View of the beach

As requested, the view from yesterday's tenement building which is, of course, on the Portobello waterfront.

Beach house anyone?

Imagine: you wake up in the morning, stumble out of bed, open the curtains.... and look out over a sandy beach and the sea (well, estuary...) - how amazing would that be?!

Cool turret on Newhaven Road

Every morning I pass this little turret on the end of a terrace on Newhaven Road. I've been meaning to take a photo of it for ages; it looks even better with the dark clouds behind it!

Cold Monday

A frosty Monday morning... our car was cold too!

Addressing the Haggis

Today we celebrate Robert Burns' 250th Birthday - well actually, we did it yesterday (partly to give us a chance to sleep off the whisky and partly to have the party coincide with Mr Dido's birthday). We organised a proper Burns Supper at our house, complete with all the toasts and addresses. This is my good friend Alex addressing the Haggis, and doing so brilliantly!!

Portobello Baths

These are the Victorian baths in Portobello. They are being looked after by Edinburgh Leisure, and include a swimming pool, turkish baths and even normal bath tubs that you can use if you don't have one at home!

Seagulls on the beach

Another impression of a cold but bright Saturday afternoon on Portobello beach.

Portobello beach

Portobello beach (to the northeast of Edinburgh) also goes by the name of 'Edinburgh's Seaside'. Like many 19th-century seaside towns it has gone through some rough patches but the beach is still as lovely. We caught a few hours of sun here at the weekend, before the rain and gales set in. I'll show a few more pictures over the coming days.

Cold, cold January

So yesterday was supposed to be the most depressing day of the year? No money left after Christmas, no holidays in sight, no sunlight, hmm... well how about a nice cheerful picture to represent this particular state of mind!? (And no this picture was not taken as or converted into B&W...)

Ross's favourite graffiti

OK, one more then. I was walking past these on my way back from a meeting, together with a male colleague - who, incidentally, is much more of an expert on graffiti than I ever will be. Not surprisingly, his favourite was this one.

My favourite graffiti

This is my favourite bit of graffiti on the Potterrow wooden fencing (see yesterday's picture). As I am totally ignorant of these things I have no idea what it stands for or represents; I just like the shape and colours of it, and I also like how it stands out among the many tags.

Graffiti in Potterrow

This is the footpath from South College Street along Potterrow, in the University area just to the south of the city centre. Graffiti such as this is rare in Edinburgh's city centre, but here the walls and wooden boards along the pavement have been full of it for as long as I can remember. Great for colourful pictures on a dreary January day!

Students protest against war

Anti-war protest by students on Bristo Square, yesterday lunchtime.

That path...

Well after a bit of tweaking and testing the camera seems to be working again. Fingers crossed.

Not the most picturesque image today, but a topical one nevertheless. This is 'the path' where on 31 December 2008 some poor soul discovered the head of a woman in a blue IKEA bag.

Sorry!

Apologies once again for the long gap in posting. There's a problem with my camera in that it keeps turning itself off. At first I thought it was something to do with the batteries but it now appears to be the camera itself. (It's a Canon S5 IS if anyone has any suggestions!)

I took a few pictures on my sister's camera at the weekend so am waiting for them to come through to start posting again.

Lights in trees

I am feeling really rubishy today with a cold and sore throat, so I'm afraid today's picture is a stock photo I took a few months ago but never used! At the various festivals - summer or winter - Edinburgh's trees get lit up beautifully. At the moment they're taking down all the winter decorations... which is why January always feels much darker and more depressing than December!

Bonfire and Vikings

The torchlight procession (see yesterday's picture) ended on the top of Calton Hill where a large bonfire was lit by the Vikings of Up Helly Aa.

Torchlight Procession

On 29 December we took part in the annual Torchlight Procession, which starts on the Royal Mile and finishes with a bonfire and fireworks on Calton Hill. It's an amazing experience being part of this river of light with around 20,000 (!) people taking part. You buy your torch for £6 on the Royal Mile (the money goes to a city charity) and queue up, or you can simply watch the procession snake down the Mound and onto Princes Street. Highly recommended if you find yourself in or around Edinburgh for Hogmanay! (pic courtesy of Difa!)

A Fresh Start

After an inexcusibly long absence, I am finally back! It may not surprise you that keeping up to date with the blog is one of my main New Year's resolutions.

Happy 2009 everyone!!