Irvine Welsh

Irvine Welsh is one of Edinburgh's most famous modern writes. He is probably best well-known for his novel Trainspotting which showed the gritty, unpleasant side of drug swamped Edinburgh in the 1980s.

Welsh was born in Edinburgh's Leith district in 1958 and is a genuine "Leither".

Trainspotting

Trainspotting was his first novel, published in 1993, and it explored the lives of a group of losers and junkies in the Leith of the 1980s. The district was at that time badly run down and not a safe place; it has changed hugely since then.

The name "Trainspotting" has been said to refer to the futility of watching for trains at the long closed Leith Central Station. One passage from the book reads:

"We go fir a pish in the auld Central Station at the Fit ay the Walk, now a barren, desolate hangar, which is soon tae be demolished and replaced by a supermarket and swimming centre. Somehow, that makes us sad, even though ah wis eywis too young tae mind ay trains ever being there."

Others have said that the origin of the term Trainspotting is also related to taking down the reference numbers of jobs advertised at the unemployment office.

The novel was the inspiration for the 1996 movie of the same name (screenplay by John Hodge). Whereas the original book is episodic and very much stream-of consciousness, the film is far more traditional in format.

Leith Tours

If you're planning to visit Edinburgh - perhaps for the Edinburgh Fringe or the Leith Festival - you might like to consider the excellent Trainspotting walking tour organised by Tim Bell. A guide takes you round some of the places in the book and reads out the relevant sections - it's fascinating stuff but definitely not for children! You'll get to see for yourself how much Leith has changed for the better since the 1980s. More details at the Leith Walks site.