Christmas Eve

Tonight & other "nights before..."

My newsletter has fresh weekly photo stories of Edinburgh & beyond sent direct by email if you subscribe - free if you choose or pay a wee bit to give me a regular pat on the back, and get freebies, discounts and access to live Zoom sessions.

You suggested I add a wee tips payment option - for when you don’t want, or can’t afford to subscribe but would like to offer something as a “Cheers mate, enjoyed that” gesture. So here is a link to do just that.

This is 30 seconds of our city on Christmas Eve - the heavens are flying along at breakneck speed tonight so the dude on the sleigh will have his work cut out. Calton Hill was as quiet as I’ve seen for as long as I can remember partly because the wind would whip a straggly beard out at the roots.

Earlier in the day we fulfilled a family tradition of Christmas Eve breakfast with our pals the Reids, and the sun set as we licked our plates at Cafe Grande in Bruntsfield.
(Worth a trip for their bistro style menu, cakey buns and of course breakfast…and sunsets)

I love this shot for capturing the moment, with my wife pulling one of her daft faces and also that there is a photo on the wall inside that is one of my sunsets with a very similar Edinburgh sky. I’ve stuck it below for a better view.

This is Salisbury Crags for those of you not familiar with Edinburgh’s inner city cliff face. Below you can see the Festival Theatre bottomish left, Old College dome more to the middle and the castle lit up purple as if in sympathy with the sky.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful, to have the castle like a chameleon, changing colour with the sky? I’ll mention it to Edinburgh Castle and see what they say.

While we’re here on the crags, I should mention that my pal Alan Reid who we had brekkie with (and he finished with sticky toffee pudding!) has been a model for many a shot taken up here - back in my Batman Phase. In one of my favourite shots ever this was Alan in batty mode standing on the edge of the crags while I stood 500m away.

I know, I know, but I swear this does indeed conform to my “Nae Jiggerpokery” philosophy and is just a single image with no “AI Malarkey” either. He does have a fine leg.

This was Christmas Eve a few years ago at South Queensferry with one of the last trains of the evening lending its lights to this long exposure up on the bridge as a car slowly drew its taillight path along the road to the shore - who knew it was so uppy doony?

Earlier that evening I’d visited my Aunt Rina in Dunfermline and had stopped at a favourite view of the bridges. The Queensferry crossing was looking particularly angel-like behind the profile of the ancient buildings of this city - once the capital of Scotland.

Back over to Edinburgh, a different year, and one where we DID have the trams and we STILL had Frasers at the west end. I love how the Rutland has continued its traditional Christmas garb over the years

Full circle back to Bruntsfield, and the view we get of the castle looking down the hill into Tollcross. One of my favourite things about Edinburgh is how the castle can pop out from behind a corner from all over the city.

I’ll bid you all goodnight and hope you have a marvellous Christmas day with your family. Give everyone a hug, even the ones you don’t like very much.
Maybe see you out there?
TD