Christmas shopping

After my picture fades and darkness has turned to grey...

I decided to nip into Edinburgh today to do a wee bit of Christmas shopping. I'm, for the first year on record, very disorganised this season, what with one thing and another.

I'm really quite frightened, sometimes, dear reader, that this might be a memorable Christmas, not for me, but for others, and for all the wrong reasons, so am taking time to appreciate what I see, do, touch, feel, smell, taste, hear...

My camera is my constant companion and I use it like a whore uses KY jelly. All the time.

The first photograph I took is looking down The High Street, part of the Royal Mile, towards The Palace Of Holyroodhouse. I thought I'd go down there to have a look in Plaisir Du Chocolat and buy some chocolates for a Christmas present. I changed my mind, though, not being sure if they'd keep.

On my return back up the hill, I heard two women talking about their Christmas dinner. One asked the other if she was getting a bird this year.

"Oh yes, but I don't know what."
"A turkey?"
"What? A turkey is hardly chic. I'm not sure. Goose or pheasant. Pheasant doesn't feed many though and I can't rely on Mum this year..."

Jesus. If I was that insecure about my Christmas dinner, I'd take a few sleeping pills on Christmas Eve and, hopefully, wake up on Boxing Day.


This is Saint Andrew's House, dear reader. I took this photograph on Jeffrey Street. I've actually overheard people commenting on how small Edinburgh Castle is. The wee turreted building to the left is indeed not Edinburgh Castle but part of a former prison. You can read more about it and Saint Andrew's House by clicking here or have a look at the Wikipedia article.



Above, North Bridge, as also taken from Jeffrey Street. I like winding round Jeffrey Street, making a short cut through the train station and onto Princes Street. A grand approach over the bridge itself is all very well, but one tends to get mixed up in the frenzy of others. All a pedestrian might see are buses and the only thing heard might be traffic.



I did indeed do some shopping, quite a lot of it, actually. I won't say what I bought, just in case I mention something I bought for you, dear reader, but I was very well weighed down.

On my return home, not far from where I actually live, I saw the first externally decorated house of the season. This one is quite modest. I know we have homes to rival anything Vegas could come up with to look forward to. And I also know that nothing seen in this country could compete with the splendid way people on the continent of North America decorate their homes, inside and out.

I don't know why we Brits don't quite go to town on our dwellings in the same way. I'm sure I'll find out sometime.



This, the last photograph, is the same building as above, but with some night time button depressed. It's all very well, but without a tripod, the result is obvious. It does have a certain charm, though.