Is this the best job in the world?

Now, I will not be sitting up on overnight bus journeys, nor yet will I be cooking evening meals on this safari. We're doing a fairly posh, civilised one, but the company want the ancients over 60s to fill in a standard form, finding out if we have any physical (or mental) problems eg climbing up into the top bunk of a train going across China, carrying our own luggage etc. I think, if you're not in a wheelchair, our tour will be ideal - no worries, but thank you for all the helpful advice. (Do I shout at elephants or run?)

The day dawned with wall to wall blue skies. I have been caught out with this before, in that it rarely lasts. So I leapt up and went in the car with JR to her place of work. From thence I spent some time on Portobello Beach, on my own, except for some rowers who took off before I got near them saw me coming and took off into the distance at a rate of knots.

The sea was calm, the air was warm and still, the sand newly mown and only a few teensy fluffy white clouds in the sky. It was fantastic. It reminded me how nice it would be to actually live there... with a wee dog to share it with me...

I took a wee drive further on to Cockenzie harbour, and the clouds had moved in by then. I fiddled about for ages, but it got a bit cold. I decided not to go further, but came back to town via the Park. I was looking down excitedly at the Duddingston Pond, with dozens of greylags and Canadian geese in a sea of daisies, when two women asked if this was the easy way up Arthur's Seat. Indeed it was not. JR and I did it once that way many years ago, by accident, and it's vertical!

I took them round to the easy bit and they were most appreciative. American mother and daughter, heading for the Highlands tomorrow. I like to help tourists, as I like people helping me when I'm abroad.

Uncle A has a date in July for his operation, and fortunately it's when I'm back home for a week between holidays, so that's all good.

In other good news - the agency dealing with JR's teaching service in NZ have accepted the declaration signed by a headteacher, a former colleague. I think it's too late to get it organised for the start of the new session, though.

My blip today has to be this one! I could do that job!