Parliament exterior with news crew

I had got to around 5.30 without a blip and was just about to start the  drive back to Argyll when I looked out of the window opposite my office  and there it was.

This view is not just of the ITV Borders crew doing a report , though that is in itself interesting.  The Scottish Parliament doesn't yet have the equivalent of College Green where so much of the Westminster reporting comes from, perhaps because the weather is somewhat worse.

The garden outside the Garden Lobby might in time become that and is increasingly used but Peter MacMahon and his team this evening chose to go further out , probably from the restaurant which is just to the left of this shot, and to use the towers of the Parliament as a backdrop.

This  picture  also shows the extraordinary nature of the building  we MSPs (and many others) work in.     The daily routine gets us all  a bit blunted in our appreciation of what is a remarkable structure, full of the unexpected , monumental without being overblown and almost perfectly situated on the edge of Holyrood Park, under the Crags and Arthur's Seat .  It is therefore uplifting to be reminded from time to time of how lucky we are to be here and how fine an idea, design and construction it is.  

There are many opportunities for people to visit and see round, so if you haven't make sure you do at some stage.