Edinburgh police.

 

A quick trip to Edinburgh to see the eye surgeon . It's time for the 4 monthly check up. The Festival  is about to get underway so the appointment is set for the crack of dawn in the hope we ( and he ) can avoid the traffic on the bypass.

To be doubly sure of being on time we opt to take the train down the night before . This provides a chance to go out for dinner with friends and stay at the hotel on St Andrews Square. Last time we enjoyed it but this time we get one of 'those' rooms. The sofa is set at right angles to the wall mounted television which makes watching the Olympics neck wrenchingly difficult. The bed is set on a platform accessed by climbing a steep flight of stairs. This may be stylish but in a brief Scottish summer the sun beats through the ten foot tall windows and makes the sleeping area as hot as the Amazon. The architect seems to have forgotten that heat rises. He also has forgotten to instal air conditioning. 

On our way to the restaurant we are amazed to see six police vehicles pull up outside a shoe store.  A group of officers silently surround a man and - after a brief altercation -  take him away. After the events in Southport earlier in the week  the forces of law and order are on high alert. I don't think I've ever seen this many police in one place. It's a sufficiently unusual event for us to turn and ( briefly ) watch what's going on. The tourists must have been impressed. The whole thing was done and dusted within a minute. Angus notes that Edinburghs finest are now driving Volkswagen EV's.

Forty five minutes with the surgeon ( we've both arrived early ) and then I'm off to the station. We'll meet again in four months time. 

At the station a quick detour to the newsagent to pick up a copy of the Glasgow Herald. It must be a decade since I last picked up a physical copy of a newspaper. Inside there's a wee aside about the importance of punctuation .

Dog memory :https://gizmodo.com/can-dogs-remember-the-past-2000481443

Bland buildings :https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-beauty-of-concrete/