It was not the best of days to be in Embra-there is a sort of freneticism on the streets in the week immediately before the Festival-street performers -uni-cyclists, escapologists, self-mutilators, contortionists and other weirdies honing up their skills before the great jamboree gets under way this coming week-end. Its the usual extract -the- Michael from the spectators patter, with the spectators all desperately enjoying themselves as if it is some how shameful not to be enthralled by the free Street Theatre-free, only, that is, if you manage to avoid the jangling donation tins which are constantly circulated by the entertainers' accomplices encouraging you with cries of 'come on folks show your appreciation' Native Scots and especially Embra people are adept at melting away two arms lengths ahead of the advancing tin and miraculously materialising three arms lengths behind it. The visitors mostly at this stage from the Far East including the 'first official tourists' from the PRC are less adept and are usually a bit over generous in their donations as they scrabble through their back packs, scrotum shielding money belts-Japan's answer to the Sporran-and plastic Mac (scottish assembled) pockets for unfamiliar specie. And I am not sure that I want to show much appreciation for the stomach turning contortions of people who can thrust one leg under a noisome armpit, the other around the back of a dirty neck and the arms halfway up some other part of a convoluted anatomy whilst keeping up an inane patter, usually in an Australian accent.
In the middle of all this the rain started and the buses went on strike-some dispute coming to a head at the most inconvenient time imaginable for fare paying customers. Huttonian went off to be unstitched and the face did not fall off. He returns on Monday to see dance groups from Foreign Parts-inside and not out in the by then heavily infested streets. If he continues to be spared, of course.
It is not surprising that many Embra folk leave town for August replacing theParisiens who have left town for Embra. Any slight domestic inconvenience is partially compensated by letting out their accomodation at unbelievably high prices but then every cloud etc.
