The ticket machine.

Down to Edinburgh on the train. It's bitterly cold on the platform so we venture into the station waiting room. This is pleasantly warm and has recently been esoterically decorated with a collection of jigsaws showing pivotal moments in British railway history. The completed jigsaws seem to have been stuck directly onto the waiting rooms walls which is odd. The presence of the jigsaw puzzles  may speak volumes about how railway employees on a quiet station between Dundee and Kirkcaldy pass their time. There has been talk of closing the stations ticket office and replacing it with a second automated machine. This would not go down well with students or foreign golfers trying to navigate the intricacies of UK rail travel.

It's still daylight when we leave Leuchars but darkness falls quickly at this time of year. An hour later we arrive to find that Edinburgh is testing out its Christmas lights. The castle is being floodlit  in a sort of honey orange hue. Scotlands capital city, it has to be said, looks wonderful on a cold, clear skied, November night. The gritting machines are out in force - a sure sign that snow is on the way.

It's years since we ventured inside the American chain  hotel we've chosen to stay in. I remember it as having very long corridors. At some stage in recent year it's been updated with glass pillars and shiny black marble floors. This combination is perhaps more Malaga than Scotland but is inoffensive. There's a crowd checking in so we have to wait in the lobby which gives us a chance to admire the Christmas decorations which look very corporate. Brits may have stopped going to China but Chinese tourist haven't stopped coming to the UK. A large bus load from Shanghai are  being welcomed by the cheerful Scottish staff. The Chinese tourists incomprehension of English as spoken by the Scots is total. The Shanghai group head happily  off to the bar to try the whiskies on offer. So as not to waste time they ask for their luggage to be taken directly up to their rooms.

On George Street marquees are being put up. They stretch all the way from Charlotte Square to Frederick Street. Marquees are a very clever way of getting people out spending and enjoying themselves in the winter months. Edinburghs festive season encompasses both Christmas and - an even bigger event - Hogmanay.

Further down George Street large , red, Christmas trees are lined up along the middle of the road. It seems that on top of everything else the town is celebrating its 900th anniversary as a Royal Burgh. We are in two minds about red Christmas trees.

We go for dinner to a restaurant that has been recommended to us. The menu promises much, some of which it delivers.

How we spent our time :https://onepercentrule.substack.com/p/how-people-spent-their-time-in-the

Chinese food :https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/63-chinese-cuisines-the-complete

Our common ancestor :https://www.quantamagazine.org/all-life-on-earth-today-descended-from-a-single-cell-meet-luca-20241120/

Scotlands fertility :https://www.boomcampaign.org/p/scotland-is-the-south-korea-of-the