Bonnet body tips its hat to McCall Smith

CAPITAL author Alexander McCall Smith has been awarded honorary membership of one of Edinburgh’s centuries-old trade incorporations.

The creator of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency was honoured by the Historic Incorporation of Bonnetmakers and Dyers, along with Lady Marion Fraser, former head of Christian Aid, and historian and biographer Rosalind K Marshall for their “outstanding achievements”.

The incorporation dates back to the Middle Ages and first became a corporate body in 1530. It exists today for benevolent and social purposes, but also to support traditions of the past and to foster the arts.

Presenting the certificates at a special ceremony, Deacon Rosemary HM Woodroffe said: “Never in the history of the incorporation have we had such eminent contributors to national and civic life.”