After a busy last few weeks of March traveling all the way to Cornwall and back, April was more a time to enjoy things close by.
The Ceildh Culture festival and the International Harp Festival both took place at the beginning of the month so there were plenty of cultural activities. I started with the Royal Highland Pipers Society Centennial concert at the Royal Scots Club which was like those gentlemen clubs you read about in novels - men in kilts drinking whiskey in leather chairs. The two harp concerts highlighted a range of styles. The first was at a private boys school on the edge of the city and featured Dominiq Bouchaud, a harpest from Brittany, and Ferintosh, a trio from the US and Canada. The next night at St. Mary's Cathedral the concert featured Canty, a female a cappella quartet, and the Poozies, a harp, fiddle, and accordian quartet.
The next week I went to see two long-established Celtic musicians, harpist Robin Williamson and guitarist John Renbourn. I also went to the airport to see the play Roam. The audience actually had to go through airport security and moved around the airport for various parts of the play.
During the third week I went to see the musical Mama Mia where the 20-something audience really got into the music of Abba. That week concluded with the National Orchestra playing Verdi's Requiem.
Over the Easter weekend I went to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh to see what was blooming. The rhodendron were just coming out and the daffodils were in full bloom. The buds on the other flowering trees were just beginning to open up. The alpine plants were in full bloom and the orchids in the glasshouses were perfect for the holidays. Because it was a holiday weekend, there were all kinds of jugglers, stilt walkers, and clowns on the grounds.
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On Easter itself the city holds a festival, largely for kids, in the Princes St. Gardens. There are egg hunts where they hid the eggs under overturned flower pots, a petting zoos, several bagpipe bands, a little train, a maypole, lots of games, and several other concerts.
All the National Trust properties opened up in April, so now I have a whole new set of things to visit. I started with two quite different Edinburgh sites:
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Georgian House in New Town |
 Gladstone's Land in Old Town |
 Writer's Museum |
At the end of the month, Edinburgh had a Beltane Fire Festival to welcome spring and bless the cattle and crops. It is based on a pre-Christian Gaelic festival and involves a cast of about 100 (largely college-age men and women) who dress up in elaborate costumes and paint their bodies different colors to indicate the different characters. It started at 9:00 pm on Calton Hill and ended a little after midnight. About 15,000 people attended and followed the performers as they processed around the hill and performed different activities and dances.
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 Fire dancers |
 Red beasties |
Last updated: 02-May-2006
