I Love These Streets

My Dear Fellow,

This was taken on my way home from a night out with Lisa and Princess Normal. There had been a thunderstorm, and the damp air was infused with the smell coming up from the Water of Leith. It was muggy and sticky, but I loved the walk and I felt very happy.

It helped that it was a good night. I was in a good mood even before I left, I always look forward to meeting the Princess. I told her she looked very summery when I saw her.

"That's because it is summer, haven't you noticed?"

Sarcasm is the Princess's first language, incidentally. But to be fair to her, it has been stinking hot recently. We've all been struggling to sleep and you wouldn't want to sit next to any of us on the bus.

Nevertheless, the Princess was in a jovial mood. She told me one of her daughters had been giving her an "earnest teenager chat" about the state of the world while she was trying to make dinner.

"And my 80's mix was on," she complained. "And 'Breakout' had just started."

But her daughter was unimpressed by Swing Out Sister. Did the Princess think the world was going to get better, or would it continue to get worse? The Princess told me she considered how best to answer and then said:

"When explanations make no sense, when every answer's wrong. You're fighting with lost confidence, all expectations gone. The time has come to make or break. Move on, don't hesitate. Breakout."

The Princess considered her drink, "Fortunately, she thought it was as funny as I did," she said.

Lisa's stories were a bit more downbeat. She has recently started a new job, and as usual currently has access to nothing. "My stupid paper pass doesn't let me out of the office," she complained. "I even have to be escorted to the toilet."

The problem being that she has been registered as a user under the name "Luke" instead of "Lisa". This also means she hasn't got a token to work from home. In her current office this is required 2 days a week from all employees.

"Why aren't you working from home?" demanded an office pedant.

"Because I've only been here two days and your stupid systems won't let me," she answered before adding, "and by the way is this really your actual job?"

I wish I could say things like that. Lisa said her accent helps. "Everyone thinks I'm just being funny," she said, sadly.

It was then that the thunderstorm broke, and we decided that precise moment to leave the dry bar and go to find a restaurant. It might seem stupid, but the rain broke the heat and made us more comfortable. Or maybe it's just that we're all used to Edinburgh and rain comes with the territory.

What do you think? Look at that picture, doesn't Edinburgh look pretty in the rain? Ah, you should have been there.

Parsones