The Fringe is the biggest theater festival in the world, what with 1,200 plays, music, dance presentations and performance art pieces to choose from daily. And certainly thousands of people gather there in August to pick from all these month-long offerings.

You couldn't navigate the Royal Mile without jostling or being jostled, so thick were the crowds. Consequently, I didn't hold out much hope for running into the Sister City travelers. So imagine my surprise to hear the dulcet tones and catch a reflection off the balding pate of Ed Porter.

The ever-amiable Porter had stepped in to lead the group after the Armstrongs had to withdraw from trip leadership because Fred was facing surgery. Anyhow, I stopped to say hello, and Ed was suitably impressed with the fact that I had spotted him.

Out of the Saratoga crowd emerged Louise Webb, who extended her version of the trip and is still at large in Europe, undoubtedly still shopping. The Sister City Saratogans were queuing up, as they say in the U.K., for the Tattoo, a spectacle of military marching bands, bagpipe players, and drum and bugle corps.

There was a group from Tonga engaged in swordplay, and there was a covey of Scottish dancers in tights and kilts doing what looked like Riverdancing. The Saratoga group was blessed with wonderful weather, which in Scottish terms means no rain. It was even balmy.

Our group went three days later to the Tattoo and also managed to avoid sitting in the rain for the outdoor extravaganza. But this night I was just returning from a literary pub tour, or crawl, as I prefer to call it.

I kept asking the other folks in the literary pub group if they were there for the literary or the pub aspects of the tour, but no one would respond. They must not have been Scotsmen, because the Scots all seemed to have a very quick, very dry sense of humor. And I'm sure I would have gotten a snappy answer if any natives had been onboard.

SOCCER SUCCESS: Elaine and Ray Pfeifer are just back from Atlanta, where they dropped off daughter Jamie at Emory University for her freshman year. Jamie emerged triumphant from the grueling twice-daily tryouts for the women's varsity soccer team, a team that traditionally is one of the top Division 3 teams in the country.

The Pfeifers term Jamie's new home "Hotlanta," what with the unseasonably hot weather when she arrived and the fact that she had to combat that extreme heat for soccer tryouts. "It's hard to say goodbye, but it was nice to have the opportunity to see her play in a preseason exhibition match for Emory," says Ray.

Elaine was born on the west coast of Scotland in Ayeshire, so the Pfeifers have visited Scotland several times and were fortunate enough to have been in Edinburgh a few times while the abovementioned festival was on. Son Robbie was an intern at the consulate in Edinburgh this summer.

DANCIN' WEDDING: Everyone—I mean everyone—danced at this wedding, even people in their 90s. That's the report from the guests of the wedding of Mark Fireman and Suzanne Cooper, which took place last month in Fort MacArthur in San Pedro with 200 in attendance.

It was a great feeling, all that dancing, said the attendees. Some 65 people from the Bay Area descended on the fort, which overlooks Los Angeles harbor. Officiating were Father Lenahan and Rabbi Fisher.

Saratoga High grads in the wedding party were Kathryn Fireman, bridesmaid; Justin Newman, best man; and Jeff Davis, groomsman.

The bride and groom met when they were students at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Now the groom is pursuing an MBA at UC-Berkeley, while the bride is a sales manager for office supply company Corporate Express.

TEATIME: The Saratoga Senior Center will hold its annual High Tea fundraiser on Sept. 19, 3 to 5 p.m. at the senior center. Tea, sandwiches, cookies and other delectables will be served.

The $10 tickets are tax-deductible and can be purchased at the center. The tea is the kickoff event for Celebrate Saratoga! With state and city cutbacks, fundraisers assume more importance, enabling the center to continue to offer classes and programs to the community. Gloria Watson is the liaison.

PLAY FOR A CURE: A tennis round robin to benefit the Breast Cancer Fund and a women's health study conducted by Stanford Medical Center will be held at the Los Gatos Swim and Racquet Club Sept. 6, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Area restaurants are catering. There is also a silent auction.

Contact Joanna Rodgin at 408.356.5885 for more information. Participants need to amass $150 in donations or sponsorships to play.

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