15,000 revellers took to the streets of the Capital last night for the traditional fiery start to Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations. The city centre was brought to a standstill  as we snaked from the Royal Mile along Princes Street to Calton Hill  following a Viking long-boat which became the centrepiece of a giant bonfire.

Gio, Doug and I braved the strong winds (last year it was bitterly cold but calm) to walk the route. The wind however did create havoc with the torches - burning quicker than usual and blowing hot wax all over the place. So my jacket is now covered in wax spots that will need to be cleaned (the web tells you how), and Doug's NEW fleece has the odd cinder burn hole by way of a souvenir. But if you can cope with a firewalk, you can cope with the odd bit of hot wax.

Unfortunately we went for drinks after and I - for some unknown reason - got drunk very quickly. So building this new part of the website this morning has been done under the influence and with a hangover - ouch. Equally quite an achievement to get this to sort of work. 

Tonight (30th) is George Street festivities....