John Muir.

This sculpture of the young John Muir was created by Ukrainian artist Valentin Znoba and was installed outside the Town House in Dunbar in 1997 - despite local opposition. The model for the statue was David Simpson.

Muir was born on the 21st April 1938, and shares his birthday with a few other famous people; he grew up to become a noted naturalist, founding the Yosemite National Park. The plaque on the plinth says that he used to roam the East Lothian coast enjoying the wind, waves and sky. I can relate to that. At least I’ve captured the sky, the other two will have to wait for another day.

I took Mrs TD to a coffee morning run by the new Linus patchwork group at Dunbar, then we took Merlin for a walk along part of the John Muir Way, not all of it, his legs are a bit short for that. It was very pleasant, I must visit again when I have time to explore the salt marshes there.

Then it was back to Cockenzie to look at the Great Scottish Tapestry for the last time before it is dismantled to head off to Aberdeen where it will be shown in the new year. We asked a young lad in the cafe, which was his favourite panel His answer, "The one with the Giraffe on it." We then had to hunt for giraffes as we didn't quite believe him; we actually found two, one each on the panels for the Encyclopaedia Britannica and exploring Africa.
I was also able to add to the quality and quantity of my tapestry photos as some of the panels were much better lit than they had been at the Scottish Parliament. Although we have several copies of the book, some of them for presents, we are not too impressed with the pictures.