Continuity

I have just watched Ken Stott as DI Rebus in The Falls. It was good TV – quite a taut drama; and not having read the book, it was pretty tense, too. (In case you are wondering, I taped it last night. I love timeshifting.)

( ”But…” )

Continuity

I have just watched Ken Stott as DI Rebus in The Falls. It was good TV – quite a taut drama; and not having read the book, it was pretty tense, too. (In case you are wondering, I taped it last night. I love timeshifting.)

( ”But…” )

Gormenghast

Watching Rebus just now reminded me how I felt when I first came to Edinburgh. (Many, many years ago.)

The very first: It was foggy; we drove in along Morningside Road and down Lothian Road, skirting the castle. I thought, why the hell have I moved here?

But then, the fog cleared. I was based largely in the Old Town – I was working on the Fringe, in St Mary’s Street. (Opposite the Waverley pub: the only bar I have frequented where they knew what I was going to order and had it poured by the time I got to the bar. This isn’t necessarily a good sign.)

The Old Town has many different levels, from the Castle down to Cowgate; and it is criss-crossed by bridges across the canyon-like streets, where you can look down – or up – and see a different life going on. It has the kind of feeling of different strata of society thrown together, mingling in the alleys and lanes and cobbled streets.

And it struck me that this was as close to Gormenghast as I would ever get.

Gormenghast

Watching Rebus just now reminded me how I felt when I first came to Edinburgh. (Many, many years ago.)

The very first: It was foggy; we drove in along Morningside Road and down Lothian Road, skirting the castle. I thought, why the hell have I moved here?

But then, the fog cleared. I was based largely in the Old Town – I was working on the Fringe, in St Mary’s Street. (Opposite the Waverley pub: the only bar I have frequented where they knew what I was going to order and had it poured by the time I got to the bar. This isn’t necessarily a good sign.)

The Old Town has many different levels, from the Castle down to Cowgate; and it is criss-crossed by bridges across the canyon-like streets, where you can look down – or up – and see a different life going on. It has the kind of feeling of different strata of society thrown together, mingling in the alleys and lanes and cobbled streets.

And it struck me that this was as close to Gormenghast as I would ever get.