This afternoon I took the bus into Edinburgh to buy a birthday present and was surprised how quiet the city was and how easy it was to hurry without the usual crowds in the street.  Apparently shops were short staffed and queues built up at tills because many people had been unable to travel due to the heavy snow which fell during the morning.
Very few of the buildings in Princes Street retain original features but one which does is Debenhams which was built on the site of the Old Conservative Club (1882) and the Liberal Club (1869)   The magnificent staircase built in 1882 was moved from the front of the store to its present position in 1978 and several of these strange creatures appear to hold the banister onto the pillars.