The new i-Phone .

Too good a morning to stay at home. The weather once again warm and cloudless. After listening to the down beat six am news bulletin ( The French budget, televised executions and America allying with Russia ) we make a spur of the moment decision to pop into Edinburgh. The 8:38 train from Aberdeen is on time and gets there at 9:30. This allows us to visit the Apple store opposite the station to see the new fold out i-Phone. Disappointingly, we discover it doesn't arrive in the UK until the 23rd of October. A helpful young woman tells us to order ours now as the demand is strong. We thank her but decide we'll wait until we see one in the flesh before taking the plunge. The 'crease' in the middle of the screen may ( or may not ) be an irritating feature. Is it the sort of thing you can slip in your pocket ? Is it heavier than the current i-Phone ? Is it just a more portable i-Pad ? At a starting price of £1999 in the UK it certainly isn't cheap.

Edinburgh is busy with tourists. It always is these days. The locals are starting to wear their winter outfits. Edinburgh has a street layout that can channel the wind with toe numbing ferocity.  A frisbee carrying dog at the traffic lights opposite the Balmoral seems oblivious to the crowds.

There's time to get to Valvona and Crolla for a double espresso and a croissant.  The croissant isn't French but it is clearly European and a closer relation to a croissant than anything else we've found in Scotland.

While 'The Font' chooses artichokes and waits for the prosciutto to be sliced  Angus wanders off to buy some wine. It's along time since we've drunk Italian wines. Both of us  have become firm believers that French is difficult to beat. Perhaps our taste buds will 'zing' again as we rediscover Sassicias ?

Onto Peter Jones for some new saucepan technology. I have no interest in this part of our shopping day and cannot tell you why a new saucepan is required or what the 'new' technology is.

Finally we head to George Street in a cab. Angus has been told he's in need of a radical wardrobe refresh. Thankfully, this turns out to be a rather hurried affair as we're left with ten minutes to get back to the station for the 11:30 northbound. Grey and navy blue cords are vetoed so I return with new winter trousers in a variety of more 'modern' shades. It is unlikely I shall be mistaken for a style conscious student.

A cheese threat :https://www.the-scientist.com/a-mysterious-fungus-threatens-cheese-in-the-northeast-us-75114

An app for art lovers ... or the bored traveller with an hour or two to spare while waiting for a train :https://art-exhibitions-search.vercel.app/

The rise and fall of the plasma screen :https://www.construction-physics.com/p/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-plasma-screen

How will we keep our data safe ? :https://ai-frontiers.org/articles/ai-could-end-encryption-as-we-know-it