Tell us about your tour of Edinburgh.
Gayle: My tour is ‘Women of Edinburgh’, which features amazing women who left their mark on the city and too often are not talked about! We have doctors, witches, wives and mothers. And I also talk about organisations that support women in the city, including Sparkle Sisters, which is how I first learnt about Invisible Cities.
Why did you choose this as a theme for your tour?
Too often we do not celebrate the women that made this city what it is. There is a saying that history was written by men and even today I think there are so many stories that are not told, some of them lost forever. So I wanted to tell them. Over the years I have also realised that people are very interested in these stories and they often ask me about the witches of Scotland, or famous characters, so it seems that this is changing slowly.
What is your favourite stop on the tour?
I really like talking about the women who were accused of witchcraft and were burnt for it. There is a lot of work done today to reestablish some kind of justice and explain that basically, if you held some kind of power as a woman, you would be at risk of being accused. Women healers or any women who people would listen to were accused. During the Fringe I am also in a play, The Mysterious Seelie Wight Women, that tells the stories of these women – I am the narrator – and I am very excited to be part of this project.
