Secret Edinburgh: Tom Allen absorbs the towel department at John Lewis

My favourite, and little known, place in Edinburgh has to be, without doubt, the towel department in John Lewis. There's something about all those neatly arranged fluffy pastel shades that's intensely calming.

 

The world's biggest arts festival is a lot of fun but I sometimes worry that there's no escape from the ceaseless posters and flyer teams; the thousands of other performers and the people in the industry known as 'the industry' - I'm never quite sure exactly who these people are but if I meet one I want to make sure I'm feeling rested.

 

I draw huge strength from the fact that none of these will be seeking out something as practical, and perhaps indulgent, as a towel set. Yarn twist? Pima cotton?...Egyptian cotton? Not sure? Ask an assistant they're very knowledgeable.

 

You can pass the time of day talking about something that has nothing to do with the festival and then when the time has come to leave this ultra absorbent haven, you can descend the escalator, don your kagool and return to the rain.