90

This was the high point of the morning's walk. Rainbows mean rain, and I got plenty by the end! I went into work by bus, and had a good meeting with PhD student J. Then after coding for a bit too long, I didn't quite have enough time to collect post from Mum's flat, buy her The Times, a cake and a card from Sainsbury's, and get back for 13:00. It didn't matter, as the student I was due to see was also late. It was great to see him in person at last, as I've done a lot to support him at distance over the past 18 months. He's an asylum seeker who is not yet permitted to move permanently to Edinburgh, which makes it difficult to study, and all the more satisfying to help him.

After no-one came to my Office Hour, allowing me to continue to tame my scary code, I took the bus home. Once K had joined the three of us, we went over to the care home to celebrate Mum's 90th birthday (see extra). She took a long time to open all her cards, as she had to be reminded how she knew most of the people who had sent them. Although she spurned most of her evening meal, she still managed to eat some cake, which was a good thing. L entertained herself (at least!) by animating the soft toy dog that Mum's sister had sent her. 

There was a touching moment when we left, as K spotted the resident who really likes dogs. We took Django to her, and she wept tears of joy at being able to pet "such a beautiful creature". It's great to be able to bring quality to people's lives in such a simple way, however briefly.