I was leaving Edinburgh just at the Fringe was starting. Why did I leave at the beginning one of the world's great theater festivals? Honestly, I think it was mostly just stupidity - hindsight, you know.

Throughout the festival they put on a T.... A T.... oh, some word that starts with T. Some of the world's great military bands (including Zulu warriors in fighting trim from South Africa) perform for about two hours every evening in a choreographed show in front of the castle. As the sun drops and the light fades, you hear the bagpipes begin to cry inside the castle. Out march 100's of bagpipers in full regalia playing those eerie tunes all in unison, the sound echoing around the walls and fortifications of this ancient structure, and it's really moving.

The rest of the show is a bit hokey, and America once again demonstrates its tact by being the only country to send a band with guns (the drill team). So, let's slip out while the pipes play and we hear the memories of a thousand years fade into the sunset as we head homeward at the end of another little adventure.