Angels

We attended Mary's 60th Birthday Dinner held in the Signet Library, Edinburgh. It is the hallowed hall of the Writers to the Signet (WS) who are, originally, Edinburgh lawyers who enjoyed exclusive rights to prepare legal documents for the highest court of the land. I was a partner of a WS firm in a previous life, along with both Mary and David, her husband, and so it was a great privilege and pleasure to return to the library where I used to prepare many of my cases, and be led to the inner sanctum of the Commissioners Room where an intimate candle lit dinner was held for about 40 people.

Mary, in a touching speech, shared her life story including her early family days in Aberdeenshire, her student explorations of Canada, and her later family life in Orkney before settling with David in Edinburgh, also weaving in the stories of how all the guests present came into her life. Mary is a great believer in angels and they seemed to be everywhere tonight, on the high frescoes of the library ceilings, seated modestly in human form at several places around the table, and, of course, embodied in the Head Angel, the birthday girl herself, who held the floor so graciously, sincerely and engagingly. Happy Birthday, Mary, and thank you to you and David for such a wonderful evening!

Mary and David pictured here in a recent visit to Barcelona.

Earlier we had morning coffee with LadyF and HL...another happy time!