Friday 30 September 2022--I have nasty bugbites on my head, forearms, and upper chest this morning. My first thought is bedbugs, and I figure I should tell Kirsty at breakfast. Then I remember brushing something off my head in the garden of the Craster Arms yesterday, and realize that bedbugs would have gotten me in other areas. Spider bites. I am relieved on Kirsty's behalf.

I take the X18 to Berwick-upon-Tweed and the train to Edinburgh. I have two nights in an apartment just below St Andrew Square. It's directly over McDonald's. The aroma reminds me of L'Île Noire, which was for some years my favorite pub in Montreal, before they were obliged to vacate their original premises on Rue Ontario. The new location is on Rue St-Denis, directly above McDonald's, which is a bit of a problem in summer, when the front windows are open. I am not among those who are nauseated by the smell of fast- food burgers and fries, but I don't want to smell it all the time. Fortunately, my apartment here seems to be well insulated.

Speaking of favorite pubs, I spend some time in the Bow Bar this evening, after finding a quick pub meal elsewhere. Then I go for one at the Oxford Bar. The small gaggle of silly youths occupying the front bar don't strike me as anyone Inspector Rebus would want to socialize with.