Spurtle regulars, irregulars, friends and relations have been out and about across Broughton today. Here are some of the things they saw.
Pictured right are the balloons outside Curiouser and Curiouser on Broughton Street. C&C is celebrating 3 years in business this weekend, with 10 per cent discounts today and complimentary Proseco tomorrow.
Ian Staples, Laura Clifford and Anne Leen were steeling themselves for a Saturday stampede when we visited, and planned emergency coffee dashes to Lock_up_Coffee on Broughton Street Lane later in the day.
There are disadvantages to living in a top-floor flat. The wind shrieking through your television aerial is one. The playful rattle and crash of slates is another. Fresh rainwater cascading through light sockets can test the patience of a saint.
But the abundance of brilliant, clear light in a crowded city is a major compensation enjoyed by residents of all sorts, as these geraniums high above Pilrig Motors abundantly display.
Now, given the comparative absence of sunshine on Leith, Broughton, and everywhere else in the capital, why would anyone choose to block up their windows? This thought occurred when passing the sunlit gable end overlooking Annandale Street Lane on possibly the last summery day of the year.
You have to wonder whether there are geraniums on the other side of those bricks, clawing to get out. Does anyone know when this change was made and why?
The plaque in the middle makes clear whom we have to thank.
What is it with Lothian Buses staff and red motorbikes? Five enormous specimens – motorbikes, that is, including one the size of an admiral's barge – were parked outside the Annandale Street terminus this morning. Helmets off to the free spirit who arrived at work on a green one.
No-one's at home in the Haddington Place police box, but it's been spruced up anyway in an effort to brighten the environs and provide a street-level landmark.
The notice on the door asks for help in locating a mobile lost recently between Union Street and McDonald Road – a knackered Nokia whose owner is more keen to recover the data within than the 'worthless' phone itself. He's lost 5 years' photographs. If you find it, contact martinpeacock@yahoo.co.uk.
Feast your eyes on this: vegetative pavement art outside Narcissus Flowers on Broughton Street.
Robbie's Bar (opposite Pilrig St Paul's) is advertising a gig next weekend by a band whose name suggests they're more than a little fishy. You can hear this '10-piece, high-energy collective ska blancmange' who are 'gonna melt every dancefloor they play to' (and a stubbornly talkative audience who refuse to be melted) on SoundCloud, or visit their website here.
And finally, all those of you who think time is passing too fast already, turn away. Locanda de Gusti on East London Street is looking to the future now, which has only just begun.
Do you have a digital camera? If so, please send us your photos. We're always interested in pictures of Broughton events, personalities, scenes and curiosities. You can contact us by email spurtle@hotmail.co.uk on Facebook Broughton Spurtle or Twitter @theSpurtle