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Fall
2004 Issue 9 |
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| Michael Hart's Road Notes: 1 2 3 4 5 Michael Hart’s Notes From The Road #4: Do you have one of those lists, "Things To Do before I Die?" I've kind of had one in my head, not sure if I ever wrote them all down. I can scratch off "Fly On The Concorde" now, can't I? Well, if you do, I highly recommend adding to yours "See The Edinburgh Tattoo." I saw my 3rd last Saturday night, and it still thrills me each time. Having originally hoped to be "on holiday" in Scotland this time of year, I had ordered tickets in January. They go on sale on December 15th this year, and you can get them via the Internet. They become quite valuable, as the entire run of the show (3 weeks, with two performances on Friday and Saturday, the late one at 10:30, being my choice, as it finally is dark at that hour, so the spectacle is more pronounced, and there is a fireworks show at the end) sells out, and I heard that there were tickets on E-Bay for the performance we went to for 6-8 times face value. If you don't know: The Tattoo is actually part of the annual Edinburgh International Festival, and is a musical extravaganza put on by the military on the esplanade in front of Edinburgh Castle, which sits perched up on Castle Hill looking down over Edinburgh, and it really is right out of a fairy tale book. While they have guests from around the world each year (this year had dancers from India and Estonia, as well as the military bands from South Africa and China), it's the pipe and drums that blow you away; that, and the backdrop of a 1,000 year-old castle, awash in magnificently choreographed colored lights. The lone piper, high atop the battlements at the end, lit by a solitary light while all goes dark...well, what can I say, other than that I HIGHLY recommend it if you have any interest at all. Google it and you will get to their site right away..... The night before, I hit the member's room at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, of which I have been a member for a number of years. As luck would have it, their new in-town digs were only a 12-minute walk from my hotel. As Church Lady would say, "How convenient!" After a wonderful dinner, I was upstairs at the bar having a "wee dram" or two, and overheard the fellow a few feet down say something about having a Texas Driver's License, although doing so in a very decidedly Scottish accent. So, I took that as an opportunity to strike up a conversation ( always easy when you're well-oiled), and found that he had worked in Austin a couple of years ago for awhile, as he is in IT. Anyway, since I had an extra ticket, he agreed enthusiastically to join me the next night at The Tattoo. After the show, he suggested a pint, and who was I to say no? Then he suggested a nightcap at his flat, just a 5-minute walk away from Edinburgh University, where we had gone for the pint, as he had a number of the Society Malts. Well, when it was time for me to head back to the hotel, there was not a cab to be found, they were ALL occupied , as everyone had the same idea at that time of morning. Luckily, I have a pretty good sense of direction, as I was in a strange part of town without a map. About 45 minutes later I managed to make it back to my room, and I figured the exercise probably didn't do me any harm... although I haven't been up that late since, hell, I don't even know. Back at the Livingston centre the next day, I was again reminded of the remnants of "class" which still exist in Great Britain, to wit (to wit? God, where did that come from...other than Firesign Theatre?): the recording which occasionally played regarding signing up for some credit offer or another, referred to being qualified for it. While we would have probably heard "Subject to credit approval," their way of saying it was "Subject to status," with the last word being pronounced "STAY-tus." Well, as for me, my status is, I'm in France, staying in a small hotel housed in a building dating to the 14th or 15th century, so no, there is no internet.... Perhaps this will get electronically posted at the next stop, also in France, but I think at an establishment which might have those kinds of things. Eight stops down, five to go, And I'm finding it's not as easy as it used to be; this getting older has some attendant quirks. But, nothing that some wine won't help, I'm thinkin'.... Wish I could remember something from French class other than "Where is the library" or "Give me the butter..."
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