Ferris Wheels in the Gardens are very nice but best left to Christmas - Susan Morrison

The organisers have asked permission to raise the wheel from June to November. Obviously they believe a summer wheel would be a money spinner

There are a few things about the dark months that I’m sad to lose. Nothing beats a winter afternoon coorie doon with the fire glowing, a good book, and mug of tea.

And yes, I miss Christmas, with the lights, the trees and the sheer madness of shopping and wrapping.

What I don’t miss is the Ferris Wheel. To be fair, until recently I didn't really have an opinion on it at all. It appears in the Gardens, does its thing and then disappears. Happy with that. It’s not top of my ‘must-do’ list, but other folk seem to enjoy it.

Mind you, there are people who like going on that spinny-flying-chair contraption, whirling about the city skyline shrieking like banshees.

Should a 17th century witch hunter stumble into our world, he’d be convinced he finally found the proof he needed that covens could fly.

Only had one shot on the big wheel. Once was enough. You basically sit in a plastic bus shelter that rises up and down, serenaded by Christmas ‘chunes’ pumped out at club volume.

If you’re really lucky, your fellow passengers could be part of a mildly hysterical and mainly intoxicated hen party from Bradford/Manchester/Slough. The other hens are in other plastic pods. You know this because they take breaks from ‘singing’ along to the Christmas hits to scream at each other as they pass.

It is important to remember that you cannot just open the door and leave. Essentially you are trapped in the air. It's like an Easyjet flight to hell.

There is the view, which of course, you cannot see. The days are short and Scottish winter weather is rarely permitting. And possibly this is why the organisers have asked permission to raise the wheel from June to November.

Obviously they believe a summer wheel would be a money spinner, but at what cost to a city showing signs of crumbling under the weight of visitor numbers?

Mind you, who is actually going to plan a visit to Edinburgh just because we have a big wheel in the Gardens? If that’s the case, lets go the whole hog and get zip wire rides from the Castle to Princes Street and a rollercoaster round the Old Town.

No. Leave Sir Walter in his solo glory. Let people see the castle without a fairground attraction framing the battlements.

This city has a long, riotous and glorious history and that’s what tourists come to see. The summer view from the wheel would be spectacular, but you can see an even more stunning vista from the Esplanade, with the double whammy of being free and improving your fitness. If you really need to spaff the cash, shellout for the trip up the Scott Monument.

Edinburgh isn’t Disneyland. Just as well. We’d be hard-pressed to live up to the Mickey Mouse slogan of the ‘happiest place on Earth’, but we’d give it a go.

Keep the bright lights for the winter. Let the city herself shine in the summer.