BOAT wrote:I'm still waiting for all the jokes that are going to come out the first time a blogger on this site says: "I have a Tattoo!"
I suspect there will be many at first, but hopefully folks will tire quickly of that foolishness.
"MacGregor" is obviously a Scottish name, and for those who do not know, "Tattoo" is so-named for the Scottish traditional celebration of the same name. From
the wiki:
The word "Tattoo," is derived from "Doe den tap toe", or just "tap toe" ("toe" is pronounced "too"), the Dutch for "Last orders". Translated literally, it means: "close the (beer) tap". The term "Tap-toe" was first encountered by the British Army when stationed in Flanders during the War of the Austrian Succession.
The British adopted the practice and it became a signal, played by a regiment's Corps of Drums or Pipes and Drums each night to tavern owners to turn off the taps of their ale kegs so that the soldiers would retire to their billeted lodgings at a reasonable hour. With the establishment of modern barracks and full Military bands later in the 18th century, the term Tattoo was used to describe not only the last duty call of the day, but also a ceremonial form of evening entertainment performed by Military musicians.
Although the first Tattoo in Edinburgh, entitled "Something About a Soldier", took place at the Ross Bandstand at Princes Street Gardens in 1949, the first official Edinburgh Military Tattoo began in 1950 with just eight items in the programme. It drew some 6000 spectators seated in simple bench and scaffold structures around the north, south and east sides of the Edinburgh Castle esplanade. In 1952, the capacity of the stands was increased to accommodate a nightly audience of 7700, allowing 160,000 to watch live performances each year.
If you have never visited the Edinburgh Tattoo Festival you have missed out on an incredibly exciting, engaging and memorable show. I've seen it twice (1983 & 2011) and would happily go again and again. It's that good.
