Arbroath

I set out to have a day which would be a bit different. It worked. 

By midday I was in Arbroath after a drive of just over an hour. While I was orientating myself - my last visit was decades ago - I stumbled on a Cypriot restaurant, took a chance and was rewarded. Souvlaki, tzatziki, salad, bread and French fries. 

After that I needed a walk, and headed for the Abbey. Closed. Some parts of the ruin are a little unsafe apparently, so they are fixing them before something falls off and kills someone. That seems reasonable. The visitor centre remains open… but not at lunchtime. 

Ultimately my walk took me to the beach and the harbour, and that was fine. By then it was a beautiful day, but breezy. 

The last part of my away day was to go to see the local football team playing Queen’s Park in the Scottish Championship (translation: Division 2). It is many years since I went to a football game, and the last time I needed a snooze halfway through the first half. Today I opted for the (cheap) standing section, so dozing off was out of the question. 

Queen’s Park won 2-1, and it was more enjoyable than I expected. 

The Blip illustrates one of the town's claims to fame. I would have loved to buy some, but then the fish would have spent 2 hours in a warm car. Pity. 

The Extra is from the football. I was in the visiting fans' enclosure and it was not busy. The rest of the ground was. 

I will sleep well tonight.