Edinburgh sunrise

There's so much I'd like to blog about at the moment. I feel I've begun the return to Scotland in earnest now I'm actually in Edinburgh, which is bringing up all sorts of thoughts and emotions. I'm excited about this next adventure and I'm loving getting to grips with what life is actually like here after over 10 years away. It is very different to London and the South East and since the arrival and establishment of the Scottish Parliament and our own political life, even more so. But tonight I am just way too tired for much intelligent thought. I'm working at The Royal Highland Show which in itself is a blog topic for another day. I've been doing 15 hour shifts; fifth and final day tomorrow. When I got the cab out to Ingliston this morning at 5am it was as clear as this, the orange warmth of the early morning sun reflecting off the Georgian sandstone in Newington as I chatted to the driver about growing up in Niddrie. For the non-Scots, Niddrie is very far removed from this view and indeed from all the usual 'Athens of the North' Edinburgh labels. My driver was telling me it was just grand before all the junkies moved in, people looked out for one another.

They've demolished most of it now, some of it is still waiting to go. Quite a contrast from the picture postcard above, isn't it?