My friend Di and I decided to venture down to Edinburgh for the day, to see what was going on at the Fringe. We had a 2 hour train journey to get there and it was a beautiful day traveling right down the coast. It didn’t even feel like 2 hours but maybe that’s because we were yapping so much.

Passing Murrayfield Stadium brought back some old memories…that’s where we’d queued for hours in the pouring rain to get near the front at the Bryan Adams concert back in 2007 (entirely my idea, I hasten to add).

On arriving at Waverly Station, we weren’t quite sure what to do first. It was lunchtime so we grabbed some food from the station and went and sat beside the Scott Monument. The first thing we noticed: the place was mobbed! It was a lovely sunny day so everyone was making the best of it.

We headed up the mound, with the intention of walking down the Royal Mile. Whilst walking up there, we got our first flyer of the day. A guy walked up to us and said “your days are numbered”. Sounds rather ominous, doesn’t it? No, no, just a part of the Fringe madness.

Finally, we arrived at the top of the Mile (it’s a wee bit of a climb). As soon as we looked around, we saw some living statues. I took a few pictures (had the SLR with me) but when I went to take a picture of one of the performers in a mirrored costume, he held out his hand! What’s the deal with that?! You’re the one standing in a public place dude.

Diabolo Street Performer
There was a guy on Mile, just next to St Giles Cathedral performing with a Diabolo (these seemed to be very popular this year). I can’t say if he was good or bad or what he was actually doing. If you haven’t met me, I’m a bit of a shortarse and couldn’t really see through the sizable crowd.

St Giles Cathedral
As I previously mentioned, the guy with the Diabolo was performing right next to St Giles Cathedral, a place I’d never visited. Now, I’m not a religious person, however, the architecture of some of these old buildings is pretty amazing. On entering the building, I was struck by how quiet and peaceful it was inside, in complete juxtaposition with the atmosphere outside.

It’s a beautiful place and I was stunned by the size of it (I was wondering what services must be like there). The stained glass windows were also amazing and I ended up taking quite a few photos of them. If you’ve not been there yet, visit it next time you’re in Edinburgh- well worth a look.

The RBS Royal Mile
This is the craziest part of the Mile. You walk down there and you will get flyered. What did I see there? The cast of Sector 17 the musical performing on a small stage, a Nazi version of Oliver Twist, people dressed as fairies skipping around, people dressed as Guantanamo Bay prisoners, guys handing out newspapers while wearing nothing but underwear, people sitting on the street using typewriters and a clown playing AC/DC’s “Back In Black” on a Guitar Hero guitar….

Really crazy and very busy. It was nigh on impossible to move at times- it was a sea of people and you just had to go with the flow. Loved it though.

Japanese Performer
This guy was performing just down from Starbucks. When we arrived to see what was going on, there was a already a large crowd but the performer was blowing a whistle and yelling at people to move forward. He took ages to get started and he continued to shout at the crowd which really began to annoy me. He was good though (especially at the end) where he juggled fire whilst balancing on a suitcase, a diabolo, pieces of wood and tins of Sainsbury’s sweetcorn.

Another thing that annoyed me around that area were the parents who were pushing their kids into the crowd. One woman demanded that I let her son through and proceeded to barge in. I didn’t move- if you want to see something, get there early, as I did. And another thing: I’ve already pointed out that I’m vertically challenged. Now, some kids are taller than me (children are giants these days) and if I let them stand in front of me, I wouldn’t be able to see! Sorry to sound like a grump but c’mon people!

The Guest Speakers
A follower of mine on Twitter informed me there were some free comedy shows down on Niddry Street so we headed that way. We came across Laughing Horse Comedy @ The Hive so we went in and walked to a wee room called the small cave. The show that was about to start was “The Guest Speakers” so we stayed for that.

It was a comedy sketch show where a variety of people (all played by the same person) come out on stage and give a (hilarious) motivational talk. The characters were introduced by another guy, who was supposed to be mopey and depressed. Eventually he tries (and fails) to dress up as the Joker from Batman.

There’s a link about the show here. The guy playing the various speakers was Rob Gilroy, and he was brilliant. The best character was probably Valerie the child psychologist- funny stuff . Think it’s the last day of the show today.

The Red Trouser Show
Heading back up the Royal Mile, we saw another large crowd waiting for street performers to start. This time, it was 2 American guys who called themselves The Red Trouser Show. They were very entertaining, juggling fire, pulling random people out of the audience to hold a ladder in the middle of the street and getting a child to help out in the act (he earned a fiver in the process!). Funny guys.

Princes Street Gardens
Once we were off the Mile, we found these giant set of steps that took us along by the National Galleries and we ended up wandering through Princes Street Gardens. Because it was a beautiful, sunny day, the park was packed! There were a few Chinese performers dancing in around in there too. I could have sat in there for hours but time was running out and we had to go catch our train home.

*                  *                     *

After a quick snack in a shopping centre, we headed back into Waverly and began the journey home. Again, the journey flew by and much yapping was done on the way home. I got back to my house just after 9pm, thoroughly knackered but very happy. What a fantastic day

If you want to see some pictures from the day- check out Flickr.

Mood : bouncy   Music : Barrowland Ballroom  by  Amy MacDonald

On Thursday, I was teaching at uni and the class finished at 5pm.  The first train I could get home was at 5.40pm.  I know from past experience that trains in the evening around rush hour are pretty crowded.  It was especially bad on Thursday because most of the schools in the surrounding areas were on holiday.

Anyway, when I got on the train, there were no seats left so I ended up standing in the vestibule area which was uncomfortably crowded.

15 minutes into the journey, after a few stops, I managed to get a fold-down seat in the vestibule.  At that point, the conductor appeared and that’s when a debate began

It all started when at one of the stops, the conductor wasn’t going to let a couple of guys with bikes on the train.  Now, Scotrail sold these people the tickets, and they had waited on the platform for that specific train to arrive.  Scotrail doesn’t have a cycle policy where you must book your bike on-board therefore, they shouldn’t have the right to refuse entry.  If they are so concerned about health and safety, perhaps they should implement a policy.  In this case, the guys did manage to travel.

To my right, there was a guy carrying a guitar who was perhaps in his late 30′s, sitting on the other fold-down seat.  He’d paid £50 for a ticket, taking him from Kirkcaldy, up to Aberdeen.  He started talking to the conductor, saying that he was quite concerned with the state of health and safety on the train.

He made the point that people shouldn’t be allowed to stand on a train- what if there was an accident?  The conductor retaliated by saying that when you buy a ticket for a train, you don’t automatically have the right to get a seat- all you’re paying for is the journey from A to B.  Again, I think this is wrong- you have to pay so much money for a ticket (not to mention the fact that the ticket prices keep going up), of course you should get a seat.

The conductor then gave the guitar dude into trouble for having his guitar sitting too near the door.  She said it was a health and safety issue (what a joke).  Basically she said that it was ok to have people standing in front of a door because in an emergency, people can move out of the way, luggage can’t.  She also said (perhaps jokingly) that at least if the train was overcrowded and people were standing, you’d probably be quite safe because there would be no room for movement (i.e. you wouldn’t get thrown around much).

Here goes my theory: if there was an accident and the train was overcrowded and people were tightly packed, then no, you probably wouldn’t get thrown around as much.  On the otherhand, you would get shoved into the people around you which would undoubtedly result in crush injuries.  Now, the facts show that it actually doesn’t take that much force/pressure to stop the supply of oxygen to your brain.  Please correct me if I’m wrong but normally, if your oxygen supply is cut off, you die.  If your lucky, you end up brain damaged.

Also, as I previously mentioned, the conductor stated that it was ok to have people in front of a door because in an emergency, people can move.  Hypothetically, if a train accident was extremely serious (and lets face it, most incidents involving trains usually are), then people could be fatally injured.  To my knowledge, dead people can’t move (unless they’re zombies/vampires).  They’d be blocking the door.

Train companies need to get their act together- they must be making a great deal of money from passengers.  They never provide enough seats.  How much extra would it cost to add an extra carriage?  Really?  Perhaps they could put on extra trains?  Is that too much to ask?

Mood : annoyed

I’m going to start off by saying what a gorgeous day for day 3 of the festival! Just like last year- maybe the festival brings sunshine? I spent a few hours at the High Street gig today, which took place in front of the Ballhouse. Off the top of my head, I saw…

Dance Zone International
Can’t remember much of this as I only caught the tail end!

The Locals
Three people in a band put together for the festival. Despite one of the guitarists arriving late, they put on a good show performing Sheryl Crow’s version of Sweet Child O’ Mine (brilliant), an Eva Cassidy song and Misery Business by Paramore. Jenna Morrow (lead singer) was spot on.

The Worry Beads
I’d already checked these guys out online and was pretty impressed with them. They did a good job today performing bluesy rock (which I seem to be in to right now). Definitely a band to watch out for

Rachael Baird
A local musician who performed acoustically. Another great singer. She performed some of her own songs as well as a KT Tunstall tune and fab version of She’s Electric by Oasis.

Song Shop
A dance group which a wee cousin of mine took part in. They started off with Mamma Mia which really got the crowd going.

Lost In Audio
I was heading off around this time but I caught a little of their set. What can I say? They were loud! I liked what I heard but had the feeling I’d been out in the sun too long so went home.

The only criticism I have of the day is related to disabled access. I had my mum and my gran with me today, who is in a wheelchair. This comment isn’t directed towards the organisers of the festival- in fact the officials were extremely helpful in getting my gran a place right at the front of the stage area . It’s directed towards whoever created the pavements in Montrose. We had difficultly getting the chair over some of the ramps when crossing the road- not an ideal situation. Oh, and there’s the fact that the toilets are located down a hill, off the High Street. Sure it’s easy enough getting to the toilets but getting the chair back up the hill- nightmare. Sort this out please.

Sadly, I won’t be doing any of the Sunday gigs because I’m flying off to America for a holiday. I will be wearing my Montrose Music Festival t-shirt though, so I’ll be spreading the word. It’s been another fantastic day in terms of gigs so a big thanks to the organisers once more.

Here’s to Montrose Music Festival 2010!

Friday the 8th of August: another bright and early start.  I had to be on a train at 8.30am in the morning in order to make it down at a decent time.  First bonus of the day: half price rail tickets.

The journey itself was just your standard train journey (well it was on the way down at least…..more on that later).  It was a beautiful morning so I was happy to sit and take in the scenery.  I managed to snap some pics from the train and they’ve turned out pretty well (despite the windows of the train being a bit grotty).

Majorly exciting moment for me: seeing a seal in the water as we were passing the Burntisland area !

I have to say, I got quite excited as the train went past Murrayfield stadium as well- so many happy memories from the Bryan Adams concert last year.  I glanced over at the turnstiles and remembered queuing there for a good few hours in the rain.  Fun times, eh?

There was a slight delay on arriving into Waverley Station- we got stopped in the tunnel because there had been torrential rain down that way at the tracks had been flooded.  On exiting the tunnel, we say they were still pumping water away from the area.  After getting off the train, we headed for the Royal Mile.  With the Edinburgh Fringe Festival going on, we knew it would be an interesting place and we might even get to see some shows.

Things I saw when wandering around the Royal Mile/Edinburgh-

- Woman who is in the Guinness World Book of Records for having the most piercings
- Random dude who asked me to take his pic (I did and will trace him and send him it)
- Man juggling a real, live, running chainsaw
- Business man lying upside down in the street, advertising a show
- Random male singers, crooning about how “hot” they were
- Someone dressed as what can only be described as Mr Hanky, the Christmas Poo
- Man in suit who ran about clapping in the crowd to encourage more people to be nosey
- Some dudes wearing tight green clothing (and it wasn’t attractive).
- A real life Doggy in the window
- A striped taxi cab
- The best hat ever!
- Musicians from all over the world
- Korean Shamans
- Canadian guy wrapped in chains and tied in a bag. He escaped in under 1 min and ran around in a tutu!
- Australian guy, up a ladder, juggling a sword and fire AND eating an apple

Oh and we paid a visit to the National Galleries as well!

As for the train journey home!  Everything was great until we got to Kirkcaldy where we waiting around for ages.  Turns out an old woman fell ill on the train and an ambulance was called.  Apparently, she may not have had a funny turn- someone overheard a staff member say the carriage she was in was hot, she was wearing a big fuzzy jacket and that she’d had a few Gin and Tonics………

Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure she was ok- I saw her and she looked fine.

After all that, we finally arrived home, albeit 30-40 minutes late!  And with that, the Scottish Tour was over!

Mood : chipper   Music : Make This Go On Forever  by  Snow Patrol

After going to the cinema, we ventured to the massive Tesco store nearby, it order to buy some food for breakfast.  It wasn’t provided at the hotel and although we had a kettle and teabags, I went and bought my own choice of tea- PG Tips.

Despite feeling so tired earlier on, I couldn’t get to sleep when I went to bed.  Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with the hotel; I just found it really difficult to unwind.  I think I ended up staying up ’til well past 1am, meaning I’d been awake for nearly 24 hours.

The following morning, I awoke at 7.30am, it give me plenty time to get ready (we were checking out at 9am).  The plan was to visit Culloden Battlefield then pop into the Baxters soup place on the way home.  After taking one look out the window, we decided against going to Culloden as it still hadn’t stopped raining.  In the end, we didn’t go to the Baxters soup factory for lunch either- it was just after 10am when we passed there!

We made it to Aberdeen at a decent time so we ended up going to Frankie and Benny’s for lunch- a fantastic New York Italian diner at the seafront.  They make an amazing Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwich!
We arrived home mid-afternoon and after unpacking, I had a real good nap!

Mood : chipper   Music : Room Service  by  Bryan Adams

I was quite excited to hear that a new X-Files movie was being released this year, after all, I really enjoyed the tv series. I will admit that I only watched seasons 1-7 though…..I didn’t see how I could enjoy the series without Mulder. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the other characters too but the X-Files was all about Mulder and Scully as a team.

So what was the film all about then?

Well I don’t want to spoil it in case you haven’t seen it so here a link to the plot details.

There was one major “WHAT?!” moment for me in the film (about 20 minutes or so in) and I’m not sure what to think of it. One part of me was thinking “yay, finally” and another part of me was thinking that it was just so wrong. I was wondering if I’d maybe missed something in the tv series. Maybe you’ve already guessed what I’m referring to? I’ll leave it alone at that….

Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny were great as per usual. Billy Connolly was fantastic as well- when I heard he was going to be in the film, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to take him seriously, after all, he is a great comedian. Turns out he’s a helluva actor as well. Oh and I have to mention Callum Keith Rennie! I was happy to see him on screen again as well, me being the Due South fan that I am (although he was no Ray Vecchio II in this film).

One other thing I’ll mention- David Duchovny with a beard is a no no . He looked like a bum in the first part of the movie. He did get rid of it about 30 minutes in and all was good .

I think I would have enjoyed the film a lot more if the cinema had been warmer. Honestly, the cinema got really cold. I thought it might be because we were looking at snow on the screen or because I was feeling quite tired but it wasn’t just me. It’s Scotland- we don’t need air-conditioned cinemas unless there is someone smelly in the room.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a good movie and I was happy to see the return of Mulder and Scully but I have seen better. Like I said, I was completely knackered by this point anyway and think I would have enjoyed it a lot more had I not been so sleepy in the first place.

I don’t know why the movie hasn’t done better though- it’s a good thriller. It seems that everybody has gone to see The Dark Night, Wall-e or Mamma Mia (seriously, the line for this was huge).

Mood : blah   Music : Only Happy When It Rains  by  Garbage

It was only a 10-15 drive to The Clansman hotel but it was still tipping it down with rain.  Not really ideal picture-taking weather but me and my afro-like hair did have a picture taken next to the large Nessie statue in the car park.  She looks like a Pleisiosaur!

The Clansman restaurant was lovely.  I ordered catch of the day which was Trout (cooked to perfection).  Alongside that, I was served salad and a couple of crayfish.  Slight problem- I’d never eaten a crayfish before.  Apparently you have to bend the shell back until they pop open.  I don’t think I did it correctly, and I’m pretty sure I made a fool of myself in an attempt eat them but they were yummy.  Tasted just like crab meat.

After our late lunch, we walked along the underpass (runs beneath the road and has a cool Nessie mural painted on it) to the Clansman Harbour where you could take a boat ride on the Loch.  I was totally up for it but my mum, who has a fear of boats wasn’t keen.  We decided that since it was well after 3pm, that we should go check into our hotel.

Our hotel was easy enough to find and was near a place called Druid Gardens (sounds lovely huh?).  The room at the Travelodge was just amazing- exceeded my expectations.  The room was huge- I mean it was bigger than the room that 4 of us shared in Bussy-St-Georges last year.  Oh, and it was immaculate- it even smelled clean.  There was a king-sized bed and a double sofa bed in the room along with a tv and  a huge desk.

After dumping all our stuff and freshening up, we decided to try and get to the cinema, to go see the  new X-Files movie, “I Want To Believe”.

Mood : blah   Music : You Really Got A Hold On Me  by  Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

Urquhart Castle is only a short drive from the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre- 5 minutes or so. On arriving, the main problem we had was trying to find a suitable parking space. It would appear that some people don’t know how to park. A single car or jeep should take up ONE space only. Not one and a half spaces. Not two spaces. One.

I should mention that by the time we arrived at Urquhart Castle, it was beginning to tip it down with rain. Nevertheless, it wasn’t going to dampen our spirits. It wasn’t like it was lashing it down and it wasn’t cold so it was fine to walk around in it.

We walked to the visitors centre, paid admission (£6.50 for an adult, no student rates), and went down a winding staircase and into the café/gift shop area. The staircase didn’t have a barrier at the top so it would have been possible for some dishonest person to slip down there unnoticed- we almost walked past the admission desk ourselves!

The shop area was annoyingly Scottish- bagpipes playing, tartan everywhere and even the shop assistants were wearing kilts. We grabbed a cup of tea there, after realising that I hadn’t had a cuppa since 5am that morning (of course I’m a tea addict and I need a wee fix every few hours otherwise something terrible may happen ).

After that, we headed outside, onto the balcony to take a look at the castle which was pretty impressive. We then climbed down the steps to have a wander around.

We saw the replica Trebuchet that lies within the grounds of the castle. I also went down to the edge of the Loch to see the remains of the corn drying kiln and took some pictures of the boats on the Loch at the same time. Following that, I headed back up to the gatehouse of the castle and entered the remains.

The first area I viewed was the prison and you basically had to look through a hole in the wall to see it. I was a small, cramped room and I can’t imagine how awful it would have been with multiple prisoners in there. Then again, it was a prison so I guess it’s not supposed to be luxurious.

After looking into the prison, I noticed something was hanging off the hood of my jacket (I realised I had brushed the wall with my hood). What was it? Cobwebs and friggin’ spiders eggs. I hate spiders and I’m sure you will have heard me ranting about them many times.

There was one part of the castle which I decided not to view. It was near the kitchen area and to reach it, you had to descend down a steep set of stairs. I was ok with the steps but I realised the room I was attempting to reach was a tiny wee hole. I guess you could say that I’m slightly claustrophobic so ended up going on to view other parts of the castle.

We wandered around for absolutely ages and didn’t really care about the rain. In fact, I eventually took the hood of my jacket down- cue my hair getting bigger and frizzier as the day went on.

If you’re ever in the Inverness area, Urquhart Castle is well worth a visit- it’s in such a beautiful location. Here’s some info about the castle.

Once we’d viewed the entire castle, we headed back to the gift shop (but don’t think we actually bought anything), then headed to the car.

Remember the comment I made earlier about parking skills?

Well some complete idiot parked so close to the drivers door of our tiny Renault Megane that we couldn’t even open the door to get in it! Jeez can’t people learn how to park (this coming from the girl who has yet to pass a driving test)?! I ended up having to clamber across to the drivers side from the passenger seat so I could reverse the car out. Well yeah, that would have been ok except I haven’t been behind the wheel of the car in a year.

With a lot of help from my mum, she guided me out but it took ages because the carpark was so bloody busy. Trust me, we were tempted to put a “next time, leave a tin opener” comment on the windscreen of the offending vehicle.

Once we got out of there, we headed off to find some lunch- a few family members who had been in the area the previous week suggested the Clansman.

Mood : sore   Music : Don't Speak  by  No Doubt

The Loch Ness Exhibition Centre was an interactive and informative experience.  When you arrive at the reception, you pay at the desk (£6.50 for an adult or £5.00 if you’re a student), go through a curtain in a group, into a darkened room that is like an underground cave.  You are then shown a short film, describing the formation of the Loch.  There was surround sound in this room and it freaked me out a little- reminding me of thunder!

Following that, we went though a series of these darkened cave rooms, with films being shown in each one, telling the story of the first known sightings of Nessie and discussing the most famous photographic evidence.  One of the films documented many of the ways in which researchers have tried to gather data, including sonar.  At this particular bit in the experience, a green laser was shone  on a black wall, and dry ice was blown in front of it, creating a very spooky effect indeed.

We then went into a couple of rooms which showed films that effectively disproved the existence of Nessie altogether, saying that there wasn’t enough food in the Loch to support a creature as large as Nessie is rumoured to be.  Also, they discussed the thousands of eyewitness accounts that have occurred over the year.  Basically, eyewitnesses who say they have seen Nessie may have seen a deer in the Loch, a log, debris, a seal, or even waves left by a passing boat.

To be honest, I was surprised by the experience at the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre.  Before I went in there, I was of the opinion that no, Nessie wasn’t real, and that she’s just a Scottish myth.  Don’t get me wrong, the experience didn’t change my mind on that matter.  I mean, I still like to think that however unlikely it may be, there is something out there in the Loch.  The surprising bit was that all the evidence presented to us agreed that it was extremely unlikely there was a monster in the Loch, if not impossible.  I thought, because it was a tourist attraction that the experience would actively encourage the myth of Nessie.  Looks like I was wrong….

Anyway, I found it very interesting and after spending some time and some cash in the gift shop (I bought Nessie!), we headed for the next location we intended to visit- Urquhart Castle.

Mood : chipper   Music : Anything But Down  by  Sheryl Crow

So it all began at 4.45am on Wednesday the 6th of August.  That’s right, I got up at 4.45am after having only a few hours sleep and got myself ready because my mum and I were preparing to go to Inverness.

We hit the road at around 6.20am, after setting up the sat nav.  Neither of us had been as far north as Inverness before and we didn’t have a clue where we were going really- we were told to stick to the A96.

The trip to the outskirts of Inverness ended up taking us around 3 hours, but we took our time and did have some stops along the way.  We went through so many different places to get there- Inverurie (a little further North of here, there were lots of huge windmills- almost like some form of modern art!), Old Rayne, Huntly, Keith (stopped there to get some food from Tesco),  Fochabers, Elgin, Alves, Forres and Nairn.  Finally, we arrived near Inverness.

When we were just outside Inverness, we could see the bridge which took you across to the Black Isle- we knew we weren’t going that way.  Instead, we had to make our way down the western side of Loch Ness to a place called Drumnadrochit (yeah, try pronouncing that one).

It wasn’t too hard to get through Inverness city centre.  Before long, we were driving along the loch side and stopped at the first lay-by we came across so I could get out and take some pictures.  I have to tell you, it’s such an amazing place!  I had no idea how large the loch was until I saw it with my own eyes.  Just beautiful.

We continued along the road which was fairly busy and arrived at the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre.

Mood : chipper   Music : Walk On By  by  Bryan Adams