From Knowable Magazine: How scientists recreate historical scents | Knowable Magazine knowablemagazine.org/content/arti... Audience

Happy St Brigid’s day/Imbolc! First snowdrops outside 🙂

Cycling infrastructure ‘paired with low emission zones, pedestrianized streets, school street programs and a broader shift to people-first public space. The result wasn’t just cleaner air - it was a city where daily life became healthier, calmer and more human’

All this, yes and we will still also need more to cope with the demand now and projected: expanded trams, bike infrastructure, integration across the system with buses and trains.

Closing out January with the Giant Lanterns @edinburghzoo.bsky.social which was pretty magical. I really liked the underwater theme - and the mixing in of the fantastical (I will always love a kraken)

😢 www.theguardian.com/culture/gall...

First read down in a new year reading challenge (‘classics I never got around to, that aren’t Henry James’) and Wuthering Heights is 1st because I wanted to watch the Robbie/Elordi film. Not at all what I expected! Always thought this was a gothic romance/brooding shadow daddy redeemed tale: nope.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 👀

Now desperately seeking sleep in the Caledonian Sleeper seating section - all my hopes resting on a large camomile tea

Last but not least a ticket high up in the gods to see Arthur Miller’s All My Sons with a pretty stellar cast. Loved it.

Next up was the Tate Britain’s Lee Miller retrospective. Absolutely packed which made it a little tricky to navigate (and I was lucky enough to see the incredible Miller and Penrose exhibition at the Scottish Modern in 2001). Her Egyptian photos remain some of my favourites.

Marie Antoinette Style at the V&A London was fabulous - clothing and textiles, jewelry and ephemera that beautifully told the stories behind her fashion over time and the impact that it had

Calm start to the day, and a view across London’s Docklands

This is a beautiful book and well worth a read. Deceptively simple - based around the most asked questions put to Hédi Fried during school talks - it is thought provoking and as relevant today as ever

To celebrate the birth of Scotland’s literary hero, Robert Burns, try your hand at our quiz on Scottish culture and Booker Prize–nominated authors, through their words, wit and... whisky Tap the link below for the quiz.

Having a lovely #BurnsNight - an afternoon ceilidh, a Burn’s supper (veggie haggis & cranachan) and a Glenrothes Speyside single malt 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I enjoyed this - Anne Higonnet’s Liberty,Equality & Fashion about revolutionary post-Terror French fashions told through the stories of three extraordinary women: Joséphine Bonaparte, Térézia Tallien & Juliette Récamier. A good analysis of their motivations, and the backlash.

A damp walk along the Water of Leith to @nationalgalleries.bsky.social Modern One for some much needed colour

Marmalade time

A video my daughter found on TikTok about the recent building demolition on Princes Street.

Been a day. Sometimes a late night stomp through the rain, and a glass of wine with a book is the way to deal.

It's that time of year again: We're having a MEGA sale! After the success of last year's first sale night, we're running it again this year - and we'll be sharing a third of all money raised with three local trans fundraisers. Come make a night of it, all sale books £8 or less! See you Mon 26 Jan📚

Attempted a pizza run - fair to say I made the crust a little thin and the toppings came out a little small

Home time in Edinburgh, and light in the sky

Galette des Rois for Epiphany - two gold crowns for two queens as always, and a fève that looks … suspiciously like a football

Finding cats at every turn, using up book tokens, and being nosy about a booksellers to-do list (what IS going on in the teen/growing up shelf?!)

Nature’s top ten list is impressive but my favourite is underwater explorer Mengran Du for her work in the Kuril-Kamchatka deep sea trench www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A run down to Wardie Bay, a plunge into the sea for a loony dook and a hot chocolate on the beach

A little early but starting our Hogmanay NYE celebrations with bubbles, a massive stack of latkes and an even larger stack of board games

A clear and frosty morning and Edinburgh gearing up for the street party tonight. Have to admit, I’d have quite liked to listen to Wet Leg playing under the castle.

One day left but I’m working tomorrow and current book is a bit of a tome so calling it at 91 books read in 2025 (about average - some years a little more, some a little less). Hard to single out a favourite but enjoyed reading a real mixture of different genres, authors, styles - it’s been good 😊

A 900 year old coin, minted in Edinburgh, heading to National Museum of Scotland ihttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g5n3gld45o

You know you’re a transport infrastructure geek when you can’t get the Zootropolis systems out of your head

We ventured up town for ice skating and fancy hot chocolate - festive feeling all topped up

An art/science collaboration well worth checking out @thebotanics.bsky.social is the Fungi Sessions - Hannah Read’s music and Patrick Hickey’s microscopic photographs and time-lapse videos www.rbge.org.uk/whats-on/fun...

Loving all the Humphrey Bogart love (I’d forgotten he was a Christmas birthday) - one of my all-time favourite film stars

A lovely Christmas - a magical morning and a pretty laidback day. Lego kits under construction, a short stomp along the river, new books started - and, from one of said books, a new word for the day: shemomechama (from Georgia meaning ‘I accidentally ate it all’)

First day of Christmas - a partridge in a pear tree/aspidistra

Happy Christmas Eve 🎄 Mince pie and a whisky ready for the man himself, carrots in the stair for the reindeer

Starting the holiday with one of our favourite Christmas films - The Snowy Day. Sooner is always better than later.

Attending our first Hanukkah party felt like a perfect way to spend the winter solstice: light, food and friendships, and looking ahead to longer days

Another beloved Christmas tradition: pelting around Aquadash @edinburghleisure.bsky.social Commie pool (& the cafe’s mac’n’cheese)

Aftermath of #strictly party (plus lots of pizza and popcorn crumbs!) - that was a good final 💃 🕺

Lights @thebotanics.bsky.social and feel 100% more into the festive season

Thinking of a New Year’s resolution to read a classic novel each month. I’ve got Wuthering Heights pencilled in for January ahead of the film but keen for a good range - translations, ancient-modern etc. any good suggestions? #booksky #bookchallenge

On the final few days of work, and a much-needed tea and Christmas cake break

"Done well, reform can move tenement maintenance from crisis response to planned stewardship. It can reduce costs over time, support energy transition, and strengthen confidence in collective urban living." #housing #Scotland #tenements #Edinburgh www.broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news/owners-...

Finished Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Alien Clay and would love to see a kind of ‘wildlife photographer of the year’ illustrated edition (at least, I think - perhaps some caveats …)

Last few hours of Interrail’s global pass sale (25% off!) www.interrail.eu/en/interrail...

Spent Sunday evening listening to the Rudsambee choir singing Christmas carols from around the world under the arches of St Giles Cathedral