Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Credit-crunch festival

Lloyd Evans goes in search of culture on the rain-soaked streets of Edinburgh

issue 15 August 2009

Lloyd Evans goes in search of culture on the rain-soaked streets of Edinburgh

The crunch. That damn credit crunch. It hurt Scotland hardest of all. A worldwide reputation as a financial powerhouse? Gone. Dreams of independence? Severely truncated. Last year the Edinburgh Festival bore prophetic signs of imminent poverty, of homelessness, of doom. Free shows abounded. Bribes of wine, whisky and sandwiches were being proferred to choosy punters. This year I’m here on an austerity awayday, a recession quickie, a pared-down and stripped-back three-day in-and-outer. My accommodation meets the brief superbly. I’m in a dive, of the deep-sea variety. You have to hold your breath. The showers are communal. So are the loos. There’s no lift, not even one that’s broken. The carpetless staircases are lit by wildcat lights that stop working 30 seconds after you’ve switched them on.

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