First Piper of Spring

One of the sure and certain markers of the arrival of spring, and the start of Edinburgh's summer season, is the appearance of a busking piper and this is the first I've spotted this year.  The corner of Princes Street and Waverly Bridge is a popular spot - often on the opposite side of the road, which has a much more photogenic backdrop, though the wall here may provide better acoustics.

This is a fine example of the class, in full traditional regalia - which, I would imagine, makes for better tips - and a very decent piper too, which I suspect matters less, sadly.  Hardy too - today we've had brilliant sunshine, but interspersed with some heavy April showers and accompanying greyness, verging on dreich, as you can perhaps tell from the photo.

This means that I'll hearing the pipes on my journeys to and from work from now on, until late into the autumn; probably most often 'Scotland the Brave', which was today's tune.  On rare, lucky, days it is the magnificent 'Highland Cathedral', which lifts my heart and puts an extra spring in my step.