Wednesday 31 August 2011

Charlotte Square

Deconstruction of Book Festival, physical not metaphorical.

Tuesday 30 August 2011

Floodworks

An update on the Water of Leith.  These are part of the works by the Newhaven Road bridge but with the machinery this time.  Last post was June 29th.  The bank has been raised a bit further and the narrowed stream seemed to work in the recent heay rain.  A little downstream, Tony disappeared again in the deluge. Not sure whether or not this will be acessible to walkers or not.

Sunday 28 August 2011

Saturday 27 August 2011

Window

The last of the sun plus some rain.

Friday 26 August 2011

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Fairies

One of the craft tents outside St Giles. The makers name is a little different. www.becasinsects.co.uk

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Romania Represented

If ever you need the Romanian Consul this is where you will find him.

Monday 22 August 2011

Senzala

Performing in Princes Street.  A sort of martial art moves meets south American rhythm and music. Information here http://senzalascotland.co.uk/

Sunday 21 August 2011

Mud

Another sign of the times.  The "lawn" at the Book Festival normally suffers due to rain during the proceedings.  This year with so much heavy rain prior to the event it was bad even before it got started. It hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of the fans though.

Saturday 20 August 2011

Lunch

Back at the Fair Trade tent, this is my fruit crepe being made by a Brazillian lady. Very tasy.

Friday 19 August 2011

Castle from the Gardens

The Castle from the west end of Princes Street Gardens.

Thursday 18 August 2011

Fascinating Aida

Fascinating Aida have been performing at the festival for 28 years and they are better than ever.  The show is a hoot and tonight was a sellout.  The recently viral video of "Cheap Flights", (if you haven't seen it just Google), has secured them a new audience.

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Up For Sale

A break from the festival.  This distinctive Edinburgh landmark, Donaldson's School for the Deaf, has become yet another development opportunity.  http://www.richardmurphyarchitects.com/projects/381/

Tuesday 16 August 2011

Fair Trade

A new addition.  Castle Street is now a pedestrian zone and this large tent features a Fair Trade market.

Monday 15 August 2011

Fringe Show

This is a fun show with Adelmo, a very good pianist and Adelmo's trombone playing "assistant".  You don't need to know much about opera but if you do you will probably get more out of it. http://www.operationadelmo.com/
Playing at the New Town Theatre.

Sunday 14 August 2011

Sunshade

Yesterday it was a brolly but today the sun was shining on the Book Festival.  A minor literaray quiz. As you can see, sponsored by the Guardian.

Saturday 13 August 2011

Book Festival

Alexander McCall-Smith signing copies after a childrens presentation at the Book Festival.

Friday 12 August 2011

Sign of the Times

The "Official Festival" starts tomorrow as does the Book Festival in its usual home in Charlotte Square.

Thursday 11 August 2011

Al Fresco - No Takers

The rain abateth not. This is the relatively new underground extension to the Scottish National Gallery. Restaurant, cafe , shop and new galleries for temporary exhibits.

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Brolly Good

Back to Festival weather. The more brollies the better. A year ago the blog featured Keli Clarks "tent" in the sunshine by St Giles.  This time it's in the rain by the National Gallery. Hopefully it will drive some custom to the numerous Fringe shows.  This year Fringe boasts:258 Venues; 21,192 performers; 2542 events and 41,689 performances.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Dust

This is a play running at the New Town Theatre (ie the Masonic Halls in George Street).  Worth a look if you would like some drama. If you are looking for a laugh then go elsewhere. Details on their site
http://edinburghguide.com/venue/newtowntheatre

Monday 8 August 2011

The Queen

More particularly images of the Queen. This is a small exhibition at the National Gallery both artwork and photography. It looks at images progressively through her reign and comments on the changing perception of the Monarchy. It is also interesting just looking at an individual ageing. Worth a look.

Sunday 7 August 2011

Wet Festival

The rain continues but so does the Festival. Transparent plastic ponchos are all the rage as worn in the first picture by the Korean Drum company in transit through the Gardens. The street performers still work the crowd outside the National Gallery. Having bumped into the Koreans I decided to catch their show at the Assembly Hall.  Serendipity is the only sensible way to choose shows. When I arrived in Edinburgh the Fringe programme was only about the size of a weekly magazine and you could reasonably take it in. Now it is about the size of the Edinburgh phonebook and is quite beyond me. It was a fascinating show, a good way to spend an hour.

Saturday 6 August 2011

D-rain

After several weeks of "summer" the Festival arrives as does the rain.

Friday 5 August 2011

Piper

Edinburgh always has a number of busking pipers. This High Street operation is very slick.  The pipers work in shifts and keep their pitch.  They are good pipers and much in demand for photos.  There was quite a que here. The Fringe opens tomorrow and it will get to be really busy.  A news item this evening said there were 432 comedians on at some time or other in the next three weks.

Thursday 4 August 2011

Tour Bus

One of the open top tour buses in the Lawnmarket.  Even on a fine day this seems about the average compliment of tourists.  Not that I wish to deny tourists their ride but there are far too many of the things disrupting traffic and they frequently cause chaos outside Waverley Station as there are often too many of them for the available space.

Wednesday 3 August 2011

Street Trading

During the summer, and we have had some recently, street traders flourish, especially in the High Street.  This is long time trader Bill Green restocking on his pitch opposite St Gi;les.

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Dock's Gormley

Tony No. 6 on his plinth in the Western Harbour at Ocean Terminal complete with obligatory seagull on his head. Not as interesting as his "brothers" due to his remote, by comparison, location.

Monday 1 August 2011

The Great Michael

Or rather the Scul?tor George Wyllie's take on the vessel.  Sticking with Newhaven this is in the Peacock Inn.  It has now reopened after the fire.  Info on the ship here http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/scotlandshistory/renaissancereformation/greatmichael/index.asp and the artist here if you are on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ForTheBurds