Not Copacabana

Copacabana is wasn't, but it was Gullane's alternative, and although there was no attendant carnival, the atmosphere down on the sands was one of frenzied activity.

Children chased dogs and dogs chased balls.
Toddlers tottered along on the sand and the elderly walked carefully this way and that.
There were some picnics with warming braziers on the side and more surprisingly a man who must have witnessed at least 70 springs and who probably should have known better, took off his kit and spent 10 minutes fully immersed in the freezing waters of the Forth, while his dog guarded his clothes left behind on a rock.

His Lordship and I ambled over the beach, and then, having bought lunch at the Feeding Station in Longniddry, sat at a picnic bench with our backs to the sun and felt positively warm as we munched.