Sometimes I am not first up and posting. Should be easy enough to have a random rant programme to generate the whimsy?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
“New firm poised to control half of Princes St Gardens”
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Posted 5 years ago #
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@gembo
Don't misunderestimate yourself. Automatic whimsy a tough challenge for a binary machine.
Posted 5 years ago # -
In my prolog days, I mean when I used to beg friends to write my prolog assignments, a Haiku generator was written which worked quite well
Posted 5 years ago # -
a Haiku generator was written which worked quite well
I am that software. Did you truly not see it? Missing the swifts yet?
Posted 5 years ago # -
IWRATS the Basho simulator. Last swift left last weekend so yes missing them already.
Carnwath Roadman said to me yesterday Have a nice day. I made him laff by saying Missing you already as we cycled up the pavement.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Peter Standen has illustrated a regreened Edinburgh:
http://www.broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news/end-world-we-know-it
Posted 5 years ago # -
Standen’s other love after Edinburgh and the apocalypse is cats.
I like the cut of Peter's jib.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Ah, prolog. The language of my Computational Linguistics module in the final year of my English Language & Linguistics degree back at the end of the 80s
Memories....
Posted 5 years ago # -
Prolog big in Japan
I have a Peter Standen print of princes street in ruins, flooded and overgrown with vegetation.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I have now responded to the consultation, objecting to the arm's length idea and ranking the proposed visitor centre as least important in the list of things they are proposing to do with the gardens. Who needs a visitor centre for a public park??? If they want people to know what the Wojtek statue is all about they can put a sign next to it (they could usefully add an admonition that rubbing the bear's nose is as much use, and as damaging for the statue, as it is for Greyfriar's Bobby).
I don't get this need to explain to people exactly what they're going to see. Part of the pleasure of public parks and gardens IMO is finding unexpected things as you wander round them. That's when it's most appropriate to have a "interpretation panel" (horrible term, but useful thing). If you must give people a bit of a clue at the outset as to what's within, a straightforward and discreetly sited map should be sufficient.
Posted 5 years ago # -
“discreetly“
A fine word.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Good reminder to fill out the consultation:
http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18668#post-286885
Closes 14th Sept
Posted 5 years ago # -
My response to this "consultation" (I'm skeptical about its worth, see Picardy Place) is less perambulatory and whimsical than Gembo's. I think I was a bit angry at the proposed waste of council resources on pursuing essentially commercial activities in a public park, protected by act of parliament no less. Anyway here's my rant if anyone's interested.
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Why on earth are the council proposing to put a bill before parliament in order to allow a third party to build all these new structures? The gardens are a public park: their function should be to provide an oasis of peace and respite in the heart of the city centre, especially during the summer months when Edinburgh is thronged with visitors and tourists. The number of large events (e.g. Hogmanay, German Xmas market, commercial concerts, fairgrounds, etc.) held in the gardens its already excessive. The grass hardly has a chance to recover from heavy vehicles churning it up before the next event damages it. Hence city residents barely have the chance to enjoy the gardens for relaxation, as the grass is largely unusable much of the year, and at the most popular times the gardens are cordoned off for commercial events. The gardens are particularly unsuitable for large scale rock and pop concerts: these should be held elsewhere, preferably not in a public park at all. It is certainly not appropriate to propose to increase the number of events held in the gardens from the current 30 to "between 150 and 200". The parks do not need a "visitor centre", they are a visitor destination in their own right. The council ought to fundamentally question the need for redevelopment of the bandstand at the proposed scale. The council must resist the further commercialisation of the gardens, and certainly not hand over the management to an "arm's length" organisation, whether "charitable" or otherwise. Consider the needs of residents, not those of commercial interests and hotel owners (whether they are trustees of a "charity" or not). Throw these proposals out and start again!
The so-called ALEO is simply a front for commercial interests in finance and hotels. What the proposals claim as improvements will, coincidentally no doubt, serve the interests of the trustees in further boosting the numbers of visitors coming to Edinburgh and patronising the various businesses represented on the board of trustees. Really it is dreadful that the council are allowing themselves to be manipulated in such a manner by prominent business interests that set to benefit from their involvement in the purportedly public spirited and "charitable" redevelopment of a public park.
The council must retain full control of West Princes Street Gardens and resist further commercialisation. The gardens are for city residents and visitors to enjoy as gardens. Their role as a venue for events must be fundamentally rethought. An ALEO cannot be trusted to best serve the interests of the city therefore this proposal must be dropped.
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Posted 5 years ago # -
I responded similarly. I reckoned the photo of the original 19th century bandstand was the right level of infrastructure for what should essentially be an unmediated encounter with a bit of nature in the city centre. Trees, grass and a few benches are all that is required. Plus encouraging even more huge energy hungry events in this age of climate change and resource depletion seems perverse to say the least. The ALEO is an unnecessary bit of complex bureacracy to do something that shouldn't be done in first place.
Posted 5 years ago # -
The list of priorities it gives in the middle is frustrating. There were very few items which I wanted to rank and there was no option to leave some out. Akin to being asked to choose between a sewage works, a manure pile and a landfill site.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I've nothing against dance music or DJ sets, but why does it have to be in Princes Street Gardens?
Is it an ego thing? Do musicians like the grandiose spectacle of performing with the castle as a backdrop?
These big events in the gardens just don't make any sense.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Posted 5 years ago #
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I have to admit I have never even walked through the christmas market (humbug etc)but there is no way on this earth I'd want to spend any time at all on a massive scaff structure. Goes against every instinct. I don't care how they tart it up. That you have to build so much meccano in a public park to make it suitable for your use means your use is not compatible with the venue and should be moved elsewhere.
Posted 4 years ago # -
“humbug etc”
Can’t say I’ve never been to various versions of the Christmas markets, but I’m unable to understand how enough people have enough money to keep buying what I would pejoratively call tat enough for it to keep coming back and getting bigger.
(That’s without considering the venue/public space/whether it had anything to do with tree removal.)
Whether this is ‘good for the City’ - or even good for other businesses that are here 52 weeks a year, is a whole other set of questions.
Posted 4 years ago # -
The Annual Festival of Blocked Shortcuts and Garish Festive Crap Blocking Footways. King's Stables Road currently inaccessible from the gardens except through St Cuthbert's, Playfair Steps beset by scaffold, wingèd hearts and some helical fibreglass things doing their best to bung up Castle Street.
Posted 4 years ago # -
"should be moved elsewhere."
I nominate Picardy Place.
Posted 4 years ago # -
I quite enjoyed getting wrapped up and then tanked up on hot wine outside the RSA with pals when it was cold, but when it's mild and you'd be stood on a plywood platform errr no thanks.
Posted 4 years ago # -
What would stop a terrorist planting some device under all the scaffolding?
Could be easily hidden.
Does not seem safe to me
Posted 4 years ago # -
What would stop a terrorist planting some device under all the scaffolding?
Could be easily hidden.
Does not seem safe to me
I'm sorry. What?
Posted 4 years ago # -
I'm not sure what you mean by "what?"
Posted 4 years ago # -
With my mod hat on, neddie, I'm not sure of the relevance of your post.
Posted 4 years ago # -
The relevance is that a terrorist could easily plant a bomb under all the scaffolding that has been illegally built as a Chgristmas market, as mentioned in this same thread here: http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=18668&page=2#post-316458
The scaffolding would allow such a bomb to be concealed underneath, much more so than would be the case than if the market had been built on the flat on a street.
Or do people think Edinburgh is somehow immune from terrorism?
Is that clear enough now?
Posted 4 years ago #
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