Half Century, Not Out

Now that four months have passed, I am sufficiently recovered from the shock to report that I reached, passed, enjoyed - and indeed continue to enjoy - my fiftieth birthday in September. Fifty years! I am, give or take, the same age as Pizza Express, Pink Floyd, Asda Supermarkets, the use of the f-word on the BBC, and The Sound of Music. On the day itself, Helen took me to lunch at El Cartel, a splendid wee Mexican street food eatery with margaritas on tap and splendid food. The following weekend, the Edinburgh Millars assembled for a wee jog up Arthur's Seat, there to gaze upon the city that has been my home these five decades, then down to the Sheep Heid Inn in Duddingston for a bit of beer-fuelled skittles and more grub.

Septuagenarian Rugby

As part of John Lodge's 70th birthday celebrations, he captained a team of his misfits and ne'er-do-wells friends against his normal team. Fittingly, he scored two tries (one gifted, one earned), won the game overall, and ended the match with a split head and a makeshift bandage.

The previous day, we did a bit of punting on the Cam as is our wont. Holly is getting better at the punting!

Hot Tub Time Machine

The first of my birthday celebrations (if you don't count dinner with chums at Steak, which didn't happen because there are no photos) was a family weekend at Strathyre Holiday Cabins. The kids jumped straight into the hot tub on arrival, and barely emerged all weekend. Helen made lovely dinners for us all, and much fizzy wine was consumed. Saturday was a bit rainy, but we still went out with Forest Ranger James "Jack" Black MacDonald for a spot of bushcraft. Even he conceded defeat though, and we concluded the survival demos in the warmth of the visitor centre.

Sunday was much nicer though, and we took the bikes down a rather nice cycle path to Callander, where we threw stones in the river and had the finest toastie in the world at the mini golf course. On the way back, we stopped at the Lade Inn for beer and ice cream (as is traditional on such occasions), and then again at the falls of Leny, where we threw more stones into the river.

Monday on the way home, we visited Helen's Alma Mater at Stirling University. Our wee visit coincided with Freshers' Week, and the kids wandered the aisles of the Freshers' Fair, picking up slices of free pizza and superhero collecting card along with the spotty youth. No pictures, so that didn't happen either...

Unicorn

The Dog Ate My Homework

The BBC, bless them, offer free tickets to recordings of some of their shows. We got hold of tickets for The Dog Ate My Homework, and fired off to Pacific Quay in Glasgow. It was a most entertaining and (from my perspective, at least) interesting trip. Great to see how these things are put together, and how many people, how much kit, and how much time is involved, even for a 27-minute panel show. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled for the next batch...

Splendida!

We had Holly's pal Fearne round for a play date. To take their minds off artificial (and expensive!) entertainments, we proposed a trip to our usual beach to build a fire and cook some sausages. Off we went, but had failed to bring matches. Step forward Caroline, Craig and family who we'd met earlier in the day and invited along. They had the foresight not only to bring matches, but wine, blankets and salad, making the whole affair altogether more jolly and civilised. The older kids went off a-wandering while us men made fire, but towering over all of us was the MSC Splendida, a frankly enormous cruise ship berthed (if that's the word) at Hound Point. The ship pulled out of the bay and we walked back along towards South Queensferry as the sun set over the bridges. A glorious, spectacular afternoon out we couldn't have planned if we'd tried.