I was doing a wee gig at the Edinburgh Fringe, and while I was walking down to the show from the train station, someone stopped and asked if they could get a picture with me. This was about six months before I released my first single as well, so my response was, ‘Are you sure?’
When I began to write, I was surprised at how little London had been used in crime fiction. Places such as Edinburgh or Oxford or L.A. seemed to have stronger identities.
At 17 years old, STG took me under its wing and shared its resources and wisdom with me, even allowing me to take part in a show at the Edinburgh Festival. Without STG and the Ramshorn Theatre, I would not have found access to the world of drama that I later made my profession.
There is no doubt in my mind at all. The Duke of Edinburgh has had affairs – yes, full-blown affairs, and more than one.
I try not to think about writers who came before me when I’m writing myself. If I did, given the abundance of literary talent Scotland – and Edinburgh in particular – has bestowed upon the world, I wouldn’t be able to get as much as a sentence written.
Edinburgh has a similar climate to Bergen – it’s very rainy and grey. There were a lot of days I’d sit inside in front of the computer, make music, and dream about summer – instead of the rainy reality outside.
You gig and gig and wonder what your first Edinburgh show will be like, if people will like it, and when they do, it just feels like it validates the last few years of your life, and that you’re on the right track.
When I was deputy chairman I could travel from Glasgow to Edinburgh without leaving Tory land. In a two-week period I covered every constituency in which we had an MP. There were 14. Now we have only one. We appear to have given up.
I like the Edinburgh Film Festival, and I’ve liked what I’ve experienced of Glasgow’s Film Festival too.
At seven years old, I won a scholarship to George Heriot’s School, an independent school in Edinburgh, and I was there until I was 17.
I lived near Arthur’s Seat when I lived in Edinburgh. It was the perfect playground as a child. I always have a wee run up there when I’m back.
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