Not Portobello

Today was the Church Outing to Portobello, we were instructed to bring to church our picnic, chairs, rugs, games and anything else deemed essential for a jolly afternoon at the beach. It was to run from 1pm to 3pm, plenty of time for lunch, a paddle and a few games or just lots of chat 

But the day began with wind and rain, so we chucked a couple of large umbrellas and a raincoat in the boot and sallied off for the service. Once there we were offered coffee to have before, instead of after, the service, as we'd all be rushing off to Portobello, wouldn't we?

Except we weren't; the notices included the news that our picnics would be taken in the Well (cafe area) and the trip to Porty was off. Picnic bags were retrieved from car boots but, parking restrictions coming in at 12.30, meant that we had around 15 minutes to eat it. We were not the only ones confused as some people were tucking in, others sitting chatting as usual. Nobody announced anything about staying on for more or for games, so Mr Flum drank his coffee (I'd expected to use our flask and it seemed silly to open it for one cup) and we left, picnic box intact.

Heading in the direction of Peebles the weather, which had improved during the morning, resumed its attempts to refill the reservoirs but there was a glimmer of light in the sky ahead, encouraging us to continue.

 Our sandwiches were consumed in the car in a drizzly Hay Lodge car park, from where we drove down the Lyne Valley, then cut across to the A701 to stop at Whitmuir to check out the new Re-Use hub there. Matters are encouraging, with grants for improvements and several new projects planned, which is good to see. A couple of quality solid brass large figures - an alsation dog and cats - which would fetch almost £50 on the open market, failed to find their way to Flum Towers but stock is constantly changing. I took a few photos of the pond before we left.

From there it was a dry drive home, though, from the higher position on the A702,  the sky still looked grey over Portobello. Or maybe that was just sour grapes... .