First day of tickets sales for the Edinburgh international book festival and experience tells you that the best events sell out quick. But there’s some authors that you really want to see. Answer? go in person and sit in the queue for the tickets at the EICC.
Arrived at EICC about 8.45 am, 15 minutes after the doors open, to find a number based queuing system in place and the waiting area very full of old women (well, predominately old women). The average age seems to be about 65 – most people are older, but there is a few mothers with toddlers pulling the average age down. I wonder why this is and conclude that they are well read and dedicated, but also retired, and free from the duty of work on Monday mornings.
Slowly the numbers in the queueing system creep up 9-19… …29-39… …69-79…
The announcer reminds the chosen few to make there way to the booking hall at the West of the building and I wonder how many people actually carry compasses in their handbags (any sense of direction inside the EICC seems quite a feet).
…129-139… …179-189…
It’s around this time the news of sold out events starts to come through. News that both The Hungry Caterpillar and We’re going on a bear hunt have sold out leave me felling slightly gutted. I hadn’t got either of these on my list, but they sound good, and I wonder now why they weren’t. I’m also surpirsed to hear Vince Cable is an early sell out (beating ‘Cherie’ and ‘Paddy’ who sold out much later in the morning)
…219-229…
A 1pm physio appointment, meant i had to leave (it really fucking hurt ‘by the way’) and come back – hoping my number wasn’t up yet – by the time i made it back at about 1.45pm it had been, but only just – so the nice man i had been chatting to earlier about what my chances of missing my slot where let me through.
So there you go tickets for Margrat Atwood, Will Self, Douglas Copeland, Monica Ali and Alasdair Gray all safely purchasd.
Tips for next year -
- Arrive at 8.30am
- Take a book (doh!) it’ll be along wait
- even better take a laptop – and try internet booking at the same time as waiting in person
- If you can find an accomplace – take shifts, on person go to collect the number – then someone else take over about 10.30/11.
- keep the day clear of other appointments
