Tim Bell It came to something when in 2001 the 41st President of the United States, George Bush, made a gross…
Jewish Edinburgh
Where, you might ask, is Jewish Edinburgh? You might think first of a synagogue; after all, this is where Jewish gatherings commonly take…
My Medico-Legal Edinburgh
As an academic medical lawyer, my day job involves teaching about the regulation of the human body, of what can…
The Writers’ Museum
“It’s a grand thing to be given leave to live” Nan Shepherd (1893 – 1981) This is the cheerful message…
Second-hand Bookshops
Shortly after arriving in Edinburgh to live, I was walking through Bruntsfield in the South of the city when I…
Climbing Blackford Hill
I first climbed Blackford Hill, to the south of the city and one of the ‘seven hills’ of Edinburgh, in…
The Hermitage of Braid
As a child growing up in the 1960s in the area called the Braids on the south side of Edinburgh,…
The Scotsman Steps
At the point in the Old Town where the North Bridge leaps towards the New, stands a grand building bearing…
A Most Elegant Dirt Heap
If you are on Princes Street, whichever end you are coming from the line of sight will be dominated by…
The Jazz Bar, Chambers Street
A damp and chilly street on a November night in central Edinburgh is a cheerless place where even the weather…