As if the old school socialising wasn’t enough on Wednesday, there was an even bigger event in the National Museum today to celebrate the 325th anniversary of the school. There were guided tours of all the locations it has occupied from the first one in the mid 1600s somewhere in the Cowgate to the 1869 one a 100yds from the Dower House, the site of which was then superseded by the building of the old Royal Infirmary.

Mary Erskine was a savvy business lady who made the money for the founding of the school by renting out property- she was not from a moneyed family herself. She outlived 2 husbands and her 5 children died at a very young age.
We visited her grave in Greyfriar’s Kirkyard before returning to the museum for coffee and cakes and an inspection of archived photos and memorabilia. Yes I saw the old Panama hat with the school headband and all the the school magazines through the decades. It was all very nostalgic and even though I didn’t recognise a single person, I’m glad I went.