Trainspotting

Tis Hogmanay, season to ring in the NewYear, which brings me round to Auld Reekie on this the last day of the year. Sure the party has already begun on Princes Street. How about this quote from Irvine Welsh as a ringing endorsement of Edinburgh. Anyone who has seen Trainspotting, adapted from his novel, will get the idea. Remember now this is the City of Festivals we are talking about; "a cold city on Europe's periphery where it gets dark early, rains a lot and is dull for much of the year.... All in all perfect conditions for bouts of self-destructive heavy drinking." Now to reinforce the message which might just be eluding you he goes on "Scotland: the recipe for disaster. Take a cut of Calvinist repression, sprinkle on some Catholic guilt, add lots of alcohol and cook in a cold, dark grey oven for 300 odd years. Garnish with gaudy, ludicrous plaid."
Source: The Globe and Mail, Books Section, October 21st, 2006