[Dixielandjazz] Re Edinburgh Jazz Festival (was Ban on Musicians)

[John McClernan]

On Apr 28, 2008, at 5:11 PM, Ken Mathieson wrote:

Hi Marek, John et al,

The Jazz Festival, like the Book Festival and the Film Festival was  
encouraged to run at a different time from the main festivals, and a  
number of years ago opted to run in the week preceding the start of  
the Fringe. Before the move, it was becoming increasingly difficult  
to hire venues, find accommodation etc, and getting about the city  
was becoming tricky at peak times. I guess that John must have  
arrived in town after the Jazz Festival had finished.

Ken,
That must be the case. We arrived on 11 August, saw the Tattoo on 13  
August and left the next morning to drive up to John O' Groats (my,  
haven't they spoiled that with the tourist shops!), stopping at  
several sights and sites along the way, such as Dunrobin and Wick. We  
drove around the highlands and down the west side, stopping at some  
of the Harry Potter sites (the train, the viaduct, etc.) for my  
daughter on our way back to Edinburgh, arriving on the 21st. We flew  
the next morning to Southampton to visit my mother's family,  
returning to the states on 3 Sept. A wonderful time was had by all.

By the way, for those of us in the states who are grumbling about the  
gasoline prices in the US, other places have it worse. In Scotland  
last August, on average we were paying the equivalent of $7.25 per US  
gallon for the lowest grade of petrol. Thank goodness they have a  
good train system and buses that go virtually everywhere!

Cheers,
John