A glass of Sancerre.

 

After his visit to the tailor Angus has three hours to spend in Edinburgh before the early afternoon LNER back north.

Time for a pleasant saunter through the gardens stopping on the way to look at the Scots American war memorial. 

It's now looking rather the worse for wear. Closer examination shows that the sandstone is weathering with the outer layers slowly peeling away . The monument  exudes a gentle air of benign neglect - probably because war memorials tend to lapse out of fashion and possibly because the concept of the Scots American has faded over the intervening century.

The memorial was designed, in the 1920's, in the Regionalist style by an artist from Philadelphia. It's way up there with Grant Woods in terms of quality. The freeze at the back shows fishermen, coal miners,  shepherds and office workers striding along, rallying to the call. The demographic profile of a country that was half agrarian and half industrial. Every face different. Some smiling, some scowling. The all too knowing face of the father walking with his hand on his sons shoulder  is remarkable. All of human knowledge is in that 'Will I return' look. Ten thousand people probably pass this frieze every day without so much as giving it a glance.

The artist thought it was his best piece of work and wanted his heart to be buried underneath it. I wonder if this was allowed ? :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T71Ccf_k864

Then back along Princes Street and on to the National Portrait gallery. The ground floor cafe is crowded but the galleries are nearly empty. Food takes precedence.  The building is like something out of Harry Potter but on steroids. There are lots of little crannies where the sunshine ( a rare commodity for much of the year) does magical things. The lights in the entry hall are unlike anything I've ever seen.

The train goes at 2:30. Time for some dressed crab and a glass of Sancerre in the Cafe Royal restaurant. One of Edinburghs best kept secrets and a Victorian interior that's been left largely untouched. The waiter chats to me about the rugby. We both agree that France or New Zealand are likely to win and that ( miracles excepted ) Scotland won't.

Do animals dream ? :https://knowablemagazine.org/article/living-world/2023/do-animals-dream

Radioactive boars :https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/radioactive-boars-europe