A Walk through Edinburgh’s New Town

Born and educated in Edinburgh, Eric Melvin graduated with First Class Honours in History and Political Thought from Edinburgh University in 1967. He qualified as a Secondary teacher of History and Modern Studies. He retired from teaching in 2005, working latterly as Headteacher at Currie Community High School located in the west of the City. In addition to teaching History at school, Eric has for many years taken Community Education classes for The City of Edinburgh in both Scottish History and The History of Edinburgh. He also gives regular talks to various groups on aspects of the City’s History. (e.g. Probus and Local History Clubs). Eric is a trained volunteer guide for The Edinburgh Festival Voluntary Guides Association (EFVGA) and regularly takes groups down the Royal Mile and through the New Town. The EFVGA offers free walks for visitors and local residents during the Festival month of August and at other times of the year. Eric is also an Edinburgh High Constable. For 400 years the High Constables have acted as the official bodyguard of Edinburgh’s Lord Provost, providing a ceremonial escort for the Civic Head of the City. Eric has had several books published for younger readers on aspects of Scottish History, including the companion volume ’A Walk Down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.’ Eric works voluntarily in his local Oxfam Bookshop at Morningside in Edinburgh and, having set up a Global Schools’ Partership link while Headteacher at Currie, he has done voluntary teaching in Chogoria Girls’ High School in Kenya. Eric is happily married to Lynda, a retired Nursery School Teacher. They have two sons, John currently lecturing in Heritage Tourism at Hosei University in Tokyo and Graeme, also working in Tokyo as a Business Communications Skills Trainer for American Express. John is married to Shizue Ichikawa from Sakata in Japan. They are the proud parents of Isla, a first grand-child, born in August 2010 and Rui born in April 2013. .