The annunciation - on the River Tweed

Our Nottingham-based niblings rarely visit the coast from their home town, so this morning we took them down to Portobello for a walk along the prom, and then tea and cake at the Epsy. Afterwards in their last couple of hours with us, we played another fun game of Catan and then worked our way through a magnificent Sunday lunch of roast ham followed by lemon meringue pie.

When Beth and Paddy set off south at about 2:30pm we thought that we had seen the last of them. However, they returned about 40 minutes later to collect a pair of shoes and a coat that they had left behind in our porch. I missed this return visit because by this time I was in John Lewis looking for a new home card for a friend who is moving house on Friday.

When I walked to the shops I noticed that the Mansfield Traquair Centre was open today. I've been there several times in the past, but not for a while. In addition, without a blip already bagged for the day, this seemed the ideal place to find one, so I popped in to admire the murals again. Here we have, painted in 1896, the Angel Gabriel telling Mary the good news that she is pregnant. Apparently this all took place in the Borders, not far from the Leaderfoot viaduct...

Exercise today: walking (12,412 steps).