Walking with a friend a few days ago, we passed down King’s Stables Road, which runs around the west of Castle Rock, then passes under the King’s Bridge, right below the Castle. The bridge is an old, stone structure, with a long, tunnel-like arch, and this saxophonist was playing some cool jazz under it.
I’ve seen some musicians play here before, including another jazz player (possibly the same chap) – it isn’t the best for busking in terms of footfall, compared to nearby streets, but the acoustics of that long, stone arch are incredible, especially to an instrument like a sax. And it makes for a cool pic…
My chum and I had a nice stroll along the annual Edinburgh Canal Festival the other weekend – after days of rainy showers, the sun came out, hot and strong that weekend. The festival itself felt smaller than previous years, not least because the Raft Race, which is what started the whole thing (existing before th festival grew around it) is now taking place on a different date, so it felt like crowds were smaller, there were less stands and fewer bands etc (and it all finished fairly early in the afternoon compared to previous years)
That said, we still had a great time, had some nice food and drinks (someone was making proper, fresh fruit-filled Pimms, a perfect summer sunny day drink!), enjoyed some of the bands and browsed the stalls, while taking pics (my friend wanted a go with the camera too).
Band entertaining the crowds around Lochrin Basin, where the canal now ends
Jazz band I have photographed at previous Canal Festivals was back, with some swinging tunes!
I was delighted to see our smiling mermaid was back again this year. We pointed her out to some small kids near us, and she waved to them – their faces lit up!
Even the barges became stages for entertainment!
Kayak fun!!
Ball right in the net!!!
I rarely appear in front of the camera, preferring to be behind the lens, but my chum wanted a go with the camera and took this shot of me, with a child apparently growing out of my head!
One of my swan chums decided to join me!!
Light waves reflecting off the sunny water onto the curved underside of the old, arched, stone bridge
And a slo-mo video of the same, because it was kind of gently mesmerising.
The Extraordinary Miss Flower,
Directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard,
Featuring Emilíana Torrini, Caroline Catz, with appearances by Nick Cave, Richard Ayoade, Alice Lowe, Siggi Baldursson, Sophie Ellis-Bextor
This is a delightfully unusual slice of cinema, that doesn’t fit into any neat, single category (no bad thing!). In 2024, the Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini released her first new album in some time, Miss Flower, inspired by the find of a trove of letters, photographs, telexes and more by Emiliana and her friends Zoe and Simon. The correspondence belonged to Zoe’s late mother, Geraldine Flower.
They revealed years of a fascinating, secret life – romances, intrigues, international travel, even hints of possible links to espionage. This deeply inspired Torrini, who worked with her long-term collaborator, Simon Byrt, to use these as the basis for her 2024 album (which I highly recommend), but it also felt like it had more to explore, which lead to this intriguing film work with Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, who previously brought us the fascinating 20, 000 Days on Earth documentary about Nick Cave.
This isn’t quite a documentary, nor a regular narrative film, nor musical, but partakes of elements of all of these and more. At its core are performances of songs from the album by Torrini and her group, and dramatic scenes and readings, with an array of famous actors and musicians reading from some of the letters, while Caroline Catz plays the role of Geraldine Flower, often in a sort of conversation with Torrini, asking her about her intriguing life, about the events and the people in the letters, of life, and, of course, of love.
Choreographer Kate Coyne arranges some wonderful visual movements while Forsyth and Pollard use clever framing, little pieces of animation, set dressing and other tricks to craft something that is as visually appealing as the music and voices. Throughout it all Catz’s depiction of Geraldine is magnetic and charming and assured – it’s not hard to see why so many of the letters to her were from men clearly in love with this unusual woman – and Torrini herself, who displays an engaging charm, and radiates an energy that makes it quite clear that she is really enjoying herself in this story.
Of course, you may ask, this is all very well for someone like me who is a fan of the musician already, but what if you are not overly familiar with Emiliana Torrini’s work? Perhaps you’ve never listened to her albums, but have heard her eerie, haunting rendition of Golem’s Tale for the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. But even if you are unfamiliar with her work, this is still an intriguing and delightful piece of film and music for anyone who is interested in how a creative person is inspired, how they and others around them come together to make art, a little glimpse inside the creative process, but handled in a very warm, playful manner that left me smiling.
The Extraordinary Miss Flower premiered at the London International Film Festival, and will be opening in UK and Irish cinemas from May 9th. Thanks to the BFI for kindly arranging a preview screener for us.
