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The statue of Greyfriars Bobby is the peg from which Candlemaker Row is hung like a scarf winding down to the Grassmarket.
The street's name reminds us of far-off times lit by candles. Tallow candles were made here centuries ago.
You can amble down from Greyfriars Bobby to my shop, "STILL LIFE", 54 Candlemaker Row, the current home of Desirabilia.com.  

AS OF 14/10/2023 "STILL LIFE" IS CLOSED. Most of my stock is in storage and is inaccessible. I will hide the items on desirabilia.com which are currently not available.

I've been isolating with coronavirus but plan to be open again on Saturday the 8th of January, 2022. Come along and help me clear the shop before the end of January. If you like the mismatched dinnerware trend, I have a terrific vintage and antique selection, so stock up.

My first customer today was a young man, a circus performer, who also makes money from Crypto. I quizzed him about it and was impressed by his knowledge. He admitted it was speculative: what gives it some stability is that most users don't know when to withdraw and rather than realise losses, leave their "money" in, hence the price sags but doesn't crash. He paid me £10 for a 1960s Mepal Rosti plastic kitchen bowl designed by Sigvard Bernadotte, the Danish goldsmith (£10 in my Closing Down Sale). As we chatted he wrote down his YouTube address where he demonstrates his circus skills. His circus work has been interrupted by the Pandemic. After writing the address he handed it to me with a second £10 note. I knew that my cash was wrong and a few questions established he had £80 having just withdrawn £100 and I had £10 too much which I returned to him. I get such original customers and they are not always sharper than me.

Last July, a young Chinese woman introduced herself as a Social Media Influencer and asked if she could take a photo of my shop and post about it. Somewhat sceptically, I agreed. She assured me that many people would come. And she was right. In so far as I've had a "good year" it could be put down to my unpaid-for appearance on www.xiaohongshu.com

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