The city looks sweet, mornings like this. There's no one about and I plow quick down the slick black paths over The Meadows into the office. The green grass is hoary-haired, and scratchy too; pigeons nibble down their chow. Those old criss-crossed cranes (cross-gartered?) stand proud above the Quartermile. All them students have buggered off and lone great-coats shift up Jawbone Walk.

Mid-day today, with the clear sun hitting its zenith at the 20° mark, I saw how the frost on the Edinburgh roofs matched the shapes of the chimney-shadows. Warming, I guess, it slipped away as the sun crossed over. Then at 15:30, with the sun going down, frost came back the other way, covering the tennis courts and bowling greens below my office balcony.

A body could almost grow to love this city.