Ghostsign: Picken's Shop

I'd been planning  to go Edinburgh by train today then bus it out to meet M. Last night's power failure at Waverley and the resulting chaos put me off the idea. I drove and it was a really straightforward journey. I parked near my grandparents' former house, currently on the market, and despaired yet again at the poor state it's in and how upset they would be to see it so degraded.  

Picken's shop is now a plumber and it's nice that they've retained the old sign. Other shops I remember here, now all gone:
Miss Hastie, the tobacconist 
Mrs Rosie, the sweetie shop
Harwell the Baker
Hislop the grocer
Graham the butcher
Rangecroft the fishmonger
Downes the greengrocer
Ronaldson the plumber
Waddell the garage (I think it might still be there)

As you see women who owned or ran a shop were addressed by their title but men just by their surname.  It was a long time ago. There were other shops which I've forgotten. There was certainly a chemist, a shoe shop and a clothes shop. Not so now though there is still a pharmacy and a post office. 

Walking towards the church cafe where I was meeting M took me along Bridge Road, the extra. The bridge goes over the Water of Leith. The trees were looking glorious. 

The cafe was its usual enjoyable self. M and I channelled our late mothers by putting the world to rights.