The week so far

Went to work in Aberdeen office as usual on Monday morning, then had lunch at Bannatyne's after a brief session the gym. I was booked on a mid-afternoon train down to Edinburgh and I arrived there in the early evening and checked in to my hotel - the Point in Bread St - winner of Edinburgh hotel of the year 2008. It used to be the old St Cuthbert's Co-op building which has been modernised - chrome and glass everywhere - but it still has a warehouse feel in the corridors where the rooms are - check out this video:

I caught up with my e-mails in my room and then went for a wander - in to the Blue Blazer (opposite my hotel) for a beer first of all, then I wandered down Spittal St towards Princes St, passing the underground car park which featured heavily in Ian Rankin's latest (and last) Rebus novel, Exit Music. It was a fine evening and the castle looked imposing from down below so I took this shot with my Blackberry:

I wandered down to Shandwick place and went in to Mather's bar to check if they had Setanta - they did and I could watch the Portsmouth - Sunderland first half there - Abbott ale washed down their football stadium-like pie. Mather's is a bit of an old Edinburgh institution - all red ceilings, just like the famous old "Diggers". Here's the bar gantry:

I wandered off at half time, looking for some proper food, but didn't see any restaurant I fancied, so I popped in to Shakespeare's in Lothian Road - a nanosecond too late - "sorry, sir - the kitchen closes at 9". I consoled myself with another beer - a wonderful Trashy Blonde from Fraserburgh's controversial Brewdog brewery - and watched the 2nd half of the match.

Full time came and I started the short walk back to the Point, but I was still a little peckish and I was foolishly tempted by a veggie burger from a local Italian chippie. Not the best diet I could have had - I should have come down to Edinburgh a bit later and I wouldn't have had so much time to kill - it's a bit sad and lonely wandering round the city on your own on a quiet Monday evening.

Anyway, I caught a taxi on Tuesday morning down to the Balmoral for a breakfast conference organised by our Institute - "Climbing Out of the Crisis" - there was an all-star (in the business world anyway) panel, hosted by John Beattie, former Scotland and British Lions rugby international. Brian Souter, MD of Stagecoach was particularly entertaining with his couthy observations on his upbringing in rural Perthshire and the controversial (at the time) privatisation of the bus network in the 80's that led to the birth and subsequent growth of Stagecoach.

After it was over, I nipped down Waverley Steps and caught the train to Glasgow for a meeting with our insurance brokers. I had a quick bite of lunch with them - an excellent shepherd's pie - and then caught a taxi over to Erskine Glasgow to see Dad. He was dozing at first in his favourite corner chair just outside his room, so I just sat there, not wanting to awaken him, remembering what happened the time Ross and I did that a couple of weeks ago:

He came round after a few minutes and I took him outside to wander round the garden and sit in the sunshine. Occasionally, the sun went behind some clouds and he shivered - "it's cold" - but he stayed out with me and we had a good laugh and sang a few songs. He even remembered - after some prompting - some of the words and tune to "Me and Jane in a Plane", one of the songs he used to sing me in bed - but which he had always previously denied he knew or even existed. I must have got some of his old memory cells working again - see how happy and relaxed he looks here?:

We had tea and a scone outside and it was really nice, but then I had to leave to catch my train home. We were back inside by then and Dad was still in a good mood and we said our goodbyes and I left Flanders House and sat in the reception area and phoned for a taxi. Whilst I was waiting, however, I heard a bit of a commotion - it was Dad's voice OK. Somebody had left the door open apparently and he had made to leave - "I've got to go home", he said, his pleas getting ever more urgent - "I must go!" I decided the best tactic was to remain out of sight and let the staff deal with it - they're very good and experienced at dealing with this kind of thing. It left me with a bit of a funny feeling, however - I hadn't seen or heard of him wanting to get out before.

Anyway, I got on the train and took my seat - in a small 1st class cabin. A business man sat down opposite me and proceeded to cough constantly in my direction - in between constant phone calls on his mobile. A few of the others in the cabin were also on the phone. I tried to ignore them and opened my book - a freebie from the Sunday Times - John Updike's "Rabbit, Run" - apparently a classic from the 60's - but it was futile - I couldn't get past the first page.

Thankfully, it did settle down a bit, but only after I put my headphones on. As the train emptied at Perth and Dundee, I even managed to move my seat and stretch out a bit, so I felt a bit more relaxed by the time I got home - to pizza and spinach leaves. Caught up with Corrie - was the sudden death of Colin a bit too easy a way out of a wandering story line?