Incongruous

I can't get over these barriers.

Festival season in Edinburgh is one of my favourite times.  People enjoying a laugh, some art, music, a drink or two, all in the ambience of a historic city centre.  Life is lived outside, for pleasure, in the moment, in a place filled with the stories and memories of peasants and kings over centuries.

There are always barriers, usually gaily adorned with posters advertising what you would see if only you paid to be on the other side.  There are always stewards and security staff to ensure safety and make sure you only see what you paid for.  Somehow they are an integral part of the festivities.  Cynical commercialism can't detract from the joy of the crowd, the hope that the next act will be the next big thing.

These barriers, here, and on the Royal Mile, seem completely alien.  They are not there to stop a hapless punter wandering backstage, prevent a cheapskate from sneaking into a show or simply guide us to the next entertainment.  They are not aimed at the casual violence of someone a little too drunk, the risk of the opportunist pickpocket, or possibility of a crowd getting out of hand.  

These barriers are here to prevent terrorism.  In Edinburgh.  At the Edinburgh Festivals.  It's a thought so unspeakable that I'm hesitant to give it life by typing it on a page.  

That the authorities deem them necessary is upsetting.  Surely it couldn't happen here?  Written down that seems hopelessly naive.  I'm fundamentally an optimist - are the pessimists right?

If the possibility of an attack on the festivals is real these barriers are even more striking.  They speak of helplessness.  The whole city will be overrun with people, but these barriers only protect a tiny fraction of it.  They only protect against one sort of attack.

People with knives or a bomb in a suitcase (I'm thinking of London and Manchester here, not speculating randomly) could wreak havoc in any number of places in the city in August - not just the places these barriers "protect".  

So why are they here?  Is there a real risk?  A specific threat?  It it security theatre to make us feel safer?  Or a grim recognition that so little can be done that what is possible must be attempted?

Every time I'm in major cities with a history of terror attacks, places like London, Washington, Boston, I'm reminded of the need for security.  Not here though?  Not in Edinburgh?

I'm going to try extraordinarily hard not to notice these barriers any more, or the other ones around the city.  I'm determined not to let them spoil festival season for me.  I just hope that nothing else does either.