A souvenir

I visited three schools in the West of Scotland this morning, leaving my Edinburgh flat at 7.30.

When I got into the car Jack McCaig, who works for the Government Car Service and who was driving today handed me this with the words "After the events of the last few days, take a look..."

It is of course Nelson Mandela and immediately in the right of him is Jack. It was taken in 1997 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which was held in Edinburgh , at which Jack was assigned to drive the (then) President of South Africa.

It was astonishing , enlightening and enthusing to see the picture on a dreich December morning and realise that world events often touch a wide range of individuals who retain strong and positive memories - and sometimes souvenirs.