To Embra to pontificate but not to pedagogue on this occasion. So my journey to the poshest of posh areas took me up and down Princes Street. Embra buses must be the slowest (if the most frequent) in the known world so I was forced to disembark at the other (non Waverley) end of Princes Street to walk stationwards in time to catch the 1305 Virgin Voyager. It was good to resume acquaintance with the Doyen of the central Embra mendicants. Unlike South East England Scotland was quite balmy and snow free but he was taking no chances and was wearing his wee dog's Shia surplus camouflage jacket as well as his own Captain Scott double hoodie with extra fur. The wee dog seemed ok and its exposed state probably extricated more 50ps than usual from the reluctant pockets of passersbys. They, had, in any case, been driven to the Jenners' side of Princes Street by the unusually early in the season appearance of the Mendicant Piper. He was still warming up with his usual medley of unrecognisable 'tunes' -MacDuff's lament for a lost muckle, with a bit of A Scottish Soldier and the Skye Boat Song leit motif-off key and off message. As I thankfully reached out of earshot I could just hear his signature tune 'The Tourists Are Coming-Aha Aha' Two tourists, Far Eastern, quickened their step, but in the opposite direction so 'Have ye no some spare Yen' for them on this occasion. The MP has a long time to wait until August when his status is raised from' Embarrassing Nuisance' to 'Street THeatre' He may well have an act of two of contortionism up his sleeve (no visual pun intended) -he has a gift of continuing to 'play' (?) whilst at the same time flicking all coins of above 5p value from his voluminous Tam o Shanter gaping on the pavement into his Sporran. The coppers are left on display as an indictment of the meanness of passing mankind I only wish that some kind pipers from the Coldstream Pipe Band could takes him under their wing for a bit of basic instruction and then send him on a British Council sponsored tour of Micronesia with a one way ticket.
Back by Virgin. This time 6 minutes early to Berwick-time for a couple of leisurely smokes and a bacon butty by the Train Team. If they could make up six minutes on every leg of their 27 stop journey to the West Country they could reach Penzance 8 minutes before leaving Embra (This is a Hutton Think Tank calculation)
Dr Who would be proud to ride with them
