I was out for a walk one afternoon and wandered into the docks where I came upon this big boat. It's 212 metres long.  What was the Spirit of Tasmania IV doing in Leith Docks I wondered. 

Research uncovered a situation that to a degree rivals the Scottish ferry fiasco.  Built in Finland it's been moved to Leith to protect it from winter ice conditions which, being destined to ply between Tasmania and the Australian mainland, it was not built to withstand.  It couldn't go to Tasmania because its home port doesn't have the infrastructure to take it and won't have for a couple of years or more.  So the owners are paying us good money to house it.  The large figures in this report are I believe Australian dollars. 

I've been at odds with BT for some time because of the ludicrous amount they've been charging me for broadband since my contract with them ended.  I eventually decided that enough was enough so signed up with Sky.  No sooner had I done so than Hyperoptic, the availability of whose service in my building has been anticipated for a while, pitched up at my door with an excellent full fibre deal.  So I ditched Sky and am now using Hyperoptic.  The one fly in the ointment is that despite announcing that my old landline number would be transferred, so far it hasn't been.

The recent storm blew inconveniently for me.  I was due to have lunch in Glasgow with Andrew and go to a lunchtime gig at the conservatoire but first the gig was cancelled then all public transport so I had to stay at home.  Nothing much in the public realm in Edinburgh seems to have been damaged although I believe the Botanic Gardens has suffered.

I was at an SCO concert that featured a Sibelius symphony and his violin concerto which was a very enjoyable evening.  I had reservations about another of their concerts where the music was more spiky.  The centrepiece was called Ad Absurdum that demands pretty nifty trumpet playing.  You can listen to it and follow the music here or without the music here.

More conventioal was the SNJO's evening in the Usher Hall that spotlighted half a dozen young talents.  It's terrific that we have so many excellent young players/singers and worth acknowledging how much Tommy Smith has contributed to bringing that about through his youth band and jazz education at the Conservatoire.  However I don't find the Usher Hall the most sympathetic space in which to listen to jazz.

I had an excellent Japanese meal at Kanpai before the concert. With a fellow saxophonist, jazz fan and Japanese food enthusiast I'm working my way through Edinburgh's Japanese restaurants. 

I wonder if Burns has much traction in Japan.  Their food is so wide ranging it would be interesting to see what they might produce to celebrate our national poet.  The thought comes to mind because of the extremely tasty Burns Supper that Phil and Claire produced this year.  It wasn't a straight haggis, neeps and tatties but delicious.  Indeed I'd say it was an improvement on the traditional.

Many of you may be familiar with the novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum. I'd never heard of it when I came across a radio dramatisation which I enjoyed a great deal.  In its peculiar way it's a family saga.  I'd like to read it but my pile of books waiting to be read is too big for the time being.  I'm trying to get through it but when I do read a book I don't always remember much about it.  A case in point cropped up the other day.  I had read Conclave by Robert Harris a while ago and I went with Ross and Claire to see the film.  In such a circumstance I'd expect things to come back to me as the film rolled on.  Maybe one thing did or maybe it was a fairly obvious conclusion to draw from the action. Otherwise zilch.