Hogmanay Edinburgh 2012-2013

Hello

I am so behind with all this.  Anyways lets get to it...

Hogmanay in Edinburgh had always been on my bucket list, I duly bought the tickets for the concert in the park below Edinburgh Castle.  Here are the pictures.  Please excuse my normal picture dumping style, others seem to have an order or are super organised in knowing what pictures to show.  Less is more?  Not with me.  MORE is always better.  I am one of those sad people who actually really likes looking at other peoples holiday snaps.

Here are the pics

Princes Street was fenced off you had to have tickets to get in

Left the hotel at 21:30, already heaving with people.  Most extremely drunk.

 

Edinburgh Castle lit up for night time.  The Fireworks were set off from the castle.

Very squashed inside the park, as the stage was to the side meaning the only people who could really see the stage were the people who managed to by the enclosure tickets.  Unfortunately, I was not fast enough to book them.

 

Still waiting for the concert to begin.

Fire works to start the night off.

 



Music started.  Roughly about 11 I think. Simple Minds, the band formed before I was born, so I didn't really know a lot of the songs. 

You see the plunger that looks like it will make dynamite blow up?  2 Lucky people were drawn from an on line competition, to sink the plunger to make the count down begin.  Pretty cool.  I cant remember where they came from so lets say Portugal for the stories sake...  Poetic licence and all that.

 Then the count down, 10 ,9, 8, managed to catch the 7 seconds with my point and shoot (I love my DSLR, press button and it takes the picture that second not 3 later....),

6,5,4,3,2,1!  Happy New Year 2013!  By some form of miracle I managed to catch it when it went to 0, 2013.  The screen then changed to 2013 around the UK

Fire works again.  Not as many as I thought there would be, as London's went on for an age I was told later at least 20 minutes, composed to music.   so I was really disappointed with Edinburgh's effort seeing as Hogmanay is their thing.

You get the picture.

Then it was time to fight our way through the drunken crowds back up the hill to the hotel.  Whilst pushing away a group or really mean spirited old people who had one very tall man who was pushing like a battering ram with chicken winged arms to inflict as my carnage as he could.  Toppling youngsters to the ground as he went.  What an idiot. 

Anyways straight after a lovely young lady who was covered in her own vomit had offered me a new years kiss, which I obviously declined.  We hustled on, following the wee jimmy hats.

Would I do it again.  In short no.

Why?  I some how thought it would be different.  I wouldn't have wasted the money on the tickets for the Concert in the park that I couldn't see, as I had to take the pictures by holding the camera above my head, to get anything, I'm 5 foot on a good day.  Enough said.

I would have been better off on the Street, and buying only tickets for that as there was plenty of music up there.

I also felt that I was maybe a little old.  I cant phrase this right....  not too old, but it wasn't my cup of tea.  If there had been a huge group of us it may have changed it.  It may have also been different if I was tipsy.  But as I don't drink alcohol, it was all kind of flat.  Alcohol and a few thousand teenagers and 20 year olds, squashed into a small space... nope not for me.

So no, I wouldn't go again for Hogmanay.  But I love Scotland, Edinburgh is a must any other time.  The architecture, the views, the general feeling of the place.  For Sure, yes, I will go again and again.  For Hogmanay - No NEVER AGAIN.  Too expensive to stay in the hotels at that time and too crowded.

Where to next for New Years Eve?  Heck, in 2013, I wouldn't mind it with my family.  LOL  With all the kidlets playing the Wii and everyone shouting and hollering at the screen for a strike when bowling.

I will pass on vomit faced kisses just for that.  Bah humbug?  Probably...

LOL