Edinburgh

Umbrellas of Edinburgh – podcast

click on me to hear
The Umbrellas of Edinburgh is a book of new poems, covering a wide range of city scapes.  The Scottish Poetry Library has taken some of these, read by their creators, and made them into a podcast which lasts about 43 minutes.

Each brief poem is written specifically about a different place, ranging from well known central landmarks to deprived outer city estates.  The voices in your ears will take you to a variety of places and times – including the resident who remembers catching his first glimpse of Rolls Royces in his street, during Festival time.

A delight to hear, and it will give a flavour (if ears can have tastebuds) of various parts of the city.  A great addendum or introduction to a visit.

 

Cheesecake is a luxury

… but sometimes we need a little luxury.

I just had a fabulous cheesecake experience.  If you are ever visiting Edinburgh, Scotland, swerve off your eaten path and try Artisan Cheesecakes, 104 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh.

IMG_3160

I had been viewing this shopfront from the top of a passing bus on journeys into town (the shop is well served by a large number of bus routes, as befits a place of importance).  Today, the weather was so glorious that you can see a neighbour sunbathing – but that just happened to be today.

I am at the start of a demanding project, so having made some progress this morning, I stopped off at this emporium of unctiousness, as a treat.

A really good cheesecake is a happy memory.  A middle of the road cheesecake is an incredible disappointment and every mouthful has the same no-taste-but-cream pointlessness.  Not today.  Not on my watch.

(more…)

Running for home

There is something so boosting about seeing someone achieving, after hard graft.  So much of life and the achievements we aim for do ask for repeated strivings, over the long-term.

So here’s a little encouragement: Liz McColgan winning the first time the Women’s 10,000 metres was run in the Olympics.  (It’s made with a view to the 2014 upcoming commonwealth Games, so it’s a little dated by references to that – ignore)