Sir Henry Raeburn's enigmatic portrait of the Reverend Robert Walker skating serenely over the ice of Edinburgh's Duddingston Loch on a wintry afternoon, adorns anything from ball-point pens to T-shirts. This book author asks what it is about this 18th-century picture that inspires so much pleasure and affection in Gallery staff and visitors alike. The book tells the story behind the painting. From the canals of Rotterdam to Edinburgh's Duddingston Loch, from Cramond to Cannongate, and from kolf to golf - the contrast of the neat black tail-coat, black breeches and black hose with the bright pink skate laces tells it all.