Burns Monument. Edinburgh

This is the Burns Monument on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. I walked past it today afer Cabinet, on my way from St Andrews House to the Parliament, and was struck again at how compact and elegant it is. The lovely early autumn sunshine (such a contrast to the weather in the west so far this week) set it off to perfection.

It is also very beautiful inside, as I discovered when I spoke at the rededication of the monument during the Burns Federation World Conference in Edinburgh in September 2009, when I was Culture Minister.