Beltane in Edinburgh
I happened upon some folk from the Edinburgh Beltane Festival a couple of days ago. They were out at the Mound, performing in the run up to next week’s event on the Royal Mile. They’re always very photogenic!
Beltane performers at the Mound, Edinburgh
Photos from Colonsay
I’ve been updating a separate page with lots of the photos from Ceol Cholasa last week. We had a ball….and I came home with a stinking cold! So here’s a link for pics of the festival – gigs, workshops, sessions, ceilidhs….and a few landscape photos I managed to take around the island on what was a very memorable trip to Colonsay.
Ceol Cholasa – the final stramash
Dusk
As dusk fell over the Edinburgh Mela site last night, a wee rainbow appeared – what a lovely way to end the evening!
Rainbow at the Edinburgh Mela
Edinburgh Mela – Friday night
There were some beautiful dancers at the opening night of the Edinburgh Mela.
Traditional dance at the Mela festival
Taiko drummers at the Portobello Beach Busk
Wow…the drummers were a fantastic sight on the Portobello ‘cakestand’ this afternoon!
Taiko drummers in Portobello near Edinburgh
Wateraid – Scotland Sings for Water
Yesterday 300 singers gathered in Parliament Square, Edinburgh, to take part in a Big Sing, raising funds for WaterAid.
What a fantastic day – it attracted good crowds, and we had a whole pile of fun singing together. Somebody even arranged for scorching hot weather, too.
Scotland Sings for Water outside St Gile’s Cathedral, Edinburgh
Jane Schonveld
Ali Burns
Doctor Neil’s musical garden
Yesterday Sangstream were singing as part of a fundraiser in Doctor Neil’s Gardens in Duddingston.
The garden is almost hidden in behind the kirk, and beside Duddingston loch.
Duddingston Loch, Edinburgh
Purple geraniums
What an event it was! So many people joined together to create a memorable afternoon. Wandering around the gardens, the sounds of birds, wind chimes, music, song and stories were all mixed in with giggling children enjoying the atmosphere, and the chattering of the crowd.
Singer
Zawadi Alba
…and there were even a few rare flowers for those who looked closely!
Knitted pink rose
Ali White, fiddler with the Battlefield Band
Feis Rois
I was at Feis Rois over the weekend – there were some cracking concerts. Saturday night’s gig started off with two fiddlers, Ali White and Mike Vass, playing together. Superb!
Here’s a photo of Alasdair in full flow:
Beltane warmup
I spent this morning down in Portobello, on the second part of the Innertube Map training. There was much entertainment to be had, interviewing people on the prom, and grappling with some new technology.
On the way home, I stumbled across a warmup for next weekend’s Beltane Fire Festival. The samba drummers were giving it laldy, and there were plenty of colourful characters to photograph. This guy was desperate for people to take his fliers….
Juggling stiltwalker
Here’s a weel-kent face from around Edinburgh and further afield. Michael does a great line in unicycling, juggling, stilt walking and various other tricks. He’s multitasking here, and smiling as well!
…and a big thank you for not dropping the clubs while I was taking this shot!
