The continuing adventures of a girl trying
to achieve forty things before she hits the grand old age of forty, although not
necessarily in the right order...
Admittedly this is one of the easiest goals
on my list. Having lived in Edinburgh for seven years I really should have got
around to doing this before now. Now, thanks to my intrepid friends Jane
Britton and Penny Watson, I have finally scaled this mighty mountain.
It was one of the first sunny days of 2013,
which boded well. Kitted out and equipped appropriately we set off to attempt
our expedition. The sun was shining and we were actually able to venture out
sans hat, scarf and gloves without fear of frostbite like Sir Ranulph.
We three hearty explorers warmed up our
limbs with a stroll across the Meadows and stopped to sustain ourselves with
hearty helpings of tea and cake. Fuelled for our epic journey, we took up our
map and compass and navigated the dangerous realms of ‘that bit at the top of
Leith Walk’. At last we discovered the long-lost hidden entrance which heralded
the start of the ascent.
The exhausting climb involved over six
hours negotiating dangerous crevasses. We lost our sherpers and ran out of
oxygen and food. Jane narrowly escaped being eaten by cannibals. Penny fell in
a snow drift.
Actually it was a pleasant stroll up a
winding path with expansive views over Edinburgh towards the Firth of Forth, but
that sounds a bit too easy!
At the top we were united with various
other explorers who had braved the ascent to picnic, stroll, walk their dogs
and read, surrounded by a panoramic view of Edinburgh. It really was a very
sunny and pleasant day.
Probably the hardest challenge was trying
to scramble up onto the Acropolis for the obligatory ‘I’ve made it’ photo. The
small child next to me made it look embarrassingly easy. Still I managed it and
struck an explorer pose between the columns. Apparently I look a bit like
something from Cloud Atlas.
It being Scotland we were accompanied a
soundtrack of bagpipes. They really do get everywhere. After a short time
enjoying the summit we braved the descent and made our way home, happy with our
achievement.
A thoroughly enjoyable adventure just seven
years in the making.
23: See
David Bowie live (the next best thing?)
So no sooner do I add ‘see Bowie live’ to
my list than he releases his first new album in ten years. Coincidence?
Sadly he is showing no intention of
touring, so I decided to do the next best thing. I went to the Bowie exhibition
at the V&A and bought the new album. I also bought the exhibition book, a t-shirt,
several postcards and a celebratory guitar plectrum before having to leave the
shop. Still it’s good to support the man in his retirement.
The exhibition at the V&A was
incredible. Bowie seems to have taken inspiration from every available source
including music, films, art, fashion and literature. It was interesting to read
about his history and the context of his work, especially for someone like me
having not grown up in the sixties. I loved hearing him talk about his inspiration
and how he wrote his lyrics as well as seeing his song notes and sketches for
album covers.
Of course the costumes were fabulous. Some
of my favourites included one made out of such heavy plastic that he had to be carried on
stage to perform in it, a vinyl trouser suit with legs about a metre wide and a
bunny leotard. He also managed to pull off suits paired with kitten heels as
well as a gold webbed body suit with just some well placed gold hands for
modesty. And I got to see the props from Labyrinth.
What I learned to appreciate was how brave
he was at a time when being so was, well, brave.
And somehow he managed to make a man in a bunny
leotard look sexy.
I’ve spent the last week listening to ‘The
Next Day’ in my car on the way to work. I gather it has had some mixed reviews.
It’s certainly more reflective than a lot of his previous work. Ok, it’s not
Ziggy Stardust or Low, but it wasn’t meant to be. Like the Berlin albums it
represents yet another change in his life and artistic direction. I quite like
it. It’s a grower. I also think it fits better together stylistically than Reality,
one of his more recent albums. The background instrumentation is rich and interesting. Plus there are some opportunities to sing along, which is always a winner with me.
It’s not quite seeing him live, but it’s
the next best thing and at the moment it may be the nearest I’ll get.
And I have my T-shirt, book, postcards and
plectrum* to fill the gap!
*I
should perhaps point out I don’t actually even play the guitar. That’s a good sale.
