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!!

North Bridge

This photo should be seen next to yesterday's one. North Bridge connects the Old Town on the right with the New Town on the left (at the Balmoral Hotel). It was originally built in 1772 but was reconstructed in the 1870s. The ravine it spans houses Waverley Station.

Balmoral Hotel

Opened in 1902 as the North British Hotel, the Balmoral hotel is one of Edinburgh's most famous landmarks. It was originally a railway hotel and at 1 Princes Street it still towers over Waverley station. Its name and ownership changed after a refurbishment in the 1980s, but the clock is still always set a few minutes fast so that travellers don't miss their trains (except for at New Year when it is set accurately!)

Interesting fact: Edinburgh author J K Rowling finished the last Harry Potter book at this hotel. Rowling left a signed statement written on a marble bust in her room saying; "JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (552) on 11th Jan 2007".

Skating minister?

A lone skater on the Winter Wonderland icerink, following in the footsteps (skate marks?) of our own 'Skating Minister'.

Sunrise over North Bridge

On our way to work this morning we were treated to a beautiful sunrise - this was the view from North Bridge looking south-east at about 9am.

More Christmas decorations

Another shot of the Christmas decorations stall on the German Market! Have you decorated your tree yet?

P.S. I was very honoured to receive a mention as one of the "20 Awsome Photography Blogs - Edinburgh, Scotland".

West End

A view of the West End of Princes Street - the main, though not the best, shopping street in New Town - as seen from the Mound. The church on the left is St Cuthbert's on the corner of Lothian Road. In the distance you see Costorphine Hill, home to Edinburgh Zoo.

HBOS Takeover

On Friday it was announced that HBOS shareholders agreed with the takeover of their bank by Lloyds TSB. Shares fell by 23% but the HBOS headquarters on the Mound stood tall and proud, basking in the sun (OK this may have been the previous day...!).

Old Town winter sun

A low winter sun over the Old Town skyline as seen from Princes Street whilst doing some (rather unsuccessful) Christmas shopping at lunchtime!

Victoria Primary School Fireworks

Earlier tonight I attended the switching on of the Christmas lights at our local primary school. It was lovely to see literally hundreds of people who had turned out to support the event and to watch the amazing fireworks!

Wheel and Scott Monument

And how could there not be a picture of the wheel next to the Scott Monument, on Princes Street?

Skating in the gardens

Some happy skaters on the Winter Wonderland ice rink in Princes Street Gardens.

Gorgeous decorations

Christmas decorations for sale at the market, along with lots of gluhwein, sausages, wooden toys and lots of other christmassy stuff.

German Market

A freezing cold German market!

Edinburgh Winter Wonderland

Every December, the Princes Street Gardens play host to Edinburgh's Winter Wonderland, a collection of attractions which includes an ice rink, caroussels, a German Market and of course the large ferris wheel next to the Scott Monument. Over the next few days I'll show you a few more pictures of what goes on - right now, my hands are freezing from being outside and I'm finding it quite hard to type!!

Greyfriars Bobby

Outside Greyfriar's Churchyard stands the much-photographed sculpture of Bobby, the Sky Terrier who watched over the grave of its owner for 14 years. Rather than put up with all the attention, do you think Bobby might like to be somewhere else for a change? Taxi!

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.