Tom Kitchin

Valentines Day was something special this year as Irene and I treated ourselves to a meal at The Kitchin , an award-winning restaurant just up the road from our apartment in Leith. We strode out confidently for our 21:15 hrs table reservation stopping off at The Roseleaf for an aperitif. We then realised that we were uncertain as to whether we had to turn left or right  on Commercial Street to get to the restaurant.  Needless to say we took the wrong turn and then we managed to walk past it. I convinced myself  that we were in the wrong part of Leith and strode off with a reluctant Irene following in the direction of the Malmaison hotel while calling them to discover it was behind us. Even with this knowledge we had still to consult a taxi driver to locate the entrance.  The signage is very discreet! Once in the restaurants and relieved of our coats we sat down and studied the menu. there was not a huge selection as was to be expected and there was a predominance of game and fish which would not be to everybody´s taste. Irene chose a mackerel to start but it turned out that the last portion had been sold. She struggled to find something else to her taste but the maitre de insisted she try something and prepared razor clams with chorizo especially for her faithfully promising that the chorizo would not overwhelm the seafood as can be the case. I had scallops. To follow Irene had deer and I had duck. I finished off with a rhubarb soufflee and Irene with a chocolate concoction. The meal was truly fabulous and the bill was too (a bottle of wine GBP50) although I noted with relief that Irene´s starter was on the house. The portion sizes were modest so we were satisfied but not overfull. I treated myself to a malt on returning home!

Christmas in Scotland

I have been remiss in not updating my blog for a few weeks and as a consequence I will now combine two weeks of intense activity into a few paragraphs.

We departed from Spain on the afternoon of 16th December. Ryanair landed us safely and almost on time in a mild Edinburgh late at night.  We uplifted our luggage (more than normal as we were carrying presents etc) and grabbed a taxi to Water Street. We were home about 2300hrs and settled ourselves in.

On the Sunday, after her hair appointmen,t Irene met up with Sheonagh for Xmas shopping and a Barbour jacket was the result. That evening we took the bus all the way to Colinton to meet up with the ex-Shell Wests for dinner. We had a great time and shared a taxi back into town with the other guest. On the Monday I had a meeting with my tax advisers and later we honoured another dinner engagement with the ex-Delhi Grants in South Queensferry. Sheonagh was able to drop us off on her way back to Kelty. We had a very enjoyable time with the ex-Delhi (still Cairn) Jones also in attendance. We got a lift back this time, resulting  in considerable savings in taxi fares thus far!  Irene had a shopping expedition with Gordon this time, though mainly to support his buying more than buying for him. That evening we had drinks in the Guildford Arms with the ex- Moscow Smiths and caught up on the exploits of respective children. Wednesday saw us set off for Waverley station to take the train north. I hopped out at Dundee to visit my Dad and borrow his car (as I did some 45 years ago!). Irene continued to Aberdeen and took in a DUCKS (Dubai Aqua-aerobics etc) lunch before joining Ailsa in Portlethen. For the next several says she was in Granny mode and helping Ailsa with Christmas preparations. I got back in time to hash on Wednesday.  The venue was the St Vincent bar, not far from our old flat in Melgund Terrace. The run was good, with a whisky mac stop, although the trail was hit and miss in parts. I shopped and messed around for the next couple of days before collecting Gordon after work on Saturday and driving to Aberdeen. Sheonagh had arrived earlier in the day so we were now all in position. We checked in to the Premier Inn, a short walk from Ailsa and Barrys. Ailsa had open house on Christmas eve and neighbours and friends called in.  It was cramped but nice! We sneaked out to visit ex-Shell ex-1970s neighbours Browns in Cammachmore. We then had a light meal before retiring. Next day we drove over to Ailsas and had óur traditional breakfast (eggy soldiers made by Barry to my recipe!) and then opened presents. Sofia did rather well!  barry then took Sofia to visit his relations while we got the meal and table organised. We nibbled extensively and unwisely during the process! Stewarts beer was also on offer courtesy of Sheonagh. We sat down to soup followed by turkey plus trimmings at about 1600hrs, but had to hold off on the puds till later and we forewent the cheese altogether!  After a big clean-up we settled down to watch Dr Who and left on foot after Abfab! Next day we called in for breakfast and then set off to visit repsective Dads. First stop was Carnoustie where we rustled up lunch of leftovers with Ewan also in attendance. Sheonagh had driven down separately and left a little ahead of us to get back to Kelty for a meal with Richard´s parents. We then decamped to Taycliff to sit with my Dad and were joined by Ailsa & Joe. We set off about 1800hrs and dropped Gordon off at his place. We then had two days of peace and relative quiet! I took in a second hash (my 88th) on the Wednesday. This was a great run from the Omni Centre and I was first back! Thursday was another busy day. Firstly I bussed to Cairn to collect calendars. Next we headed for Markinch on quilting business and then we inspected Sheonagh´s new abode with Richard in Kelty. Richard kindly bought us lunch at a nice pub in Dunfermline after which we headed back. On Friday we had the busiest day ever, setting off early to catch my Dad; then off to Glamis to meet the ex-Dubai Johns for coffee; then back to Carnoustie to say goodbye to Irene´s Dad and up to the cemetery to visit her Mum´s grave; we then called in on Ed & Kate, and then visited Sarah to view her impressive home cinema room (I want one of those!) and finally back to my Dad´s to drop the Ford Focus off and then be dropped at Taybridge station by  Sarah to catch the 1600hrs  train back to Edinburgh. Whew!  Next day, Saturday, New Year´s Eve, we had enough time to complete the packing and close up the flat before taking a cab to the airport. We were surprsied to find no queue at the Ryanair desk but this was explained by the fact that I had noted the flight time down in Spanish time (+ 1 hour) so we were in fact an hour later than intended but fortunately still in good time. A few hours later we landed in Malaga, collected the car, stocked up on essentials at Mercadona and were reunited with Nami.