Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2017

Got a good shot of these sailors who were smartly dressed for the parade. 

Had been to the Military Tattoo this year at Edinburgh. This happens to be on the  bucket list for many and so was it for us. We were there well in advance and it was nice to see the stands getting filled up slowly. 

While walking up the Royal Mile towards the castle, I turned back and clicked the sea of humanity who were all going in the same direction. 

The lineup of participants included 250 pipers and drummers, and contingents from Japan, India, UK and US .  You could see the flags of all the participating nations fluttering around the Esplanade. 

I learned later that the stands at the Esplanade can be assembled or dismantled within a month.  The seats were quite comfortable but some liked to have additional cushions, which were available on hire at a cost of one pound.

The Tattoo starts off with the ceremony of theGaelic Toast, where the Piper and the Salute taker have a Quaich (Scottish drinking cup) of whisky. The Piper recites the Gaelic Toast (welcoming the Salute taker to the castle, wishing him, the Queen and everyone present the best) and then they drink together. They have to then kiss the bottom of the Quaich as a sign that no whisky is left behind and wasted.  

The Marines stand at ease while the ceremony goes on. 

 As the night progressed there were projections on the castle which were mostly related to the story enacted or the parade. 

The Indian Naval band appeared with Commander Vijay Charles and 65 musician sailors. There was an array of colourful dancers who danced to Vande Matram. Later, to my surprise they started playing Bollywood numbers.  

As for the Japanese, they had the Ground Self Defence Force Central Band with some special performance on the drums. 

The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland told the story of the Jacobites through the breathtaking piece “Ambush in the Glen”

The Royal Navy towed in a Helicopter to add to the effect of a search and destroy operation. 

I think the light and the sound effect played a major role in the whole show.    

We were lucky to get our seats in row K section 5 from where I could capture some of the action with my point and shoot camera. 

After editing / splicing and joining the snippets, it runs for about 41 minutes. It will give you a glimpse of the actual performance which ran for about 100 minutes. At the end of the Tattoo, all the participants come on to the Esplanade and they march out through the Royal Mile.  

Earlier in the day I had clicked the castle from outside.

The link to Part II of the video is here.  

Penny Lane

The sight of the submarine took me back a few decades to the famous song The Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. 

From what I saw, these boats are available on hire (in docked condition) where you can have a party inside.  Next to that is the Titanic and hence the tilt to the aft in the boat. 

The skyline shows the modern buildings and the two birds watching over the city from the Royal Liver Building. 

According to popular legend, they are male and female pair, the female looking out to sea, watching for the seamen to return safely home, while the male looks towards the city to watch over and protect the families of the seamen. The liver bird is the symbol of the English city of Liverpool.  Most of the old buildings have this pulley system to haul up the furniture, probably the stairs are too narrow to lug them up. 

Liverpool is a lively and happy happy place, famous for the birthplace of the Beatles. As the plaque below says, the Beatles are synonymous with the city. I liked the Bronze statue erected at the pier side and could be the most photographed statue in Liverpool. 

Penny Lane could be the street that is most photographed. John Lenon and Paul McCartney used to meet at Penny Lane to catch a bus to town. Their shared childhood experiences on the street inspired them to write the song which was released in 1967

Drove around and managed to get some pictures of Liverpool. (made a short video on it) The Metropolitan Cathedral built in 1967 has a modern look compared to the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. 

The suitcases you see at Hope Street are actually cast in concrete and if you look closely you can see the names of people who were from the city of Liverpool like Charles Dickens, , Henry Booth,  Dr Malcolm Sargent, Sir Robert Jones and The Beatles (all four). 

And finally a picture that I was looking for in Liverpool 

Haverthwaite Station

Just loved this mural on the wall in The Station Restaurant 

Had been to the Haverthwaite Railway station which is in Cumbria 

The highlight of the Station was the Restaurant. I think Mrs Maher and her crew did a wonderful job in welcoming the travelers and making them feel at home. 

The place was tastefully decorated with a display of pictures of the old steam engines that hauled many a load. 

  

The station itself had that old world charm with a small over bridge and signboards showing the right directions. 

Saw this sign next to the ticket office 

Very soon the train pulled in with the steam engine chugging away to glory. 

It was a 18 minute run from Haverthwaite to Lakeside and nostalgic for many to experience the steam engine and the bogies which were used about half a century ago, but still well maintained. 

The view as the train chugged along was something out of this world. 

Made a three minute video on the whole journey.

Once we reached Lakeside we were ferried across in a boat. More on that in the next blog.