A fun day in Edinburgh

A warm day in Edinburgh today. I was in the Royal Mile by about 10.30 this morning and a few Festival Fringe performers were out and about, but as the morning went on there was more activity. Some of the performers were amazing in the way they persuaded members of the public to get involved - this man got a bunch of kids out to join him in singing and dancing and as a finale he walked to one side and let the kids dance to the music - they were really good! I'm sure there were many videos taken by adoring parents!

I can't deny that I was disappointed with the state of the Royal Mile and its environs. Considering that the festival is an international event, drawing thousands of people from all over the world, there's so much that should have been sorted out. I walked down one of the closes in between the old buildings to see a group of tourists sitting down beside an overflowing bin (see extra) - this was mid-morning so the rubbish was not today's. A police officer told me that there's a bin men's strike, but sorry - that's no excuse! It's a disgrace - they should have paid someone else to do it, or asked for volunteers. The huge cast iron anti-terrorist barriers don't help either - if they're really needed, then the very least they could have done is to paint them! I don't like the way that damaged sections of the old cobbled streets are replaced with great dollops of tar - very tacky. Sorry to moan, but somebody should have a bit more pride in their city.