barely started

Very little rain today. Most unfortunate. A nice refreshing soaking during my much-reduced lunch would have been pleasant. Fortunately a little bit turned up on the way home after I decided to not bother with the cinema as the film I thought was finishing today is on for another week yet.

Although they're not here in full force yet the braying, shouting, yaffling* LOOK AT ME idiotfolk were noticeably more numerate today than yesterday, though it's possible that they all retreat to fashionable bars the moment it starts raining. The Fringe doesn't start for another couple of weeks so I was hoping there might be one more normalish quietish weekend left to potter around relaxedly in. Pottering will still be possible but I'll have to make sure my earplugs are in my pocket. I'm also having to adjust my daily routes to take account of Fringe-related temporary erections such as the annual installation of the Udderbelly in Bristo Square, the emplacement of the food-and-drink serving area on the little bit of grass besides Teviot just opposite and the associated vehicle-parking which has even resulted in the removal of a couple of the recently-installed bicycle-parking stands next to the Dugald Stewart building. It's only a minor detour to have to walk around the north edge of the square but it's irritating how these things expand and start stealing pavement. It is also now impossible to wander round the back of the Pleasance of an evening to gaze upon the rear of the Dumbiedykes flats from above and the risk of being heavily splashed by a car running through a puddle where South Bridge crosses the Cowgate is now augmented by the risk of being pushed into the road by an idiot in a truck emerging from the former Gilded Balloon/La Belle Angele site where they're re-installing the temporary venue in the absence of having decided what to do with the site on a more permanent basis. Given that it's all built on rubble and sandy earth it's highly likely that another couple of decent rainstorms like those earlier this month coupled with the extra weight of lots of people and tents could result in the amusing sight of a bunch of media-bias yahs being washed into the Cowgate in a river of mud.

*The snuffling, cackle-bark noise which precedes any utterance the utterer has pre-deemed to be frightfully amusing. Not to be confused with Yaffling (stalking about in a dryly sinister stop-motion-y way and speaking with a slightly sinister voice despite being allegedly aimed at children).