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Moving to Edinburgh!

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15:46 / 23.04.04

Craigmillar is so going upmarket these days. All those posh houses sprouting to the East.

If you want "authentic" you need to go South, as in all normally ordered cities, to glorious Pilton or lovely Muirhouse. Is Edinburgh the only city that has put all the broadsheet readers in a tidy corral in the centre of the city and built all their municipal housing in great clumps on the fringes?

You're right about evil Blackhall though. Satan was born and suckled by blue-rinsed vipers in Queen's Avenue.

16:37 / 23.04.04

My great-great-grandfather was the Keeper of the Deeds for Edinburgh.

If you see his shade floating around the records office, tell him hello for me. His name was George.

16:40 / 23.04.04

We keep the deeds in cemeteries now, grant. Too many of them to fit under your grandad's floorboards these days.

17:26 / 23.04.04

Ha.

21:31 / 23.04.04

Edinburgh's veggie best is Black Bo's in St Mary's St. Ganesh hated it so it must be kosher. Inventive and cheap. Ace! Plus we know the lovely guy who did the splendid frescoes. Have some of his stuff hanging in our kitchen. Bananas stuffed with chick peas, chili and coconut. Yay!

And by South, upthread, I meant North, as all Edinburgesses would know. Blows whole holes in my flimsy rationale, really.

13:10 / 24.04.04

We keep the deeds in cemeteries now, grant. Too many of them to fit under your grandad's floorboards these days.

George will forgive you for that.

If you ask him nicely.

16:17 / 24.04.04

Someone was telling me that the literature recently handed-out to students starting at Edinburgh Uni includes recommendations not to go into certain areas at night, including Cowgate, Grassmarket and Meadows - it sounds kind of ridiculous. As though the strategy is: fill the town up with imported English people and urge them "DON'T MIX WITH THE LOCAL'S FOR FUCK'S SAKE"

18:07 / 24.04.04

well, no, the idea is that that way less studenst will get raped and robbed at knifepoint...
they also reccomend not wearing your headphones when walking through such areas, so you can hear folks behind you. i guess the idea is that most attackers will get the fear if you see them early enough. the other thing is they've started to try and issue more free/cheap rape alarms.

i'm a big guy, but even i have been chased through the meadows.

i know what you mean about the segregation of edinburghers and englanders, mind. there seem to be an awful lot of english folk there who dont mingle, and who are only there for the pretty buildings.

its a city, not a museum, as they seem to forget.

18:32 / 24.04.04

I guess that's part of the Grassmarket's charm, the dodgy after hours bars there with the edge of danger stemming from being in lawless nedland. I did get fairly savagely beaten up there once, out of the blue, when in a group of four and not wearing a walkman. Did the big fire a year or so ago not damage some of those old firetraps like the Casbah or Sorbonne?

19:05 / 24.04.04

All right lads, you're starting to freak me out now. Let's just talk about the pretty buildings eh? Edinburgh's not really full of Begbies is it?

19:27 / 24.04.04

Depends which part of Edinburgh you're in. I think most of the southside is just fine, even late at night, but it's not such a great idea to go into Leith or take a walk over the meadows on your own.

An old guy i sometimes see in my local was telling me a few weeks ago that one of his friends, a guy in his fifties, goes out from time to time, and walks right over the meadows on his own at night, with a sawn-off under his coat, hoping that some little bastard will try to mug him. Think it was just pub-talk though. I'm sure that if he tried that more than once, he'd actually find himself in a situation where he'd have to use it, and as far as i'm aware, there haven't been too many of those.

19:48 / 24.04.04

Nah. Leith's fine. Has been for years. Just make sure you don't spend too much time in the Tam O'Shanter, where they play darts with pool cues...
Like most towns it's mainly a question of attitude. Look like no-one has any reason to fuck with you and you'll be fine.
btw, I'm sure Wester Hailes is OK really, but for an outsider you have to admit it'd be a bit daunting.
Still not sold on Craigmillar, though.

07:21 / 25.04.04

agree with cube there - lived in deepest leith for years, with no hassle.

i've encountered the occasional wee radge team out 'taxing' students (or anyone they assume to be rich students), in and around the bristo square area. it's not a new problem, it's always gone on. fortunately, my late night demeanour and apparel is usually that of a borderline jaikie scrounging for purple tin.

t

09:51 / 25.04.04

Remember that I was there for many decades, Loomis, and overall had much less hassle than I'm seeing on the streets daily in the fine Borough of Lambef. Ganesh was mugged within months of us moving here. Edinburgh is, I'm sure, a much safer place to be altogether. Just avoid having an affair with a man who lives in Crack Towers, Muirhouse, as I did for a while.

And I too lived in Leith for many years without any fist-related hassle. Although we were burgled while we were moving in and there was a dead addict in the stairwell on our first morning there.

I'm sure you'll be fine. Even Leith has gone way upmarket these days, with the Walk turned into a boulevard and all. We used to live off Lothian Road, which was officially the most dangerous street in Europe at the time, and never had any bother. London is a much more violent and unpredictable place.

That Ariadne's a terrier, anyway. When you're out with her, the crowds of neds will part to let you pass peacefully, doffing their caps to Her Ladyship.

Whisky Priestess

16:39 / 06.06.04

What can I say, except ...

All of August.
Orr and me.
Flat in Grassmarket.
Show at 11pm, right underneath a bar that stays open until 1am, 5 minutes' walk from said Grassmarket flat.

Please form an orderly queue to show us the glory that is Edinburgh.

Tom Tit's Tot: A Girl!

18:56 / 06.06.04

Well, I've lived in Edinburgh for about three years and never been mugged or attacked.

A Friend of mine has lived here for 24 years, no problems.

Then again, neither of us scream 'victim' in appearance.

The key to dealing with the scum is to either ignore, or if that doesn't work, fucking let them know that if they screw with you, they'll be losing an eye, at least. Most criminals are looking for students, anyhow.

Closest I've come to being verbally harassed was when a guy yelled "Yanks go home!" at me, angrily, after hearing my accent.

I was on the way to an anti-war march. The UK is so funny...

-TTT

22:04 / 06.06.04

So, Tom Tit Tom, you're like, really hard?

22:54 / 06.06.04

He may be. You never know.

Can I ask all Embra 'lithers to head down to see The Fence Collective at the Venue on Thursday at 7.30? I promise it'll kick botty, and it'll only be a fiver. See the stars of the future now, kids.

Sorry for the ad, but if you come along I can show you all the wall where there used to be some KING MOB RULES graffitti.

Tom Tit's Tot: A Girl!

23:30 / 06.06.04

So, Tom Tit Tom, you're like, really hard?

Me? Fuck no! I'm tall, and I look intimidating, apparently (which sucks, because random strangers are less likely to chat with me when I'm bored). That goes a long way towards keeping hostile people from talking to you, methinks.

And it's Tom Tit Tot.

Anyway, he's just mad because we both got arsey at one another in a different thread.

Pax, Linus Dunce? I offer you the olive branch of not bickering and the hammer of joinery, k?

Can I ask all Embra 'lithers to head down to see The Fence Collective at the Venue on Thursday at 7.30? I promise it'll kick botty, and it'll only be a fiver. See the stars of the future now, kids.

Sorry for the ad, but if you come along I can show you all the wall where there used to be some KING MOB RULES graffitti.

Welllll... I'll see if I can't round up some people and get out there. If you want to meet up, cube, just send me a message.

00:51 / 07.06.04

What have you people been up to? At 15 I was walking home up the Bridges, along Lothian Road and through the Meadows at 4am every Saturday- never had a spot of bother.

I've always felt there's a lot of hysteria about how dangerous it is to be out late at night. All you need is some common sense- avoid the drunks, hail a cab if you feel nervous and don't start any hassle yourself.
I've had some fantastic nights out in the wee hours of a Saturday simply by avoiding the heaving pubs and clubs and wandering up the Hermitage to get inebriated and scare myself silly.

Whilst I've lived here all my life, I doubt I could offer any good information on the good pubs etc, though I know some people who would so I'll post a top ten when I next speak to them. I got hastily disillusioned with the whole "live for the weekend" lifestyle after I worked in a club in Market Street.

Cube- Craigmillar has a beautiful Castle. Absolutely worth a look, if you want to check it out I'd be happy to come with

Newington is an alright area, I lived there for a couple of years, very studenty as the halls of residence for Edinburgh Uni are nearby. If you get the chance check out The Salisbury Centre. It's full of new-agey types, they have a beautiful garden and library with "by donation" hollistic healing on Tuesday evenings.

Everyone is down on Leith but it's really cleaned up recently. It's probably a bit rougher of a weekend night than Morningside but I used to spend a lot of time in Leith and environs, never had any hassle.

Whisky Priestess- The Grassmarket? Take some earplugs if you can't deal with street noise at night.

Absolutely up for a night at the Venue! I need to get out at least once a year.

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