Out and About

If one can avoid the crowd of humanity near the Royal Mile and the Mound, then the sights nearer the Dower House afford a great deal of entertainment during the Festival and Fringe.

His Lordship and I wonder if the visitors imagine that the family of foreign career beggars taking up pavement space in our area are actually part of the Fringe. We know to our cost that they are there all year round from 9am until 5pm and are neither homeless nor on drugs, just putting in a day at the 'office'. This one had commandeered the pillar box as a back rest.

I'm not sure what all the red balloons were for, but they certainly put some colour into a dreich day when summer has retreated to whence it came three days ago.

The girl sitting with the dog may or may not have been part of some act somewhere - I should have enquired when I asked her if I could take her photo.

The bad news is the rain has arrived, the good news is I've finally managed to fold the Brompton. It was so easy in the end, and I was just being a bit thick.