Libera me!

Big day tomorrow... for the first time I'm working on FMQs. Wish me luck!

Off to bed early as I'm going to have to be up at some ungodly hour in the morning.

Tonight I'm listening to: Mozart's Requiem
Tomorrow I'll be: half asleep but still at my desk at 6pm...

Summer it is past...

I'm sure I saw snow today.

It's September - normally what I think of as the best month in Edinburgh (maybe apart from May and August) because it's normally warm and summery and tends not to get much rain - and I'm sure there was snow in the wind today.

It's depressing, that's what it is!

Just finished my Bill Bryson book... moving on to Alexander McCall Smith's latest Mma Ramotswe book - "In The Company Of Cheerful Ladies".

Tonight I'm listening to: Eddi Reader Sings The Songs Of Robbie Burns
Tomorrow I'm going to be: very busy at work. So I'm off to my bed early. (Well, it's early for me, ok?!)

Dazed and confused

Quick post tonight, as I'm heading for bed.

I'm always on the lookout for new artists to listen to. I've just ordered a CD by Karine Polwart (an Edinburgh-based musician). Will let you know what it's like when I've heard it.

I've been listening to Snow Patrol quite a lot this week (despite Franz Ferdinand winning the Mercury Music Prize! Though I did play along on the guitar to Take Me Out last night...) - really into their track "Chocolate" on "The Final Straw".

Right - time to go and read a couple of chapters of Bill Bryson (Notes from a Big Country) before I go to sleep.

TTFN!

Tonight I'm listening to: U2
Tomorrow I'll be: blooming confused and thinking it's Friday because FMQs was on Wednesday instead of Thursday...

In A Mellow Tone

Feeling a bit happier with my lot tonight. Feeling a bit more chilled out, and less blue.

I'm off to the Parliament again tomorrow morning. The First Minister is making his Legislative Programme statement to Parliament so we're all heading down to watch (and lend some moral support!). It'll be really special and to be in the building when the very first business takes place - the inaugural speech in the new Parliament building.

Tonight I'm listening to: Courtney Pine - A Vision's Tale
Tomorrow I'll be: thronging the corridors of the Scottish Parliament *



* Can one person throng?!

Kind of Blue

Just back from my folks' in Durham. Spent the weekend down there. I always seem sad these days coming back to Edinburgh.

It's close on 5 years now since I moved to Edinburgh full time. And I seem to miss home more than ever. The longer I'm away, the worse it gets. So I'm kind of blue this evening.

I've only a couple of really close friends who live in Durham (and Newcastle) any more. All the rest of them have moved to London, or wherever it is people move to get away from Durham.

And despite the fact that I've got so many friends now here in Edinburgh, in Glasgow, in Stirling, I find I'm missing my folks more, my roots, my dogs!!

Perhaps I'm just a country bumpkin at heart too, getting desperate to escape from the city, back to the countryside?

Or perhaps I'm just getting depressed that I've got work in the morning as it's always a Sunday night that I drive back up from Durham!?

Anyway, tonight I've been out to watch the final concert from the Edinburgh Festival - the Fireworks Concert - met one of my friends, Steph*, to go and see it from the roof at work. There was quite a crowd of us there. Sadly, the cloud base was so low (just a few feet above the Castle) that most of the rockets that were fired just vanished into the clouds never to be seen again. Never mind, it was still nice to see the Castle with white sparks cascading down its sides.

Tonight I'm listening to: Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (Flamenco Sketches, to be precise!)
Tomorrow I'll be: back on the hamster wheel...


* There, happy now? ;-)

Makeover

Well, regular visitors (who am I kidding?!) will notice that the Blog's gone through a bit of a makeover tonight. I was getting rather fed up with the lime green and decided to go for something a little classier looking!

Think it also blends with the style of my website a bit better too - that's http://www.kyoburn.co.uk in case you've forgotten!

Looking forward to Sunday night - it's the end of the Edinburgh Festival, and that's always marked by a fantastic fireworks display at Edinburgh Castle. Last year it included a cascade of white sparks down the hillside below the Castle, like a waterfall of white fire. Beautiful. I'm going to be watching from a wonderful viewpoint with uninterrupted views of the Castle, and no crush of tourists!!

If you're in Edinburgh, go to Princes Street and watch the fireworks - you'll be hard pushed to ever see a better display!

Today I'm listening to: David Bowie, Snow Patrol and the Divine Comedy (I love "Songs of Love"!!!)
Tomorrow I'll be: praying for Friday... this week's seriously dragging!

Roof of Garden Lobby and Ministerial office block

A dedicated follower of fashion...?

OK, most people who know me probably wouldn't describe me as a dedicated follower of fashion. In fact, if I'm ever actually in fashion, it's usually because I'm coming at it from the opposite direction. Polo shirts are back in fashion this season? That's good, 'cos I'm still wearing my St. Andrews University Cycling Club polo shirt that I got 7 years ago...

So, as I'm so unfashionable, I'm going to say something terribly unfashionable.

I love the new Scottish Parliament building.

OK, from the outside it's not that loveable. Until you go up to Regent Road, and look at it from above, where you see how it echoes the shapes of Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags. Until you get inside it and see the intricacy of the detail, the windows in the ceiling of the Garden Lobby. The beautiful floor in the Black and White Corridor.

OK, so it has its mistakes too. The "think bubbles" (or bay windows to the rest of us!) are too small and two people have been injured whacking their heads trying to look at the view, the MSPs' researchers desks are about the size and shape of ironing boards...

But it's beautiful inside. I was on a tour of the site roughly a year ago, wearing steel toe capped wellies, a hard hat and a very fetching yellow bib, and although I could see the rough shapes of the building, I just couldn't imagine it finished. I couldn't get excited about it.

But I went on a tour of the building today, and adored it. I know it cost £431 million. I know it's years behind schedule. It's been worth the wait. And as the money's already gone on it, there's nothing that can be done about it, so it's time to draw a line under that and just enjoy the building. Please go on a tour of the building. You might just like it...

Now, where did I put that polo shirt...?