Nothing but a bunch of gulls

The second plot for what will be The Tayworks and which was Blakes Metalworks is now ready to go. It was also prepared by DEM-Master (like the one by us), and while they've left a huge pile of crushed aggregate opposite us, here it's already completely flat. That's presumably because the planning permission is in place and the builders are ready to go. They've already got several steel frames up on the other half of the plot. Mind you, the archaeologists will presumably spend a bit of time here first. For the record, we are wondering if they are going to create direct access between this new housing and the railway path that is next to it. This is where there used to be a branch line coming off the old railway, which then went across the Water of Leith and ended up in the industrial area opposite us. There is, therefore, a place where it would be very easy to create a new access route. Should such access be put in place it would make it even quicker to get to the path for us (and will be especially useful on the bike).

A quick trip to the post office on Ferry Road was a bit of a waste of time, as there was a huge queue outside. I consequently put the ipads I was posting off for recycling/reuse straight into the postbox rather than waiting to get some sort of proof of posting. It didn't say you couldn't just post them in the rather thin instructions they sent. I await to see if this works as it should. The posting materials took three weeks, I think, to reach us, yet they say the quotation you get online only lasts two weeks. Luckily I have also been able to extend it online...I think. Well, let's wait and see what happens now. Hoping to get some vouchers out of this process to use when I go ahead and order a new ipad.

From there I headed to the market, mainly to restock with meat.

Another pretty quiet Saturday, although I spent a fair bit of the afternoon making another moussaka (see extra). It's a time consuming business, but it was very tasty and does for two evening meals. The weather continues to be very cold and very grey and intermittently quite wet, although luckily not when I was out and about.

In the absence of travel and a change of scene, we binge watched some old Simon Reeve programmes about the Indian Ocean on iplayer, and during the night when I couldn't sleep, I then read this piece in The Guardian about one person who *hasn't* been still. I can also, I guess, live vicariously through L, who is less than a week away from leaving London, so he took their car and sold it yesterday (in Tunbridge Wells of all places...I think it's a bit complicated in lockdown). It's sad I won't see them before they go, but I guess this is a case where there genuinely is no alternative.