Not Albert Square

At lunchtime I dropped our son off at Charlotte Square in the centre of Edinburgh to get a bus laid on to take guests to a wedding outside of the city.

I paused to look at the statue in the centre of the gardens. It is of Prince Albert, commissioned after his death. It was unveiled by Queen Victoria in 1876.

The sculptor was Sir John Steell who made the stone statue of Queen Victoria atop the RSA, which is surrounded by the sphinxes I blipped on Friday. Looking into him I had not realised he had done the statue of Sir Walter Scott in the Scott Monument, the statue of Wellington outside Register House, Alexander taming Bucephalus outside the City Chambers. And many more both in Edinburgh and elsewhere, including New York.

It makes me wonder what statues will be commissioned of HM Queen Elizabeth II after her funeral tomorrow.

The walk with the dog late tonight involved being stalked by a fox which kept getting close to us. When we stopped the fox did. When we moved the fox followed us, as close as 10 metres at one point, despite our dog going wild. Slightly unnerving: did it view our dog as dinner?