My One and Only Prayer....

One morning, in January 1984, I got up at 4 am, and got the first bus into the town.

The East Coast of Edinburgh is way colder than the west coast, but I was prepared. After suffering December, I was now equipped with thermals.

The Simple Minds Were Playing at The Playhouse in February and tickets were being released on that January morning. The box office doors were opening at 10 am.

I met my friend at the top of Leith Walk at 4.30 and together we stomped down the cold and frosty morning to the Playhouse box office. There were about 100 people there already. Some in sleeping bags.

We took our place in the queue, happy to stand. After two hours, we were huddled up with the people on either side of us. All sitting on our bags, and hugging each other for warmth.

People from a local cafe were walking up and down the line, which stretched about another 100 people back again, with watered down soup and tea for £1.00 a cup.

We looked on with longing as some people bought them, just to hold them in their hands to thaw a little.

At 9.30, 5 hours after we had joined the queue someone with Playhouse attire walked the length of the queue. 2 tickets each. Max. 2 tickets each. Max. We had hoped to buy 4 each. We were queuing for our other friends too.

At 1015, the queue started to move horrifically slowly. Not down to transactions being processed slowly, but because everyone in the queue had frozen legs, and walking was nigh on impossible.

at 1040, we got into the box office. We did the big eye, freezing cold thing, and got our four tickets each, and turned and wandered out. Simple Minds were so far from our minds. All I could think about was hot water bottles and coffee.

My friend lived in Bruntsfield, relatively close in the grand scheme of things, and headed off in search of bed. I headed to Cockburn Street, the location of a shop where a mate worked, who I knew would provide me with a cuppa and a foot thawing before I headed home to bed.

IT WAS THAT COLD TODAY FOR THE TEN MINUTES I STOOD OUTSIDE TO GET THIS FLIPPING PHOTOT!