Flames and Fireworks
The new decade was heralded in flames - evidencing still further, Edinburgh's obsession with fire. I wholly approve.
Just before Hogmanay, a torchlight procession led by vikings snaked through the city and up to Carlton Hill.
We watched as they set fire to a giant effigy and set off fireworks (it's usually a viking longboat hence the vikings but this year for some reason they abandoned this and had a huge X for 2010 instead).
My brother and Christina came up to visit for Hogmanay, but whilst they braved the freezing cold street party in town, we had a cosy evening at Alex's with mulled wine, delicious food and then went to the park for the bells to see the fireworks and drink champagne.
On New Year's day we ventured out to the Royal Mile where French theatre company Carabosse had created beautiful fire sculptures including a giant chandelier which they suspended far above our heads.
And so another decade begins. I feel 2009 was pretty good. I did lots of new things like changing jobs, having a photo shoot as a Victorian in a Fernery, staying in a Spanish castle, canooing, a balloon ride (both of which I have still to write about here), mountain biking, staying in a tipi, performing on stage. I've been to some cool gigs too - PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Lau, Bat for Lashes, Eddie Izzard!!! But I am very conscious that this year I will turn 30, and I thought I would be a much more together, deliberate and quietly capable person by now. And while I can see how far I've come in the last decade, creating really quite a nice life for myself, making wonderful friends and growing in confidence, I still feel very young and frivolous and silly - while some of that's good and fun, I think I need to up my game this year. Haven't quite worked out how to do that just yet but I have lots of other resolutions to keep me busy until I do. Courage, purpose, dignity - these are three words that I'd like to shape me this year. They sound very grand but I hope to the kind of person for whom these attributes don't seem absurd by the time I'm in my 30s.
Just before Hogmanay, a torchlight procession led by vikings snaked through the city and up to Carlton Hill.
We watched as they set fire to a giant effigy and set off fireworks (it's usually a viking longboat hence the vikings but this year for some reason they abandoned this and had a huge X for 2010 instead).
My brother and Christina came up to visit for Hogmanay, but whilst they braved the freezing cold street party in town, we had a cosy evening at Alex's with mulled wine, delicious food and then went to the park for the bells to see the fireworks and drink champagne.
On New Year's day we ventured out to the Royal Mile where French theatre company Carabosse had created beautiful fire sculptures including a giant chandelier which they suspended far above our heads.
And so another decade begins. I feel 2009 was pretty good. I did lots of new things like changing jobs, having a photo shoot as a Victorian in a Fernery, staying in a Spanish castle, canooing, a balloon ride (both of which I have still to write about here), mountain biking, staying in a tipi, performing on stage. I've been to some cool gigs too - PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Lau, Bat for Lashes, Eddie Izzard!!! But I am very conscious that this year I will turn 30, and I thought I would be a much more together, deliberate and quietly capable person by now. And while I can see how far I've come in the last decade, creating really quite a nice life for myself, making wonderful friends and growing in confidence, I still feel very young and frivolous and silly - while some of that's good and fun, I think I need to up my game this year. Haven't quite worked out how to do that just yet but I have lots of other resolutions to keep me busy until I do. Courage, purpose, dignity - these are three words that I'd like to shape me this year. They sound very grand but I hope to the kind of person for whom these attributes don't seem absurd by the time I'm in my 30s.