The Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, and Edinburgh International Book Festival are currently running in yes, you've guessed it, Edinburgh! Wow! I haven't been at the festival for ages and here were in the thick of it. The main festival is made up of several performances of varying genres. Brian and I have tickets for two main festival shows. THe Fringe consists of hundreds of shows all over the city, all day, every day during August. There's comedy, opera, dance, children's shows, plays, street theatre, and art showings. Edinburgh is jam packed with visitors here to soak up the festival atmosphere. I have found myself to be unsure as to who I am during the festival. The choices are:
a) a disgruntled local, irritated at how long it takes to get to work on the bus due to the large volume of festival goers who have to ask the bus driver how much it costs and how to get there...
or
b) an excited local, ready to plunge into the festival, taking in as many shows as possible, and sampling as much culture as is humanly possible.
I have been a bit of both! We've seen a few shows already. the first was Rock 'n' Roll Romeo and Juliet. Let's just say, I giggled all the way through, but it wasn't a comedy...! We also saw Beyond the Chariots. This is a one man play by Rich Swingle. He and his wife are staying with us while he performs on the Fringe. This play is about Eric Liddell after the Chariots of Fire story, about when he was a missionary in China. It's a wonderful piece of theatre. :Last night we saw Miracle in Rwanda. This is also a one-person play about a woman who survived the Rwandan Genocide by hiding in a tiny bathroom with seven other women. She deservedly received a standing ovation. Tomorrow night we'll see Impressing the Czar - a ballet about the rise of Western Civilisation. It's billed as being full of interesting choreography, multi media etc... Next week we'll see a production of Orpheus X.
It's all go around here!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Friday, August 3, 2007
Bonnie Scotland
We just got back from a Friday night out at IKEA. I know what you're thinking "those Bakers sure know how to party..." :-) The reason we went tonight is that this was the only time our friend Kat could drive us there. Seeing as we don't own a car yet, we rely on friends such as she to transport us to important places - like IKEA. We bought ourselves a bookshelf and various kitchen implements we just HAD to have.
On to more important things. This week I had the opportunity to travel to Aberdeenshire. I spent my university years in Aberdeen, so was thrilled for the chance to be up in that part of the world again. The purpose of my visit was a Christi nyouth festival called Imagine. I was co-leading two seminars with a guy from Scripture Union Scotland (actually, the Chief Executive). The seminars seemed to go well, and I really enjoyed working with Andy. It was great to have the opportunity to brush up on such skills - having been out of youthwork for a few years, I was nervous about giving seminars to 12-16 year olds again. I was very impressed by the set up of the festival, the types of folks they have on board and the careful and thoughtful way they go about it. By the way, Scripture Union is a Christian children's charity who do schools work, camps, holidays, and work with churches to reach children and young people in Scotland.
The other cool thing was the drive to Aberdeen. I happen to think that the Granite City itself (Aberdeen is literally made up of a lot of granite!) is gorgeous - especially in the sun when the buildings sparkle. The surrounding countryside isn't the most spectacular in Scotland, but it is lovely. And driving around, I felt at peace. Scotland is beautiful, and just love being back in my surroundings again. The coast lines, the cliffs, hills, fields, mountains... just lovely.
Of course, I say things like that and immediately get pangs for the people I love and miss in the USA. But I can't deny the fact that I love my country and I am delighted to be back. I can't wait to take Brian all over Scotland and England!
On to more important things. This week I had the opportunity to travel to Aberdeenshire. I spent my university years in Aberdeen, so was thrilled for the chance to be up in that part of the world again. The purpose of my visit was a Christi nyouth festival called Imagine. I was co-leading two seminars with a guy from Scripture Union Scotland (actually, the Chief Executive). The seminars seemed to go well, and I really enjoyed working with Andy. It was great to have the opportunity to brush up on such skills - having been out of youthwork for a few years, I was nervous about giving seminars to 12-16 year olds again. I was very impressed by the set up of the festival, the types of folks they have on board and the careful and thoughtful way they go about it. By the way, Scripture Union is a Christian children's charity who do schools work, camps, holidays, and work with churches to reach children and young people in Scotland.
The other cool thing was the drive to Aberdeen. I happen to think that the Granite City itself (Aberdeen is literally made up of a lot of granite!) is gorgeous - especially in the sun when the buildings sparkle. The surrounding countryside isn't the most spectacular in Scotland, but it is lovely. And driving around, I felt at peace. Scotland is beautiful, and just love being back in my surroundings again. The coast lines, the cliffs, hills, fields, mountains... just lovely.
Of course, I say things like that and immediately get pangs for the people I love and miss in the USA. But I can't deny the fact that I love my country and I am delighted to be back. I can't wait to take Brian all over Scotland and England!
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