Under a Saltire Blue Sky

Edinburgh today for a couple of meetings relating to the life and times of the late George Wyllie.

I'm a trustee of the newly-formed George Wyllie Foundation, set up by his family and friends to keep the Wyllie fire burning brightly, and make sure George's playfully serious approach to art continues to inspire.

The second meeting was at The Scottish Parliament. We were treated to lunch in the members' restaurant overlooking Arthur's Seat, which was very posh.

I was on a 5:2 fast day, so it was smoked mackerel with rocket (minus the tatties) for me. I heard the distinctive tones of Alex Salmond behind me and was tempted to ask if he was on a fast day too, as he's lost a lot of weight by following this regime in which you limit your calorie intake (600 for men and 500 for women) on two non-consecutive days each week.

He's got the fight of his life ahead in 2014 so I guess it pays to be a lean, mean fighting machine...

Not sure what my excuse is. Probably a certain looming big birthday!

I had to leave quickly to run for my train at Waverley Station, but kept tripping up as I was looking up at the mix of blue sky and lemony light on the buildings above my head on Calton Hill.

I had to Google 'curved building on Calton Hill' to discover this is St Andrew’s House, the former Scottish Office, once the UK government's administrative offices in Scotland. It was designed by Thomas Tait and built in the 1930s.