Festival assortment

Back home from another fabulous Edinburgh Festival weekend. In just 48 hours I encountered, amongst others, Michael Clark, Michael Mansfield, Frances Barber, El Greco, W G Sebald, Ray Charles, Picasso, Billie Holiday, David Bowie, Brahms, John Bellany, Renoir, Karin Schaupp, Tam White and Greg Behrendt. The Festival to me is like a chocolate box of art, music, books and theatre - all in easy to reach, bite-size chunks, wrapped up in the pleasure of Edinburgh streets, squares, slopes, parks and gardens. It seems I was part of a record-breaking audience this year. The Fringe recorded a 21% rise in ticket sales compared to last year with my tickets being just five of the 1.8 million tickets sold - let alone main International Festival and Book Festival tickets. The one blot on the landscape, quite literally, is the brutal gash of road works caused by the long term build for the Edinburgh tram. Goodness, I hope it's worth it! Right now endless traffic congestion and pedestrian re-routeing is disturbing enough for us visitors. So by the time of its completion in 2012, I reckon Edinburgh residents will deserve the best tram system ever in return for their patience.