The remains of the day

i got up at 5.30 am to go to Edinburgh, ready for a day which included leading a debate in the Scottish Parliament about the Scottish Government's Brexit paper, published in December - a very topical subject given the expected speech by the Prime Minister.  

However by 6.00 am  I was back in bed with one of the worst renal colic attacks I have ever had.  Thanks to Cathleen, NHS 24 and Dr Tittmar, the duty GP, I had been made a little easier by 8.00 but was  still completely unable to travel.   So many thanks to Fiona Hyslop and Keith Brown for stepping in at such short notice and to my office for making all the arrangements.   What a team we have....!   

By the end of the evening - having also drunk a great deal of water  and cranberry juice - I was feeling a great deal better and hopefully I will be able to resume normal activities very shortly.  

BTW thanks to all those who have expressed their good wishes over the last few days and have given lots of advice.  I have been having these attacks for more than two decades (not frequently, fortunately)  have been hospitalised several times, get regular and very good medical advice and know that there isn't much that can be done to prevent them though diet may help.   

Being confined for the day also strained the imagination for a blip but I was determined not to miss posting for the first time in more than six years.  So here are  the remains of the day, courtesy of the NHS - and very grateful I am for them too.