The Oxford Bar of police officers drink there. In "Dirty Work: Ian Rankin and John Rebus Book-By-Book", Ray Dexter and Nadine Carr note that the Oxford Bar would be an improbable local for Rebus due to its geographical location. Other visitors to the bar have included actor Sean Connery and author Colin Dexter. Quintin Jardine's 2009 Bob Skinner novel, "Fatal Last Words", also mentions the Oxford Bar considerably, again due to the connection with the local police force drinking there. There are a few other nods to Rankin too. The Oxford Bar The Oxford Bar is a public house situated on Young Street,
Merchiston area is home to writers Ian Rankin (author of the Inspector Rebus novels), Lin Anderson, Colin Douglas, Alexander McCall Smith (author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels) and comedian Dylan Moran. J.K. Rowling had her Edinburgh home in Merchiston for many years but is said to have moved to Cramond. Merchiston was also the childhood home of Scotland and British Lions rugby legends Gavin Hastings and Scott Hastings. Also in the area are a number of independent schools including George Watson's College and a Steiner School. On the fringes of the area where it meets Craiglockhart (to the