My name isn't Ed. My full name isn't Edward. I'm not even a man. In fact my name is Lyvia and I am spending this summer in the beautiful city of Edinburgh. Home to the Edinburgh Castle, birth place of Alexander Graham Bell, inspiration behind Harry Potter, the land of many a fine whiskey and most notably home to perhaps the most famous arts festival in the world, the Edinburgh Fringe.
This is my first time at the Fringe as well as my first time visiting Edinburgh as well as my first time in Scotland. It is a month of firsts and I am a virgin to all that is Scottish (except perhaps alcohol and Scotch tape).
Now obviously I'm not the only person to find themselves migrating north for the summer. Edinburgh's population has been known to triple during the month of August, from international travellers and nearby city dwellers to emancipated students. The city's cobbled streets becoming a battleground for those looking for culture, entertainment and a general post-show piss up.
I arrived a week in advance of the festival during which much of the city is still covered in tranquillity. There are no hoards of tourists to bustle past on the way to work. After work drinks are sipped in ones and twos instead of fives and sixes. Gardens transform into tents and stadiums and empty buildings become a breeding ground for technicians fixing lights and putting up signs. What you get is a concoction of impending and excited anticipation. Those that have worked the festival before are all too aware of what is to come. Those that haven't wait patiently for the tornado to hit, with the warning from veterans "Just you wait!"
And so this is what I am doing. I'm waiting and I have approximately 63 hours left.This week I dread to think about the amount of money I have spent. Between evening drinks, lunches out, general supplies and accommodation I have a nagging feeling that before arriving I should have taken out a bank loan. And that's before the festival has even started. But no one comes to the festival to make money, at least no one I know. Visitors and performers alike haemorrhage money pints at a time.
The city itself has many alluring qualities, from beautifully unique shops to independent restaurants, from historic landmarks to contemporary industry. It is like a village, in a town surrounded by a city and as the festival starts each part of it comes alive. Unlike London's already claustrophobic inhabitants who fear the threat of any event because of the disruption it will cause to their overcrowded streets and houses, Edinburgh residents seem to welcome the return of the festival each year. For them it offers job opportunities, increased revenue, a month's worth of entertainment and pride in their gorgeous city.
So here I am in this new and welcoming city and I've decided to write a blog. Now, what, you might ask would a ex-drama student who works in theatre find to write about during a month of the biggest open-access arts festival in the world? Dumb question. Coffee of course. That's right! Who wants to hear about the shows? Working at the box office I know there are over 2500 shows in over 250 venues across the city and that's not even counting the International or Jazz and Blues Festival. On top of that there are probably over 250,000 young and trendy theatre-goers who have decided to write a blog with reviews and fun show facts. Too much effort if you ask me. So instead I have taken my weary caffeine-drenched self out of London filled with it's Starbucks, Costa's and Cafe Nero's on every corner, plonked myself in Edinburgh and given myself a challenge. I will not go into a chain coffee shop for the entire month of August.
Don't get me wrong I am no coffee snob, but I am one hard customer. I am fussy. I am particular and as such am normally instantly apologetic. But for those of you out there like me you'll understand the importance of a good coffee, however you take it.
I predict there will be plenty of people this festival and the next one and the one after that who will be drinking their body weight in pints, be them pints of beer, wine or vodka and will work through the hangover only to repeat it the following night. I also predict there will be plenty of people soaking up the sights, sounds and atmosphere in Edinburgh dashing from show to show. And what do these people have in common? Their need for a good cup of coffee.
During the month of August, therefore, I will venture to get my daily cup each day from different independent coffee shops. Upmarket, low-market, organic, central, suburban or with a side of kebab I will try them all and report back.
So tune in festival-goers, Caffeinated Ed is on a mission! This is the coffee drinker's guide to surviving the Fringe.
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