harbingers of summer

here we are in mid-june, with midsummer's day looming, and the sun has (eventually) put in an appearance this afternoon. after almost a week of dreich, grey, drizzly weather we awoke this morning to a deluge. we must have had at least 2 inches of rain overnight. its sweltering today and the humidity makes it all the hotter.

i spent most of the day in fairest edinburgh. business was concluded over a civilised lunch meeting at one of my favourite french bistros in frederick street in the new town. it was so beautiful driving back to the borders along the A7, which is lush and verdant. the gala water - a tributary of the river tweed - is fairly bursting in places.

the scottish borders common riding season is in full swing. bloke, the lodger and i toddled along to the selkirk event last friday to watch the horse dominated revelry. common riding is descended from reiving (cattle rustling) and the events involve some quirky traditions. one of the most moving bits of the selkirk event is the 'casting of the colours', which involves an elaborate flag waving ritual and concludes with a commemoration of the battle of flodden in the 1300s. the proceedings are concluded with the standard bearer handing the selkirk flag back to the town provost "unsullied & untarnished". one presumes that any sullying or tarnishing would have been at the hands of sassenach invaders.

i'm pleased to report that the rabbit defences have not been breached. i can't say the same for the many, increasingly elaborate crow defences which have been constructed to deter the noisy, growing population of murderous raiders. the canny b*ggers are relentless in their quest to consume the garden bird food.

bloke most recently invested in a weapon of mass jackdaw destruction. a hydraulic powered sub-automatic water cannon (£9.99 from tesco), which had its maiden outing at 5h30 last saturday morning. it would be indecent to present the graphic detail here, and it was a supreme act of restraint to not record it on video for posterity. it was a comedy moment. if i told you that he insisted on sleeping with the window wide open, poised the gaudishly bright plastic weapon armed and loaded on the windowsill, and made me promise to wake him if he didn't hear them first thing, you get an idea of his determination. his spectacular leap from the bed was sufficient to reduce me to helpless giggling.

we have a couchsurfing couple arriving for one night in early july. they're imminently departing belgium for a 2 month european adventure, involving a camper van. they'll come bearing belgian chocolate and beer. they'll be warmly welcomed.

so, yesterday morning at 9h30 ticket booking opened for the edinburgh book festival. i'd planned the must-see events over the weekend, and was poised at the ready, determined not to miss some of my favourite authors speaking at charlotte square. a nail biting wait turned into a tense half hour as i attempted - unsuccessfully - to book both online and over the phone. my efforts were eventually rewarded. i'll be going to see amongst other richard dawkins, john pilger and peter godwin.

still on a literary theme; bbc4 broadcast an engaging documentary last night about the origins of robert louis stevenson's ideas for "jekyll & hyde". it was presented by ian rankin and showcased edinburgh to great effect, particularly auld edinburgh and hidden closes which stevenson used to frequent.

my pals emilia and alan know the family which lives in stevenson's house in heriot row, and have passed many sociable hours in it. felicitas - their friend and the current owner of the house - featured in the doccy, in her children's bedroom and the self same room which stevenson himself used. watching it made me realise how fortunate i am to be living in such close proximity to a magnificent city with such a rich history.

dad loved edinburgh when he came to the UK in 2000 and i am so thankful that he got to explore some of it. i'd like to think that if his soul is still floating about this earth that its one place he's still exploring. its secrets and alleyways will keep him busy for some time yet.