Mael,

Very many thanks for drawing my attention to this thread - had you not done so I probably would not have seen it since my visits to XMTS, or indeed the Internet in general, have been minimal in recent months ....... there is so much life to be lived at this time of year!!

Yes, I am attending The Gathering in Edinburgh with my pal Jim (jiminak) and we have Silver Passports (unfortunately, ordered last year at full-price - but, hey, this is a special, one-off event and we are going to have a fantastic time whatever the cost !

With regard to the meet-ups: it is most likely that we will see you all at The Gathering event in Holyrood Park on the Saturday or Sunday, rather than at either of the city bars you have listed. Those establishments are relatively small considering the thousands of people who will be seeking liquid refreshment in that part of the city, and we believe we would be happier avoiding them - but you never know! If Jim and I happen to be anywhere near either bar at the proposed time, and feel up to facing a heaving mass of humanity, we could pop up there as well.

We have several long-standing appointments and engagements with friends away from the Gathering events over the weekend and so will not be around the Gathering's 'hot spots' all the time - the march and the pageant are high on our list, however!

Looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible, in Edinburgh, in just over a week's time......

Take care,
Ham.