Despatches from a mother who started late (and is running to catch up)

Edinburgh bookshop opens

Headed out in waterproofs last night to celebrate at the Edinburgh Bookshop launch party. The bookshop was a beacon of light, warmth and laughter amid Morningside's chill rain. It is the latest venture from Fidra Books, the publishers who specialise in reviving neglected children's classics and who have been making their mark in Edinburgh bookselling over the last couple of years. The Edinburgh Bookshop is just a few doors down the street in Bruntsfield Place from the company's Children's Bookshop, which has quickly become a well-loved institution for parents and children alike.

Each guest at the launch was photographed holding a copy of their favourite book from the shop's shelves. Fidra have great taste in books; stylish, eclectic, but with fingers on the pulse of what's happening in the market. Meaning we were spoilt for choice: one luminary of Scottish publishing was spotted with Jurassic Towel Origami, the book that teaches readers to make dinosaurs out of towels. Another was snapped holding How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read. That might have been useful before last night's launch party, at least for me. Someone else chose Scotland's Lost Houses, by Ian Gow. As for me, I chose The Creative Writing Coursebook by Julia Bell and Paul Magrs, despite being sorely tempted by the Hebridean Desk Diary. Topics of conversation included whether the ghost of Dame Muriel Spark, latter-day local resident and writer, might be tempted to do an author event, via seance, why one should never make the mistake of under-estimating scriptwriter skill on TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, how to make planes out of balsam wood, and, of course, the importance of blogging.

Plenty of local writers kindly turned out to give their support to the shop and there was real pleasure at the party in seeing an independent bookshop opening its doors. Especially one called the Edinburgh Bookshop, a name which has such happy associations for so many people. Other Edinburgh residents among you will almost certainly remember the original Edinburgh Bookshop that stood on George Street for many years. Here's wishing the new shop every success.