James Court

A fantastic day of history, theatre and comedy.

James Court is in what today is one of the most expensive areas of the city, on the Royal Mile. In 1887 it was a slum and it was where my Great Grandmother was born (the only one of my great grandparents who I met although I was too young to remember her as she died when I was a few months old). On the left, under the archway is a door with the number 11 so if the number hasn't changed, she must have lived in one or maybe two of the rooms in the picture. According to the census in 1891, there were 68 people belonging to 13 households living at number 11. My great grandmother's family had 9 people. 

This afternoon I saw a very powerful play about homelessness called Cathy which takes the idea of Ken Loach's film 'Cathy come home' and looks at what Cathy's story would be today. The story was heartbreaking and the acting brilliant.

This evening I went for something totally different, a comedy show by Angela Barnes. She's a friend of a lot of my friends although I don't know her. Her show was excellent.