Empty City

Today was a rare sunny autumn day. It began, for me, on the beach shortly after dawn. The sea was flat calm. A solitary cygnet cruised at a bemused distance from the morning dookers. Despite the heated pool reopening this week there has been no decrease in the numbers of sea swimmers.

We arranged a walk with one of our friends in town which meant we took the bus to our rendezvous at the top of the Waverley Steps. It was a delight to walk through Princes Street Gardens without any Christmas Market preparations this year. The garden of remembrance to the east of the Scott Monument was enjoying pride of place this year as it rightly deserves. The reluctance of commerce to cease construction in order to open the Christmas market on time last year was disappointingly disrespectful.

Edinburgh without foreign and English half term family visitors was a very spooky place. Who needs Halloween?!

Later, back on the beach we watched an almost full moon rise as excited children ran around “beach guising”!