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www.ceilidhculture.co.uk This festival is held in various venues in Edinburgh from 26 March until 18 April,2010. It is a celebration of Scottish music and culture. If You are going to be in Edinburgh at that time, be sure to visit the above web address to see what’s going on. Enjoy, Bill.

I did a step on on Monday for a coach company called Majestic Tours, based in Taunton, Somerset. The group were all from Wales so the Celtic connection was not difficult to establish. They were a very enthusiastic and receptive group and Roger, the driver, was super to work with. Its always good to get positive feedbach from the clients but when the driver says that it was the best tour he has ever been on, well that'[s a bit special!

Yesterday afternoon was spent in the company of 3 delegates attending a conference in the Balmoral Hotel. I had planned to walk them through Princes Street Gardens and on up to the Castle. As It happened we were driven there by the lovely Morven from my favourite travel company (see my links page), It was just as well since a bitter south easterly wind was blowing in from the firth of Forth and it was mighty cold up in the citadel. I had also planned to walk them from the Castle back to their hotel, pointing out places of interest in the Royal Mile.

Chloe is nineteen years old but will turn twenty this week. She is lovely, intelligent and enthusiastic and the grand neice of one of my oldest friends who aked me to take her for a tour yesterday. She is a California girl who was born in Oregon and she fell in love with Edinburgth at first sight. I spent three hours in her delightful company and it was a very pleasant experience. I also introduced her to the delights of Cullen Skink which she declared to be the best meal she had had since coming to the UK (apart from Pop’s steak pie).

Being near the coast, Edinburgh does not get a lot of frost and snow in Wintertime, but this year ir has been different. Scotland is currently in the grip of the most prolonged cold snap for decades and parts of the city, mine included, have been snow covered for over 2 weeks with more to come! Currently there is a covering outside my house of around 30 cm with more to come, tonight and for the next few days. Even the centre of town has snow lying and the footpaths are pretty treacherous.

The morning of Christmas Eve was spent on a coach with a party of elderly people from around Warwickshire and a lively and appreciative bunch they were. The craic was sharp and continuous and despite the state of the roads we had a good time. My first job for Johnstones Coach Holidays and hopefully, not the last. My thanks to driver Steve, courier Pam and Karen the Tour Director. It was a pleasure to meet you and I hope our paths cross again.

On Sunday I met with 2 young Indian chaps. Harshit and his brother, who had recently arrived from India. The plan was to take them on an all day walking tour. Edinburgh in mid December can be a cold place. Its not that the temperature gets very low (on that day it was around -2 degrees) but the combination of wind and the damp atmosphere serve to chill you to the marrow of your bones and such a day it was.

I had a message yesterday from an American lady who is coming to Edinburgh next weekend with her husband. He is a professor of Neurology with an interest in David Hume and she wants me to take him for a tour with as many Hume references as possible. David Hume was the shining star in a galaxy of 18th century Scottish philosophers such as Adam Smith, father of Economics and Adam Ferguson, father of Sociology.

On Saturday I had a step on with a party of Australian junior Soccer players and their coaches. A great bunch they were and despite coming from mid Summer in Queensland to a very cold and windy November day in Edinburgh the were all good sports. We were able to go around the Queen’s Park for the spectacular views of the city, got them round the Castle and did a panoramic tour of the Old and New towns. We then dropped them off for lunch at the German Market after which they were going to Easter Road to watch Hibs play Falkirk. Good old Hibs obliged us with a win.

Yesterday, I spent the day in the delightful company of Tina and Sue, two mature English ladies with a great sense of humour and a prodigious ability to walk long distances at speed. It was a showery day with a biting North Easterly wind coming over the North Sea from Norway. Starting at the East end we went through the German Market, through Princes Street Gardens and did my usual full day route after that. A super lunch of fish and chips in the Worlds End, a pub in the Netherbow area of the Royal Mile.

If you have used the links page of my site, you might have clicked on the Corries link. The Corries were Scotland’s most successful folk act at home and abroad until the death of Roy Williamson around 20 years ago. Roy composed Flower Of Scotland which is now the unofficial national anthem of Scotland.

On the 30 November each year we celebrate St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, whose crucifixion on the diagonal cross by the Romans is represented by the Saltire, our national flag, a white diagonal cross on an azure background. Many of the institutions which look after our national heritage are celebrating this weekend by granting free access to many of their historic sites, gardens and areas of stunning natural beauty. So If you are heading in this direction or are already here, check out for free entries to Historic Scotland and the National trust for Scotland properties.