Day Eight

Julia's house, but she wasn't there!
Standards are slipping - 1/2 pints for Jim and me at Julia's local gastro-pub
View of Edinburgh Castle from our 5th floor appartment (leaning out!!)
Star-struck Les with Mark Watson
Anna, George mid-action and Jim - not forgetting Mr Watson in the background!

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Day Eight (T):

Well, today we said goodbye to Ardnamurchan. We woke up to torrential rain - a real shame for Anna & George's tent which they had pitched out to dry! They were quite philosophical about it and we all went about our packing and cleaning duty under Jim's controlling guidance ... We were gone by 9.55 am, 5 minutes ahead of schedule. All goes to show how much we live in fear of our leader!!

The journey was another very pleasant surprise with stunning scenery unfolding around every corner. The waterfalls were particularly spectacular and the light was beautiful as the rain stopped ... and came again, but mainly stayed at bay. We stopped at Pitlochry for a picnic, a spot of shopping (8 of us to feed soon) and a journey down memory lane for Anna who showed George her lab. Meanwhile, we oldies went in search of our old friend Julia. We found Kirk Lodge on a hill overlooking Pitlochry bu were informed by a lovely man with great accent that Julia was travelling and wouldn't be back until Tuesday. Typical! No doubt we'll hear about it all in our Christmas round robin.

Day Eight (L):

Well we finally arrived in Edinburgh - a brilliant location for our accommodation but very noisy day and night!! - even at six in the morning. The five flights of stairs up were also a challenge but well worth it.

Our first gig - Mark Watson - excellent - no more to say - especially as he agreed to be photographed - proof that I spotted him in the Pleasance Courtyard. The girls don't like me chatting to celebrities but if they didn't like being spotted and chatted to they wouldn't be celebrities, would they? Jim and I then saw a magical little production of 'Ella, Marlene, Marilyn and Me' by an Australian artist, Melissa Western.

Day Eight (J):

The joys of driving through Edinburgh's one-way system!! Ugh! But this was all forgotten watching Mark Watson. He even walked up to Les and spoke, asking her for a shared photograph and autograph - well almost!

Day Eight (D):

But we were there with the camera to record Les's 'rencontre' with the afore-mentioned Mark Watson. We saw him later doing his stand-up routine and he was excellent. Tine and I are Fringe virgins no more ....

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More Day Eight photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/PapamanPicasa/4GoToScotlandDayEight