As the wind howls around us here and the slates rattle ominously over the backdrop of a record I’m realising I first heard and loved more than 25 years ago—certain parts of which still make my spine tingle with happiness—one thing strikes me: there’s nothing as life-affirming as finally meeting people you’ve known previously only through the grace of that magical flow of electrons and signals that stitch together this rapidly-shrinking planet.

I’ve spent a reasonable proportion of the last week or so in the company of the wonderful Nancy Novotny and Hk Kahng, two of the warmest, most genuine, most literate friends I’ve yet had the pleasure to encounter. We’ve wandered along some interesting byways, all the while talking about music and books, cats and the esoteric, art and games and technology, as well as many other shared interests. It might be the single malt talking, or just the sadness of their leaving Edinburgh today, but I rarely make personal posts on this site and needed to record that I’ll miss them and hope we’ll meet again properly soon.