Random scenes from Edinburgh

Getting on the bus, a very tall man in front of me. Not just tall but Lurch from the Addams Family tall; he has to bend forward to avoid hitting his head on the door frame of the bus.

Another day, another bus, a loud man bellowing swear words so loud he can be heard on the upper deck even though he is downstairs, shouting the F and C words constantly. A few seconds after I get off the bus a police car pulls up at the bus stop and when I look back the man now has a new mode of transport in the back of a police car.

A rare sunny day in a wet summer and I see a quick glimpse of beach volleyball being played by women in a temporary giant sandbox set up in Princes Street Gardens right below the Castle. Lucky it wasn't next day when it poured again and the sand would have been like mud.

Rain overnight is just clearing as I head to work, the cobbles of my street still damp and slick. The sun tries to break through the low cloud and mist rises from the earth. Crossing North Bridge I have a great view of Arthur's Seat, mist rising right out of the rock, the summit lost in low clouds.

Harry Potter fans in the round glasses, lightning bolts and Hogwarts scarves already taking up places early on Friday morning ahead of the midnight launch of the new book.

Passing over the canal bridge on the way to Mel's, a barge with holidaymaker's and a very excited dog passes under the bridge as I am crossing. I stop to watch it slipping past just feet below me then run delightedly over to the other side to see it come out. Yes, I am easily amused. It's a gift.

I go to see the new Die Hard movie with some friends, including my mate John McLean who inevitably got the nickname Die Hard attached to him years back. Afterwards we congratulate him on being a great action hero.

Sitting in the Caley Sample Room, waiting on friends to arrive, new William Gibson novel in one hand, a lovely, chestnut-coloured pint of Caley 80 in the other. One of the regular barmaids looks like she could be the younger sister of the actress Natash McElhone with her very long, fine hair, slim build and large, luminous eyes.

Grey, overcast cloudy skies, some backlit by the sun struggling to break through. Crossing North Bridge, looking along the valley towards the Castle and there's that brilliant effect where shafts of sunlight pierce the clouds, like World War II searchlights but the beams are gold and pointing down from the sky instead of up.