Village in the City

I live in a city of over 500,000- Edinburgh, Scotland UK. But the older people call the area we live "The Village".

100 years ago this was a real village, half a days walk from the capital of Scotland - Edinburgh. Most of what you see would have looked exactly the same (except the street furniture), but beyond this street would have been green fields. Behind the red van (pan left) is the relatively newly built public water supply. The Episcopal Church also holds a prominent position at the center of the community, beside the gates to the landowners house, now the entrance to modern housing and a public park.

As the 20th century progressed the community expanded to become a commuter area for Edinburgh, merging into neighbouring areas, forming the greater city. With urbanisation came the blue Police Box. Policemen on their "beats" could use the box to contact the station by phone (in the early days members of the public could call as well). In addition the light on top of the box alerted any officer passing to contact the station. The boxes fell into disuse in the 1960s with the advent of personal radios, and the police now use patrol cars. Once there were 100s of these boxes in Edinburgh, very few remain.

In the corner a Yellow Grit Box provided by the City authorities so the public can make the roads safer in icy weather. Supply your own shovel!

Above your head flags fly in preperation for the "Childrens Gala Day" later in the week. A King and Queen are selected from local school children and there is a procession to a fair in a local park.

There has been a post collection point here also for many years, although the style of box is new. The postman talked as I photographed, bemoaning that no-one writes letters to each other anymore, maybe the red postbox will become another part of history?

But the idea of community is strong, I am one of the younger generation, I call this place "The Village"

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Europe / UK-Scotland

Lat: 55° 57' 55.37" N
Long: 4° 17' 28.63" W

Elevation: 55m

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: High. Pinpoints the exact spot.

Nikon 8400 with FC-09 Fisheye and homemade nodal mount