The Meadows in Edinburgh - queues for the burger vans were not too long today
I arrived in Edinburgh earlier, the one-person advance party for our team of reporters who will be covering G8 and the associated protests in the Scottish capital from tomorrow.
It's fair to say there's some sense of foreboding here, especially among shop owners who have businesses in the centre of town. Chatting to a few, it's clear memories of the riots in Genoa in 2001 are fresh enough to cause concern.
Stephen Jardine, a columnist in tonight's Edinburgh Evening News, reflects that fear (reg required): "Walking around the capital feels like checking the battlements on the eve of a medieval siege."
It's true some security is already in place - not least a cordon around the Scottish parliament and Holyrood Palace. A fenced-in campsite for 15,000 protesters opens in a suburb tomorrow. But apart from that, on a long walk earlier today it felt much like any normal summer's afternoon here - which is to say, it had been raining and there were a lot of American tourists in cagoules.
Walking through the lush greenery of the Meadows - a park in the south of the city, pictured above - it was hard to believe 200,000 people are due to gather there in less than 48 hours for Scotland's biggest ever demonstration, calling on world leaders to make poverty history. The place was largely deserted, apart from a few bored-looking burger van staff with nobody to serve, and some light activity around the bases of what will become two stages by Saturday. There were no signs of anarchic, impromptu campsites, feared by many in Edinburgh, springing up on its damp turf.
I found only one shop - an off-license close by - boarding up its windows. More may follow, but for the moment it's business as usual at places like Starbucks, McDonald's and the big bank HQs, all regarded as a target for anti-capitalist protesters. Local police will be augmented by 5,000 extra officers from England and Wales in a security operation expected to cost the city £4m.
Edinburgh will be hoping it all passes off well, not least because of parochial concerns. All this worldwide attention is a great one in the eye for the city's bitter rival, Glasgow. As Jardine puts it tonight: "Providing good Scottish hospitality is a well-established tradition here.
"Glasgow claims to be Scotland's friendliest city, but a closer examination reveals that usually means a one-sided conversation at a bus stop leading to a plea for 20p. Edinburgh, on the other hand, genuinely welcomes huge numbers of people from around the globe to events like the Festival and Hogmanay."
His - and Edinburgh's - message is simple: "Welcome to Edinburgh, enjoy your stay, but remember you are our guests."
