Rain stopped play – Royal Highland Show – Today at the Cameo – Royal Commonwealth Pool – National Museum of Scotland
The tennis at Raeburn Place was badly affected by rain yesterday when, according to one member of the public watching the match:- “The canopy roof over the temporary court is simply not coping with the rain here.” The combination of wind and rain meant that play was stopped with a one set decider. The full report by John Hislop, and with photos by John Preece is in our Sport section. The crowd swelled to ‘almost full’ for McEnroe’s match, and some in the crowd grumbled that the prices were a little steep. A spectator told The Edinburgh Reporter:-“It was a lot of money to pay for an hour’s tennis, and we were disappointed that we were then watching four guys mucking about on court, rather than playing a proper match.”
But what we all have to remember is that this is a first, and undoubtedly the organisers will learn from the experience of staging what has been one of the highest profile tennis competitions in quarter of a century in the capital. The Brodies Champions of Tennis is part of the ATP Champions Tour which was established in 1997. The event is being staged by local company Serve and Volley Ltd a local event management company under the direction of Viki Mendelssohn who successfully bid to bring the event to Edinburgh this year with options to repeat it in 2014 and 2015. The Edinburgh Reporter interviewed her on a very rainy day last month and you can see it here:-
Edinburgh is the first Scottish city to host the ATP tour. The event is a four-day round robin and so each player is certain to play in at least three matches. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of the sponsors of the event and committed £50,000 by way of financial support.
Today the organisers advise on wearing appropriate gear on their website:-
“Weather forecast for Sunday 23rd June is predicting rain. All spectators are encouraged to dress appropriately and are reminded that the use of umbrellas is not permitted within the stadium.
Revised schedule:
Gates open 9am
9.30am – completion of Moya v Philippoussis
Followed by Enqvist v Ivanisevic
Followed by 3 v 4
Followed by McEnroe v Ferreira
Brodies Champions of Tennis finalWe are making every effort to ensure that spectators have a safe and enjoyable day, seeing some great tennis, however match times for the day may vary. Please check website for any further updates.”
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The Royal Highland Show is on for one more day today and will undoubtedly be affected by the rain forecast, but there are many indoor attractions too such as shopping and cookery demonstrations. Today you will be able to see chefs from the Plumed Horse and Wedgwood doing their thing.
Ticket information here or buy yours at the gate. Lothian Buses are running a special service from the south side of St Andrew Square to the showground. Single fare £3.50.
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While The Filmhouse and others play host to films showing as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the Cameo is not involved this year and today is showing the new Michael Douglas film, all about Liberace. Behind the Candelabra is rated 15 and stars Matt Damon, Dan Aykroyd, Debbie Reynolds in a star studded cast.
Perhaps Liberace was as famous for the libel action he raised against ‘Cassandra’ otherwise William Connor of the Daily Mirror. In any event the action was a success and Liberace won damages of £8,000 in 1959. (which is estimated would be around £500,000 today) British Pathé have some lovely black and white footage of the entertainer leaving court after his success which you can access here.
If you get along to see the film then why not write us a very short review? Use our Submit your Story feature or use the comments box below this article. We would like to hear from you!
Here is a trailer from The Guardian website:-
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If you are trying to entertain children today then on the basis that you might as well get wetter, then you could try out the Royal Commonwealth Pool. With facilities revamped following the £37m refit, the pool offers a 50 metre pool for you to try out your lap turns, and there are fun inflatable sessions this afternoon for children who can swim in 2 metres.
The activists behind the proposed reopening of Leith Waterworld argued that the RCP did not offer much in the way of play for younger children. Edinburgh Leisure do run other pools around the city which are at least smaller, even if none have the flumes of Leith Waterworld.
From 1 July Edinburgh Leisure offer a programme of activities to help entertain schoolchildren during the holidays. More information here.
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Another standby for a rainy day is the National Museum of Scotland with all of its galleries offering a wealth of learning opportunities. Today at 2:00pm there will be a concert by the Arunda Wind Trio and a special appearance by the recently formed Chambers Street Singers.
A little taster for you here:-
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