Tuesday August 5 ~ Edinburgh

Tattoo Tickets

Billed as the “Event of the Year”, and weather in our favor, we took off for our evening on the town.  I had been a little nervous since we had purchased our tickets online and had not been able to make contact with the person we were supposed to get the tickets from. But a few hours before we had to leave our flat, Tim was finally able to reach the ticket office on the phone.

Sure enough, there had been a goof and our tickets had not been given to the courier for delivery that morning.  After a couple of back and forth calls, we arranged to meet someone at a hotel near the entrance to Edinburgh Castle which was the venue for the Tattoo.  So, an hour before show time, we finally had out tickets in hand!  

I had watched a short clip on-line about the Tattoo, but otherwise knew little about what to expect.  An almost two-hour show of music, dance and tradition kept us smiling.

You can click here to see a small clip that is taken from YouTube that will at least give you an introduction to what the show was like.

Several things stood out for me:

1. The event was well-managed and the large number of people in attendance were smoothly and efficiently passed through a security screening and funneled towards our assigned seats.
2. We were made to feel welcome by smiling ushers that warmly greeted us, and the very pleasant voice of the evenings program narrator.
3. Scottish national pride was evident.  I could feel it to my bones.  I even swelled up a bit knowing that I have a bit of Scottish blood in my veins.
4. I am not a huge fan of a lone bagpipe, but when a large number of them play in unison, it is pure magic, powerful and haunting all at the same time.

BBC filmed the grand opening with the Pipes and Drums last year.  Here is that clip.  Even if you don’t think you are a fan of a pipes and drum group, you can’t help but feel the pride and appreciate the precision.

The castle lit up the background and added another element to the evening, changing colors and patterns to match the theme of whichever group or country was represented at the moment.

There was really no way to capture the magnitude of the event through still pictures, and our video that Tim shot on his iPhone was just fair at best, but for better or worse, here are some snaps from our evening at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo…

Gratitude Moment: Today I am grateful to Scotland for allowing me to connect with my Scottish heritage.  I was caught off guard by how deeply I felt the energy and pride that was swirling amongst the crowd as the Pipes and Drums entered to open the festival and then at the end when they once again performed and closed the evening.

Thank you Scotland for a memorable evening that I will not soon forget!