mit Sahne

I reached the parliament building not long after it opened but it was already quite bustly with people arriving for the archtectural tours and to spectate at the committee rooms as well as a few others seemingly just there for the World Press Photo thing. Perhaps not quite as large and interesting as the last time I went (possibly two years ago) but there are a few additional pictures from some of the larger sets viewable in the computers tucked against the back wall, also displaying past winners since 1955 and short biogs and speak by the winning photographers. Quite a few images recogniseable from the last year's news media, particularly the shot of Barack and Michelle Obama sitting reading a newspaper on a train in the morning.

I had got the idea that people would ring me when father emerged from a show at the Queen's Hall in order to work out where might be nice to pop to for coffee and cakes, so when I checked in after some addditional wandering I discovered everyone was just sitting in the flat eating the limited cakes and biscuits available from the fridge. Fortunately it was decided that we would go for a nice wander afterwards to Bruntsfield to poke at the shops and sample the cakes of the Falko konditorei. Nicky has heard good speak of it somewhere but I hadn't known it was there though it seems to have been them from whose stall I bought a nice pumpkin-seed load at the Castle Terrace farmers' market a couple of weekends ago. Excellent cakes, wrapped-up in the fridge to stop the pre-sliced portions drying out. The decaf coffee was as nice as decaf coffee gets but a teaspoon sample of the caffeinated stuff indicated that it could be the weak point of the operation.

If there are any tickets left for it (and you're in Edinburgh) then go and see the Royal Ballet of Flanders' The Return of Ulysses, at the Playhouse until the 24th. Not quite up to Nederlands Dans Theater standards but good for the eyes and ears. The people behind us were possibly slightly inconvenienced by the combination of my dad (sitting upright in order to prevent his knees being crushed against the seat in front), the bloke in between us in front (sitting very upright and of considerable height) and me (sitting as upright as possible in order to not have my view wrecked by the taller bloke in front) but as they were rustling, talking and were of the over-effusive ""Bravo!"-shouting applauder type so it was only fair.