I've been very disappointed with myself this year regarding the Edinburgh Fringe. Last year I managed to cram in about a week over the whole of the time it was on. I was working shifts, four days off and four days on, this gave me two or three days a week to pop through and enjoy the art and culture and cross-dressing that are the main stay of all Edinburgh Fringes since time immemorial.
This year has been a different story. I have an office job. An office job that means I am behind a desk from 8 in the morning (one hour off for lunch) until 5 in the late afternoon, or early evening, whatever way you want to look at it.
Why not go in the evening? Because I'm usually too mentally drained by the events of the day to motivate myself into travelling into the city centre, trying to find somewhere to park that won’t involve me getting a second mortgage or selling a organ to raise the money to pay for a ticket.
So my plan was simple, I would attempt to go every weekend from the start to the finish. This plan, however, did not take into account life getting in the way… or extreme weather conditions. However, I have managed a rather enjoyable couple of days, the first being the 9th of August.
My first port of call after leaving the confines of Edinburgh Waverly Railway Station was that mixing pot of madness and variety that is The Royal Mile. For anyone who has never been to the Royal Mile it is time machine of a cobbled street that extends from Edinburgh Castle (that’s the big thing on top of the hill) to the Palace of Holyrood House at the bottom of the slopping hill (occasionally use by British Royalty as a retreat from the hurly-burly of London). The Royal Mile is a mixture of old and new, some buildings from the (around about the) 15th Century, some buildings are most certainly 20th century and some from all points and centuries in between. In fact some of the “in between” ones have been converted into shops, museums, drinking establishments and restaurants.
The Royal Mile was crowded to the point where cat swinging was totally out of the question. Wall to wall humanity interspersed with street performers of the juggling, dancing, guitar playing and human statue variety. All the time family and friends of performers of the top billing acts and not so top billing, roam The Royal Mile offering you flyers extolling the virtues of so and so doing a one man 58 minute (no intermission) version of D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, in modern dress, and on ice. Actually that wasn't there, but hey, you’d pay to see it, wouldn't you?
After soaking in the terrific atmosphere I made my way down to the Grassmarket district of Edinburgh, roughly a five minute walk (all downhill) from the shadow of the castle. Whenever I'm asked to direct someone there, most of my descriptions seem to involve pubs; I have no idea why that is, perhaps because they are good landmarks. (That’s my excuse, and I'm sticking to it).
The Grassmarket is another one of those places where humanity gathers in throngs (I like that word) and partakes of the food and drink available from the pubs, restaurants, snack bars, and most weekends, the Greater Grassmarket stalls that form the weekend market. If you want French Crepe, fresh fruit, burgers, or great Caribbean food (I would strongly recommend Blue Banana Food. You owe me free jerky chicken for that one, Ashley) come here. The atmosphere was buzzing and crowds heaving. I had been there a few weeks before for the Mardi Gras, which was part of the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, but it was raining then, however the place was still filled with people of all shapes, sizes and degrees of sobriety listening to some great jazz, funk and blues. This day, the sun was shining and the public took full advantage of a great day for great entertainment and sustenance. I must have spent about an hour there, before making my way back up to Royal Mile to take in the weirdness and be accosted by flyer wielding promoters. Some of these people are in “normal”, everyday dress, others like to live the role, like the cast of Nougat the King (seriously cool outfit, dude) to the Four F**king Queens and a Duck who were performing Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest. To be honest I never actually saw the duck. I'm sure they only bring it out on special occasions or matinees.
After few more rounds of juggling, dancing, guitar playing and human statue street performances, I moved down from the Royal Mile to Saint Andrews Square. The area of Edinburgh I had just been in and described to you (yeah, at length, I’m sure you moan) is known as “The Old Town”, now I was heading to “The New Town”. What is meant by “New Town” is anything built in the 18th or 19th century. If you want to check it out head to http://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/old-town-and-new-town-p918411 and all will be explained by experts.
Saint Andrews Square was hosting the Edinburgh International Book Festival. But in case you’re not “into” books, fear not as there is always something else going on at the same time. They have a number of events to suit all. That and food and drink stalls. This is Scotland after all. We don’t just eat and drink because we need to, it’s also a hobby.
I wandered around taking in the sights, the sounds and smells and then headed for my intended destination, The Stand comedy store in York Place to see the ranting comedy genius that is Mr. Robin Ince. The Stand actually covers a number of locations, all within the Georgian magnificence of York Place.
The “gig” was downstairs and in an intimate little venue catering for about 200 people. Mr. Ince began his show in a subdued way, and then exploded onto the stage like a titan. His act was fast, furious and funny following a (to start with) linear narrative that diverged more often than a modern day driver following a SatNav programmed in 1973. He covered a variety of subject but mainly about the brain, the mind, the conscious and subconscious… and the difference between the actor, writer, adventurer and all round beared person Brian Blessed and the Particle Physicist Professor Brian Cox, he of the cheek bones and magnificently full head of hair. There are a number of differences, but the main one is there delivery of speech.
The subjects covered were “have you ever thought about throwing a baby off a cliff?” and “would you consider eating a dessert made from a female friends breast milk?” Now how often do you get asked questions like that?
Another great thing was after the “gig” I got a chance to chat to him and I have to say he was the perfect host. Amongst other things we discussed the author Ian Rankin’s tomatoes, the comedian Michael Legge almost falling off the vegetarian band wagon because of the aforementioned Ian Rankin’s cat food and the award winning BBC Radio 4 science programme The Infinite Monkey Cage.
If you ever see him advertised I would wholeheartedly recommend that you go. If you want to know more about him, check out his blog or follow him on twitter.
Well, that was the first visit covered, now for the second.
This year has been a different story. I have an office job. An office job that means I am behind a desk from 8 in the morning (one hour off for lunch) until 5 in the late afternoon, or early evening, whatever way you want to look at it.
Why not go in the evening? Because I'm usually too mentally drained by the events of the day to motivate myself into travelling into the city centre, trying to find somewhere to park that won’t involve me getting a second mortgage or selling a organ to raise the money to pay for a ticket.
So my plan was simple, I would attempt to go every weekend from the start to the finish. This plan, however, did not take into account life getting in the way… or extreme weather conditions. However, I have managed a rather enjoyable couple of days, the first being the 9th of August.
My first port of call after leaving the confines of Edinburgh Waverly Railway Station was that mixing pot of madness and variety that is The Royal Mile. For anyone who has never been to the Royal Mile it is time machine of a cobbled street that extends from Edinburgh Castle (that’s the big thing on top of the hill) to the Palace of Holyrood House at the bottom of the slopping hill (occasionally use by British Royalty as a retreat from the hurly-burly of London). The Royal Mile is a mixture of old and new, some buildings from the (around about the) 15th Century, some buildings are most certainly 20th century and some from all points and centuries in between. In fact some of the “in between” ones have been converted into shops, museums, drinking establishments and restaurants.
The Royal Mile was crowded to the point where cat swinging was totally out of the question. Wall to wall humanity interspersed with street performers of the juggling, dancing, guitar playing and human statue variety. All the time family and friends of performers of the top billing acts and not so top billing, roam The Royal Mile offering you flyers extolling the virtues of so and so doing a one man 58 minute (no intermission) version of D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, in modern dress, and on ice. Actually that wasn't there, but hey, you’d pay to see it, wouldn't you?
After soaking in the terrific atmosphere I made my way down to the Grassmarket district of Edinburgh, roughly a five minute walk (all downhill) from the shadow of the castle. Whenever I'm asked to direct someone there, most of my descriptions seem to involve pubs; I have no idea why that is, perhaps because they are good landmarks. (That’s my excuse, and I'm sticking to it).
The Grassmarket is another one of those places where humanity gathers in throngs (I like that word) and partakes of the food and drink available from the pubs, restaurants, snack bars, and most weekends, the Greater Grassmarket stalls that form the weekend market. If you want French Crepe, fresh fruit, burgers, or great Caribbean food (I would strongly recommend Blue Banana Food. You owe me free jerky chicken for that one, Ashley) come here. The atmosphere was buzzing and crowds heaving. I had been there a few weeks before for the Mardi Gras, which was part of the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, but it was raining then, however the place was still filled with people of all shapes, sizes and degrees of sobriety listening to some great jazz, funk and blues. This day, the sun was shining and the public took full advantage of a great day for great entertainment and sustenance. I must have spent about an hour there, before making my way back up to Royal Mile to take in the weirdness and be accosted by flyer wielding promoters. Some of these people are in “normal”, everyday dress, others like to live the role, like the cast of Nougat the King (seriously cool outfit, dude) to the Four F**king Queens and a Duck who were performing Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest. To be honest I never actually saw the duck. I'm sure they only bring it out on special occasions or matinees.
After few more rounds of juggling, dancing, guitar playing and human statue street performances, I moved down from the Royal Mile to Saint Andrews Square. The area of Edinburgh I had just been in and described to you (yeah, at length, I’m sure you moan) is known as “The Old Town”, now I was heading to “The New Town”. What is meant by “New Town” is anything built in the 18th or 19th century. If you want to check it out head to http://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/old-town-and-new-town-p918411 and all will be explained by experts.
Saint Andrews Square was hosting the Edinburgh International Book Festival. But in case you’re not “into” books, fear not as there is always something else going on at the same time. They have a number of events to suit all. That and food and drink stalls. This is Scotland after all. We don’t just eat and drink because we need to, it’s also a hobby.
I wandered around taking in the sights, the sounds and smells and then headed for my intended destination, The Stand comedy store in York Place to see the ranting comedy genius that is Mr. Robin Ince. The Stand actually covers a number of locations, all within the Georgian magnificence of York Place.
The “gig” was downstairs and in an intimate little venue catering for about 200 people. Mr. Ince began his show in a subdued way, and then exploded onto the stage like a titan. His act was fast, furious and funny following a (to start with) linear narrative that diverged more often than a modern day driver following a SatNav programmed in 1973. He covered a variety of subject but mainly about the brain, the mind, the conscious and subconscious… and the difference between the actor, writer, adventurer and all round beared person Brian Blessed and the Particle Physicist Professor Brian Cox, he of the cheek bones and magnificently full head of hair. There are a number of differences, but the main one is there delivery of speech.
The subjects covered were “have you ever thought about throwing a baby off a cliff?” and “would you consider eating a dessert made from a female friends breast milk?” Now how often do you get asked questions like that?
Another great thing was after the “gig” I got a chance to chat to him and I have to say he was the perfect host. Amongst other things we discussed the author Ian Rankin’s tomatoes, the comedian Michael Legge almost falling off the vegetarian band wagon because of the aforementioned Ian Rankin’s cat food and the award winning BBC Radio 4 science programme The Infinite Monkey Cage.
If you ever see him advertised I would wholeheartedly recommend that you go. If you want to know more about him, check out his blog or follow him on twitter.
Well, that was the first visit covered, now for the second.