What the folk?

Andrew just started yelling at me & the TV simultaneously and with a distinct note of excitement in his voice. I rushed to see what all the fuss was about, and there on our wee telly were The Flight of the Conchords, doing their parody folk thing while advertising Phones4U. Weird! And kinda cool. I'm quite used to playing spot NZ in car ads over here, but kiwi talent is a first.

Hallowe'en passed fairly uneventfully - nothing too spooky happened (although my colleague did give me a big fright in an orange, face-hugging demon mask). There was a bit of dooking for apples at work, and some of those sour sweets that make your face feel like it's shrinking. We spent the eve itself with some pals at an old and cosy pub in Stockbridge, the Antiquary, where they serve Guiness with a thistle etched into the head. Nice. Crisps (not chips) and beer for dinner, I'm turning into a real Scot. Not quite so Scottish that I could face a bad kebab on the way home though - gourmet hotdog was a definite improvement on the stereotype!

Rugby was probably the other theme for the weekend - morning games mean that days get off to a slow start. I was sad the Irish didn't beat the Aussies , and relieved NZ managed to get away with a win today. Don't know if we really deserved to. A says the first thing we have to do when we get to Venice in a couple of weeks is suss out a friendly bar where we can watch the World Cup final.

We locked the keys in the scooter yesterday. You wouldn't have thought that would be possible, but it is ("in the scooter" = under the seat). Fortunately we were within walking distance of home (where the spare was) so no major drama, just serious annoyance and lots of "I can't believe I just did that!". I wonder what would have happened if we had to call the AA (how much they would have laughed).

Italian lessons on the couch are going quite well, although we're getting a bit concerned that we haven't been introduced to any nouns yet! Still, I already know the most important ones (vino, espresso, gelato, pizza). There was quite a weird bit on the CD today when Michel (we're on first name terms) explained to us the difference between "I want to do it" and "I won't do it" (ie. the English phrases). To me, they are not at all confusing (or at least, they weren't). But the way he pronounced them, want and won't sounded exactly the same.

Other than that, a fairly lazy weekend. A couple of afternoons whiled away in cafes (it's the autumnal chill that makes this so appealing, I think) - Saturday at the formidable Italian deli (been an Edinburgh fixture since 1934!), Valvona & Crolla. Anyone who thinks you can't find good food in Scotland would be instantly converted by this foodlovers paradise. This afternoon a short saunter took us to Kaffe Politik in Marchmont, for coffee (of course), cake and a swag of Sunday papers.

Edinburgh's looking quite lovely at the moment - trees are ablaze with autumn colours (and no matter how efficient the leafblowers, you get to crunch through leaves as you walk just about anywhere). The light at this time of year is gorgeous, early morning fog is atmospheric, the cold means you breathe your own fog anyway, it's great. As long as it's not raining. Here's a pic we took at the weekend, from Calton Hill looking out over Waverly Bridge and the Old Town.