HE'S got the know-how. Mel Jameson, who knocked the Edinburgh Military Tattoo into shape for many a year, is just back from producing the inaugural counterpart at Windsor.
Very much at the behest of the Royals. Including the Queen and Philip, they trooped out for the third and final night in the grounds of Windsor Castle and awarded the production ten out of ten.
Says Brigadier Mel: "We hope this well become an annu
al event and, it must be stressed, there wouldn't be a Windsor Tattoo without the Edinburgh original. This curtain-raiser, so to speak, was enough of a spectacle to move the BBC to televise it at the weekend.
"We had the King's Troop Royal Artillery, the Scots and Welsh Guards bands, Cossacks from Russia, Malayans based at the Castle . . . the biggest spectacle of its kind since the Royal Tournament was wrapped up in 1999.
"There were distinct touches of Edinburgh when the pipes came on to Scotland the Brave and marched off to the Black Bear. Land of Hope and Glory provided the finale but it's as much a British tune as an English one, isn't it?"
The VIPs included 100 personnel from Afghanistan and Iraq and service charities benefited substantially from the performances. A land of hope and glory? I don't think so. Not any longer. It's a all Mr Brown's fault.
In love with life He used to be sky-high profile on Edinburgh's social calendar. Not quite so high of late, Craig McMurdo is still up for it. Still singin' and dancin' and last year was his band's 20th anniversary.
"The work for us now is mainly corporate. Myself, I've turned into a health and fitness freak. I love the life I lead and lead the life I love."
Still a bachelor, too, despite the proximity of all those dancing girls in his stage act.
Bad news, TrevHow often do we have to tell you, Trev? The revamped News at Ten, with you at the helm, is an almighty flop. You're trailing so far behind the BBC's counterpart, far from spellbinding itself, you'd be as well chucking it.
Meantime, still that irksome, smug smile from McDonald whose contribution to the Prince Philip documentary was minimal. Still waiting to hear him ask a pertinent question.
The full article contains 389 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
