Guys who lunch

Caught up with a group of the guys I used to work with today when we met for lunch in a French-style brasserie in the centre of town. Had a very tasty Saumon a la Nicoise - a salmon fillet on a Nicoise salad. Talked about photography in general and blip in particular with G - he's another keen photographer. I explained just how much I like taking ordinary pictures of things I see, like this image of a tractor. G and J are both climbers and we also talked about photographing the climbing competitions at Ratho, including last year's World Youth Championships and the upcoming British Championships. N explained that he probably wouldn't be coming back to Tuesday football, at least not for a while as he is worried he might injure himself and prevent him from doing other activities, including rowing. Turns out he has recently joined the inshore rowing club down in Porty and was out in one of the boats that I saw down in Musselburgh at the end of July when I was there to second camera the wedding. M said he'd got back on the bike to do the same cross country big ride that L's friend and Moonwalk buddy H did recently. And I had a bit of a more general catch-up with H and J as it's been a while since we met.
All very pleasant.
Except.
Part of the motivation to get together was the fact that G was diagnosed with lung cancer a little more than a month ago. He has always been so fit and healthy, and it seems so unfair. Apparently about 10% of people who get it have never smoked. He's started chemotherapy and has had one session so far, with another one next week and two more scheduled. I felt a little guilty sometimes that I was having such a good time, but then again, taking our lead from G he seemed really upbeat and was happy to talk about it all and how it is going. Apparently the week before last was really bad but a change of medication regime has made a huge difference to how he feels. There is still pain and he needs to walk with a stick, but he says he feels full of energy now and is delighted that his appetite has returned. And he's allowed to drink a glass or two of red wine, which tastes good, unlike beer which still tastes like cardboard, apparently.
I know it's a cliche, but it does give perspective and focus. You really do never know what's around the corner. G has got himself a new guitar which he plans to learn to play, and I've encouraged him to join Blipfoto and start uploading pictures, so maybe he'll be on here soon too. Think we'll all have another lunchtime meet-up in a couple of weeks or so.
Guys who lunch.
This is an almost agricultural scene from the centre of the city - the Charlotte Square site of the summer Book Festival, where they are seeking to repair the damage of all those book-reading visitors.