Good weather, bad weather, we had it all in Edinburgh as with all of Scotland. Heavy rain, cold and wind blasting down Princess street, sun shining through rain, sunshine and eating an ice cream in the gardens, a sunny warm ( by Scottish standard ) walk up Arthur’s Seat with a brisk breeze at the top with sunscreen a necessity.

I love variable weather, the constant change and moving light, the flow of sunshine in wet stone beaches and buildings. The saying “ there’s no bad weather, just bad clothing” is so true for Scotland, although there’s an aspect of the weather I grew up with, and how that does change how I feel about the rain and wind and cold. One of my companions, born in WA, was freezing and miserable while I was happily bundled up and relishing the blustery weather.

Talking about walking; I walked up and down Arthur’s Seat, which is not a trivial walk ,with no issue and only slight deterioration in my right leg by the end. That’s better even than in Tasmania, measurable by over 20,000 steps that day with no noticeable limp. One of the symptoms of MS, deteriorating nervous system conduction of signals brain to leg or arm or whatever is impacted, is less severe in cool weather and this is very noticeable with my walking. It’s called Uhthoff’s syndrome

Uhthoff’s phenomenon or Uhthoff’s sign is the temporary worsening of MS symptoms caused by an increase in temperature. It is usually applied to optic neuritis and other visual symptoms but can also refer to fatigue, pain, balance, weakness, bladder issues, cognitive or sensory symptoms. 

The condition is named after Wilhelm Uhthoff, a German neuro-opthamologist, who first described it in 1890…..

Increased body temperature could be caused by hot weather, central heating, an illness or fever, as well as from physical exertion. Studies have shown that a very small rise in temperature is enough to block or slow the conduction of a nerve impulse along a nerve that has suffered demyelination from MS damage. This can make your existing symptoms worse, but once your body temperature returns to normal, the symptoms generally improve.

https://mstrust.org.uk/a-z/uhthoffs-phenomenon

This leads to a tension and conflict, between the climate which works physically for me, and the location of family, home, friends and work. I’ve come to terms with that conflict, and have alternatives in place such as the swimming, holidays in cool locations, and luckily work in air conditioning!

Still, the internal tension remains.

---

I forgot to say, what did we do for our few days in Scotland’s capital?

• Tourist buses around the city, with one really annoying American guide but the rest were great
• Exploring Edinburgh Castle
• A walking tour with a great Scottish lady who gave a fascinating view of little known history including sewage disposal and the loss of the Gaelic language
• A great pizza in a trendy bar in the city centre
• Meeting Australians from the suburb next to one of my companions
• Enjoying the density and vibrancy of Edinburgh
• Laughing at the new Spirit of Tasmania ferry marooned in Leith Dock due to planning mishaps
• Saying farewell to Scotland on one gloriously sunny day

• Uncategorized