Sphere news, and an iconic exemplar of the genre is still, at the time of writing, missing from a top building in Edinburgh.
The RW Forsyth sphere is a 3-tonne, gilded steel armillary, er, round thing. Armillary, I can exclusively reveal, means something to do with astronomical representation.
Suffice to say, the orb under advisement has been compared to the globe of the Daily Planet building. Think of Superman flying past it in fur underpants on his way to tell distressed citizens: "You'll have had your rescue."
The Forsyth sphere was removed from atop a famous Princes Street store site three years ago on safety grounds and, to be fair, I would not be pleased if an armillary globe fell on my head. I've often said that.
The globe was flanked by cherubic figures, but you wouldn't trust these gambolling oafs to take health and safety seriously.
Meanwhile, sniffer dogs have traced the sphere to a mysterious location in Fife, where it remains under lock and key. Campaigners want it reinstated to its rightful place atop what is now mainly a Topshop store, though the top of the shop is a Travelodge.
Many of you are fascinated by fully steel framed structures, and will be thrilled to know the Forsyth building was the first of its type in Scotland.
Designed by JJ Burnet, it's a six-storey structure with baroque Renaissance echoes (I'm just warbling now). The first floor interior features Iconic columns framed by a flat proscenium arch. I've also seen a reference to "Mannerist aedicules" on the second floor, but I believe you can get a cream for these nowadays.
The sphere was designed by Gilbert Bayes, whose first name places the project firmly in the Edwardian era (1907 to be exact).
At this point, I should introduce RW Forsyth (in those days, many people only had two initials instead of a first name), who was born in the Lothians but fled to Glasgow as a teenager.
In 1872, he established himself as a hosier, glover and shirtmaker in Renfield Street. As there was a shortage of hoses at the time, he did well and, to cut a long story short, started building department stores willy-nilly.
His Edinburgh shop was right prestigious, but slightly out-snobbed by nearby Jenner's (where the price tag on a pair of trousers once gave me a fit of the vapours). Today, the former Forsyth's is owned by Arcadia, which has reportedly baulked at the estimated £200,000 cost of refurbishing the sphere.
Edinburgh City Council has threatened an enforcement notice, and top Edinburgh person Irvine Welsh has backed the reinstatement campaign.
Whether that's enough to get the sphere rolling remains to be seen.
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