Dickwan

Leith isn't that bad really, just a bit rough round the edges. The gentrification is a bit creepy though; 'artisan' coffee shops have sprouted up all over the place (along with 'artisan' tattoo parlours, 'artisan' bagel shops, 'artisan' vape stores, 'artisan' bookies, and 'artisan' pawn brokers etc etc). Man buns, quaffed beards, waxed moustaches, plaid shirts, penny farthings, etc etc etc. As for why August (and I assume this is what the OP is referring to), we have a month long 'festival' of 'arts' in Edinburgh - mostly performing arts. The city transforms into a hellish squeeze and the price of a pint gets perilously close to a tenner.

Couldn't agree more - August in 'Auld Reekie' is exceedingly unpleasant. Some of us poor sods have to live here, mind, but we avoid the city centre at all costs. Last I heard well over a million visitors flood into the city during August for the freak show. This isn't a huge number for big cities to absorb, but Edinburgh doesn't seem like a big city, not to me at any rate. Trams have now 'opened up' our very own "SoDoSoPa"* - that'll be Leith - to tourists/visitors, so I expect the throngs will invading here too. * or maybe it's our "Shi Tpa Town"

Same here, just an old steam powered Nokia from last century (slight exaggeration, granted).

Thanks for this. It's all making sense now: I noticed another 'budget retailer' has installed similar barriers in its stores in my neck of the woods. They don't require apps or QR code scans to enter at the moment, but surely it's only a matter of time (and aforesaid 'budget retailer' is heavily pushing its smartphone app).

I'm pushed for time and about to run out the door, but I don't see mention of the latest SNP crisis yet... seems to be all kicking off! https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/snp-edinburgh-offices-raided-police-26635523 https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/nicola-sturgeons-home-taped-police-26635516 https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/nicola-sturgeons-husband-peter-murrell-26635017 Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere. And apologies for the sources - Edinburgh Live is chronically bad, but at least the links above give the broad nub of the gist. Sturgeon's house (looks like they've got the full Fred West kit):

I do and it seems fine. Olive oil starts smoking as the temperature rises (moreso compared to, say, sunflower oil), so it's maybe not so good for very hot frying (stir frying etc). Seems okay for shallow frying at lower temps. From my own experience extra virgin olive oil starts smoking at even lower temps than regular olive oil. I know a guy who deep fries with olive oil and his kitchen doesn't noticeably stink of smoke.

This intrigued me, and the notion has been bubbling away in my mind since I read your post. No, I don't dally with the devil or nowt, but I once had the pleasure of discussing such matters at length with a wonderfully old fashioned and crusty - and occasionally bellicose - Catholic priest, and he had some rather interesting opinions (and definite rules) on 'Auld Split Hoof'. I'm not saying I believe this (I'm fairly agnostic about most things), but I reckon it's interesting enough to share seeing as we're talking about the Devil. 1) God doesn't do deals with anyone. If you enter into a dialogue with an entity that you think is God, and come to some arrangement - ie 'if you do X for me then I promise to do Y in return' - then you are in fact dealing with the Devil. A good example could be: "dear god, if you'll only cause Tony Blair to blurt out his most embarrassing secret in public, before shitting his pants and then suddenly dropping dead, then I will go to mass every day for the rest of my life." 2) All deals with the Devil result in net loss. You can never make a profit when dealing with the Devil. You may get what you asked for, but the burden of the payback will always far outweigh the benefit of the favour. It's like depositing money in a bank account with negative interest rates; your deposit will dwindle in value until its all gone, and then you start owing money to cover the interest charges. For ever and ever. Or placing a bet with negative odds: if you 'win' you get back less than you wagered, if you lose, well you lose. Either way you lose. 3) More of a subsection of point 2; the Devil's only aim is your misery. The promise of the deal is just a way to ensnare you - he needs you to enter into the arrangement of your own free will. The more miserable you become, the more satisfaction for the Devil. So there we go. All from the perspective of pre-Vatican 2 Catholicism, make of it what you will. Father Malachi Martin subscribed to similar beliefs ('Hostage to the Devil' is worth a read)

Sorry dude, didn't mean any offence, just idle pondering on my part. For what it's worth, I liked your 'Is God Dead?' post. And clearly Donald was impressed too.

Now come on, be honest, are you and @Dei Eif the same person? Vastly different writing styles; mind you, that's probably what I would do if I were having a conversation with myself on a public forum. p.s. I mean no ill-will to either of you, just some micro-banter whilst I wait for [Godot] a delivery

I've thought along similar lines before. It certainly seems we exist in a predominantly evil realm.

It seems to be up and running now, although history seems to be down. Very curious.

Is there a confirmed date for this emergency alert test? (I can't find one) If it happened to be on Sunday 23 April then I think I'd be sure to avoid London that day. Shades of Boston 2013 perhaps.

That very thought occurred to me earlier whilst out walking. Isn't the London Marathon soon?

Anyone know what this is about - reporter asks Sturgeon about a police investigation?