Susan Dalgety: Happy 900th birthday Edinburgh - lang may your lum reek

The Lord Provost Robert Aldridge at the Edinburgh 900 programme launch at the City Chambers

Last Wednesday, Lord Provost Robert Aldridge announced a package of funding for events ranging from art history trips organised by WHALE Arts, a long-standing Wester Hailes group, to an exhibition by Edinburgh Printmakers titled Then & Now: 900 Stories in Print.

Speaking at an event in the City Chambers, the Lord Provost said that Edinburgh 900 was an opportunity “to shine a light on Edinburgh’s local communities.”

He added, “It is imperative that our communities play a central role in these celebrations, from discovering stories of local heritage to events programmes alongside our partners across the city, I’m really excited to see the programme come to life.”

And so am I. At the start of this anniversary year, it looked as if our city’s 900th anniversary was going to be a damp squib. Discussions about the programme had started in August 2019 but stalled soon after, probably due to the pandemic, and were only recently re-started. There were even some councillors who suggested that we should not be celebrating this historic anniversary at all.

In his best “you will have had your tea” voice, Green councillor Dan Heap declared in June that “we can’t be having a party in the City Chambers or whatever to celebrate this,” and his party referred to the 900 years landmark as nothing more than an “administrative event.”

Anniversaries are, in part, administrative events, marking a milestone for a marriage or even a capital city. They are also an opportunity for a party, and Edinburgh in all its rumbustious glory has plenty to celebrate.

The Lord Provost and others have managed to pull together a half-decent programme. And I am pleased that many of the events will run on into next year.

Embarrassingly, I did not know that Scotland’s first printing press was set up in the Cowgate in 1508, but thanks to Edinburgh 900, I will learn all about it at a lecture in January 2025.

Happy birthday Edinburgh, lang may your lum reek.