Edinburgh holds, for you, a long series of mental associations, and they begin to tumble in as you settle down.
The city is a moveable feast in the month of August, when the Edinburgh Festival, and The Fringe, are in full cry. Artistes from all over the world are performing in halls and auditoria, on the streets of The Mound and the Royal Mile, and all the areas surrounding the Edinburgh Castle. There is a Jazz Festival, and a Book Festival. It is the largest annual Festival in Europe.
Memories from student days, in and out of the Festival, come alive. Maya Angelou reciting from ‘I know why the caged bird sings’. Sexually assaulted at 8 years of age. Enduring poverty and racial oppression as she grew up in San Francisco. A prostitute for a spell. Becoming one of the most celebrated Poets in the world. Living in Ghana for some years. She would meet Malcolm X and participate in Civil Rights protests. She would hang out with her bosom friend Oprah Winfrey, living and performing in the swankiest venues in Europe. Once, at the Edinburgh Fringe, she mesmerised her audience with her life experiences and her Poetry, and then threw them the line ‘I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh’, when people like you felt like crying for her.
