Saturday P.M. and surprise visitors

Busy working away on my own when the word came down to me that I had visitors inthe bar. What a surprise when I found it was Craig and Maureen, along with their wee boy Cameron. Craig and Maureen were in Barbados at the Almond Beach Village Resort when we went over for Archie and Tracy's wedding and we all teamed up for the two weeks with our crowd going to their wedding and they came to Archies.

Young Cameron was as good as gold, good natured and a happy wee soul, who having had his grub had a nice nap. Ann eventually appeared so she was more than happy to find a young man to fuss over. They had lost our contact details so decided to take a run through from Glasgow on the train to see Graham and get back in touch again. It was just a pity that the weather was so bad while they took a walk along the street to see Archie at the Standing Order. Anyway it was lovely to see them again.

Saturday morning

Work to be done this morning so it was off at the toot to The Bush for a quick walk around, a fact not missed by this lovely young chestnut who was enjoying its breakfast untill I arrived. Then off to Edinburgh and into the Mercat, where the terrible trio , Johnny, Jill and Dave were in the kitchen. Place was busy , however as usual I was despatched to do my odd DIY jobs.

Bit of a mixed day

As I had not taken any photos today I found this one, of the Watchtower in Prague which I took a couple of months ago, and thought it was quite nice.

So today, I was a tired chicken and had a long lie, which did not bode well, but once up it was get ready and go as we had to go to the plumbers merchants, Costco, Homebase and Sainsburys on the way to town where I dropped Mrs B off at John Lewis PLC ( their 50% sale is on).
On to the Mercat bar where after unloading I completely forgot that I had left the car outside and it was Graham who spotted the Traffic Warden , however as it was a Police warden they are more sensible than the Enforcers employed by the City of Edinburgh Council, so I was able to get it away round to the main car park.

Mrs. B. and myself were the talk of the place as we had left yesterday without paying - so there was a wanted poster in the window for Mrs. B. who was mortified at what had happened. Also a big panic this morning as Agneska had lost her bra and shirt - which caused all sorts of comments, however after phoning the cleaner the missing items were found in the bag where he had put them Question being - how come she was minus her bra and vest?
The Bar was really busy at lunch time with every table full - a good sign, and afterwards a bit of a lull till the customers started coming in again and it was as busy as ever by the time I left.
This being the start of the annual Edinburgh Trades holiday it might be a bit quieter next week.

Home to watch the tennis again , young Jamie Murray and partner were beaten in the semi finals of the mixed doubles - watched through partly closed eyes as I dozed in the sun. Then out to do a wee bit of serving on the car before a couple of runs next week and while doing so I met the intreped world traveller, Ashley who has been away for twenty one months, she is looking well and was saying that she starts a new job in Aberdeen with an oil company she had a part time job with in Australia ( well done).

Our deranged contributor, Danny , sent this one today.

A man who just died is delivered to a Glesga mortuary wearing an expensive, expertly tailored black suit. Big Tam the mortician asks the deceased's wife how she would like the body dressed. He points out that the man does look very good in the black suit he is already wearing. The widow, however, says that she always thought her husband looked his best in blue. She gives Tam a blank cheque and says, 'I don't care what it costs, but please have my husband in a blue suit for the viewing.'The woman returns the next day. To her delight she finds her husband dressed in a gorgeous blue suit with a subtle chalk stripe; the suit fits him perfectly. She says to Tam, 'Whatever the cost, I'm very satisfied. You did an excellent job and I'm very grateful. How much did you spend?' To her astonishment, Tam presents her with the blank cheque.'nay charge,' he says.' No, really, I must pay you for the cost of that exquisite blue suit!' she says. 'Honestly, hen,' Tam says, 'it didnae cost nothin. You see, a deid gentleman of about your husband's size was brought in shortly after you left yesterday, and he was wearing an attractive blue suit. I asked his missus if she minded him going to his grave wearing a black suit insteed, and she said it made nae difference as long as he looked nice.'
'So, I just switched their heids.'

So much for summer !!

9.30 p.m. and just home, and it is throwing it down heavens hard and according to Ann it has been like this in Penicuik since lunch time. On the other hand it was quite pleasant in the town - although with working inside I have had no benefit.
Had to head into town for 11.30 a.m. to help cover for staff who had phoned in sick - but as it was quiet did some paperwork and then took Claire to the Cash and Carry.
So back to the pub and the old DIY skills were called upon to do some joinery work on the bottom bar which is being renovated - then Sparky Mark arrived to cause little "floods" but we managed to get by without the life jackets, etc. A bit more than can be said for the water coming through the light fittings in the conservatory at home.
Johnny the Gigalo was on duty in the kitchen - seems to have a bit of a hectic time to himself - and was wondering if I had had any interest in his "advert" !!
Managed to get rid of the "is it Agnes or Angus " thing , our young lady is Agneyska which she tells me is a fairly common name for a Polish girl.

Cousin/ Nephew Jonathon was in, telling me he is an Uncle again - his brother Stephen's wife had a little boy a couple of weeks ago, Harry Boyd. Sems that he is growing so fast they have him on liquidised steaks!!.

Our Canadian couple from two weeks ago David and Ann , popped in for a meal on their last night here. they said that they had enjoyed their trip to Scotland very much but found that everything was expensive.
Danny's party piece for today - "Massi warrior quote - The lion sleeps well" - I am sure he is just winding me up .

Murray v Nadal, amongst other things

What can I say about that tennis match which has just finished, obviously disappointed in the result but when you realise just how badly Murray played compared to Monday, just what does he expect when you look at the statistics. The only positive thing is that if Nadal - who was awsome, can improve and achieve the way he has done by hard work and dedication, then I am sure that Andy Murray can do like wise. The statistics said everything , Murray only had 48% of his first serves in and had 24 + unforced errors, and , on this occasion lady luck was against him. As Mrs. B. has just pointed out, it is fine for we armchair warriors to be critical when we do not know one end of a tennis raquet from another !! and cannot run the length of a bar let alone a tennis court.

To more news, the above banner was draped on my neighbours wall which would tend to indicate that their globetrotting daughter Ashley has returned home after nearly two years away - she initially set off for six months in New Zealand, but got kind of sidetracked from thereon working her way through Australia, then to China, up into the Himalayas and Nepal, and back through India -with some great adventures and experiences en route.

She has managed to make it back in time for her sister's wedding on the 27th , BUT - how long she remains here after that is the burning question.

My one little treat to myself today was to nip into Imarnie's at Haymarket this morning to see the girls and have a chat , and when I found out there was spare block in the appointment book I managed to get a back and shoulder massage - just what I needed to get the knots out and give me a chance to relax after last nights antics with these constant leg cramps. I am not sure if there is enough quinine in a gin and tonic to act as a deterrant, but I am willing to try and find out again.

My friend Danny, has been in good form this last couple of days - so his gem for the blog is :-

Chinese proverb........"The sparrow runs forward" Thought you could use this. (Dan).

And to think , I thought I was the only person needing to go and lie in a darkened room under sedation !!!

Meet Charles Dunlop Morrison

Having eventually heard yesterday that Dennis and Caroline Morrison were the proud parents of a wee boy I was despatched with a gift to their home - so this I did using the "steed of steel" as I returned to Penicuik.

The house was busy with visitors and Caroline was surprised when she realised it was me on the bike (BMWK75RT) and not yet another courier bearing gifts. Baby Charles Dunlop Morrison (who is kind of wee at the moment being only five days old) was with his Gran, having a bit of a burp over her shoulder, however he did play ball and lay down to pose for his photoshoot. He was ever so pleased to meet his latest pal, "tiger", but as time wore on decided that a short siesta was in order. This gave his parents time to discuss his future and it was agreed that he should be taken in to meet "Uncle" Graham at The Mercat as soon as possible !!

We wish them all well and hope they enjoy their immenent holiday to the sunny Isle of Arran.

The bucket men came - and went.

It was a lovely bright morning so it was off to town on the steed of steel today - again it saves on the parking fees which are ridiculous.

Joiners were in working on the bottom bar trying to make some room and with the new K.P. , Davy on site , I was left pottering and helping (I even managed to make a cup of frothy coffee for myself with the big machine)..

We had a lot of rubbish waiting to be double bagged once the Allied Waste folks had dropped off their bags, and we are charged plenty for the privilege of getting it moved, and if we get it wrong then the City Environmental Wardens issue fixed penalty tickets.

However, I was along the street and passed a load of rubbish, all bagged in City of Edinburgh Council bags, which had been put out by the flat dwellers, and I know that some had been out since Saturday and was beginning to be a bit of an eyesore. On my way back I saw the shiny new bucket lorry stopping beside the litter and just happened to take a wee snap of it - however, much to my surprise when the lorry pulled away there was still the heap of rubbish lying. It looks as though they only emptied the street litter bin and left the lot. These are the blokes who are threatening to go on strike - so if this is the mess that's left when they are working what will it be like when they are off!!!