The Big T boys ran faster than this!

It's ages since I did a blip....before my holiday in April (back blips to follow). It's been a hectic few months with me piling a bit too much on my plate and still trying to train too.

Rosemary was running in a relay team in the Edinburgh marathon today. I was grumpy as, for all intents and purposes, it was an 8km training run for fun that would impinge on a precious day. Mass participation events and large crowds aren't for me. It's not that I'm against them. Simply, my preferences lie elsewhere. I'm a sports purist where I like to see athletes lay their mind, body and spirit on the line, which I did see some of.

Rosemary was stressed about the journey....she was convinced the train to Musselburgh would be mobbed and I thought it would be quiet. Lucky we got there early. There is a limit to how many sardines John West will pack into a tin! Unfortunately, Scotrail have no such standards! Luckily we got seats as the masses piled on.

Alighting in Musselburgh we walked down past the Mucklets and Stoneybank where I grew up. Wow.....I got kinda emotional, thinking about my dad and life in this microcosm. R pulled a face when I told her about the trouble I got into from my mum when she suspected it was my gang that vandalised a wall, writing "Santa is a poof" in spray snow on it. My mother's attitude was outdated......she was concerned that children may have asked their parents what a poof was!

We eventually arrived in Fisherrow after Rosemary being told a multitude of stories about every crack in the road and more. Soon she was off on her merry way and I headed to the finish to see the top guys finish. Admittedly, I quite enjoyed it, having the chance to see a few East Africans strutting their stuff. Ages later I found Rosemary at the assigned finding position, albeit a bit after when I would have liked to.

Time to go. Eek....the crowds were huge as were the queues for buses and I suspected it would be gridlock on the roads too. My chimp came out a little and we decided to walk for a bit. We got as far a Luca's, the famous Musselburgh ice-cream shop. Virtually every girl I fancied in my formative years worked in that cafe. Here I was with the love of my life 25 years later! My Alaskan Surprise with a homemade snowball, lashings of cream and three types of ice-cream rekindled more memories and tasted fantastic too.

Unfortunately, the buses were still mobbed so we started to walk to Porty where we were swimming. Eventually a bus stopped for us at Eastfield, allowing us to reach the pool in time. I was feeling a little nervous though as the sea was full of white horses, whipped up by a strong easterly wind. We were only using the pool for their lockers and showers!

With it now raining, the beach was dark and quiet, the sea slightly imposing. I smiled and jogged down the beach and into the water. Rosemary was following slightly behind. Wow..... Small waves become large when you're swimming in them and we were soon being stampeded by the white horses. They were whipping up the sandy sea floor so visibility was poor too. I was smiling from cheek to cheek and laughing out loud! It was so much fun. Sometimes I would stroke and find no water was there as I'd been flipped by a wave.

Then the rain started pelting down. We were now surrounded by millions of wee water crowns, disappearing as soon as they had appeared. It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. Rosemary got a snog to celebrate! Shortly afterwards I managed to swallow a whole wave and started choking like a cat with a fur ball! Salt water gag is horrible. It was time to get out, even though I'd have quite happily stayed in to the point of hypothermia.

Ha....our faces were covered in some funny sea algae, giving Rosemary a green 11 o'clock shadow. It was an absolute pig to get out of my light stubble too! We were ravenous by this stage and decided to try a Tapas place in Porty. Yummeee! Big fat olives, manchego and homemade bread to start! We went for a shared veggie paella for main and it was amazing. Artichokes and aubergines, generous quantities of saffron, garlic and good olive oil. I loved the rice sticking to the bottom of the paella pan, it was slightly nutty but sweet with overly caramelised onion and garlic. The friendly waitress was about to ask us if we had enjoyed our meal until she saw the dish and thought better of asking such a stupid question. We finished with a shared lovely lemony, almondy, cakey thing with yet more ice cream. It was lush. What a brilliant meal in a friendly, unpretentious restaurant. A great way to end the day!