August is drawing to a close and so has the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. There are fewer and fewer plastic beer glasses on the streets... the tourists and dreadlocked street performers are all making their way home... and the posters are coming down.
The Fringe will melt away for another year until August 2012, which is when it happens all over again!
The Fringe will melt away for another year until August 2012, which is when it happens all over again!
Call me premature, call me well organised... it's your shout, but after reflecting on the past month as an Edinburgh dweller, I thought I'd give you a short survival guide for next year's Fringe. Here's what you'll need:
- Patience - The streets are jam-packed with tourists at festival time. You can only put half a foot in front of the other without stepping on someone. The quick 5 to 10 minute bus journey may degenerate into a 30 minutes plus ordeal! So be patient.
- Adventurous spirit - Some of the best acts at the festival aren't always the most famous ones or ones that have been most promoted. Book a random show and you could be in for a pleasant surprise.
- iPod, MP3 and book - Entertainment kit for when you're stuck on the bus!
- Cheerful countenance and disposition - If you're not a laugher or a smiler, stay away, because the city doesn't want you! Eeeeverybody laughs and smiles in Edinburgh in August. You'll stick out like a sore thumb!
- Raincoat and suncream - The rain's been a pouring here this summer, but because people are of that cheerful disposition we talked about, they've neither noticed nor cared. When the sun gets out, it really gets out, but take a raincoat too and enjoy the best of both worlds!
Most of the items on the list are affordable. But if the iPod or the MP3 are over your budget, invest in a copy of War and Peace or the Lord of the Rings trilogy. You won't make it to the end of them while you're here. They're just for good measure!
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