How to star in a picture with George Clooney

George Clooney's visit to Edinburgh showed the attention paid to those on the Hollywood A list

So what do you do when your editor hears one of the biggest A-list celebrities in the world is going to be in town and he asks you to go and find him?

George Clooney is a Hollywood superstar so this was going to be no easy feat.

A browse on social media and a few phone calls to those in the know in Edinburgh and I heard he was due to visit the homeless charity cafe, Social Bite, on Rose Street.

The fact I had written a story about the visit for the BBC Scotland news website helped too.

Would he come? Would he arrive through the front door or a secret back entrance?

I had nothing else to go on but hope, so I began my quest to seek out Mr C.

Barriers

I arrived to find barriers erected around the cafe entrance, could this be a clue that the rumours were indeed true?

Could one of the world's most famous actors really be coming?

Mum, Sandi Pringle, 57, and her daughter, Kirsten Pringle, 22, from Edinburgh, had been camped out since 07:00, so I joined them alongside a growing number of journalists, photographers and cameramen.

Over the course of the next 90 minutes security guards arrived, more onlookers, and people started hanging out of their windows in the narrow tenemented-street.

This was looking quite promising now, especially when I observed the security guards listening to their ear pieces and saying "He's landed".

Squeal.

Crowds followed the actor everywhere he went in Edinburgh

People were starting to look nervous that they weren't in the perfect spot to get near "him" and they started shuffling towards what was thought to be the best vantage point.

The security guard then said my section was to move back two feet to allow his car in and the fear of missing him was palpable.

Then his red jaguar appeared around the corner and stopped just feet away from the entrance.

He got out and immediately began greeting the now three-deep crowd lining the street.

There was no mistaking him as I craned to catch a glimpse, his tan glowing against a sea of Scottish winter white faces.

'Smaller and thinner'

There was a surge from the crowd as he got closer up the line of people.

And then there he was: smaller and thinner than I had thought he was going to be.

Everyone agreed though that he was just as good looking in the flesh, and oh what a deep tan.

The 54-year-old had weathered well all the ladies agreed.

He was then greeted by the cafe owner, Josh Littlejohn, before being whisked inside.

My sources tell me he tucked into a platter of different sandwiches including chicken and bacon and smoked salmon.

He then left $1,000 for homeless people to enjoy lunch on him before spending 15 minutes meeting and greeting the staff, many of whom have been homeless themselves.

Then he was back out into the street where I cheekily asked him for a selfie, not thinking he would.

"Sure I will" - and with that I got my man

"Sure, I will," he drawled.

I managed to take about 20 to make sure I had the best angle, of course, then he was off.

A quick chat with my sources and I found out he was going for lunch to Tigerlily, so I headed off along George Street, to find him again.

This was when I "bumped" into him leaving the Postcode Lottery offices and I took a few more snaps as he shouted "hey guys".

It was here I saw him autograph a birthday card for an onlooker for his mother who was celebrating her 60th birthday.

Then he was gone, disappearing as fast as he had bloomed from the pavement in front of me.

This quest to find A-list celebs was rather easy, I chuckled.

A lot of other people were getting into the selfie action