Fringe Festival in Edinburgh- WooHoo

Before I start wring about our week in Edinburgh, I want to say I was remiss in my last post in not telling about some of the very kind people we encountered everywhere we went in London. All of the shop people were really welcoming and ready to answer questions; and when they do, they also ask about where we’re from and want to tell us what part of the US they’ve visited. As we roamed around Battersea Park or other streets in Chelsea and Sloan square, we encountered friendly folks. The people watching was riveting wherever we could find a place to sit. It’s literally like being in a film of cultures of the world playing right in front of our eyes. Beautiful saris, handsome kilts on men from the north, elaborately made up eyes peering out from a group of women wearing chador, police of many cultures all wearing the uniform of London Metropolitan police, flowing colorful robes of Nigerians, retro Punks with the real deal in clothes. At dinner one night in an Indian restaurant, we sat beside a German family. The owner of the restaurant warned us all we may have to pay cash since their card reader was down. Will and the German father went next door to the ATM, and the mom, kids and I started talking. It was an easy conversation that jumped from them telling us about their RV trip up the coast of CA last summer, to how well their kids speak English and what they learn in school, to talking books and what is our life like in Maine.

We made out way up to Edinburgh without a hitch this year, admiring the views of York and the Northumberland coast as the train sped up along. We caught a cab to our rented flat, and the cabbie forewarned us that the city is very full, busy and has lots of traffic. Good things to know if we were planning to take in some of the many wonderful events- theater,comedy, dance and music performances that are all part of the Fringe Festival. We met our friend Karen who’d been teaching a summer workshop here, and who was ready to explore Edinburgh with us. We encountered many nice Scottish people and others from away like us as we waited in lines to see various shows.

The streets were crammed, especially on the Royal Mile, and it was tempting to just roam watching street performers. One day, I saw a remarkable play called The Life and Times of Michael K done by a South African theatre company. After it, I found my way to meet Will to see a performance called David Attenborough’s Animals. a 2 person show in which the man did the voice over like David A, and the woman acted out all the animals he was describing. It was hilarious. Another time, we all went to a comedy show done by women from various countries- very good. Our final night in Edinburgh, we went to see Ed Byrne, an Irish comedian for a very funny, and moving, show. As we walked back to our flat, we saw the fireworks up at the Castle.

This has gone too long, and barely touches how jam packed the week was with remarkable performances by so many artists, actors and musicians.