The Cape Society
Feb
- Wed 1 Apr 2026
- Craig's Close Clean-Up
- A litter-picking expedition down dirty Craig's Close has been mooted for a while and is now being undertaken, at last. Craig's Close was home to the Isle of Man Tavern (proprietor: James Mann) which, in turn, was home to the Cape Club back in its early days in Edinburgh's Enlightenment period. Come kitted in your finest PPE and bring litter-pickers (rather than pokers) and rubbish bags.
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Meet in the Scotsman's Lounge at 14.00.
The inability of some Knights to make the final Wednesday of March bumps the date of this Manor to an alternative Wednesday.
- Report
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Four Knights met in the contemporary equivalent of the Isle of Man Tavern, the Scotsman's Lounge
and had a good laugh at how some Companions had second thoughts about turning up as they considered the Manor may be an April Fool!
After a couple of tourist-priced pints (£20 for three!), Phil, Colin, Martin and Steve donned PPE, including obligatory latex rubber gloves,
and headed through the throngs of foreign visitors to the highest, accessible part of Craig's Close, coincidentally, where the Cape Club
plaque adorns the wall. Steve and Colin were the only ones equipped with litter-pickers and so did the bulk of the picking
as Knights made their way down to Market Street. Some of the copious amounts of cigarette butts were missed (brush and shovel required next time)
and there was little to be done about the bird mess without a pressure washer but all other litter was bagged and binned.
Having worked fingers to the bone, Knights had earned another drink and were only meters from a favourite howff, the Hebrides.
The remainder of the Manor was spent there enjoying Highland Park and Bunnahabhain whiskies; again, at tourist prices, but
we're only Knights of the Cape once.
Mobile-friendly picture gallery.
Some video... FealtyThanks to Knights who showed active fealty to Auld Reikie by tidying up a small and dear-to-the-Cape corner of her. No camels were harmed during this clean-up exercise.
