Jazz On An Edinburgh Summer's Day

Everyone's moaning about what a miserable Summer we've had here so far. At least, today the Jazz On A Summer's Day event lived up to its billing. Well, almost. If you know Edinburgh well, you know that even in the middle of Summer (July is statistically the city's driest month) rain is always a strong possibility.

The sun came out bringing people in droves to the Ross Bandstand for the free open-air jazz concert.

We heard some velvety crooning of Frank Sinatra numbers (possibly local cabaret-bar singer Craig McMurdo, but a plume of foliage was obscuring my view of the stage) and then some uptempo rhythm 'n' blues band got the dance floor moving.

The acoustics are pretty bad by the time you get up the top of gardens, some way away from the stage, with the electrified sound drifting up to our damp spot on the grass as an echoey thin sound among the hubbub. But for many around us it seemed like a good excuse for picnicing on the grass or drinking a bottle of plonk with a friend.

People of all ages were getting into the spirit of things, shaking and swinging at the front of the stage - from silvery-haired, old couples waltzing around the dance floor to toddlers and teens bopping along.

When the spits of rain turned heavier, I decided it was time to be off. I had not planned for a deluge, even a passing one which it turned out to be. Judging by the amount of brolleys that shot up though, even in Summer Edinburghers are a well-prepared lot.

You can't rain on this parade...