The view out my window after a rain
It's a grey and rainy day in Edinburgh. I woke up to the sound of water drops hitting the window, the intermittent pattering mixing with the constant sound of traffic. Yesterday was beautiful - clear skies, some sun, and no rain. No warmth, either. Despite the sun and blue sky, the temperature was only about 50F. I was wandering near the Meadows, a big green park outside my flat, with a friend when we passed by one of our favorite bookstores, Till's Bookshop, and couldn't help but pop in for a read.
A rather crooked representation of the little heated stove in Till's
Till's is a tiny bookshop on the corner of my street. The small building is dark green, and upon entering through the door one is led into a narrow rectangular room, filled with books, with a narrow passageway (in this passageway the owner sits in small alcove dug into the wall) leading into the back room - an even narrower space filled with shelves crammed with books. In this back room lies a treasure: an old and ever lit stove and fireplace. This is the perfect place to come on a rainy day, to browse the shelves with the heat from the stove fire radiating outwards. Once you've picked a book, the fire invites you to sit down in the nearby cozy corner and read.
My path through the Meadows
The owner is a kind and helpful old man, a book connoisseur who told us that he moved to Edinburgh from Canada to start the bookstore thirty or so years before. He brought with him across the sea eighty boxes of books, and my friend ended up buying a classic that had belonged to his grandmother. That I live right next to such a bookstore, where family heirlooms can be passed on to new generations of the book loving family who will love and treasure them, is amazing. For me, a bookstore is the perfect neighbor.
My evening walk in the Meadows