Flodden Wall

This is one of the few remaining parts of Edinburgh's mediaeval wall, known as the Flodden Wall. It's on the corner of The Pleasance and Drummond Street.

House!

Launched in December 1911, this was the Coliseum Cinema in Fountainbridge, which was converted from a skating rink. The cinema closed in 1942 and was a Mecca bingo hall until very recently. Will it go the way of the breweries nearby and be demolished?

James Craig

Edinburgh City Council put up this plaque on this building in Elder Street to commemorate James Craig, the architect who designed Edinburgh's New Town. This was the same city council who knocked down all the buildings in St James Square apart from this one in the 1960s.

Magdalen Chapel

"Hidden in the Cowgate in Edinburgh's Old Town, just to the W beneath George IV Bridge, is the 16th Century Magdalen Chapel. This small chapel was built 1541-4, with a bequest from a Michael MacQueen (or MacQuhane), who had died in 1537, augmented by his wife Janet Rynd, who lies buried within. The couple wanted to build a chapel which would also serve as meeting-place for the Incorporation of Hammermen, an important guild of comprised numerous crafts and professions who had worshipped in a small aisle in St. Giles Kirk since the late 1400s. The Chapel included a hospital or almshouse which looked after the poor and sick. Magdalen Chapel is important for several reasons. Firstly it was the last Roman Catholic chapel to be built in Edinburgh before the Reformation. Secondly, following the Reformation, it became the cradle of Presbyterianism, holding the first assembly of the new Church of Scotland on the 20th December, 1560 including, amongst the 42 assembled, John Knox (c.1513-72). Thirdly, it includes the only examples of Pre-Reformation stained-glass remaining in their original location; four roundels representing the arms of Scotland, of Mary of Guise (Lorraine), of MacQueen and of MacQueen and Rynd together. The steeple was not completed until 1628, and the bell, cast in Flanders, is dated 1632, however the Victorian street facade effectively hides the age of the core. Inside, two walls are almost entirely covered with panels recording bequests which had been made to support the work of the Chapel.
In 1957, a committee was formed to restore the chapel, which involved the Cockburn Association, the University of Edinburgh (who owned the adjacent building through which the Chapel was entered), the Incorporation of Hammermen (who owned the chapel until 1857) and the Protestant Institute of Scotland (who were the owners at the time).
A major restoration was undertaken in 1992-93 at a cost of £305,000 and is now the headquarters of the Scottish Reformation Society, which was formed in 1851. It now receives around 6000 visitors annually (2001)."

From Gazetteer for Scotland.

Snowy Monday

The first real snow this winter.

Mercat Cross

The Mercat Cross in Edinburgh stands near St Giles, though it was originally a little to the east on the High Street (the original site is marked).

Trinity College Church

Trinity College Church was built in the 15th century and sat peacefully at the bottom of Calton Hill for 400 years. Then the railways arrived and the church was dismantled to make way for railway yards (!) at Waverley Station. Each stone was numbered (see picture) so it could be reassembled on another site, but it took 30 years of wrangling about where it should be sited and who should pay for it, and in the interim Edinburgh citizenry as "reacquired" most of the stones for themselves. What was rebuilt was the apse of the church and is the now the Brass Rubbing Centre just off the High Street.

Galleries

Art Galleries on The Mound.

Gridlocked

This is the roads just after the procession passed on the Fair Day 2008.

Bo'ness Fair 1964

Pictures from the Bo'ness Fair 1964. The top pictures are from South Street (spot the old Wevlings Store) and the bottom right is at the Town Hall. I am not sure where the bottom left picture was taken.

Crane (Unused)

This is the crane on the Clyde which can be seen behind Jackie Bird when she's reading the news.

A Very Large Hole

This is the site of the old bus depot in the Canongate in Edinburgh. I think offices are supposed to be built here.

Tree

Tree with avian occupants.

St Bernard's Well

This is St Bernard's Well on the Water of Leith. There is a spring there and its waters supposedly have healing properties.

Before and After

Victoria Street and Victoria Terrace

The Links

Stark's Brae, more commonly known as The Links, in Grangepans, Bo'ness. Until about 20 years ago cars were able to use it. Now it's a path.

Dean Bridge

Various pictures of Dean Bridge and Dean Village down by the Water of Leith.