Edinburgh chat thread

jimmii

Lets get the ball rolling on this then so!

When you're not dossing on boards what do you get up to in town? Anyone go to Hibs or Hearts (or Edinburgh City?!).

Anyone have any suggestions for gigs? Outside of August seems like we're lucky to get included on any of the even medium sized bands tour's.

razorblunt

Hi Jimmii!

I lived down Gorgie direction when I first moved over, went to a Hearts - Kilmarnock game once. Left at half time, it was atrocious, you could find 22 lads in a park that would have put on a higher standard of football!

The gig scene is awful here, Usher Hall try to put on what they can but they're limited to varying the concerts and also limited to what kind of act can play there.

Generally, I try to get to a few Edinburgh games, especially against the Irish team, it was handy when it was on the doorstep but now they've moved up Craiglockhart direction it's a bit of a trek.

Fysh

Sneaky Pete's tries very hard to maintain a live music scene, but the farcical noise regulations imposed by the city council mean live music outside of Festival season is generally found in Glasgow. Usher Hall also does as much as it can and is worth supporting.

Mind you, Edinburgh is very well represented for film - barring the predicable crapness of the Vue (who are pretty much omnicrap in my experience) even the multiplexes here have a really good range of films on offer, and the festival is fantastic.

NoCrackHaving

Corn Exchange does ok also in terms of gigs, saw Kasabian there last year. It's a pity that the venue on Lothian Road where the new Wetherspoons is wasn't kept up as a music venue, it used to hget a lot of medium sized bands - Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight etc. back pre 2012 according to a few of my mates.

Also I highly recommend the escape room by Holyrood 9A as a really good group activity. I think there's another one near Stockbridge also.

Fysh

On the gig front I find the Skinny's mailing list pretty good, although you also need to be on things like TicketBastard's mailing list for bigger gigs because of how far in advance they sell out.

One thing I'm looking forward to soon is the pop-up arcade event out in Ocean Terminal starting this weekend.

razorblunt

Ah crap, that gaming history event was over before I heard about it a few years back and I'm away this weekend!

Fysh

razorblunt wrote: »

Ah crap, that gaming history event was over before I heard about it a few years back and I'm away this weekend!

No worries, it's on for a fortnight.

razorblunt

Fysh wrote: »

No worries, it's on for a fortnight.

Ah nice, I'll catch it the weekend after next then.

jimmii

We went to a gig in a place with lockers in grassmarket not so long ago that was good the place was tiny though! Be nice if we had somewhere like King Tuts we went to some amazing gigs there in the past. Even just somewhere like the Roisin! Used to love going there when we lived in Galway!

We used to live on Dalmeny St so I went to a couple of hibs games and the atmosphere was actually pretty good.

We go to the cinema a lot so have unlimited cards for cineworld just so it doesn't cost too much! It's probably not as good as the Dublin one for showing smaller films but at least they try.

jimmii

Just seen there's a house of peroni pop up this weekend on one of the streets between Princes and Georges (think it might be castle St) looked interesting seems like there's more going on than it just being a bar.

Battleflag

Have seen The XX, The National, The Gloaming and Villagers all in Edinburgh over past 5 years, its not great but we do get some. Glasgow is much better for gigs tho and you have just enough time to get the last train home.
Jaysus, 5 years in Edinburgh! Time flies by

razorblunt

First outdoor lunch today lads.
Bit windy, you could say, you'd be right, but I'd made my choice and stuck it out. Probably wouldn't have in hindsight!

OneColdHand

jimmii wrote: »

Just seen there's a house of peroni pop up this weekend on one of the streets between Princes and Georges (think it might be castle St) looked interesting seems like there's more going on than it just being a bar.

Damn! Only seeing this now!

Fysh

Any of ye booked tickets for any of the Science Festival events? I just today found out about Cheeseology 2.0 but it's already sold out

jimmii

Fysh wrote: »

Any of ye booked tickets for any of the Science Festival events? I just today found out about Cheeseology 2.0 but it's already sold out

Not booked anything yet. Anything you suggest?

Fysh

jimmii wrote: »

Not booked anything yet. Anything you suggest?

I've been hopelessly disorganised about booking anything so far, was hoping for a nudge in the right direction from someone else here

NoCrackHaving

There's a craft beer festival coming up in the Biscuit Factory in Leith. Originally I though Idlewild, Young Fathers and Belle and Sebastian were all playing so sounded great. Unfortunately it's all dj sets which is a bit disappointing frankly.

Fysh

NoCrackHaving wrote: »

There's a craft beer festival coming up in the Biscuit Factory in Leith. Originally I though Idlewild, Young Fathers and Belle and Sebastian were all playing so sounded great. Unfortunately it's all dj sets which is a bit disappointing frankly.

I've been to a couple of events at the Biscuit Factory and they've been fun, I could be persuaded to use this as an opportunity to try another Edinburgh Beers if anyone is interested

razorblunt

I never realised Dean Village is a tourist attraction. Took the dog for a walk at midday (usually I'm out really early when there's not a sinner) but the place was mobbed.

jimmii

razorblunt wrote: »

I never realised Dean Village is a tourist attraction. Took the dog for a walk at midday (usually I'm out really early when there's not a sinner) but the place was mobbed.

I was down there around the same time and was amazed how many tourists were snapping away. It is a nice area but didn't think many outside of Edinburgh knew about it!

Michael D Not Higgins

Joined a sevens league that plays out at the new Oriam sports centre out at Heriot Watt, lovely artificial pitches out there.

razorblunt

jimmii wrote: »

I was down there around the same time and was amazed how many tourists were snapping away. It is a nice area but didn't think many outside of Edinburgh knew about it!

I may have passed you!
I was walking the diva-esque dog who was stopping for rubs at every tourist's leg.

NoCrackHaving

Fysh wrote: »

I've been to a couple of events at the Biscuit Factory and they've been fun, I could be persuaded to use this as an opportunity to try another Edinburgh Beers if anyone is interested

Aye I'd be interested if enough people are up for it.

razorblunt

Yeah, if I'm around , count me in!

kelledy

Since I've been here I've enjoyed going to the ice hockey , it is surprisingly competitive , seems to be a lot of ex NHL influence .
Murray field ice rink is pretty poor but if ice hockey is your thing then I reccomend trekking across to braehead , regular attendance of 3-4,000 +
Also the pentland hills is lovely for a walk and there is a table tennis tournament somewhere in Edinburgh on a Sunday night , can't remember where tho

razorblunt

What's the price on the door for the ice hockey?
I seem to be in Roseburn Park a lot when a game is on, I can hear the music from outside.

kelledy

razorblunt wrote: »

What's the price on the door for the ice hockey?
I seem to be in Roseburn Park a lot when a game is on, I can hear the music from outside.

Think it's around £18 , unfortunately it is over now until august

razorblunt

kelledy wrote: »

Think it's around £18 , unfortunately it is over now until august

Not bad, beats paying £25 to watch Edinburgh attempt to play rugby.

Fysh

So I got out for my first cycle in ages on Sunday, and it was lovely. I have a regular route from around Stockbridge out to Cramond, then along the coast down towards Leith - for the short route I turn back towards town somewhere between Granton and Leith, for the longer route I carry on going to Portobello, go along the promenade, then take the Innocent Railway back up towards Newington.

Do any of ye cycle? I'm only a fairweather cyclist really, but I'd love some suggestions for other routes to try. I've tried around Blackford Hill when I was living over that way but there's only so much hill I can manage

jimmii

Was never much of a cyclist but round there is a great spot for a run. Used to have friends in Cramond and would go running round the island almost got caught by the tide one time it was up to me knees by the time I got back to the beach!

Water of Leith is a nice spot to run. I live to the east of the city and the Edinburgh to North Berwick and back route is a very popular one if you fancy going a little further afield.

Fysh

Oh, and on a different note, there's a Foodies Festival on in Inverleith Park in August. I know that's advance notice but myself and the OH went with a friend last year and it was nice - we lucked out by going on the Friday, as it got really windy on Saturday and they had to cancel it (not sure if the Sunday went ahead or not).

I mention it because itison have a deal at the minute which we availed of last year for half-price tickets.

Fysh

jimmii wrote: »

Was never much of a cyclist but round there is a great spot for a run. Used to have friends in Cramond and would go running round the island almost got caught by the tide one time it was up to me knees by the time I got back to the beach!

Water of Leith is a nice spot to run. I live to the east of the city and the Edinburgh to North Berwick and back route is a very popular one if you fancy going a little further afield.

Yeah, I lucked out one Sunday morning and the tide was out so I had time to cycle across and go for a nose around the island, but I wouldn't fancy getting stuck there if the tide was inbound.

There are some great stretches of WoL for cycling, but I usually feel like I'm being arsey to people walking along it as there are a fair few narrow stretches. I'll have a look at the route out to North Berwick, that could be a winner - cheers

razorblunt

That cycle path would bring you from Leith to Murrayfield or turning off earlier and heading to South Queensferry and across the bridges.
The canal is another option (though relatively flat), jump on at Fountain Bridge and you'll end up way out past the airport.

Water of Leith is a bit tight in places alright, lots of broken path too so you'd end up jumping on and off, but it's do-able, folk are going past all the time when I'm out with the dog.

jimmii

I ran that path from Leith to Murrayfield for Kilomathon not so long ago not been around there before was a lot flatter and easier than I was expecting for a route around Edinburgh!

jimmii

Fysh wrote: »

Yeah, I lucked out one Sunday morning and the tide was out so I had time to cycle across and go for a nose around the island, but I wouldn't fancy getting stuck there if the tide was inbound.

There are some great stretches of WoL for cycling, but I usually feel like I'm being arsey to people walking along it as there are a fair few narrow stretches. I'll have a look at the route out to North Berwick, that could be a winner - cheers

It would suck to get stuck there if you hadn't planned for it could be fun if you took the right gear though. Remember that party out there a few years back where coastguard had to go rescue a load of people?

razorblunt

I was up around Arthur's Seat on Sunday with the madra.
Had planned to try and get to the top, but I came at it from the Duddingston Loch side, there was, what I can only describe as a queue of people going up that path.

The tourist season is here folks!

kelledy

razorblunt wrote: »

I was up around Arthur's Seat on Sunday with the madra.
Had planned to try and get to the top, but I came at it from the Duddingston Loch side, there was, what I can only describe as a queue of people going up that path.

The tourist season is here folks!

There is some really good group dog walks around , I have a dog aswell and we often go on pack walks

razorblunt

Where do you normally go?
She walks with a pack with her dogwalker during the week.

At the weekends then we tend to do The Hermitage, Arthur's or Bonaly Reservoir.

Gullane Beach out towards the Black Rocks is a great spot too.

Fysh

razorblunt wrote: »

I was up around Arthur's Seat on Sunday with the madra.
Had planned to try and get to the top, but I came at it from the Duddingston Loch side, there was, what I can only describe as a queue of people going up that path.

The tourist season is here folks!

You may have discovered this already, but there's a lovely pub called The Sheep's Heid Inn in Duddingston if you're looking for grub or beverages. Tends to be busy enough on Sundays, though.

Battleflag

Fysh wrote: »

You may have discovered this already, but there's a lovely pub called The Sheep's Heid Inn in Duddingston if you're looking for grub or beverages. Tends to be busy enough on Sundays, though.

Best part of The Sheep's Heid is the free old fashioned bowling (Skittles) in the back, great laugh

Fysh

On the topic of cycling, I've started cycling to work recently which is really nice. Apart from the cobbles on part of my route. Seriously, the City Council can find a bajillion quid for the vanity-project-adjacent tram (which they didn't even do right!), but they can't find money to get rid of the 18th century nonsense masquerading as road surfaces in substantial chunks of the city? Nul points all round.

razorblunt

They seem to be hitting the worst affected areas, Frederick Street is currently getting re-laid I think.
The issue is a lot of the areas need to be "protected" so cobbles come up, cobbles go back down. Can't replace the windows in a lot of the old style tenements around West End and New Town either.

Makes winter fun!

Michael D Not Higgins

razorblunt wrote: »

They seem to be hitting the worst affected areas, Frederick Street is currently getting re-laid I think.
The issue is a lot of the areas need to be "protected" so cobbles come up, cobbles go back down. Can't replace the windows in a lot of the old style tenements around West End and New Town either.

Makes winter fun!

The entire new town and old town are UNESCO world heritage sites and nearly all the buildings are listed.

I'm living in one of the listed buildings on the edge of the new town with single glaze sash windows. No problems with heat and insulation though (combined gas and electricity bills are 40-50 per month averaged across the year), I think some windows are just poorly maintained.

razorblunt

Yeah that's probably a truer point to be honest. Saying that, I'm still thankful for my triple glazed windows in my tenement flat.
Can't hear JCBs going past for road works, but I can still hear the wagon across the way when she's out for a cigarette.

Fysh

I looked up ticket prices for that craft beer show at the Biscuit Factory and they're looking for something daft like ?40 per day, so that's right out. I like my poncy beers, but not that much.

On the other hand, there's a beer/streetfood/science festival in Summerhall running from tomorrow through Saturday that's cheap and should be pretty good.

There's also the Hidden Door Festival coming up, which is mainly in Leith this time around. Some good gigs along the way, including Anna Meredith on the opening Friday and Idlewild on the Saturday. I'm also a bit tempted by the Midi Paul gig on the Thursday. There are also several short film and animation programs on which sound fantastic, along with a screening of Metropolis with a live score performance - I've been to similar screenings of Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and they're a lot of fun.

jimmii

I was at that Dr Caligari screening that was brilliant. I seen the other day that place looks like it may be gone again fairly soon to make way for developers. Shame as it brings something a little different to the area.

razorblunt

There's a fanzone setup on George Street for the rugby finals that are on tonight and tomorrow.
The organisers and the publicans are disgusted none of the Irish teams qualified.

Might be worth sticking the head into anyway but I'd imagine a lot of casual fans planning on going there might actually go to the game itself as it won't be anywhere near selling out.

jimmii

Did the 10k as part of the emf today glad it was in the morning! The security was pretty crazy we had police checking the car as soon as we were parked and when we were leaving there were guys with some pretty serious looking guns.

razorblunt

jimmii wrote: »

Did the 10k as part of the emf today glad it was in the morning! The security was pretty crazy we had police checking the car as soon as we were parked and when we were leaving there were guys with some pretty serious looking guns.

Congrats on the run. Thinking of doing it next year.
I went out to Gullane thinking I'd be on a different part of the road to Longniddry, alas not, hit a closed road just before the turn around on the Full.
Armed police fella there, pretty sound, went to do a u-turn, met a van full of armed police sitting and waiting!

jimmii

razorblunt wrote: »

Congrats on the run. Thinking of doing it next year.
I went out to Gullane thinking I'd be on a different part of the road to Longniddry, alas not, hit a closed road just before the turn around on the Full.
Armed police fella there, pretty sound, went to do a u-turn, met a van full of armed police sitting and waiting!

The 10 was good it's definitely not a route to go for a time though. I've only just got the wife running so we're building up. Was very eerie walking round this morning our street is normally very busy but this morning it was straight out of 28 days later! It was quite the novelty walking down the middle of the road at 9am to get the paper! Signed us up to do the half in September it follows a similarish route and goes past our place as well. One day I plan on giving the John Muir ultra a go great way to see East Lothian!

razorblunt

Ah jeez I wouldn't be doing anything for time!
I'd be running for the sake of running!

I think I'll bite the bullet and just sign up this week while the early bird offers are out.
I have no interest in the Half again but the 10k could be the job.

September is the Scottish Half isn't it? Starts off at Meadowbank and heads around Musselburgh race course too?
That might be an option too.