It pains me to say...

but parts of Edinburgh are a total dump. And just to prove it, here's an image, not taken in a run down council house estate, but a few yards from Princes St and the Scott Monument.

The main thoroughfare and adjojning roads have been dug up and left for years as the trams fiasco rumbles on (pun intended), and there are far too many vacant buildings sitting rotting and waiting to fall down. Huge empty spaces sit guarded by graffiti strewn hoardings, waiting for an up-turn in the economy.

The visitor to the city walks along Princes Street, and turns his head and gasps at the first glimpse across the gardens and the magnificent castle ramparts looming high above. Then he looks the other way and sees a hotch-potch of ugly post 1960 abominations that clutter what should be a magnificent boulevard of cafes and nice shops - all a result of decades of disasterous and criminally incompetent planning and regulation

Draconian parking restrictions, imposed by a council who have become a byword for incompetence in the field of traffic management, and enforced by humourless, tariff motivated wardens, have driven shoppers towards Livingston and Glasgow. In defence, the officials point at the flagship store of Harvey Nichols, a store that 95% of locals cannot afford to shop in.

There's too much litter and graffiti, and the pavements are a disgrace. It's really not good enough for the millions of visitor who flock to the festival and the other attractions all year round.

Lets not forget: Edinburgh is a world heritage city - so when are we going to start treating it as such?