Military Tattoos & "Fried Chicken" Tofu - Who Knew?
- Christina Kerkhof
- Feb 16
- 4 min read
If you ever have the chance to visit Edinburgh in August - go.
And if you even remotely think you might enjoy '"fried chicken" tofu - try the recipe. But I'll get back to that.
I have visited Edinburgh a couple of times - it’s in my top 10 favorite cities. In August Edinburgh hosts both the (theatre) Festival Fringe and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. What good fortune to have been to Edinburgh in August a few times!
I’d known of the Festival Fringe - getting your show accepted into the Festival Fringe was a BIG deal. Auto-respect for all involved.
But until I went to the Tattoo for the first time- I had no idea what a big deal this was as well. Military bands, drum corps, singers, and dancers from around the world performed. And of course, there are the highland dancers and the bagpipers.
Cruise ships based in northern Europe will often try to have an August itinerary that includes Edinburgh so guests can go to the Tattoo. In 2006, I was able to tour escort on the Saga Rose - and I fell in love with the show. It didn’t hurt that Sir Sean Connery was presented with something a few feet away.
In 2018, I went again, this time as a special night out with Dirk. Koningsdam had an overnight call, and we were able to do special VIP section tickets. It’s funny the things you remember - there was a dress code for the VIP section and, while Dirk has suit uniforms onboard, he doesn’t have a suit-suit. I think we borrowed something from Guest Services. I use my souvenir Edinburgh tattoo mug for my tea almost every morning.
It wasn’t until a few months ago that I learned of the Birmingham International Tattoo. I got on a mailing list of some sorts and discovered there was one about 75 minutes from where we are in England. So last weekend we did a little mini-break to Birmingham and took it in. While the Birmingham tattoo was a bit more local in flavor, it was still a good show. And, fortunately for this time of year, indoors. I especially liked the Band of the French Foreign Legion; Dirk The Central Band of the Hungarian Defence Forces. We cheered on the navy gun crew when it came to the Field Gun Competition between the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force. And who knew about Flyball - a dog team relay race? We cheered on the dogs, too.
It wasn’t until last week that I learned there are many tattoos around the world. Edinburgh’s is still the largest in terms of performers and budget; And you can’t beat the magical setting inside the castle ground.
And (per Wikipedia), “ The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe (Dutch for "turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeepers near military garrisons to stop serving beer and for soldiers to return to their barracks. “
Ah, those Dutch!
Wellness Round Up
Nutrition
As usual, it’s been fun trying recipes:
Our two favorites were a Coconut Green Soup with Celery, Kale & Ginger and Tofu “fried chicken.”
We rarely fry, but these tofu fried chicken tenders were amazing. We can’t wait to try The Burger Dude's Tofu “Philly Cheese Steak.”
As I wrote in my last post, dining out has proven challenging for calorie and nutrition load. For our mini-break, we did pretty good - sharing an entree instead of each ordering one. The fish and chips easily was enough for the both of us. (And yes, fried...)
And we did have a beautiful 6-course dinner for Valentine’s day - a special treat. While the number on the scale jumped up the next morning, within a day back into our routine, the number was heading in the downward direction.
Movement Still solid on the gym going 3x/week for strength training. And I’ve actually made it to some gym classes - Step Aerobics (hello 1990s flashbacks) and Mind (yoga/Pilates). Still going to ballet and musical theatre classes as schedule permits. Still very cold weather which is not conducive to long walks, so some short cardio videos at home.
Stress Overall, OK.
Sleep & Hydration Overall, good.
The best part? It is all adding up to a leaner body composition. I had the pleasure of taking out the sewing machine to take in 2 pair of pants. For the first time in years, I have been able to get into some favorite dresses. And for Valentine’s day dinner, I was able to comfortably wear one of them, which happens to be one of Dirk’s favorites of my dresses. Awwww, MY Dutch. :-)
That’s it for now. Time to get ready for joining the ship in Buenos Aires.
Bon Voyage & Bon Appétit!
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