Good morning lovely people
What makes you want to visit a city? Family, friends, culture? Have the Olympics tempted you to Paris?
Celine Dion’s (renamed “Singine Dior” for that gorgeous dress) powerful “Hymne a L’amour” was worth watching. Opening ceremony aside, Paris has more than its share of assets. Using national monuments as the stadium sets was the creative genius we expect from France; Château de Versailles, Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais; “ce magnifique”. Twice in one hundred years, Paris has had the opportunity to showcase this event. Edinburgh gets to showcase the Festivals every year. “Merci beaucoup”, we get to live, work and be visitors in our own home town that hosts the world’s greatest arts festivals.
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, must be one of the pioneers to use a city landscape for its performance. Showcasing Edinburgh Castle is the perfect backdrop for a reason to visit our city. With 850 performers on the Castle Esplanade finishing with the mass pipes and drums marching down Castlehill; the Tattoo always leaves me happier. Some tickets are still available, too good to miss.
We’re all ambassadors for our home and I love being able to shout, not sing, about how special our Athens of the North is.
The opening ceremony of the Olympics was on the controversial side. If it reflects French values then we should appreciate their honesty. If it wasn’t a fair reflection of their whole society, then those in charge might be left cleaning the Seine.
The International Fringe and Festival have also been a platform for the traditional and the avant-garde. Over 548 Fringe shows to choose from this August along with free street theatre throughout the city. Catering for all tastes just like the Olympics.
We’re all ambassadors for our home and I love being able to shout, not sing, about how special our Athens of the North is.
My favourite discipline will always be Gymnastics. Who remembers Nadia Comaneci’s first perfect 10? We watched on a tiny black and white television in the back room of the Wemyss Cafe in Port Seton. (I was six and had to hold the ariel up and bend over to see the picture.) I wonder how many six year olds are now dreaming of being Simone Biles or Andy Murray? Andy, we’re all singing a hymn of love to you. Sport at this level is inspirational but it can’t come without investment and big sponsorship.
There was talk of sponsor removal following some of the content of the opening ceremony. Baillie Gifford has cancelled all its literary festival sponsorship, including that of Edinburgh Book Festival. Anyone paying the bills knows external money is needed for all these big events. (We are no different, without Menabrea, an Italian family beer sponsor, we wouldn’t be able to pay for our beautiful terrace on George Street.) Pressure from the campaign group Fossil Free Books called for a cease in investments in the fossil fuel industry and any business with links to Israel. Yes all valid requests but with constant government cuts the arts and sport still need help. Inclusion only comes if you can afford it.
Have we to boycott everything? “He who is without sin should cast the first stone.” Sadly there won’t be accessible arts festivals or Olympic Gold, Silver or Bronze medals either without corporate sponsorship. Hard but true facts.
Amazon, Apple, and Google to avocados. Globalisation through to a disconnect with our food system and climate change effects are sitting on all our laps and laptops. Surely it’s better to work together to get solutions than to not participate at all?
This year we have the 20th-century Irish painter “Lavery on Location” as the summer blockbuster at the National Gallery RSA building. With all the fun, noise and commotion that can be going on outside if you have a spare hour take yourself to Lavery. It’s soulful, quietly spiritual and very special. Another reason to visit Edinburgh.
What any vibrant city doesn’t need is a bin strike. Who thought August would be perfect timing? Hopefully, our politicians can negotiate an agreement before we’re surrounded by peak visitor numbers. We don’t want our streets humming for the wrong reasons.
Bins aside, keep well, keep dreaming of beautiful things and keep visiting Edinburgh
Carina
Finally, for this post, we’re all heartbroken for the families of those little girls who lost their lives and those injured in Southport. Lots of dreams of being Taylor Swift, Simone Biles or the a tennis player at Wimbledon will have been lost forever. So very sad
