Not all my travels revolve around sport – whether spectating or participating. Occasionally something cultural grabs my attention. It did earlier this month.
A while back I read Scottish journalist Jen Stout’s book Night Train to Odesa and when I noticed she was to appear at the Edinburgh Book Festival I arranged a Monday off work and bought myself a ticket. She was joint panelist with Ukrainian historian Olesya Khromeychuk, being interviewed about the posthumous publication of a book (Looking at Women Looking at War) written by their friend Victoria Amelina.
The author was killed in 2023 by a Russian missile attack on a crowded pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk.
The book event took place at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. It was Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for most of my life, but the site has been transformed in recent years with a combination of rebuild and renovation. The area has a strong connection for me. I went to school across the street. I was born in Simpson Memorial Pavilion – now gone, but then just a few yards from the hospital.
The event itself was excellent. Well with the effort involved in catching an 8.30 bus to the Big City on a Monday morning, followed by the battles with the festival and tourist hordes just to get where I needed to be.
To round off my day out I met a school friend for lunch after the book event, and then we enjoyed a brief visit to Sandy Bell’s in Forest Road for a beer to wash down the lunch.
ⓒ iain taylor, 2025
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