Scotland the Brave James L. Littlefield

If you were contemplating a trip to Scotland then I suggest you go in August. The weather is most salubrious at that time of year though there is always the chance of showers.  But the sun, never far behind the clouds, soon brings welcome warmth to the walker.

There are two additional attractions that make August an alluring time to visit Scotland’s capital.  One is The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. In Edinburgh, a tattoo is not what you have engraved on your arm with the name of your latest amour. Rather, it is the tattoo, a military parade extravaganza that takes place the entire month of August. The word derives from the drum or bugle call to summon soldiers to their barracks at the end of the day.  Edinburgh’s tattoo is a presentation of massed bag-pipes with kilt clad pipers, drum and bugle corps, drill teams, dancing Highland lassies, motorcycle daredevils, fiddlers from the Shetland Isles and fireworks above the castle, all a grand display of Scottish pride and culture.  It is staged on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle, the open area in front of the castle gates. Here there are large grandstands quite similar to a football field in either the continental or American sense of the term allowing excellent views of the spectacle below.  The festival begins with the entrance of the Black Watch regimental pipers skirling Scotland the Brave and ends with the Lone Piper playing a mournful tune on the castle ramparts.  Between come presentations by The King’s Guard of Norway, the New Zealand Army band doing a haka (a Maori war dance), the Nepalese Army band, the band of the Royal Marines and many more acts.

The other attraction, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, also takes place throughout August. This event is hard to describe.  Picture a street fair with free-for-all buskers, a side-show at the circus, Carnival, plays, musicals, cabaret, comedy, all rolled into one.  This August there were 3,269 shows with 50,266 performances mostly by amateurs from all over the world.   For example, a street production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth by Kabuki players from Japan.  At least that’s what it appeared to be.  But it could have been something entirely different.  Perhaps it was in English; perhaps it was Othello; perhaps they were Korean.  There were clowns and face painters, jugglers and magicians.  It’s hard to beat the mystery of three card Monte. Some tried.  

And the balloon girl. Under a large, rainbow striped umbrella she creates a hat, a bracelet or almost any animal you desire.  Choose the balloon’s color.  She blows it up, twists and turns, squeezes and squeaks and soon, voila! There you have it! And for only two pounds.  So, I asked her to fashion a pink French poodle for me.  With deft and dexterous fingers, she created it.  

So, I asked her, “What’s his name?”  

She replied, “Pierre, of course”.  

“But why Pierre?” I asked. 

She smiled, “Because that’s all he can do.”