it was not too long ago (videos are dated, look you see) that i found myself in Scotland. one can say several things about that, but the one which comes predominantly to mind is that at least it was not France. but, let's not drag the tone down.
whereas (or whilst) i was there at the request, invitation or behest of verk, i found that i had some unexpected and certainly not planned free time. also, i was rather close to the Edinburgh Zoo. since it was so that the last reflections of summer were a thing, off i went. eventually, after declining once in the face of what struck me as a draconian and unnecessarily heavy handed smoking ban. but, Scotland will do Scotland.
the main point of appeal, as in the compelling reason, to go ahead and visit turned out the promise of seeing a koala bear. possibly more, but one would have been sufficient. so it was to be, as you can see in a reasonably clear way in the picture above, taken off of (or with) my new phone what has a camera welded to it. who is it, i wonder, that decided to start welding cameras to phones, and did they see how much use they would get.
sometimes things get clouded. i am pretty sure this was me having a wish to see a koala bear once more, as in "again", but i am not certain. there is every chance that i had seen one before, what with me spending some time in Australia. no matter, for i have seen one now.
yes, we've got a video, and it is there above. oh absolutely i used (apologies to regular readers) the fancy new VHS camcorder app what i bought. which may not have been the best idea if i had any wish to retain such for posterity, but here we are.
oddly, and quite unexpectedly, i find myself at odds with my (known) youngest offspring in respect of the view on koalas. i believe them to be quite class, William not so. his view is that they are stupid, they have had to evolve with (his words) "folded brains" because they think it's so awesome to keep falling out of eucalyptus trees after getting completely trashed (stoned) eating their poisonous leafs (leaves). i pointed out that this aspect is one of the most predominant reasons they are quite class. truly, a koala bear lives a life most adults would gladly trade.
by means of a general sort of quasi review of Edinburgh Zoo (as i go) they do have a good many rather interesting signs up, giving all sorts of information. well, yes, predictably (and sadly) they do have a few signs saying "but what about Scottish wildlife", as if one should feel bad about being where they are and not roaming the Highlands or Glasgow. moving back to point, i have indeed most certainly been to Blue Mountains. as point of fact Katoomba, and saw the Three Sisters.
going on with the sort of (kind of) review thing, brace yourself, for the walk around the zoo is steep. and i do mean very, very, very steep. if there wasn't a ridiculous smoking ban anyway i probably would not have smoked. do you remember the Rocky IV documentary, when that massive Swede pretending to be a massive Russian was on that treadmill and they made it go vertical and made him keep running on it? like that, but without the running (unless you are insane) or the general presence of Soviets.
more watching the (Australian) wildlife for you, then. kind of. in the centrally central part of the above image you (or one) can see a wallaby. trust me, there are kangaroos present, but they are up to the back, just chilling in that sort of hut house thing. quite surprised to see an area that has no fences being provided to walkabout (kind of) near them, for my understanding is that a kangaroo has a most ferocious kick. well, you would think so with them feet, man.
rather an endearing myth, or urban legend, would be around how a kangaroo came to be known as such. i believe in a telling intended to mock the (us) English (we can take it, we are big and strong enough, only our jokes about ourselves are totes better), the story goes that them what first landed in Australia approached the indigenous people, assumed (despite centuries of going to other countries and knowing other languages were a thing) they spoke english, asked them what "that creature" was called and got the response "kangaroo". which supposedly in aboriginal languages means "i don't understand". really doubt it is true, or the case, but still, nice story.
giraffes! a particular highlight, this, and amazed that not so many people were there. perhaps because they are located right up at the top of the zoo, which is near impossible to get to for mere mortals due to all that steep walk thing. but, with two (2) places to view them from, at least, well worth it.
far be it from (or for, not sure which is right) me to not tell one of the single greatest jokes what i know of. why is a giraffe's neck so long? it's because it's head is so far away from its shoulders. oh. well, i find it funny. believe i lifted it off of a Carry On film somewhere.
last bit of video for this post here, then. again, no, sorry, nothing in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode this time. but i am not bored with the format. anyway, it was really, really lovely to have he giraffes sort of saunter, or stroll, up to me, clock that i probably had no food and lose interest. quite glad to have experienced it in solitude, at least in the sense of no other humans around. to be honest i was feeling rather down on going, engaging with the wildlife was heart-lifting.
certainly i did see a good deal more animals than i have included pictures of. and yes i probably do have loads more images. but, the world being what it is, i accept that patience and interest levels drift off. so here are some penguins.
i absolutely could have stood and watched the penguins all afternoon, really. given the chance, i suppose, all day. they are fantastic and tremendous fun. whenever they have been presented as being fun in animated films, be it Madagascar or that one where Robin Williams voiced the Emperor one what wanted pebbles (can't remember name, sorry), well, i would guess the creativity was easily stimulated by just observing.
yes, i did go and see the Giant Pandas, who(m) i believe return to China in December (2023). alas they were asleep with their backs to me, and the glare off of the glass prevented decent images being taken. think i more or less saw all. regret not being able to take pics (or video) of the meerkats, but quite understandably they were absolutely crowded by people.
right up at the (very) top of Edinburgh Zoo, where i went only because there was where one would find the only smoking area (dangerously close to a construction site, but hey, us smokers are quite used to getting proper f****d over), where was i oh yes, they have some massive dinosaurs. some of them are that animatronic (or how you spell it) sort, but not the t-rex. yes, they have a t-rex. quite a lovely view to go with a nice, quiet cigarette.
easily the most annoying aspect of a visit to Edinburgh Zoo (above smoking and steep) is the farcical system they have to pay to get in. they charge you an amount which includes an extra donation, and then ask if it is ok to leave the donation in. exactly what sort of sh!tbag would say no in that circumstance? but it's strange that a donation is assumed rather than requested. probably all due to some sort of tax law, no doubt introduced by that aspirational parish council they have up there. but no, i was not going to take around £2.50 of eucalyptus out of the mouth of a koala.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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