That's what it is

It's been over five years since I last lived in Edinburgh. When I left it I used to visit several times a year, but as the seasons have changed, my visits have become further and further apart. However, work required I spend time there this week, so I took the opportunity to take advantage of Ms Ball's company and spend a few extra days.

It's been so long that to a certain degree, it's become new to me, there a places I know, but there are lots of places I've forgotten that I know. Like, for example, walking down North St Andrews Square and seeing the wall of battleship gray buildings that stretch up past the bridges to the top of the castle. Or the sharpness of the sunlight on the follies that adorn Calton Hill. Or the Word Power bookshop on West Nicholson Street, where there are wonderful books but where they can't accept that Che really was a nasty man.

Over the weekend, I managed to hang with Wendy, her pals Simon and Ian, who are becoming my pals too, with Paul and Fi down in the Grassmarket, with Kirstin and Stefan, with sexy Dave and Phil at Baraka, and with lovely Ruth down in Portobello.

YouTube

There's something in this:

If I'm in the mood for the truly vitriolic and idiotic, I always get satisfaction from cricket highlights.

Keeping you and London Dry

I went to the Thames Barrier on Thursday. I was accompanying a bunch of Americans that we were trying to impress. The route to the barrier required that we drove from Maidenhead to Harrods and then to Greenwich for lunch via Bucking-HAM palace, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. Randy, the mild mannered Texan drove. Lunch quickly fell by the wayside as we watched members of the blue-rinse brigade storm past us with their zimmer frames. I've got news for you, Ken, the Congestion Zone lives up to its name.

At the Barrier we were met by the softly spoken Roger, a well informed man who had worked on its construction in the 70s. After the video we got the tour that the general public never gets to do, which was to walk through the tunnels and up into the shiny silver islands that adorn the lower Thames.

The wet floor sign worried me, being 15m below the river as I was, but I always knew that no matter where you go, Steve is a Twat.

Cricket

WCC 2nd XI v Chearsley, at Chearsley
1 September 2007