‘..with his satchel And shining morning face’

A traditional scene (you can only just see the satchel, though I don't think he'd call it that!) travelling to school, documented by William Shakespeare in his play As You Like It, written in 1599 - and a scene I can identify with myself from nearly 70 years ago! 

Today was a beautiful May Day morning and one to cheer the spirit. (I always think that May and June, especially the blue sky sunny early mornings we often have here - don't talk to me about later on! - are the best months of the year).

It's a holiday for most people in Britain and is celebrated in various ways in different places. In Edinburgh, many see in the dawn (around 5.30 am) from the top of Arthurs Seat (and wash their face in the morning dew!). There’s also the Beltane Fire Festival on Calton Hill - as well as International Workers Day, of course! 

In Scotland, we have not only UK-wide holidays, but also Scottish ones. There are also local holidays specific to particular cities in Scotland. I reckon four of the five Mondays this month are holidays in Edinburgh, and the fifth is probably a local holiday somewhere else!

To complicate matters further, you can never be sure what’s open and what’s closed. Today, while council-run schools are closed here, council offices and libraries are open, as are several other schools!