These fine gentlemen

I took an early(ish) run down Leith Walk and then ran back 'round past the Botanical Gardens and up Dundas Street, past the offices where I worked from 2000 until 2002. The building is closed by the looks of things and nature is retaking the area. I should have taken a photo of that instead of the Water Of Leith! (see Extra)

Then it was back to my room to shower before walking across to George Street to meet the rest of the gang for breakfast at Brown's. In theory, this was to prepare us from an ascent on Arthur's Seat but rain stopped play and we hung around in the hotel foyer for the rest of the morning, which was surprisingly pleasant.

We took our lunch at the World's End pub and spent an idle afternoon, which, despite the lack of rain, did not result in any subsequent tackling of Arthur's Seat. (Probably for the best as I expect it would have been pretty muddy.)

In the evening we went for dinner at The Kitchin. This would turn out to be the best of our 'fine dining' experiences to date. The owner, Tom Kitchin, is a big fan of Liverpool Football Club and knows Bob, who is one of the star turns on The Anfield Wrap podcast.

Consequently, we not only got a rather splendid table at short notice but Tom came out to talk to us a couple of times, which drew some glances from our felow dinners. Perhaps they thought we were minor celebrities, possibly the current cast of 'Last Of The Summer Wine' or similar.

Anyway, the food was incredible, as were the accompanying wines. The service was excellent, and the sommelier was notable for his excellent French accent, as well as his knowledge and enthusiasm. Would recommend.