Old Town from Calton Hill

View of the Old Town of Edinburgh as seen from Calton Hill, looking west.

Newhaven Lighthouse

The lighthouse in Newhaven Harbour with storm clouds gathering behind it; I barely made it back inside before the heavens opened....

Deep Fried Mars Bar

Yep that's right, this post is about the well-known Scottish delicacy called the deep-fried Mars Bar. This horrendously unhealthy (but surprisingly tasty) item is said to have been invented in the famous Haven Chip Bar in Stonehaven in 1995, but can now be found throughout Scotland. The Mars bar is dipped in batter used for fried fish, sausages etc and fried in chip fat. To make sure the chocolate doesn't melt, it is usually chilled beforehand.

Connaisseurs will recognise the location of this poster as Cafe Piccante on Broughton Street.

East Claremont Street

Neo-classical stateliness that is East Claremont Street, here on a map.

Airbus A380 visits Edinburgh

At 1.30pm this afternoon, the world's largest commercial airliner, the Airbus A380, performed an 'approach and go' manoeuvre at Edinburgh airport. (Just as well - had it landed, it wouldn't have been able to leave again because the runway would have been too short!)

Anyway, thousands of people watched this magnificent plane fly directly over the airport first before turning over the bridges, doing a big loop and finally a fly-through just above the runway. I took this photo at the plane's lowest point, as it (noisily!) pulled its nose up and rose again to disappear into the clouds. We must have had the best, exclusive view - from the roof of the airport!

The real castle!

And here's a picture of the 'real' castle, high on the rock in the background. In the front left is the Fruitmarket Gallery, next to Waverley Station (right). The blue bus is the Airport Bus 100, waiting at its stop on Waverley bridge. Above it you see the National Gallery on the Mound. The blue domed building at the top of the Mound is the Bank of Scotland HQ. This well-known view can of course be seen from North Bridge.

Castle?!

The way this block of tenement flats just peeps over the trees and overlooks the Water of Leith always reminds me of a castle on a hill!

Five Pound Fringe

Over the last few years, ticket prices for Fringe shows have shot up quite a bit. Expect to pay at least £8 pounds for lesser known shows, and £15 for the big names! This is why some venues - like the Tron on Hunter Square - have decided to support initiatives like the Five Pound Fringe, or even Free Fringe, each of which does exactly what it says on the tin!

C Venue - Chambers Street

Normally a quiet, stately University building, during the festival Adam House is transformed into C Venue!

Piper with Drummers

This is the piper who plays with the drummers (see yesterday's post).

Drummers on the Mound

A guest entry from Difa - during the Fringe, this well-known group of drummers & piper often perform on the Mound next to the National Gallery. Can anyone remind me of their name?

Fringe Framed!

I'm totally blowing my cover here but I don't care, because... today my picture got printed in the Metro!! The Fringe Office and Metro run a competition called Fringe Framed, where each day they select a photo for publication. If you want to take part, all you have to do is e-mail your photo (jpeg) to fringe.framed@edfringe.com. Good luck!

Not sure what to call this!

As spotted at the Cavalcade in Holyrood Park - this Lord of the Rings-like figure is, I believe, part of a theatre company that specialises in stilt-based, costumed street theatre. These imposing figures (there were three of them) wandered around high above the crowds, scaring unsuspecting bystanders by suddenly pecking them in the neck.

Wedding at St James's

At the weekend I photographed the wedding of this lovely couple, Kaivo and Margit from Tallinn, at St James's Church (see post on Sunday). See here the happy two, accompanied by the Rector, Tembu Rongong, in kilt!

Pants!!

This is of another preview of a show we saw on the Royal Mile. I've forgotten the title; the costumes and makeup were pretty cool but despite the obvious enthusiasm of the actors, it was a bit, well, pants really!

William Hole Murals in St James's

Anyone who's ever visited the Scottish National Portrait Gallery will remember the beautiful murals and frieze painted by William Hole around 1900. Few, however, will know that Hole painted two equally fabulous murals in St James Church at Goldenacre, some years before his more famous commission. St James's , a red stone building on Inverleith Row, was Hole's own church, and he carried out the decorations as a favour to his own parish. Just as well he did, because this work later earned him the Portrait Gallery job!

Performance on the Royal Mile

All day, performers showcase their shows during allotted slots on stages on the Royal Mile. These guys are from "Bloodbath - the Musical" (21:30 at George Square), and this lady definitely stood out from the crowd with a fenominal voice - though you couldn't really hear the music from the stereo.

Street Performance on the Royal Mile

Edinburgh street performer Todd Various doing what he does best, spotted yesterday on Parliament Square - just off the Royal Mile. With guest performances of 'England' (left), 'Scotland' (right) and two very cheeky little boys.

Festival Time!!

Hi Everyone!!

Back by popular demand... after this inexcusably long absence I'll keep the blog going during the Fringe and International Festival at least.

This picture was taken during the cavalcade on Saturday, the official start of the Fringe. The entire cast of the Tattoo, as well as a host of other performers and bands parade through the city - except this year due to tramworks on Princes Street the entire show was moved to Holyrood Park. And you know what? I actually preferred it - there was lots of space for everyone to go, no traffic restrictions for other good citizens, and the setting is just so beautiful! I met up with a couple of good friends and gave my brand new zoom lens a run for its money :-).

Oddfellows

When you walk past this bar on Forrest Road you will probably not notice the interesting facade of the building, let alone know about the history of this place. Built in 1873, Oddfellows Hall was the gathering point for members of the Oddfellows Order. I understand that these were guilds with members from an odd assortment of trades (rather than all from the same trade), hence the term 'odd fellows'. Oddfellows Hall was a Lodge where they would congregate, with lecture rooms, meeting rooms and domitories.

Many Edinburgh people will remember "Bar Oz", previously located in this building, which was accessed through a narrow passage and laid out over two floors. In 2006, £1.05 million was spent on redesiging and opening up the space, and many of the original features can now be seen again.