Reading, writing, rambling...

Friday 11 March 2011

Edinburgh

Back to Edinburgh, to read at the Scottish Poetry Library. This part of the High St has become a special location for me; it's overlooked by my old school on Calton Hill, and I used to walk (or sometimes be sent on runs) down the goatwalk to play rugby or cricket on pitches that are now part of the Scottish Parliament landscaping. My first pubs were there or thereabouts too. Up beyond is Arthur's Seat, where I (possibly illegally) scattered the ashes of my father, then my mother. And now there's a Scottish Poetry Library, and I'm on the shelves! There was a big crowd too, testing the load-bearing of the mezzanine floor, and someone brought a copy of a book of mine from the 1980s to sign, so all kinds of connections were made and re-made. Thanks to Jennifer Williams and Alastair Cook, co-readers, and to the wonderful library staff. Pity it's all such a long way from Exeter!