Global village ceilidh and sports day
current music: Vienna (Live), Midge Ure, & Eddie Izzard on piano
I don't know whether it's just better mikes on the crowd, or the focussing effect of Murrayfield Stadium, but watching Live8 Edinburgh on the box it looks much more emotional than the Hyde Park gig - and it's not just awe at the vision of Lenny Henry wearing a sporran with antlers! Actually, a number of the commentators and participants have commented on how much better the atmosphere is here than it was in London on Saturday. I choose not to dismiss this as the usual snake-oil!
What with one thing and another, it's a big day in the UK. Not only are they rocking in Auld Reekie, the G8 are meeting somewhere central for a change, and some wee village far off in one of the remoter outlying parts of the south seems to have good news about holding a sports day too.
No doubt there will be down sides to all that's going on and, folk being folk, we'll likely hear a lot more about them in the coming days and years than we will the good stuff. But overall, I think today is a good and hopeful day when good will, good intentions and good fortune outweigh the bad stuff. Savour it, there's few enough of them.
That's what we need - more national events happening in central areas instead of out on the fringes!
But will they make caber-tossing an Olympic sport?