The Harbour of Edinburgh

Down in Leith for a meeting after work.

I walked around the grey drizzly docks and watched two big boats with crews hard at work doing some craning of things and rattling chains and things, or what ever it is boat crews do in the docks. I could sit and watch that kind of thing all day with the water rippling against the dockside and the noise of the city seeming like it was miles away.

A Polish boy appeared on the dock-side and in very broken English explained that he had just arrived on a boat, his phone wasn't working and he needed to get in touch with someone in Edinburgh. He didn't have a penny of UK currency (apparently). He seemed to be quite genuinely stuck, so I gave him a couple of pounds to use at a phone, which he did, and then scuttled away with his scruffy bag of belongings.

It seemed pretty exciting just turning up in a port with no clue what you are going to do and thinking of the future you might make for yourself, with hopefully better prospects than those back home. I admired his spirit and my safe little life suddenly seemed very dreary.