Edinburgh times...

I've been in Edinburgh for a couple of days now, having flown down from Shetland on my GNER compensation flight (cos their late train on the way home in August caused me to miss the ferry and to take the plane instead). The focus of my trip down has been on finding a place to stay for the coming academic year. And let me tell you all, it has been difficult. I say has, because I'm hopeful that my search is over. What I've found is that almost all rooms to let are within about 50 quid either way of £300 a month, but that there is a massive difference between places that are palaces and flats that are more like slums. Luck of the draw is what its all about.

If all goes well tomorrow then I'll be moving into a flat on the Royal Mile. For those of you who know Edinburgh, that is a very central location - right on the approach to the castle. The flat is on the north side of the street and has views over Princes St gardens and beyond. With any luck I will also be able to see the sea, something I missed sorely in Cambridge.



On a very different note, I was in Blackwells yesterday, a big bookshop, looking at the architecture section, when an oldish man came along and started perusing books next to me. While flicking through the pages of a book on the history of London's architecture he started to mutter and mumble to himself. Distracting though it was, it did raise a question in my mind - do deaf people speak to themselves in sign language? Or is it only those of us who are blessed with hearing who do it?