Hissing cockroaches & rubber faces

Yesterday was great fun! With 18,000 visitors to the gardens we were kept busy all day. A number of events proved particularly memorable: children in the Exotic Creatures with Sharon Tregenza event were thrilled to be able to handle a four foot python, a Mexican red-kneed tarantula, hissing cockroaches and a giant millipede, courtesy of Edinburgh Butterfly & Insect World. Posh Josh - a brand new Beano character - was created by the excited audience of The Beano event. Look out for the cheeky chappy in October as he makes his debut in the Minnie the Minx comic strip.


Despite hearing Emmanuel Jal’s tragic story of his brutal childhood as a Sudanese child soldier, his audience left uplifted after dancing in the aisles to an impromptu performance of his peace-promoting hip hop. As Peg mentioned earlier Garrison Keillor proved yet again that he is the consummate raconteur, keeping his audience amused with both tales of bizarre small-town American characters and his not inconsiderable rubber face! (See below.)


Today saw my wee baby nephew wreak havoc in his Rhymetime event. Getting up on stage to perform when not invited and pulling the hair of other babies’ mums is just not on - that’s the last time he’ll be allowed into an event. So much to look forward to for the rest of us though!