The Edinburgh Reporter April 2023

19

CULTURE • LITERATURE • ART • EVENTS • MUSIC • MUSEUMS...

Jumbo engine rolls in

Massive engine now on

display at the National

Museum of Flight

By STAFF REPORTER

THE NATIONAL Museum of Flight has just

acquired a Boeing 747 engine which will be on

display in time for the extended opening hours

at the National Museum of Flight beginning.

The museum will open seven days a week

from 1 April for the summer months.

Weighing around 6.5 tonnes, the Rolls Royce

RB211-524H turbofan engine will help the

Museum tell the story of the Boeing 747 aircraft,

which first took to the skies in 1969 and

revolutionised long-haul air travel. As the first

wide-bodied commercial passenger jet, it could

transport increased passenger numbers,

allowing ticket prices to be much lower and

making air travel affordable for many more

people. In 2020, British Airways decided to

withdraw its 747-fleet due to the impact of

Covid-19 on air travel.

The 747-engine will be displayed next to

Scotland’s only Concorde aircraft and beside the

Museum’s Red Arrows Hawk.

Steve McLean, General Manager at the

National Museum of Flight, said: “The National

Museum of Flight contains some incredible

aircraft and objects, each with a fascinating story

to tell so we’re delighted to be able to add to our

collection with this newly-acquired 747-engine.

Its development enabled cities and countries to

be connected in a way that wasn’t previously

possible and opened up huge travel and business

opportunities. The new arrival helps to cement

our position as one of Europe’s major aviation

museums and, together with our events

programme, provides another great reason to

visit this year.”

The National Museum of Flight is currently

open at weekends from 10am until 4pm and will

be open seven days a week from 10am until 5pm

from 1 April 2023. Book in advance to save.

Adult tickets from £13,

National Museums Scotland Members free.

15% off when you book as a family.

nms.ac.uk/flight

OPINION

By Neil Christison of VisitScotland

Positive outlook for

tourism in the region

It is fair to say that the last three years

have been incredibly challenging for our

tourism and events industry. Since the

first Covid-19 national lockdown and

subsequent months of restrictions,

we are still navigating our way through

the additional pressures being faced

through the cost of doing business and

staffing shortages.

As we approach the start of the

traditional tourism season in Scotland

with the Easter holidays I am buoyed by

the positivity and passion on display

throughout the industry.

We hosted the Scottish Thistle Awards

National Final in February for the first time

in three years. I congratulate all the

regional finalists representing Edinburgh

and the Lothians on the night, in

particular Edinburgh International

Festival and A Toast to Gaia that went on

to be crowned national winners.

At a strategic level, it is really

encouraging to see the prominence of the

visitor economy within Edinburgh &

South East Scotland’s new Regional

Prosperity Framework Delivery Plan. This,

coupled with Edinburgh’s new visitor

economy action plan offer us a real

opportunity to work together to help

grow, develop and add value to the

capital and wider region’s visitor economy

in a responsible way.

COMMITTED CAMPAIGNS

We are committed at VisitScotland to

ensuring that Scotland remains top of

mind for visitors. Through campaigns,

such as Scotland’s UNESCO Trail and the

development of our website we aim to

showcase the vast range of experiences

on offer to people from around the world.

Early signs suggest encouraging

interest in Scotland for this summer,

including from international visitors. The

news that there will be a twice daily

service between Edinburgh and New York

during the peak summer season is a major

boost for the city and the country.

And at a local level, we are working with

regional tourism organisations to support

their own marketing campaigns and

business and product development as we

prepare for the season ahead.

Yes, there are still challenges, there

always will be, but there is good reason

for optimism too. There remains

significant investment in quality tourism

in the region – the Scotch Whisky

Experience, the opening of the W hotel

and other hotel investment in the capital

city, Scotland’s first inland wave

destination, Wavegarden, at Ratho and

Penicuik Estate’s 50-year vision, to name

just a few.

4TH

In 1508, the first printed book in

Scotland with a definite date – a

vernacular poem by John Lydgate

‘The Complaint of the Black

Knight’ – was produced; the press

was set up in Edinburgh by Walter

Chepman, an Edinburgh

merchant, and his business

partner Androw Myllar, a

bookseller, near what is now the

Cowgate. And in 1617, John

Napier, inventor of logarithms,

died in Edinburgh.

10TH

In 1866, construction of

Waverley Station began,

consolidating the former North

Bridge and Canal Street Stations.

11TH

In 1890, a fire destroyed the

large paper-making and

stationery establishment of

Messrs Tullis & Company, 7

George Street, Edinburgh, and did

very great damage to the

adjoining property of Messrs

Whytock & Reid, furniture

supplier. And in 1895, the first

electric lights were installed in the

city.

17TH

In 1341, Edinburgh Castle was

retaken by a ruse perpetrated by 4

men; one disguised himself as an

English merchant purveying wine

and beer and agreed with the

Governor to deliver it the

following morning; once the gate

was opened to him, he and his

armed followers overturned the

carriage where the goods were

purported to be, sounded a horn

to call Douglas and his band who

rushed in and recovered the

fortress.

And in 1766, James Craig’s

winning entry for development

of Edinburgh’s New Town

was approved.

Also in 1800, Catherine Sinclair

was born in Edinburgh; she wrote

many bestselling books in a

variety of genres but was most

celebrated for her wide-ranging

charitable work and as one of the

most prominent philanthropists

of 19th century Edinburgh; she

introduced public bench seats to

the city (a feature which remains

popular to this day), founded and

financed the Volunteer Brigade for

the boys of Leith, opened a school

where girls from working class

homes were taught domestic

work, provided shelters where

cabmen could relax while waiting

for ‘fares’, and opened special

cooking centres which provided

low cost meals for the poor.

Compiled by Jerry Ozaniec,

Membership Secretary of the

Old Edinburgh Club. membership

@oldedinburghclub.org.uk

This month in history...

Catherine Sinclair Monument