Programme launch for the Edinburgh Festival is usually one of my favourite times of the year. Less so this year. There are definite highlights, but I’ll be having a cheaper August than usual. Perhaps more time to enjoy the Fringe. #EdIntFest @edfringe.bsky.social #edfringe

Yesterday in town - Eonarium Enlightenment at Edinburgh: A sound and light show based on Vivaldi's Four Seasons. McEwan Hall’s still one of my favourite venues in Edinburgh.

Wildlife photographer and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan brings his #LionsAndTigersandBears tour to the Assembly Rooms in March. 🐾📸 This prompted me to share a few of my recent photos from @edinburghzoo.bsky.social. (5/5 - the last post!) 🦁🐯🐻‍❄️ #sunbear

Wildlife photographer and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan brings his #LionsAndTigersandBears tour to the Assembly Rooms in March. 🐾📸 This prompted me to share a few of my recent photos from @edinburghzoo.bsky.social. (4/5) 🦁🐯🐻‍❄️ #slothbear

Wildlife photographer and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan brings his #LionsAndTigersandBears tour to the Assembly Rooms in March. 🐾📸 This prompted me to share a few of my recent photos from @edinburghzoo.bsky.social and @highlandwpark.bsky.social. (3/5) 🦁🐯🐻‍❄️ #polarbear #tiger #slothbear #sunbear

Wildlife photographer and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan brings his #LionsAndTigersandBears tour to the Assembly Rooms in March. 🐾📸 This prompted me to share a few of my recent photos from @edinburghzoo.bsky.social and @highlandwpark.bsky.social. (2/5) 🦁🐯🐻‍❄️ #tiger #polarbear #slothbear #sunbear

Wildlife photographer and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan brings his #LionsAndTigersandBears tour to the Assembly Rooms in March. 🐾📸 This prompted me to share a few of my recent photos from @edinburghzoo.bsky.social and @highlandwpark.bsky.social. (1/5) 🦁🐯🐻‍❄️ #lion #tiger #sunbear #polarbear

Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker in Havana - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Tchaikovsky with a Cuban twist, both the dance and music. This’ll be a highlight of 2026. 🩰 🇨🇺 (4 Feb)

Fawlty Towers: the play - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Good fun and no surprises; but it just made me miss the original. (31 Jan) 🎭 @edinplayhouse.bsky.social

Inspiring to hear @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social reading from his books, The Death of Eddie and Many Kinds of Love. Exploring grief & mortality, young & old, meningitis & covid. A powerful recount also of ICU care. Lots of humour too. Thanks, Michael. 🎭 📖 @lyceumedinburgh.bsky.social #thetimesaredark

Robert Burns was the star today at @nationalgalleries.bsky.social. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #robertburns #burnsnight

The Shawshank Redemption - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Great performances, in particular by Red and Brooks. There was the occasional tear - but also some icky American accents. 🎭 @lyceumedinburgh.bsky.social

Les Miserables - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Still an impressive show after 40 years, but tonight’s performance felt hasty and over-amped. Almost like a new orchestration. The big hits remained impressive, though. My mum would have loved it. 🎭 🎵

Welcoming 2026 with my first parkrun and a breezy harbour walk. 🏃 🛥️ Happy new year, all 🥳 - also celebrating 22 years ‘courting’ Graeme 😘 🎉

The last trip of the year to Edinburgh Zoo. 🐧 It was very cold at the top of the Hill. ❄️ Happy new year for when it comes. #animalphotography #zoophotography #flamingo #sunbear #tamarin #penguin

A pre-Xmas trip to @edinburghzoo.bsky.social. It was getting dark, so there weren't many opportunities for photos. #pallascat #cheetah #giraffe #zebra #animalphotography #zoophotography

A flying visit to Northumberland Zoo on Sunday. The animals were out, despite the rain. 🎄 🎅 #snowleopard #arcticfox #meerkat #tawnyowl #animalphotography #zoophotography

Santa and Mrs Claus were shopping in Asda tonight. Merry Christmas to them. 🎄🎅 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #Asda #Dunbar #EastLothian

A trip back to the grey seal pups at St Abb's Head Nature Reserve. This was a week ago. I suspect most of them are gone now. 🦭 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #StAbbs #StAbbsHead #greyseals #animalphotography #wildlifephotography

Jack and the Beanstalk: the Panto - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. As ever, the good bits were great; the less good parts - there weren’t many - were silenced by the amps. Great fun for boys, girls and adults alike. The last panto season at the Festival Theatre before returning home to the King’s. (16 Dec) 🎭 🎵 🎅 🎄

We’re on our way to the Panto … #jackandthebeanstalk 🎭 🎄 🎅

The grey seal pups are out and about at St Abb's Head National Nature Reserve. I've been twice in six days. These are photos from Monday's trip with my sister. #stabbs #stabbshead #greyseals #animalphotography #wildlifephotography

Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. A great concert last night at the Usher Hall, including ‘the most famous symphony of them all’. 🎶 #DaDaDaDum #beethoven #beethovenfifth #beethoven5 #tchaikovsky #liszt #concertobudapest #paullewis #andraskeller (7 Dec)

The Snow Queen - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. It’s the start of the Christmas season … 🩰 🎶 🎅 (And dinner with my sister on Thursday night at Tattu Edinburgh.)

The Producers - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Still one of my favourite musicals … 🎭 🎶 #theproducers #keepitgay #springtimeforhitler @theproducerslondon.bsky.social

Titanique - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Completely, totally, ‘kooky crazy’. I loved it. 🎭 🎶 #titanique #celinedion #kookycrazy

The Xmas tree lights are now on in Dunbar! 🎄 🎅 #dunbar #eastlothian

The Sound of Music - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. A fantastic matinee today at Pitlochry Festival Theatre. As good, if not better, than last year’s, with shout outs to Maria, Captain Von Trapp and the Mother Abbess. And every actor plays at least one instrument! Get tickets if you can. 🎭 🎵 👏 👏 #thesoundofmusic

Graeme’s birthday (and early Xmas) trip to see The Sound of Music in Pitlochry. A fantastic theatre. #thesoundofmusic @pitlochryft.bsky.social 🎭 🎁 🎄

La Boheme - some you win; others you lose. This just didn’t click for me. Left at the interval so no score from me. 🎭 🎶 @scottishopera.bsky.social

Tina: the Tina Turner Musical - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Very pleasantly surprised! And, as expected, a fun night out with Graeme, Gillian and Tom. 🎭 🎶

It was woolly hat weather yesterday @edinburghzoo.bsky.social, but the swamp wallabies were still out on force. #swampwallaby #animalphotography #zoophotography #rzss

Yesterday's Dedication Service for the Edinburgh Garden of Remembrance. @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social #edinburgh #scottmonument #princesstreetgardens #edinburghcastle #poppyscotland

Black hole sign - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Things unravel on shift at an under-staffed, under-valued A&E. I think I was the only non-nurse in the crowd. As senior charge nurse Crea asks, what really is the vision for our NHS? 🎭 @traversetheatre.bsky.social @trontheatre.bsky.social

Mary, Queen of Scots - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The story of two cousins and Queens, told through the eyes of a dying Elizabeth. Great to see again after its launch at the Edinburgh International Festival. (16 Oct) 🩰

Riverdance: the new generation - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Great performance tonight, looking back 30 years to the original show. 🎭 💃 #Riverdance

Autumn’s definitely arrived on the East Coast! 🍂 Graeme failed slightly sheltering my ‘do’ from the wind. 💨 #Dunbar #EastLothian

Haggis, the pygmy hippo, leaves @edinburghzoo.bsky.social in October. Here’s some pics of her earlier this month with mum and dad, Otto and Gloria. #pygmyhippo #animalphotography #zoophotography

The Talented Mr Ripley - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Strong performances by Tom and Dickie; great set. But maybe 10-15 minutes too long. Loved catching up with Laura. 🎭 #numbbum

Fiddler on the Roof - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. That feels wrong, because the performance was mostly top quality. But it just wasn’t my sort of show - perhaps too close to the truth?! I’m really glad I saw it though; and grateful for the pre- and post-show tours. 🎭 (11 Sep)

Autumn’s arrived in East Lothian. Typically, the boiler’s misbehaving. So Chunky the cat’s keeping me warm. 🍂 🌧️

A trip today to Fast Castle. It's a straightforward path, but very steep. Definitely walking / hiking boots and I wouldn't want to do it in the rain. #castle #fortress #scotland #berwickshire #borders #scottishborders #coldingham #stabbs #historicscotland

17 shows at the Edinburgh Fringe done. We finished as started - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ again for Hold On To Your Butts, the Jurassic Park parody. Other faves: Mrs Roosevelt Flies to London and The Essence of Audrey. 34 Fringe and Festival shows; 24 days. Until 2026 … #edfringe2025 #EdIntFest @edfringe.bsky.social

So that’s our Edinburgh Festival done for 2025. 17 shows in 23 days; 6 venues; at least 541 performers. Two of many highlights: Orpheus and Eurydice, and Mary, Queen of Scots. But the whole month has been fantastic. Thanks to all involved. We’ve got one Fringe show to go! 🎭 🎻 🎵 🩰 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #EdIntFest

As you like it: a radical retelling - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. My understanding of Shakespeare has not greatly improved! 🎭 #edintfest

Pop off, Michelangelo! - ⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️. A musical comedy starring him and his ‘brother’, Leonardo da Vinci. It’s not for the faint-hearted or Vatican-friendly, what with the ‘gay orgy’ references and all. Really good fun and, with some tidying, could be the next Six. 🎭 🎵 @edfringe.bsky.social #edfringe2025

Figures in extinction - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. A dance in three acts: the extinction of the natural world; the mind and needs of humans; and a requiem for life, time and the dead. A powerful performance and our last at the Festival Theatre. 🎭 #edintfest

The Essence of Audrey - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The life and times of Audrey Hepburn, speaking, playing and singing to the audience. From Holland to Switzerland, via London, Rome and Hollywood. Absolutely fantastic. Our last Fringe show at the Pleasance. 🎭 @edfringe.bsky.social #edfringe2025

Faustus in Africa! - ⭐️⭐️. Puppets demonstrating mankind’s exploitation of Africa. There was potential in the storyline and graphics, but it jumped about too much and the puppets mostly added confusion. The crowd looked relieved by the end. 🎭 #edintfest @lyceumedinburgh.bsky.social

One Man Poe: The Black Cat and The Raven - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Two Poe thrillers; one actor. Delighted, finally, to see The Raven live. 🎭 #OneManPoe @edfringe.bsky.social #edfringe2025