Edinburgh Airport Rail Link EARL

The Edinburgh Airport Rail Link was scrapped because basically there was no money to do it – too much going on those  wonderful Edinburgh Trams – which won’t actually now reach the airport apparently.

It is a pity, because the EARL project would have linked over 60 stations in Scotland to the airport.     You would think that if Warsaw can manage to do it (driven by the European Football competition Poland is sharing with Ukraine), that we just might manage it in Scotland.

And do you know how close the actual railway is to the airport?    It is this close, and this is not a zoomy picture.   The next set of landing lights is on the other side of the train.

Edinburgh Airport Runway from the Train

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Edinburgh Festival Chaos

Heading to Edinburgh?    Lots to see and do, and shows are booking well by all accounts.   Hope the rain stays off.

But Edinburgh is a city under seige from miles and miles of Heras fencing, seas of  yellow diversion signs, diggers, men in high-vis jackets and general mess as the work for the Trams is ongoing.   

Driving between the North and South of Edinburgh is all but impossible – even for locals, as a route open one day may be suddenly closed the next.     Busses are coralled into George Street.   Clearly this is Edinburgh Council’s revenge against the electorate of Edinburgh who voted against their proposed congestion charge.    Latest encouraging news is that the Council are taking the Tram contractors to court for not fulfilling their contract.

Also, key attractions like the Royal Museum, the Portrait Gallery, the Commonwealth Pool and the City Arts Centre are all closed at the same time for months for major refurbishment.    Who planned that?

 Anyway, this is Princes Street.     Shocking.     Good luck trying to walk along it, and (even worse), cross it.    And in case you thought that you could drive North/South at Haymarket, you can’t.    It looks just like Princes Street.

Princes Street Tram Mess

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Preview of the Last Witch

Getting to things in the Edinburgh Festival is always difficult because it coincides with farm harvest. We really wanted to catch The Last Witch – a new play by Rona Munro, directed by Domenic Hill, so we travelled to the Citizens to see the very first performance ever.

In 1727 Janet Horne was tried as a witch and burnt in a barrel of tar at Dornoch in Sutherland.    She was the last witch to be burnt in Scotland.

The Last Witch

It is probably not fair to review this, as there is a good week or so before it opens in the main Fesitval in Edinburgh, and there may be changes – there was certainly no script available.

But let’s just say we were impressed. Good story, great acting all round from a strong cast, and a production that builds the tension nicely to a frightening climax.

The first act sets it all up, but the second act really makes it. The packed house was very enthusiastic.  

It will be interesting to see how this does in the main Festival.    It is completely sold out already.

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