Edinburgh

So, Edinburgh. We had a wonderful three days in and around the city, which blew me away with its architectural grandeur and variety, its laid-back atmosphere, its gorgeous river walk, its lovely gallery of modern art, its proximity to the (proper) seaside. And then there were the beautiful cats (of whom more later)... who were generous enough to share their home with us from Monday to Friday. Which is of course also Isabelle's home, whose generosity must also be celebrated, though she was not there. We were comfortable, and felt at home from the word go, surrounded by the family library of fiction, poetry and reference, which we dipped into freely. We even, unexpectedly, had opportunities to sit in I's lovely garden, since the weather was actually warm and dry (almost) the whole time, which from the perspective of West Yorkshire this last five or six weeks, is little short of a miracle! The forecast before we set off was rubbish, but somehow the dark clouds that loomed as the train pulled into Waverley station, and which gathered and darkened now and then, were gracious enough to break up every day, allowing hot sunshine to accompany us on our walk along the Water of Leith Walkway to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and on to the Botanic Gardens, on our exploration of the city, Old Town and New, and on our day out to North Berwick! Just one brief shower when we were sitting on the beach, and heavy rain to accompnay our departure yesterday. Aside from that, dry and warm and mellow!!

At the Gallery of Modern Art, and along the Water of Leith is Antony Gormley's latest series of life-size figures '6 Times'. This one just beneath the Gallery itself.

We walked as far as Stockbridge to see another, but didn't venture all the way to the docks at Leith to see the complete set.

People are beginning to remark upon Gormley's repetition of this theme, his wide dissemination of images of himself. I'd only seen the London ones before these, and loved them. And these I found poignant, lonely, courageous, tender. Perhaps its the water that makes them seem especially vulnerable, exposed. Yet, enduring, despite the rust...