Today is the 101st day since the city’s 101 Objects was launched and now you can have your say.
What do you think the 101st object in the collection should be?
In this year of History, Heritage and Archaeology the idea of the collection was to help visitors and locals alike to explore the city while visiting and perhaps noticing for the first time, certain objects across the capital.
Today the organisers are celebrating the 101st day since the launch and now want you to put forward suggestions for number 101 to be added to the list.
Some suggestions have already been made such as ‘chippy’ sauce, 99 cones, the old Commie pool flumes and the Balmoral clock.
The panel of experts have also put forward their own such as the Greyfriars Bobby statue, Andy Goldsworthy’s “Hutton’s Roof” at the top of the National Museum of Scotland and Edinburgh’s Slavery Map, which details the addresses of slave owners from the 1800s.
Nicholas Hotham, head of external relations at Edinburgh World Heritage, said: “Opening up nominations for the 101st object gives the public a direct say in our historical trail through the city.
Everyone has their own unique relationship with Scotland’s beautiful and fascinating capital, which is why we’re asking locals and tourists alike to share what objects, for them, define Edinburgh. Whether this is a little-known playpark swing that brings back fond memories of their childhood, a well-known landmark not already on the list or their favourite artefact from one of the many museums, we want to hear about it.”
Nominations for the final object in Edinburgh’s 101 Objects are now open until 4th September 2017. To submit an object for consideration visit www.edinburgh.org/101#object101, or follow and join in at www.facebook.com/edinburgh and www.twitter.com/edinburgh.
Edinburgh’s 101 Objects have been sorted into six themes:Building a City; Arts & Performance; Books, Words & Ideas; City of Innovation; Everyday Living; Faith & Nation and On the Dark Side.
After nominations close, the public will be invited to vote for their favourite from a list of eight objects curated from submissions, with the people’s choice for the 101st object being announced in late September.
A couple of our favourites from the collection are as follows :
Bronze statue of David Hume by Alexander Stoddart, 1995
A large shiny bronze toe protrudes from the statue of the philosopher David Hume (1711-1776), on the corner of the Royal Mile and the Mound. It’s been there since 1995 but already a superstitious tradition has taken hold. Students about to sit their exams, gamblers choosing their bets, tourists seeking travel fortune, all give the appendage a passing rub for luck. And though he would be sorely tempted to give them a kick in the head, there’s nothing that David Hume, one of the world’s greatest rationalist philosophers, can do about it.
Wojtek the bear, (2015), Princes Street Gardens – Free
Brown bear who was adopted by Polish soldiers during their Nazi escape helped carry ammunition at the Battle of Monte Cassino. Like many of his heroic countrymen, after the war, Wojtek settled in Scotland. He lived out his years in Edinburgh zoo, until his much mourned death in 1963.
This is the map of all the objects – with room for number 101
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.