Wednesday, May 8 - Edinburgh, Scotland
We woke in our beds Wednesday morning without an alarm, without a wake-up call, with no train to catch and with a magnificent city to explore! What a treat! Another in a series of handsome young Scots (no kilts – DARN!) brought our breakfast and we leisurely drank our coffee as we planned our day. The week on the road showed me the error of my packing ways and I packed a box with a few t-shirts and purchases to send back to Indiana. It was a time to rest and reflect. SueC gently suggested I get off my ass and finish the Oxford review so that she could post it to her website. After coffee and rolls, somehow it was 2pm, so SueC prioritized our touring needs and decided that we would visit the Palace and the Castle. 
I was confused...wasn’t that the same thing? No, it wasn’t!
I love cultural differences, realizing both all the things we take for granted in the USA and all the things we are missing. I still don’t have a handle on UK culture, and I’m sure it varies regionally just as it does in the US. On our arrival back from Glasgow, I found an envelope on my pillow. I opened it, and within was a handwritten note on Balmoral (Bal MORE al, I discovered to my chagrin – not BAL more al. Yikes!) stationery which said: Dear Mrs Grayson, Your maid discovered a five pound note on your pillow this afternoon. The housekeeping staff is not allowed to remove anything from the rooms. You must leave a handwritten note attached to any money you wish to give the staff. Your maid’s name is Alice, and if you wish her to have it, you must leave it with a note. Thank you, the Housekeeping Manager Well, I was amazed! We laughed and laughed over this, since where we come from, leaving money on the pillow in your hotel room is understood for the maid’s tip. I did my level best to “fix” the situation. Unfortunately, SueC had been snacking on the room stationery. I hunted thru my laptop case and found some paper left over from Caesar’s Tahoe. If you’ve been to see the Moodies in Tahoe, you know that the stationery is less than elegant, and has a scalloped border that looks like it has been burned similarly to the map at the beginning of Bonanza, and has a large Caesar’s watermark at the top. I have no doubt that the Balmoral housekeeping staff is STILL passing that paper around and laughing hysterically. I wrote a note saying that the money HAD been intended for Alice, and thanked her for her services, but then realized that ANOTHER maid would be doing my room on Wednesday. Sigh I wrote another handwritten note, AGAIN on Caesar’s Tahoe stationery for the maid of the day, carefully folded it with a bill inside. It seems the least I can do for stealing their soap! How bizarre! Tipping the maid isn’t a British custom? It did however explain the three pound coins I had left on my pillow in Bristol and found the next morning in my bed! LOL!!! The Venue Usher Hall is a unique and lovely venue. 
It’s built of the same limestone/sandstone that the other buildings in
Edinburgh are made of, and looks like it will last for centuries.
John, our afternoon guide, told us that the stone wall is four feet thick,
and I was relieved to know that not only would we enjoy a concert but at
the same time be protected from nuclear blast. It was a theatre
type venue that seats 2000 to 2500 (depending on which security guard you
asked) They told me 1800 tickets had been sold, so I think the 2000
figure must be correct since there were very few seats empty. The
auditorium was one of the prettiest ones I’ve ever seen! It was white with
gold accents. White columns with gold designs were on either side
of the stage and the balconies and walls were white with crowns, laurel
wreaths and violins in gold. The ceiling was beautiful, white, with
various designs including celtic knots in gold. A very striking place!
The floor was slightly inclined and ran from row A to Row DD. There
were two small balconies which curved along the wall toward the stage.
The floor was almost sold out, and a few seats were empty in the balcony.
Some of those seats were probably obstructed view behind the lighting equipment.
The 4-ft stage had a wooden front. It was shallow and the mikes were pushed up front to within 4 feet of the edge. The stage wasn’t very wide, and it was closed in. The monitor board was right against the wall. Speaker stacks were on either side of the stage, as were overhead speakers. The setlist was performed in its entirety and there was a 15 minute intermission. Though our tickets said 7:30, and we made sure to arrive well ahead of time, the posters said 8pm, and 8:10, it was! The on-time crowd were treated to the roadie show and waited quietly in their seats. The Fashion Report RT – Black on Black GE – Jimi Hendrix shirt, black slacks JH – White long slvd THIN white shirt, black slacks, PMS JH – White on white embroidered shirt, cuffs undone, leathers, boots, black long slvd shirt second The Concert All of the concerts this tour have been good, and Usher Hall in Edinburgh was no exception. You have an idea of how the crowd is going to be by their reception of The Voice...the crowd didn’t stand and proved to be fairly staid. JH goes back to the wings after Forever Autumn at the half (skipping a bit as he leaves the stage) Three of The Band came out then for YWD to applause. After a moment, JL came out and got his OWN applause. JH is “sniffling” and pinching his nose and I noticed a box of tissues on top of JL’s new amps which Justin used during a free moment. He doesn’t seem to be sick or puny, possibly it is allergy problems. ILS had a small glitch tonight. My notes say it was a minor drummer problem. JH and JL exchanged glances, and GE looked at GM as if he was hoping to get them together. It was small and they quickly recovered. JH came in too early on LOAM, before the flute part. Again, it was very minor. Lighting was incredibly BAD at Usher Hall! The front spots were located on both sides of the balcony, and while the spot on the left side was fine, the spot on the right side was angled up too far and shot over their heads. This resulted in our side of JH and JL being in the dark. The side of the stage past JL was completely in the dark, and when JL or JH stood over there, they couldn’t be seen! Now, HOW could anyone not notice this? LOL!!! Neither the crew nor the affected members of The Band apparently did, because it wasn’t corrected at half. It was very annoying. Good concert with nothing special except for the  incredibly
gorgeous venue.
One of the things that is unique about the UK concerts is ICE CREAM! (You can’t pay these people to give you a full glass of ice with your Diet Coke, but ice cream is everywhere. I’m going to have to think about going the Diet Coke float route.) I was amazed that ice cream was sold at the RAH, but it seems to be a common thing. As an AETF pointed out: the line for ice cream was longer than either the bar line or the women’s restroom line. LOL Several other venues have also offered ice cream at the “interval”, some bringing a cart INTO the auditorium by the stage. At Usher Hall, the cart was parked in the hallway surrounding the stalls. I tried the ice cream once – I love ice cream. I bought what in the States is a “drumstick”. It’s a hard waffle cone. I made the horrible mistake of going outside, visiting the ladies room and then buying ice cream RIGHT before the end of the interval. Oh dear! The lights dimmed, Justin came out to wow us with Forever Autumn and to my horror, I’m holding a dripping ice cream cone in my hand. I can’t put it down and I can’t clap, and worse, I’m on the front row and can’t HIDE. Sometimes you HAVE to eat at a concert, but I don’t like doing it. It’s rude to the Artists and disrespectful, imho. And here I was doing it. LOL! I’m sorry, guys! I just held it during Forever Autumn, and tried to surreptitiously bite it during YWD. It lasted well into Isn’t Life Strange. No more ice cream for me! MaggieMay |
Nottingham