EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

"The Irish gave the bagpipes to the Scots as a joke, but the Scots haven't seen the joke yet."
- Oliver Herford

Every August, Scotland’s capital becomes a sea of humanity. This is the Edinburgh International Festival. One long-standing feature of the Festival is the nightly Royal Tattoo; another is the Fringe Festival.

Tattoo in this context has nothing to do with body art. Here, it is a term derived from the phrase doe den tap toe ("turn off the tap"), or “Taps.” This end-of-the day song was originally meant to tell tavern keepers that it was time for last call so that the troops could get to their quarters and get some sleep. So the name became attached to this evening program that started some 70 years ago as a military show. It now has evolved into a festival of bands, dancers, and other performers from all over the world, demonstrating an international camaraderie based on music.

We had booked our Tattoo tickets well in advance, and booked a hotel room less than a mile from the Castle.  Walking would be the only way to get there. A few blocks to the Royal Mile brought us into a mass of people climbing Castle Hill to the entrance of Edinburgh Castle, which grandly overlooks the city and on the grounds of which the Tattoo is held.

On the approach to the Castle and the Tattoo

The evening began with an announcer who sounded more like a country fair barker than the narrator of a grand festival (e.g., “congratulations to Mildred and Ted from Middlesex who are celebrating their anniversary”). The folksiness soon gave way to a Malawi dance troupe in traditional garb who, after a short dance, greeted the Grand Marshal of the evening who partook of a toast. Using whisky of course.

Malawi dance troupe welcomes the Tattoo's
official host

Then came the pipers. A corps of hundreds of bagpipers took the field. They were followed by performers from some 40 different countries. Some countries had their own pieces, such as an all-female marching band from Oman, accompanied by men and women (also from Oman) on horseback playing drums and bagpipes. 

Omani horse corps and marching band

Or the Swiss drum team—an astounding performance that included flaming drumsticks (sorry, not photos of this—I was too transfixed to remember to take pictures). Other countries combined: a fife and drum corps from both the U.S. and France, with the correlation being that both countries had their revolutions close in time. 

U.S. Air Force Precision Drill Team

Ninety minutes later was the grand finale. All the performers took the field together and performed a precision march, then stood while Amazing Grace was sung. Then, in a haunting moment, the Lone Piper stood atop the Castle and played a quiet (well, as quiet as a bagpipe can be) air. Then all marched from the field. (Alas, I am unable to load the video of the finale, so the still photo below is the best I can do.)

Tattoo finale

 Since we had barely 24 hours in Edinburgh before we had to meet our ship the next day in Newcastle, we knew we would not be able to partake in much else in the International Festival, but had hoped at least to see a street performance or two from the Fringe Festival. We felt lucky to get a hotel room at all, much less getting one that was obtained with points. When we arrived at the hotel, it appeared to be in an out-of-the-way neighborhood, so we despaired of finding even a little piece of the Fringe. Little did we know. While strolling the neighborhood, we decided to brave what looked like a deserted path. Ha! It turned out that we were right next to the University of Edinburgh, the primary home of the Fringe Festival. So we had a Fringe afternoon.

Street performance promoting a Fringe show

Fringe mascot

Fringe party tent in the shadow of the Castle

The Fringe Festival started in 1947 as an alternative theater “invasion” that was not an official part of the International Festival. It has grown over the years to the point where it dominates the larger festival, and includes hundreds of shows each day at pop-up venues all over the city. Comedy, drama, and performances that defy description are the order of the day. Many are tongue-in-cheek, others are deadly serious, still others are avant-garde and others more mainstream. Some are free; others charge admission. And a couple million people fill the streets to attend.

Indeed, we were unable to attend any actual shows. But we watched a number of street performances and spent the day strolling around the streets that were filled with festivities.

It was a satisfactory way to spend 24 hours. 

An interesting food stand at the Fringe