Best Firework Show Ever?

Gondola Races

Gondola races are one of those things that are better in concept than they are in real life.

When I was in Venice at the beginning of the month, I got to see the Regata Storica, which is the largest gondola race in Venice. While you would think gondola races would be pretty exciting, they were anything but. The whole program of races was running very late and there were lengthy half hour waits between races. There is little passing and those passes that do take place are very gradual.

Becoming British?

When I was in Venice last weekend, I was talking to some Canadians who were staying at the same place I was. One of them brought up the different kinds of "chips" that are available in Canada. She was saying that ketchup chips are particularly good. It was only after a couple of confusing minutes that I realised she was talking about french fries rather than potato chips.

Does automatically assuming "chips" means french fries mean I am slowing becoming British?

Fringe Reviews

Here are my rating of the Edinburgh Fringe shows I saw this year.

• Dave Gorman *****
• Milton Jones *****
• Jack Whitehall *****
• Mark Nelson **** 1/2
• Cambridge Footlights ****
• Pete Firman ****
• Andy Parsons *** 1/2 (not bad, just did not live up to my expectations)
• Mat Ricardo ***

August 2011 Update

August in Scotland means only one thing, Festivals.

This month I've been busy going to shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. On 5th August, I saw Dave Gorman doing his powerpoint show. The show was excellent and I highly recommend it. It was a little weird that the show was held in the George Square lecture theatre. I used to have philosophy lectures there that used powerpoint and now I was sitting there watching a comedian use powerpoint.

The following day I watched Hibernian play Sunderland, an English Premier League team. It wasn't the most exciting match, but Hibs were able to hold out for a draw against a much stronger team. After that I saw the "Best of Irish Comedy" show. The show has a different cast each night. That Saturday it was Neil Delamere, Elaine Malcolmson and another Northern Irish comedian with Martin Mor as the MC.

This past Tuesday I saw Milton Jones before going to the Tattoo. Milton Jones is an excellent one-liner. His comedy was pretty intellectual. You needed to listen closely to catch his play on words. I still have tickets to see Jack Whitehall, Andy Parsons and the Cambridge Footlights later this month. I'm also going to see the Scotland vs Italy rugby game at Murrayfield.

Below is a video I took of the Dutch Bicycle Band at the Tattoo.

Scottish is ...

Stirling Castle

On June 12, I visited the recently reopened Royal Palace of Stirling Castle. The Palace had its grand opening the previous weekend after being closed for renovations over a couple of years. It has been completely been redone as it would have looked in the 16th century.

I had been to the Palace the first time I visited Stirling in December 2007, shortly before it was closed for renovations. The difference between then and now is huge. In 2007, the walls had been striped back and were bare stone. Historic Scotland did a great job. Below are a couple pictures I took.

The Stirling Heads