For historical reasons this black bitch is a symbol of Linlithgow in West Lothian. So much so that citizens born there, no matter their colour or sex, are proud to be called a black bitch.  However, there was a stushie when this statue was commissioned and erected as people thought the description was offensive.

But the dog was female and black and the epithet is therefore descriptive.

The information board tells the story:-

As it was our anniversary on Monday we decided to visit Jupiter Artland, a Sculpture Park and Art venue near Wilkieston in West Lothian.

At present it is hosting an exhibition of paintings/drawings by Tracey Emin under the collective title “I Lay Here For You.” These smaller works were split between the Ballroom and an exhibition space in the Park’s Steadings. I must say I’m not taken with Emin’s painting/drawing skills. The best bit about the Ballroom was the building’s ceiling.

The garden outside the Ballroom was pleasantly planted:-

There’s what looks like a paddling pool in the grounds. It’s not really. There are signs asking you to stay on the black area for a start. The estate’s “Big House” is in the background here:-

We also partook of lunch in the café. The menu was abit pretentious but the food was good.

On the way in you drive past some Charles Jencks landforms called Cells of Life. Below is a stitch from four photos:-

Closer view of Charles Jencks landforms at Jupiter Artland with a red bridge in middle distance:-

In our later stroll through the grounds we came closer to that bridge. It’s named Only Connect and is by Ian Hamilton Findlay:-

The Quarry by Phyllida Barlow. The colours on the columns are a bit faded but reminded me of totem poles:-

The Rose Walk is by Pablo Bronstein:-

One of the installations is Weeping Girls, created by Laura Ford. I didn’t photgraph that one as I found the figures rather creepy.

Signpost to Jupiter. I note the distance is given in USian. (Since a meter is a measuring device not a length the better spelling is kilometres):-

There is a Tracey Emin sculpture titled I Lay Here for You in the grounds.

To give some idea of the location here is a phptgraph of three bridges across the River Forth as seen from Jupiter Artland. The Forth Bridge (right,) The Forth Road Bridge (centre,) The Queensferry Crossing (left.)

Kirkliston is a small town in West Lothian. I chanced upon it and its War Memorial, which is situated near the crossroads in the town, when I made a wrong turning exiting Dalmeny one day.

The memorial consists of a stone obelisk surmounted by a stone ball on a square pillar and bases with the square panels containing the dedication and lists of names:-

Dedication, “Erected by public subscription by the inhabitants of Kirkliston, Newbridge and Westerton districts to the memory of officers and men who fell in the Great War, 1914-1919”:-

Privates’ names for the Great War:-

Names of officers and non-commissioned officers from the Great War:-=

Names of officers and men from World War 2:-

Two more photos taken in Bathgate, West Lothian.

The first is of the Bennie Museum – museum of Bathgate’s history and life hoiused in a traditinal cottage:-

The second is a blue plaque to James ‘Paraffin’ Young, creator of West Lothian’s oil shale industry. (I’ve always found the rust-brown bings left behind by the shale mining in that county to be a strangely attractive feature of the landscape):-

Not content with the Regal Cinema, Bathgate in West Lothian has another striking Art Deco building. It has excellent detailing, picked out in paint.

Corner roofline detail:-

Upper story and roofline:-