Edinburgh Goes Crazy

[rhythmaning]

The Festival has come to town.

Although, despite BBC radio news announcing this morning that “the Festival season starts in Edinburgh today!”, the Festival season actually started over a week ago, with the Jazz and Blues Festival. Still, more about that in another post.

Walking back at midnight last night, the Festival had really taken hold. It was busy. The usual hen parties and stag nights were mixed up with drunken actors and tourists. This was a dangerous cocktail of cleavage and high heels, staggering alcoholics and curious Japanese. (Still - cleavage and high heels? I’m not complaining…)

One local drunk was walking along in a particularly random fashion, yelling into his mobile, “Just pick up the bloody phone!”; he fell off the kerb twice, and in desperation punched a sheet=glass window. Clearly, it seemed like a sensible thing to do at the time, as he weaved his way across the crowded pavement. (Fortunately, the glass was stronger than he was.)

Les Dennis looked distinctly out of sorts in Dundas St.

What is it about tourists that removes all common sense? Gaggles of tourists standing in the centre of the pavement, for instance – so that everyone has to walk around them.

This evening, we went to the opening night of a play at the Traverse Theatre. Going to the Traverse is always curious for me – I worked there in front of house when I was a student, when it was in its old location, just off the Grassmarket. During the Festival, the Trav becomes crowded with transplanted London luvvies: the bar this evening was packed, heaving (though at least now it is smoke free! This of course explains why every bar has discovered the joys of continental summers – and placed a large number of seats outside, so people can have a drink and a smoke and not break the law.

The play was good - Strawberries in January - rather witty, and well acted. The story was narrated by someone writing a screenplay – a little too easy, I felt (if it is a play, they should be acting out the story – not telling it), but it was funny, quite clever, and made me think about relationships.

But the whole experience – fighting through the afternoon crowds, fighting to get to the bar, standing in a stifling queue for fifteen minutes – well, it kind of took the shine of it. So it will probably be the only play we go to see.

I wanted to shout at people in the street as they meander into my path, “Get out of my way!” Actually, what I really wanted to shout was, “Get out of my city!”

Some people apparently leave Edinburgh for the whole of the Festival; and I kind of understand that. I guess Washington for a week is a pretty close match.

Comments

[luckylove.livejournal.com]

thanks for making me laugh today. I really needed that. Thank you!

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Well that worked out well :-)