Lurking outside the Windsor Buffet
Out last night for a Mons Meg crawl down Leith Walk! We had danced part of the Walk previously and so tonight we were aiming to cover off those parts which other dances had not reached, notably a couple which are in Edinburgh’s gay triangle.
We started in Mather’s at the top of Broughton Street where we also had some tasty birthday cake baked by Trina. Quite a good first dance on a good wooden floor and also, we found out, a former member of Jenny Geddes Morris in the pub as well. Next up, the Theatre Royal Bar, next to the Playhouse (where Riverdance is the current attraction). This wasn’t a bad dance either although a slippy marble floor made it a challenge.
The evening moved on through the Elm Bar, the Windsor Buffet then Priscilla’s, the Victoria and The Boda Bar (the latter two being places where we had danced before). Every pub we danced in had its own piece of magic and the clientelle were wonderfully accommodating and appreciative in all of them. However it is worth picking out Priscilla’s for special mention.
Priscilla's Cabaret Bar
Priscilla’s proudly advertises itself as Edinburgh’s leading transvestite and drag queen cabaret bar (although since it is, to the best of my knowledge, the only such venue in Edinburgh, that is an easy claim to make). It was a very good place to dance though and we had a particularly warm reception. I have to say, mind, that I hadn’t previously considered Rapper to be a mass audience participation event. It was also one of the few places in town where walking in wearing costume and asking if they would mind if we gave them a quick sword dance would raise not an eyebrow. It really turned what was an entertaining night into one which will linger in the memory as being a bit of a special one.
The last two dances were quite good in cramped circumstances (stuffed crocodile anyone?) and, thanks to late licences, we probably did the last dance about 12.30 or so.
The craic was ninety too – somehow Lys got onto reminiscing about her days as a doctor in the Accident and Emergency Dept and the odder foreign bodies to be found in patients’ rectums, vibrating eggs and a lightbulb (inserted thin end first) being amongst the more memorable. John and I found ourselves in complete agreement that Shane MacGowan’s “The Broad Majestic Shannon” is a masterpiece of songwriting and there was more which I will, no doubt, remember as soon as I’ve finished typing this.
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