FESTIVAL PREVIEW
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Edinburgh. Phone 031 229 8660 tor information about the association.
0 SYHA Hostel 17 18Eglinton Crescent. Edinburgh. 03] 337 1120. 216 beds. 5—15 years £3.50; I6—20years£3.45:2l + years £3.75. Shop. cooking facilities available 7— ltlam and 2—1 1pm. llostel open 7—1 1am and 2pm—2am. Breakfast £ 1 .60; Dinner £2. Sheet hire 50p. Buses 26 or 31 from Tourist Centre.
0 SYHA Hostel 7 8 Bruntsfield Crescent. Edinburgh. 1131 447 2994. 170 beds. 5—15 years £2.90; l6—20years £3.20; 21 + years £3.50. Shop. cooking facilities available. llostelopen 7am—l 1pm and 2pm—2am. Buses l 1. l5. 16 from Scott Monument.
0 Independent Hostel Blackfriars Street (off 1 ligh Street). Edinburgh. 031 557 3984. Self-catering. £4.30per night (mid-July—l Sept). Open all day. ()pen to non-members. Left luggage facility available. Advance reservations taken.
0 YWCA Hostel 14 Coates Crescent. West End. Edinburgh. 031 2253608. Showers. TV Lounge. Luggage kept on last day. Dinner Mon—Fri 5.30pm; Lunch Sat and Sun 1pm. Bedand Breakfast (shared) £7. (shared one night only) £7.50: (single) £7.50. (single one night only) £8.50. Buses 12. 26. 31 . 36 from Princes Street Gardens.
Caravan Parks and Campsites
0 Little France Caravan Park Old Dalkeith Road. Edinburgh. 1131 664 4742. Caravans. tents. touring caravans. Open until 1 .\'ov. Bus 33 from North Bridge. 0 Muirhouse Caravan Site Muirhouse. Tel: 031 336 6874 or 031225 2424 ext 6634. Municipal Caravan Site.
Advance bookings to the City of Edinburgh District Council. Parks and Recreation Department. 27 York Place. Site Warden’s office is open l—30 September. Caravan Site open until 5 ()ct. Bus 14 from North Bridge.
0 Mortonhall Park Caravan Site lirogston Road East (()ff A702). (131 664 I533. Touring caravans. tents. motor caravans. Open until 31 Oct.
0 Pentland Park Marine Ltd Pentland Park. Loanhead (Off A701 ). 031 4400697. Caravans. residential and touring facilities. Open all year for residential caravans. ()pen liaster—end ()ct for tourers and tents. Caravan Homes are let for the summer. April-()ct. Buses 63 or 70 from St Andrew Square Bus Station; 81 from St Andrew Square.
0 Kirkton Farm Campsite Ratho. (131333 4511. £1.50Caravan: £1 .50Tent. ()penl April—autumn. Bus 37 from St Andrew Square Bus Station.
0 Fordel Caravan Site ‘l‘ordel'. Lauder Road. Dalkeith (()ff A68). (131 663 2451 (Mrs Wright). Touring caravans. tents and motor caravans. Open until 31 ()ct.
Students
0 Pollock Halls ot Residence
St Leonard‘s l lall. 18 l lolyrood Park Road. Accommodation in halls is normally available to visiting students duringthe vacation period. However. the residence is already fully booked for the Festival period. The \r'acation Booking Desk can be contacted on 031 667 1971 as a last resort. on a standby basis for cancellations. If you are lucky. the cost will be £8.50 for Bed and Breakfast. Dinner'l‘ickets are £4.15 (resident) and £4.95 (non-resident); Lunch Tickets are £3.50 (resident) and £4.30
(non-resident). Matriculation Cards must be shown.
PLACES TO VISIT
For Galleries and Museums with Festival exhibitions see Arts listings.
0 Camera Obscura Outlook Tower. Castlehill. 226 3709. Daily 9.3llam—6pm. Take an instant trip round the city on the viewing table of this Victorian tourist attraction. Also a holography exhibition.
0 Canongate Tolbooth 163 Canongatc. 225 2424 ext 6689. Mon-Sat 1(1am—6pm. ()ne of the most picturesque buildings in Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. lnside there‘s the J. Telfer Dunbar Tartan Collection and the Scottish Stone and Brass Rubbing Centre.
0 Edinburgh University Collection of Historical Musical Instruments Reid Concert Hall. Bristo Square. 667 101 1 ext 2573. Open special hours during the Edinburgh Festival. Mon—Fri 2-5pm. One thousand instruments including stringed and woodwind. bagpipes. brass and percussion. Probably the only place in Edinburgh at this time of year you can see instruments at rest. Apart perhaps from the Russel Collection of I larpsichords and Clavichords in St Cecilia‘s l lall. Niddrie Street. Cowgate. 667
101 1 ext 4414. Mon—Sat
1230—130an The instruments can be seen in the splendour of a restored Georgian concert hall built in 1762.
o The Georgian House 7 Charlotte Square. 225 2160. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm; Sun 3—5pm. Would the Georgians have frowned upon the tents of the Book Festival which fill the view from this property. mm owned by the National 'l'rust'.’ Considering the 18th-centurv publishing explosion, l mink- not. Furnished in 18th-centurv New Town elegance. it's art ' upstairs. downstairs look at the past.
0 Gladstone’s Land 4476 Lawnmarkct. 226 5856. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm; Sun 2—5pm. The faded splendourof a 17th-century ceiling in a four-poster bedroom makes this National Trust prope rty worth u visit. Previously a merchant‘s home. it shows the living conditions of the better-oft past residentsol' the ()1d loyy n.
o Huntly House Museum 142 Canongatc. 225 2424 ext 6689. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm. This year lidinbtu‘gh‘s local history museum has mounted a special display about Mary . Queen of Scots.
0 John Knox House 4516in Street. 556 6961. Mon-Sat 10am— 5pm. l5thllcentury town house used by John Knox. the famous Scottish church reformer. The Museum of ChIIdITOOII just opposite (38 I Iigh Street. 22.5 2424 ext (1647.
10am- 5pm ) offers a more playful view of life w ith teddics. Mabel Lucie Atwell and the wonderful clatter of young visitors and the playel piano.
0 Lady Stair's House Lady Stair's Close. Lawnmarkct. 225 2424 ext 6593. Mon—Sat 10am 5pm. Free. Just behind (iladstone‘s Land. this museum honours three of Scotland‘s greatest men ofletters— Robert Burns. Sir
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Walter Scott and R1. Stevenson.
Edinburgh has a huge number of restaurants although the range is still not as cosmopolitan as London or even Glasgow. The Italian immigrants who have taken up residence in Edinburgh give a level of consistency and authenticity to the many Italian restaurants in the city, with the Indians the other nationality with strength in depth. The following selection represents not necessarily the very best in the city but a cross section of value tor money, interesting eateries.
o Hasputins 75 St Leonard Street. Edinburgh. 031 668 2917. The plates don‘t match and towards the end of the evening the atmosphere is more Turkish bath than Russian Steppe. but it has everything else going for it. Essential eating for full enjoyment ofthe theme ofthe Festival._'l‘he bortsch. blinis. pink pickled herring and Rasputin's Revenge salad becomes almost secondary once the pianola starts up. Reasonably priced. last orders 11pm. Closed Sun/Mon.
O The Doric 15- 16 Market Street. Edinburgh 031 225 1084. lrresistably close to the l-‘estiv a1 booking office this wine bar and restaurant is one of the nicest informal eating places in
There‘s not much to choose between Hank Williams and Pavarotti when you‘re half-canned. This startling revelation came to me the other night after propping up an unfamiliar bar with a chap who came with the sort of recommendation Raoul Fleischman (Who he? Ed) gave for Art Samuels (Ditto. Ed): ‘Art is one ofthe funniest men in the world on two Martinis.‘ When news of this got back to Harold Ross. legendary editor of the New Yorker. via Thurber. he said. ‘I guess] always got to parties when he was on his third. or left before he finished his first.‘ Midway through the first pint I realised I‘d been sold a used conversationalist by a man who would steal Gideon Bibles. There was nothing for it but to keep on drinking and see if he would fall underthe table. He didn‘t. Eventually I escaped by going to the loo and not coming back. What a coward.
Like most men I prefer to run rather than face someone straight. And that's what 1 should have done the night Ronnie and l were GBH‘d outside Deacon‘s. Why for don't ask me. We were having a quiet drink. pre-prandial to a white pudding supper. in celebration of the end ofthe affair. The real thing not Graham Greene‘s novel. I swear we had but a brace of pints at the most when hunger struck and we decided to hotfoot it to a
ALAN TAYLOR’
EAST LIFE
Alan Taylor looks for culture but runs into trouble.
greasy chipper. We never made it. Two dudes both as tall as basketball players and as mean as Graham Roberts were waiting for us. Usually I would feign karate expertise or mumble. ‘Go on punk. Make my day.‘ But they were obviously not movie-goers and anyhow one made a mess of Ronnie‘s nose before 1 could get my lines out. That was not in the scriptor maybe they jumped a few lines. Atsome point I knew I was supposed to say. ‘The hell you will.‘ but that was difficult flying across George [V Bridge. Then the hoodlums ran off clearly scared witless by the two prostrate warriors. Ronnie picked himself up and said. ‘l‘m not havinga white pudding supper now.‘ You could
always rely on him when the chips were down.
But as Willie Mcllvanney says. you never know where the next assault on your privacy is coming from. That was a long time ago and in another country. to borrow from another bard. and my cheekbone‘s almost back to normal. For a while. after I got out ofthe Royal Istill popped in to Deacon‘s and the landlord had the decency to donate a medicinal pint to my recovery. His advice was to stay clear of the lounge which he said is frequented by holidaying foreign muggers and stick to the public bar where there are a bevy of reliable winos. A pint ofheavy and a pinch of salt. please.
Back at the opening sentence I tried to introduce culture to this column and look where it‘s got us. I was saying to ( )scar Wilde before I realised he was a football player how I‘d been smitten by opera and was insisting that my nearest and dearest provide taglia with my telly-watching to get me in the mood. Needless to say his idea of music was turning up the volume on ‘Flower of Scotland.‘ But after 1 escaped and was safely home I poured a glass of what was left of the Cork gin and listened to Luciano Pavarotti give it laldey. as they say in the west. with La Donna e Mobile. Magic. lle‘s probably worth whatever it costs to see him. 1 must go ifever we get an opera house. [could just about suffer being surrounded by all those stuffed shirts for four hours though I doubt if they would tolerate me playing Hank on the Walkman during the boring bits. I‘ve been thinking ofmy selection for Desert Island Discs just so I‘m ready to go on at a moment‘s notice. I suppose there should only be one Hank Williamstrack and I‘ve been doing a lot of late listening lately to make sure 1 ge' the right one. I‘m going to go for Baby W ~‘re Really in Love: ‘Ifyou‘re happy with me like I‘m happy with you. then ( upid just give usa shove.‘ Ain‘t that sweet'.’ Can‘t see anything this Festival i« ipping that. can
any.)
The List 7 — 20 August 75