A peek into Auld Reekie

[imomus]

In Edinburgh to attend sister's wedding. Flew into Paisley, which I don't think I've visited since being born there.

Hisae and I dressed as "the king and queen of Bhutan"... under yellow rain capes. There was time on Saturday for a quick shifty around my old home town in the rain.

The Talbot Rice Art Centre, upstairs at the Old University, was doing some sort of thinktank design event themed around finding ways to make the gallery itself less "Edinburgh's best-kept secret". Frankly, more people might visit if they handed curation over to the people from The Embassy instead of showing exhausted crap.

In contrast, Analogue Books has a sweet little exhibition of drawings and prints by Eri Itoi. Rent hikes continue to threaten the priceless little design store, though. And rising real estate prices also threaten our favourite Edinburgh not-for-profit cafe, art and rehearsal space, The Forest. The Bristo Place building is currently up for sale.

"The Forest is not for sale, because nobody owns the spirit of what we do," says the handout. "However, the building we use is up for sale". Bit of a body / soul dichotomy going on there, it seems. The Forest's soul is going to have to find a new body. Can you still have shitty patina (in the best possible sense) in a British city centre with zany property prices? Can students still camp on crappy secondhand sofas relatively close to their campus, when the buildings could all be chopped up into glossy copies of 1970s New York lofts and sold for half a million each?

Watch this space... or should I say this "soul"?

Comments

[jermynsavile.livejournal.com]

"Can you still have shitty patina (in the best possible sense) in a British city centre with zany property prices?"

Er, no. All you can have is faux shitty patina, corporate shitty patina and, occasionally, illegally occupying and therefore temporary shitty patina.

[ortho-bob.livejournal.com]

You could also trying getting the city to designate such places as "iconic" and sort of exempt from redevelopment as has happened here in Austin, TX. Unfortunately they've done this after all the truly unique and non-corporate places (like Les Amis (http://www.vivalesamis.com/)) have long since gone.

[(Anonymous)]

And did you happen bump into that surreptitious gay who brought you up according to a fantasy?

[kumakouji.livejournal.com]

"Hisae and I dressed as "the king and queen of Bhutan"... under yellow rain capes."

You really shouldn't be upstaging your own sister on her wedding day...

[lecabinet.livejournal.com]

A very drizzly afternoon in the 'Burgh. In its defense, Talbot Rice gallery has held student exhibitions lately.

The Scottish Hobo Society (http://www.myspace.com/thescottishhobosociety) is a good night with bands and a tenuously 'ironic' attitude to professional outdoorsmen, if you're around in Edinburgh tonight.

[grimgrim.livejournal.com]

My favourite place too, the Forest. It is Edinburgh University Settlement who own it and who are selling it off... advertised as a "Club / Bar / Leisure opportunity."

Good analogy with the soul.

When the Forest's soul leaves it will become soulless.

[jannavarro.livejournal.com]

weirdly, eri itoi works reminds me some simon evan's draws...

My Forest story

[kineticfactory.livejournal.com]

I found the Forest when I last visited Edinburgh, and was pleasantly surprised to find such a place in Britain. Then I texted my friend (who used to live in Edinburgh, but is now in Melbourne) telling him about this great cafe I found, and he replied with "no way, I helped set that up" (which he did).

Anyway, it's sad to hear that it's going away. I was hoping it'd be there next time I'm in Edinburgh. Hope they can reestablish it somewhere else.