A Grand Day Out

Ben here! I'm writing a guest post for A Grand Day Out today, so I hope you enjoy it.

On this week's episode of ENTV, Chris gave us a brief run-down of Peter's Yard, a Swedish coffee house near the Meadows.
It's a personal favourite of mine, so I thought I'd write-up the Pea Soup Evening I attended on Friday night and share a few tid-bits of how it went for those of you who couldn't come.

Pea soup and pancakes is a bit of a Swedish tradition, although traditionally it's usually served on Thursdays, but I would say what was served was a bit of a modern twist on this old favourite.

Tables were laid out on both sides of the cafe, making for an interesting split-room dynamic that I've not experienced before. This became particularly apparent when it came to singing. Yes, there was singing. I'm not used to getting "punsch" as I think it was called (I'm more used to schnaps) but once many of us got the hang of the unfamiliar melodies and some of the aforementioned booze, the room was alive with melody.

I should perhaps clarify that the mixture of people was relatively even, although I believe the Swedes were marginally in the majority, so lots of Swedish was heard throughout the evening. At least one of the serving staff was Swedish too, which certainly made ordering drinks a pleasant and authentic experience.

 
Songs done with for the moment, out came the soup and tasty soup at that.
Lighter than the porridge-like cosistency many of us are used to and served with knäckebröd (Swedish crisp bread) and Norwegian cheese, this was a real winner.


It was at this juncture that the evening's entertainment arrived in the form of The Cast - Mairi Campbell and David Francis. Their music was particularly pleasant and I know I personally walked away with a signed copy of their album!


At this point the evening got a little fuzzier. I believe there were more songs and drinks and some very tasty pancakes, served in the traditional way (more like crepes than British pancakes).

The whole event, as I understand at least, was organised by the Scottish-Swedish Society, who have several film screenings in coming months and Lucia events in December, if what I was told last night was accurate. For anyone wishing to join them, there is a small fee, but it's free for undergraduates, so perhaps that might be of interest to some.

-Ben Fox

So, we come to one of the 'grandest' days out of the year - the pub crawl!
For many students, this will be their introduction to the City of Edinburgh. The routes (there were two this year) take them all across the city, calling in at numerous pubs along the way, ending in Espionage. Not one to miss out on a bit of fun, NapierTV were there of course, in full pirate get-up!

First port of call (quite literally) was Cargo - the pub that backs out on to canal right next to Fountainbridge/West Tollcross. We registered here, and signed on to the Red group. Luckily being that we were there on behalf of NapierTV and the NSA, we had our pick of the groups, and even got some free t-shirts thrown in, allowing us to 'disguise' ourselves as freshers.

Cargo had a good atmosphere, most likely because it was the hub. From here people got themselves into groups, and the banter started. Everyone was aware that as it was the first pub, they weren't going to stick around too long, but nonetheless, with cheap student drink deals, it probably came out as a favourite. We left with a Redshirt group, and got bussed out to the Student Union bar aboard the good ship 'the flying coffin'.

The Union bar was, as always, an experience. Being a regular, and knowing the bar staff means that I find it one of the more comfortable pubs to drink in. It's relatively cheap, the seats are comfy, and whilst it may not be the roomiest of places on a night like this, it gives you a good chance to talk to people, unlike some of the more mainstream pubs.


After this, we did the Links bar and the Golf Tavern, one after the other. Both good pubs, and regular student haunts after sports & societies nights given that they're within stumbling distance of the Union, and stay open later. Both pubs have a good selection of all the usual drinks, and our fellow pub-crawlers appreciated the use of the pool tables. Another student tradition.

But now, onwards once more! By bus, again, to the Fat Cow, what once used to be Oddfellows. Amusingly, as we left the Golf Tavern, Thriller was playing. When we got dropped off at Fat Cow, Thriller was coming to an end in there. It felt like being in a film!

I actually find it quite hard to say anything about this place, and not for the reasons you might think! It was a nice place, and always has been. The décor is good, and the drinks have even come down in price since it changed hands. The problem is, it just felt wrong! I was used to Oddfellows, and this was different in a few small ways, but not enough to seem like it was a fresh start. It was a little off-putting, and I was quite glad to move on! My little quirks aside, it was a good pub. I think we didn't spend as long there as we could have, but by that point most people had had a few drinks and didn't want to move so much.

Frankensteins... doesn't need anything said about it. You're a student? You'll get Frankensteins. Keep an eye out on the higher levels at midnight, but that's all. Frankensteins is a whole other episode.

Finally, via Bar Kohl, we made it to Espionage! For some reason, I've never been in here before, so it was as new to me as it no doubt was to the hordes of new students! For one, the place is massive. Seriously. It covers about 4 floors, but it seems bigger, like it goes down forever. I'm sure you could have some very trippy experiences when drunk here.

Each room is themed slightly differently, and has its own bar, seats, dancefloor, etc. This is what more clubs should do - it meant that we could pop down to the steamy basement dance room and film, and afterwards come upstairs for a quieter drink at the casbah-themed bar. It's a very nice place, but there is one major problem with it: drink prices. The place was just too damned expensive!

It wasn't so much of a problem for the one night, given that most people were already well on their way to drunkenhood, but it was still a problem. We went to Bar Kohl for a quick stop-off after Frankensteins, and they're normally regarded as an expensive bar (but their cocktails and pitchers are worth it). But when we got to Espionage we considered heading back there, because Espionage were even more expensive!

Still, drink prices aside, we had a good time, as did the rest of the groups from the look of it.

All in all, the night went very well, so a bit "thank you" to the NSA for organising it!
-Chris

Every year since time immemorial (well, 1947 actually, if you want to get pedantic) Edinburgh has hosted the Festival, and the Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival. The city fills up with performers of every kind - comedians, musicians, artists, dancers, actors, literally anyone - and the city becomes a stage. However as students, whilst we've got the time to go check out all sorts of things, we often don't have the money.

Cue the Free Fringe. A fairly recent development, venues started offering free shows, with the artists being paid entirely through donations in an attempt to bring in custom, and hopefully encourage people to buy a few drinks. Again, as students, I've kind of gravitated to the free shows on offer here.

Over the next couple of blog posts, I'm going to be visiting a few of these venues with my motley crew in tow of course, and I'm going to be out there speaking to the people behind the free shows, having a look around the free venues maybe. I'll keep it brief, but basically I'd just like to raise awareness of the Free Festival. Just because you don't pay doesn't mean you don't get your moneys wo- hold on, that doesn't work!

In all seriousness, head down to some of these places, buy a drink or two, and catch a show. Support it, because it's only with your help it'll grow.

This episode features the Jekyll & Hyde pub.

A glorious welcome to you, readers!
Last Friday, a few of us went to the GUESS (Glasgow University E. Steampunk Society) Steampunk Convention held in the Panopticon/Brittania Music Hall. Why? Well, it sounded interesting, and interesting is what we do here!
It's not Edinburgh based (clue is in the name really), so it meant a wee roadtrip - the first of the year. However, it was well worth the massive one hour drive it to meet up with a new society. We took about 15 minutes to find the place, meeting up with other people attending, in varying states of costume, and eventually got there via a casino.

At first we couldn't get in - the venue was in the middle of a show and, quite literally, full! This was both a good thing and a bad thing - a bad thing because we had to wait a while for the show to end and the venue to get a little emptier, but a good thing because it gave us time for a little wander around Glasgow.

Eventually we were welcomed back in, and had a poke around, introducing ourselves. The society themselves were very friendly, and seemed very passionate about what they were doing. Furthermore, they had a lot of craft stalls selling all manner of interesting things. Napier could learn a lot from these guys.

The show was the main attraction for many; it featured a variety of acts inspired from the grand old days of the music halls - entertainers, stage magicians, and a brief talk about the history of the venue (actually the world's oldest music hall, and one of the very first cinemas!).

Overall, we had a great time drinking lemonade, talking to people, and laughing at truly, truly awful jokes! The only regret? That we couldn't stick around for the drinks afterwards!

The video below is a sort of highlight reel of the show. I'll try and put the rest of the act online sometime. And bear in mind this was literally the second time we'd ever used this new camera - the cinematography could have been better, but we were still experimenting with it.

Enjoy, and Peace Out
-Chris
NapierTV President

Namaste, viewer!

I'm Chris, President of NapierTV this year, and I also host one of our channels, "A Grand Day Out", so let me bring you first-timers up to speed.



What I do is try with this channel is find interesting places around Edinburgh, have a poke around them, and film a little run-down of them, why you should visit, and any other major details. This gives me a lot of scope to cover almost anywhere that I like going to in the city (in the past I've visited pubs, cinemas, and shops), but most importantly, it lets me help publicise some of the better kept secrets around Edinburgh that you might not find otherwise.

Whilst I try and cover anything I think is important about a place in the main podcast, it's not always possible, and occasionally I'll get the chance to get some extra footage that wouldn't otherwise fit in the main show, such as interviews with the owners or performers at a venue, tours, etc. Also, Edinburgh is hardly a small city, and even doing a weekly channel it would take me years to uncover everything the city has to offer!

So this blog is kind of a way for me to fill in the gaps. To offer a more detailed look at somewhere I've been, or to give a review of somewhere that I might not be able to film. And it should also let you comment on what you think of somewhere I've been.

Without further ado, feel free to have a look around.
-Chris
Host, A Grand Day Out