Sunny Day at the Beach

With my swimming clobber successfully dried and desanded from yesterday I trotted down for the second consecutive day to Porty leaving at 6:45 for the 8am dip. The temperature was 0° again, the Meadows white with frost and parts of the sand too, but the sun shone bravely out of a blue sky, there was no wind and the sea was calm. What’s not to love? Nine minutes of immersion (Elizabeth's water thermometer said the water temperature was 5.2°)with some swimming along a sunbeam and two handstands thrown in for good measure and then time to get dressed and go for the bus home. 
Therein lies the rub! Portobello High street is at a virtual stop because of 4way traffic lights at the crossroads at Brighton Place where the road works are ongoing.  It took 30 minutes to negotiate Portobello High Street and with the busy 21 bus stops en route  it took an hour to reach Princes Street. It raises the trip to the beach a 3 hour safari. My heated waistcoat has been a boon in keeping me reasonably warm.

I had high hopes of the scaffolding coming down today because the surveyor overlooking the shambles was on site yesterday checking the snagging, but not a glimpse of any one today. It will be 5 months on Friday that the scaffolding went up and that is the time it has taken to re waterproof 6 balconies on 2 buildings. The balconists attendance has been patchy to put it mildly; arriving from Glasgow at 9:30 -10am and leaving at 2:30 with a lunch hour thrown in and working a maximum of 2 days a week with some weeks not at all. I am reminded that 3 balconies on the adjacent building also took 5 months to upgrade, so there has been improvement but as far as I’m concerned the Factors for Quartermile have really messed up big time in their choice of building and roofing  company.