They were entranced by the Lone Piper high on the battlements and spellbound by the storyteller reciting Sir Walter Scott’s poetry. Then the Scott-Barrett rocket fired high into the night sky and the cast of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo began to march away for the last time.
But the show wasn’t yet over. The Dundas Castle Fox, Myrtle the Terrier, the squirrel, the crows and the hare couldn’t believe their eyes.
Behind the Pipes and Drums marched the Tattoo Fox, her beautiful tail held high.
‘Would you believe it!’ barked the sniffer dog, his tail beating in time to the music. ‘There goes our Tattoo Fox!’
From their box up in the stands, the Producer and the Storyteller smiled and clapped along with the audience as the Tattoo Fox marched out of the Esplanade and into the night.
ALASDAIR HUTTON has enjoyed writing little stories since he was a child. The first Tattoo Fox book was such fun to create that he happily agreed to write some more adventures with the same characters.
He has written and presented the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo since 1992 along with hundreds of other tattoos and concerts around the world.
Formerly a journalist and broadcaster, Territorial Army paratrooper, Member of the European Parliament and local councillor, Alasdair is now active in charity work, especially raising money for ex-service men and women.
Alasdair lives in the Scottish border town of Kelso and has two grown-up sons and a grand-daughter who lives far away in America and for whom he loves writing stories.
STEPHEN WHITE lives in Edinburgh and works under the pen-name Stref. He has worked with DC Thomson for many years, producing work for their comic publications, The Dandy and The Beano. Characters he has drawn include Dennis The Menace, The Bash Street Kids, Minnie The Minx, Billy Whizz, Desperate Dan, Winker Watson, Brassneck, Keyhole Kate, Dreadlock Holmes and many others. He also works on Sunday Post characters Oor Wullie and The Broons. Stephen has had two graphic novels published independently, and a collection of newspaper style cartoon strips, called Raising Amy. He is currently working on his fourth book, a faithful graphic novel adaptation of J M Barrie’s Peter Pan, due out in 2015.
Some other books published by LUATH PRESS
The Tattoo Fox
Alasdair Hutton
With illustrations by Stref
ISBN 9781908373939 PBK £5.99
The Tattoo was a brilliant sight
The fox came back there every night
A little fox makes her home by Edinburgh Castle and with the help of her new friend, the Castle Cat, she settles in well. But there is one question the Castle Cat refuses to answer. What is the Tattoo?
‘Just wait and see,’ he tells her.
Will she ever find out?
This heart-warming tale was inspired by a real-life encounter between the Producer of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and a fox, late one night on the Castle Esplanade.
Let’s Explore Edinburgh Old Town
Anne Bruce English
Illustrations by Cinders McLeod
ISBN 9780946487981 PBK £4.99
The Old Town of Edinburgh has everything. At the highest point is a huge castle. At the foot of the hill there’s a palace.
Between them are secret gardens, a museum full of toys, a statue of the world famous Greyfriars Bobby, and much more besides.
There were murders here too (think of Burke and Hare). There’s mystery – is preacher John Knox really buried under parking space 44? And then there are the ghosts of Mary King’s Close.
You can find out about all this and more in this guide. Read the tales of the Old Town, check out the short quizzes and the Twenty Questions page (all the answers are given), and you’ll have plenty to see and do. Join Anne and Cinders on a fascinating and fun journey through time.
Wild Lives: Foxes: The Blood is Wild
Bridget MacCaskill
ISBN 9780946487714 PBK £9.99
In the endless struggle between man and nature, Bridget and Don MacCaskill’s Highland home has always been a haven for injured and orphaned wildlife, from red deer to wildcats. The story begins with the rescue of two near-starved fox cubs called Rufus and Rusty, victims of their species’ vicious reputation, and charts their often amusing journey into adulthood under the watchful eye of their new human ‘parents’. Along the way, they are regularly joined by other wild creatures in need of the MacCaskills’ help – badgers, birds of prey and a majestic golden eagle among them. The Blood is Wild is a touching account of the precarious existence of wildlife in the Highlands.
Details of these and other books published by Luath Press
can be found at: www.luath.co.uk
Luath Press Limited
committed to publishing well written books worth reading
LUATH PRESS takes its name from Robert Burns, whose little collie Luath (Gael., swift or nimble) tripped up Jean Armour at a wedding and gave him the chance to speak to the woman who was to be his wife and the abiding love of his life. Burns called one of ‘The Twa Dogs’ Luath after Cuchullin’s hunting dog in Ossian’s Fingal. Luath Press was established in 1981 in the heart of Burns country, and is now based a few steps up the road from Burns’ first lodgings on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
Luath offers you distinctive writing with a hint of unexpected pleasures. Most bookshops in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe either carry our books in stock or can order them for you.
To order direct from us, please send a £sterling cheque, postal order, international money order or your credit card details (number, address of cardholder and expiry date) to us at the address below. Please add post and packing as follows: UK – £1.00 per delivery address; overseas surface mail – £2.50 per delivery address; overseas airmail – £3.50 for the first book to each delivery address, plus £1.00 for each additional book by airmail to the same address. If your order is a gift, we will happily enclose your card or message at no extra charge.
Luath Press Limited
543/2 Castlehill
The Royal Mile
Edinburgh EH1 2ND
Scotland
Telephone: 0131 225 4326 (24 hours)
Fax: 0131 225 4324
email: [email protected]
Website: www.luath.co.uk
The Tattoo Fox Makes New Friends Page 6
