prussianblue

If the Edinburgh branch of Debenhams is representative of the company as a whole, it's had the stench of death for some time. If we're ever passing my friend and I make a point of going in to marvel and laugh at their horrendous offerings. Jacques Vert (mother of the bride clothes) and Star by Julian Macdonald (trashy Footballers' Wives-style 'glamour') are two of our favourite lines. The menswear floor is utterly depressing. A basement full of ugly, ill-fitting shirts and jeans for 50-plus men to potter about in on the golf course or at the garden centre, Pringle socks for their uninspired wives to buy at Christmas and hilariously out of place Calvin Klein pants. House of Fraser is similar, with the added bonus of seemingly trying to eliminate as much natural light from the shop as possible and cram as much merchandise in the smallest amount of floorspace as they can. To make things worse they bought up Jenners, the Scottish equivalent of Harrods, about 15 years ago and have turned it into a clone, so that it doesn't appeal to the former high-end customer base or the middle and lower tiers.

I attended the garden party at Holyrood yesterday and got to see Philip up close. I'm not a royalist but I love him and was far more excited to see him than the Queen. When they arrive they came down a steep stone staircase with around twenty steps, and both managed that fine. They then split up and did a separate meet and greet circuit each for about forty minutes before going into the tea tent. I had unknowingly managed to end up on his route. It took him ages to get around but he was stopping every few feet and talking to dozens of people, so no real indication of his abilities. When he appeared in front of me he seemed in remarkably good form for a man his age. Walking and standing straight, unaided unless you count his rolled up umbrella. Shorter than I expected but I suppose he's shrunk a bit. The familiar aged skin. He appeared to have a tiny hearing aid behind his left ear, but seemed very alert and responsive in conversation. As you can see, he's also a snazzy dresser.