D Day

Well D for demolition day really,
I've had a lovely day today, we went out to the airport this morning, to pick up our friend L who flew in from Newport RI. A quick cuppa and refresh and we were off to town in time for my facial at Clarins. Colin meanwhile went back out to the airport to pick up D, her husband, who was flying in from Germany. Fully beautified and completely unrecognisable, L and I set off down to Stockbridge to 'do' the charity shops. On the way having a look at some NewTown streets.
My blip is the demolition of the old RBS building at the foot of Dundas Street. I found it rather intimidating, like something from a science fiction novel watching the huge machines taking bites out of the structure. Such waste. I remember in the past materials being salvaged from such sites, for reuse. That wasn't happening here though, huge sections of building were being knocked out from the top and went crashing down to join the enormous piles of rubble below.... and the dust! It was rather fascinating though, lots of passers by were stopping to watch, quite dwarfed by the gigantic machinery. Two men were sitting on chairs outside a shop watching events, while others, like us, paused and watched in awe.
We pressed on after watching for a while and went along Henderson Row. Number 18, the plant house, has been adding to its decorations, there is a definite Royal theme there just now with even a corgi figure. L was very taken with the display - if you haven't visited lately its worth another look.
D and L are hoping to buy a flat in Edinburgh for when they retire. D's mum was Scottish and he was at university here, they've been spending more and more time here in recent years and hope to increase that.
L and I stopped at Soderberg for a light lunch and then pressed on shopping till we dropped, lol. For the princely sun of£8.50, I ended up with various toys and books for the girls while L found a very nice pair of trousers. Colin and D came and picked us up at the other end of the shops and we drove round to the AirBnB they are staying in. They wanted to see what it was like actually living in a tenement flat for a few days as they've only ever had houses.
We met up again this evening and had a wonderful meal in Côte, the wine and conversation flowed. (extra) It's so good to spend time with old friends.