The North British.

Sans Mrs TD (she had to work today), I met Sis, BiL and friends for coffee in the Scottish Parliament building, the only downside was having to go through the serious but necessary security procedures. It was worth it, they do very good coffee - with a smile.

When the weather failed to brighten as forecast, we sallied forth and climbed Arthur’s Seat which was the nearest vent of the volcano that was Edinburgh 350 million years ago. The VisitScotland website claims that there are magnificent views over the city from the top; it tells lies, whenever I take relatives up there visibility extends almost as far as the ground beneath our feet. There is a plinth there carrying inscriptions pointing to various landmarks - but they are, unfortunately, all more than five feet away.

The Blip was taken using a stone buttress and a glove in lieu of a tripod for the 4 second exposure just after I was left to wend my lonely way home.
The North British Station Hotel was opened on the 15th of October 1902 and named after the Railway company that owned the adjacent Waverly station and the railway region served by the hotel, and it remains the only residential building on the south side of Princes Street. In 1988, it was clad in scaffolding and, after a refurbishment that included stripping off most of the Victorian embelishments, was reopened on 12th of June, 1992 by Sean Connery as the “Balmoral Hotel“. To the best of my knowledge, the majority of Edinburghians have failed to move with the times and would not be able to direct you to the notable landmark which is the Balmoral.

On a purely random note, there are, to my knowledge two (and only two) words in the English language that are changed from plural  to singular by attaching an “s” to their tails. One of them is “princes,” while the other I have long since forgotten.