skip to main |
skip to sidebar
This morning (Saturday 24th March 2007), I spent some time wandering around the area of the Meadows, one of Edinburgh's public parks, witnessing the preparations for a large parade organised by the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland (GOLS) (link to their website). For those unfamiliar with Scottish tradition and culture, the GOLS is an organisation which claims to represent those who choose to view our nation's history from a particularly narrow, religious viewpoint, and who consider the inter-denominational conflicts and eventual triumph of Protestantism over Catholicism in the late seventeenth century to be a proud moment. There are many sites where one can find information on Protestant organisations such as the GOLS - for some of the more impartial descriptions, see entries on Wikipedia HERE and HERE.
The GOLS draws its membership largely from traditional working-class communities across Scotland, the "salt of the earth" which some would have us believe are the true roots of socialism and all things egalitarian - what was on display today from sections of the crowd, and also on previous such parades, was more akin to the worst excesses of narrow-minded bigotry and hatred. At least once a year, the streets of central Edinburgh echo to the tribal drums and triumphalism of Orange Order marches - visitors to my city must be more than a little puzzled by these displays, and I and many of my fellow citizens are deeply ashamed. Whilst I wholeheartedly support the right to religious, sexual, political and all other freedoms, I feel that this annual spectacle should be consigned to the dustbin of history. Alternatively, those who wish to carry on in this manner should be allowed to do so in their own backyards, in the towns and villages of central Scotland, and cease to impose their narrow-minded and blatantly confrontational views on the lives of those who have moved on. See images of this event in my Picasa Web Album.
Late last week, I watched in amazement as two Environmental Wardens, appointed by City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) to pounce on litter louts and other heinous criminals , marched into the reading rooms of the National Library, in hot pursuit of a felon. Eventually, and in front of bemused readers, they cornered a young man, and handed him a £50 spot fine for his crime, which was... discarding a cigarette end in the street outside. Those who have recently visited the area around George IV Bridge here in Edinburgh will know that it is fast becoming a wasteland of takeaway food outlets, pubs and clubs - most of the shops which made central Edinburgh such an interesting area have long since gone, to be replaced by takeaways selling every imaginable food - pizza, kebab, fish & chips, baked potato, etc, as well as restaurants pubs and clubs. For the past few decades, the inner city has been slowly turning into a wasteland, where only those in search of happy hours, late-night drinks and food are encouraged to go. Genuine "local pubs", serving the communities of the inner city, have closed and been replaced by soulless themed establishments, where only the young, beautiful and rich are allowed in, to be ripped-off with grossly inflated drinks prices. I guess that, as usual, as long as money is being made, the consequences for those who live in the inner city do not matter to either the owners of those businesses or to the CEC licensing committee.
My public rant on this theme appeared in the local rag, the Edinburgh Evening News yesterday, and can be viewed here...
Lest we forget is the slogan for Remembrance Day, marking the cessation of hostilities at the end of the First World War. It is indeed ironic, nay, shameful, that, as has been the case on so many occasions since the first Remembrance Day on 11th November 1919 , we are still witnessing the slaughter of innocents around the globe. In Iraq, in Africa, in Gaza, in Afghanistan, to name but four areas of conflict, the lies and manipulations of politicians, the military, and multi-national industry are causing the needless deaths of thousands of civilians every day - where are the poppies for them?
We should indeed remember the enormous debt we owe to the members of armed forces who laid down their lives to defend freedom - we should also remember that those soldiers, sailors and airmen were once civilians too. If ordinary people in Germany, in Iraq, and in so many other countries ignored the weasel words of their political, religious and ideological "leaders", then perhaps the history of the world might have been very different. Throughout history, those in positions of power have used generations of young men as cannon fodder, and have cared little about the loss of civilian life. If I thought for one moment that wearing a red Remembrance Day poppy would stop this slaughter, I would not hesitate. The least we can do to honour the memory and sacrifice of those who have perished - both military and civilian - is to ensure that it never happens again... wearing a red poppy will not necessarily achieve that.
The first frosts of autumn are almost upon us here in Edinburgh. Trees, which only a couple of short weeks ago were still green, are rapidly losing their leaves, and daylight is noticeably shortening each day. It has been a wonderful summer - we have explored so many new places both here in the city and also in the surrounding rural areas. Walks in the hills or alongside the local rivers have become a weekend necessity - escape from the noise and bustle is the only way to recharge the batteries of the soul. Photographs taken during our walks can be viewed on Picasaweb...
Edinburgh - the city of festivals! I originally wrote these words three weeks ago, at the start of the annual Edinburgh Festival, a generic term which currently includes the International Festival, the Fringe, the Film Festival, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Jazz and Blues Festival, the Edinburgh Book Festival, the Edinburgh Art Festival, and more. Of course, there's also Edinburgh's Hogmanay, the International Science Festival, to name only two festivals outside the midsummer months. Between them, these cultural extravaganzas attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, apparently generating tens of millions of pounds for the local economy.
As I composed this, the traffic was gridlocked outside my inner city apartment, the pollution and noise seeping through my windows -I do wonder what benefits there are for those of us who live and work in inner cities, and who provide services and support for the annual influx. Over recent decades, Edinburgh seems to have evolved into a giant tourist theme park - our local council appears hellbent on creating a festival to celebrate every conceivable area of human endeavour, largely in the name of income generation.
I was lucky enough, in August 2003, to attend a concert in the beautiful surroundings of Princes Street Gardens. This event, which was to raise awareness of anti-landmine activities, included performances by Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Billy Bragg, Chrissie Hynde, and Joan Baez. At one point during the concert, during a quiet, reflective moment, the sound of machine gun fire echoed over the gardens from the Military Tattoo being held in the Castle above - I'm sure the utter irony of this moment will live with many of us who were there. I guess that it doesn't matter what Edinburgh's festivals celebrate, as long as the money keeps rolling in...
...to the blog home of Observator Obscurus, a repository for the occasional observations, miscellaneous musings, and random rants of an obscure individual. It matters little whether the words written here are read by many or none - thoughts will appear as and when inspiration and motivation occur.
