"AULD REEKIE."

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 74, 29 March 1938, Page 6

"AULD REEKIE."

A TERM OF AFFECTION

I "Wh\. it is often asked, "is Edinburgh • .'called Anld Reekie ?' '"Reeky" means smoky. Is Edinburgh, then, noticeably smokv iti a .world of smoky cities? Tin 1 reason for this uiclcname probably lies in the peculiar topo'graphy of Edinburgh, which is not really a | smoky city at all. Indeed, \ jrdtor«s frequontlv com ment on its clean, well kept appearance; but it is a hilly city, and round it. as well as in it, are numerous view points where it is • possible to look down on large sections of the Icity. In doing so. one naturally sees roofr-—and ■ i'li imucYc; and out of the chimnevs there ! naturally comes a certain amount of smoke, j I lie smoke. a< in tlie case of other cities, js !on its way to the upper at mo,-jihert\ tlie'e to be dispersed; but in Edinburgh one can sec it "ii its way without craning the neck. I hat is one explanation. Another is that the inhabitants of Fife, across the Firth of il-oith. who can t-ec Edinburgh standing hiL:li on its Jiilis, used to judge the time of da v by t lie amount of smoke ascending from tiie citv. It is said that the r-ud.lei ami cimuit ;i ncous st okieg up ot Edinburgh kit .'hen tires dinner • time approaches is quite noticeable iu Fife, and at one time served the canny iuhibitauts I there as ctlicicnt ly an a complete system of public clocks, ami much more cheaplv. In | any event, the name '"Anld Reekie" is term ■of alTed ion. an<l not one of reproach. | — DOUGLAS 0. RUSSFLL.