An outing - and Bernstein

Too tired and too late to write much on a phone, I’ll try to stay awake long enough to write this…

We didn’t see a drop of rain today - surely worth recording. Five of us - four adults and Po the collie - walked to Craigleith retail park this morning: the dog got a pick and mix in a pet shop and I bought a dress in a sale. Great.

After a peaceful afternoon, Himself and I met the other son and family at the Usher Hall for the ESMS concert in which Catriona was playing trombone - the only student trombonist in the whole shebang this year, with two tutors filling in. She also sang in the choir in the second half, the terrific Chichester Psalms of Leonard Bernstein. Himself and I once saw Bernstein himself conducting a concert in this same hall - I’m a big fan. There was a very fine soloist tonight.

I’m really pleased the grands are at a school that can put on this kind of thing - it made such a difference to my life that I had similar chances.  And I have to admit to a pang of nostalgia when the pipes and orchestra played Highland Cathedral, which was a great favourite show-ending when Himself was in charge of the Dunoon Grammar music…

We came home by bus; I thought I might die of hypothermia waiting for it. I don’t think we’ve ever climbed the hill from Roseburn so quickly!