Gaffers

It seems that for every two labourers working, there are another two standing watching, hands in pockets. Pictured is one gaffer, the other one, who eschewed distinctive sunglasses probably because the sun wasn’t actually out, obligingly stood back so that I got a better view of the workers reinstating the cobbles in George Square. It can be a skilled operation but the good news is that however bad the result, it will be definitely better than the state it was in before. It was a dangerous bone shaking traverse on a bike or a car. I hope that the powers to be also think to reinstate the associated pavement where every second paving slab is broken and askew.

The road has been up since March as a new infrastructure of pipes is inserted underground to serve the University departments nearby. The size of the pipes is huge (see the extra image) which makes me wonder what is expected to flow through them.

I can remember the time when George Square was a leafy Georgian residential square with a lovely garden in the middle, but that was before Edinburgh University bought it and desecrated half of it. There was a huge public outcry to no avail.