A New Kid on the Block

Had His Lordship been wearing his hat, so carelessly tossed on to the chair beside him, then the likeness to John Bellany's fisherman in the picture would have been compelling.

This original Bellany is gracing the wall of the newest café on the block, not five minutes away from the Dower House. It opened for the first time without any razzmatazz this morning and we felt the need to celebrate the occasion with our company.

Not only does it have a genuine Bellany on the wall, it also has beautiful wood panelling on the walls and a real living fire, which will be an asset on a cold day ( actually non too warm early this morning).

For as long as I can remember this shop was an optician's and the first place to prescribe me reading glasses, but it ceased trading about two years ago and has been lying empty ever since. It appears there are the remnants of a bakehouse at the back of the shop, so perhaps it started out as a bakery and has now turned almost full circle.

Thus fortified, we struggled through the crowds to take in the atmosphere on the High Street of the first day of the Festival Fringe. We must have been too early for many of the performers as there was room to walk without being stopped in our tracks by any street theatre moments, although HL collected a few flyers. I have my eye on a flyer collage as a blip on a lean blip day.