Save the Titians!!

Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto, both painted by Italian Renaissance artist Titian in the 16th century, rank among the greatest works of art anywhere in the world. They have been on display in the National Gallery of Scotland since 1945, but they are actually owned by the Duke of Sutherland, who has now decided to sell them. The National Galleries of Scotland have been offered first refusal, which means they must raise £50m by Christmas to buy the first work, and then another £50m by the end of next year. Whatever your views are on the value of art etc, these are two of the most magnificent works ever painted and they should stay on public view for everyone to enjoy. To find out more about the campaign, go to the NGS website.

So, I've done my bit for the cause. I will be away this week and haven't had the time to pre-load photos so expect to have to look at this one for a while! :-)

Cleaning in the nude?

A bit of fun for the Friday afternoon... I spotted this scene yesterday in the main hall of the edinburgh college of art. Whilst the man is cleaning the floors, the bloke in the nude is dusting his own pedestal while the other guy watches them get on with it!

Same building at sunset

At 4.13pm yesterday I got an e-mail from Mr Dido who told me to run outside and get some pictures of this magnificent sunset. Which I did of course. Recognise the building?

National Museum of Scotland Tower

Yesterday I had a go on the digital SLR from work - way more sophisticated than my normal apparatus. I can't say I really got the hang of all the settings straight away, but this was one of my better attempts. This is the 'Tower', part of the National Museum of Scotland, built in 1998 to house the Scottish collections of the National Museums. For me, this is a very special building - not only is it a previous workplace, but it also is where Mr Dido and I got married.

Flowers on steps - you don't have to be French...

Can you spot this picture in yesterday's one?

Newhaven houses

This Newhaven close runs parallel to Fishmarket Square, between the Main Street (where I'm standing) to the Harbour. It was in these very same streets and closes that some of the first ever photographs (calotypes) were taken by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, in the 1840s.

Whale Brae

This is 'Whale Brae', the final stretch of Newhaven Road where it descends steeply into Newhaven. Apparently it was so called "because some fool tried to drag a whale up it". Well - I can tell you from experience that even dragging a couple of bags of shopping up this hill is no mean feat. Never tried a whale though.

A car in the New Town

Driving along Queen Street, the northern boundary of the original New Town, in easterly direction.

Birds & Augustine's

Across the road from yesterday's picture I spotted this group of birds circling the spire of the Augustine Church. The building dates from 1861, and its architectural design incorporating Romanesque, Renaissance and Classical motifs caused quite a stir, with the 3-tier octagonal spire being ridiculed as a 'bridescake'. Nowadays of course it's an essential part of the Old Town skyline.

Ironwork on George IV Bridge

This nice iron fencework can be found on the west side of George IV Bridge, here.

It's finally here!!

Pardon my excitement, but never in my life have I lived a stone's throw from a shop that NEVER CLOSES!! The new Asda on the Waterfront opened yesterday and like many locals we went to have a nosy; by 10.30pm it was still pretty busy.

There has been much discussion over the design of the building; earlier versions did not get planning approval but this one has been described as 'sympathetic' and 'continental' - it is certainly not the usual big white box but instead has fairly unobtrusive wood cladding and glass panelling. And, more importantly, a fab fresh curry counter.

Oil Rig in Firth of Forth

This unlikely sight - an oil rig in the river Forth - was caught on camera by Mr Dido at the weekend. He believes it is there for maintainance. The land on the other side of the river is the 'Kingdom of Fife', or Fife for short. I know the quality of this picture is not great, but considering this is about 5 miles from where he was standing it's not that bad either!

Peckhams

Peckhams is very much an Edinburgh - and Glasgow - institution. It's a longstanding chain of deli shops with everything you could wish for from a deli and more. This one is in Stockbridge and looking particularly pretty with that 'tuft' of flowers in the corner.

A Door in New Town

I took this picture just around the corner from yesterday's Circus Place, on Howe Street, as a typical example of a New Town door and facade. As you can see the road is sloping up quite steeply; in fact, most roads that lead south into the city centre slope up. Which is very useful to know if you aren't that great at orientation, because all you need to do is keep going up and you'll always end up in town without a problem!

Circus Place

Driving along Circus Place in New Town this morning, I noticed that despite the colder weather there are still plenty of autumn colours around. Like many of the green spaces in the New Town,

the Royal Circus gardens (either side of this road, see here) are only accessible by those who live around them and who have a key. Remember the scene from Notting Hill in which Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts try to sneak into a private garden? Same thing.

The last roses

I took this picture a few weeks ago so I doubt these roses are still there today. This morning the car thermometer showed 3C so it's certainly getting cold!

Gangways up!

House and office boats in Leith. The story goes that in order to get these boats into the harbour the hulls had to be sunk and dragged along the bottom of the harbour in order to fit underneath a low bridge. No idea if this is true, does anyone know?

Theme Day: Books

Some of the many, many books in our house, including the 'No 1 Ladies Dectective Agency' series by Edinburgh-based author Alexander McCall Smith (though I've just noticed that the first book in the series is conspicuously absent).

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in today's Theme day.