio service was heard to enquire who was ‘back over the water yet?’ Clearly we will have to learn the lingo for further visits. But it was quite a reminder that it is quite a journey between the two toons, and that we have two mighty bridges that allow us to take these things for granted.
On the train over the rail bridge, it is rather ominous looking at the girders, some showing paint, and some clearly showing rust that bit more. Hopefully they’ll hold out a bit longer, even for the sake of keeping up auld aquaintances.
By the way, if you were interested in how much the taxi was at the point we jumped out at the West End – about £28 – from Dunfermline to Edinburgh. Would expect that all the way to Waverley would have added another £4.