An all-too brief stay in Edinburgh

Because I didn't do a great deal while in Edinburgh beyond run back and forth between Fringe venues (and the occasional pub) - and I'm going to do a separate post about the shows I saw, so there really isn't all that much to write about, other than to list what I saw and describe the things that I took photos of. Unfortunately, most of them I didn't have the opportunity to actually go inside (or close enough to them to read any signs) to find out what they were, so for a lot of them your guess is as good as mine.

While I don't regret going to Edinburgh during the Fringe, the reality is that it meant I didn't see very much of the city – I got into fringesanity mode, which basically means 'see as many shows as you possibly can'; I ended up going to sixteen in three and a half days. And while that was heaps of fun, I did make the decision that, when I get the chance to come back, it won't be during the Fringe – that way I'll get to go and do all the normal tourist-y things, of which there are many.

I did get to hang out with Richard Fry (whose show, Pop Life, I'll talk about in my review post) who I'd met in Australia a few years back when he was here doing a show. I also got to catch up with a guy named Ollie De Rohan, who I'd done The Tempest with - I was Alonso and he was Alonso's son, Ferdinand. He was also doing a show, This Is Where We Live, which I saw.


One place I did get to - briefly - was the Scottish National Portrait gallery. They had some good stuff: a bust of Queen Victoria; portraits of Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stephenson, Mary Queen of Scots, the execution of Charles I, William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, George I, Jacques Rousseau and David Hume;  the phrenological busts of Keats, Coleridge, Haydn, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the infamous Burke & Hare. There were some huge murals of important Scottish historical events, and a whole section devoted to tartan.

Pictures:

The rest are random pictures.

Tim Fitzhigham came to Adelaide last year and did a couple of shows; I saw both and they were excellent, so once I realised he was on here I decided to go. It was brilliant.

I saw this show – and will write about it (eventually) – almost entirely because of the poster.

I took the picture of the HP Sauce bottle because I'd never actually tried it before. It's not bad, but I think I'd prefer either tomato or barbecue sauce on pretty much anything this would get used on.

My last pint in the UK. I was more than a little sad, which is why I made the last show I saw a standup comedy act - an Australian, Celia Pacquola. She was great, and it helped me cope with the unhappiness.

That's Irn-Bru, a Scottish fizzy (non-alcoholic) drink. This was actually taken (and consumed) at Gatwick airport in England; I meant to have one while I was in Scotland but kept on forgetting. It's apparently great for hangovers, but I didn't actually have any more than a single pint at any given time, so there was no need for me to test its medicinal powers.

And now all that's left is the voyage home.