Fidus Achates.

The good and faithful Achates, a close friend of Aeneas, his name became a by-word for an intimate friend (not THAT intimate) from Virgil's epic poem, "The Aeneid." His name has been used since then for gemstones, rivers and many ships of war. All this is new to me, although I supposedly had a classical education, most of which was lost on me: I suffered from being taught ancient history at the age of ten and never recovered, leaving school six years later not knowing where Mesopotamia was or of its significance in modern history. I have sympathy here with the Steiner education system that believes in teaching history starting from the here and now before moving on to topics progressively more distant in both time and space.

This particular Achates appears, to my ignorant mind, to be a small trawler designed to work in shallow waters. I'm sure I can put a name to a gentleman who will correct me if I'm wrong. One thing I am sure of, I wouldn't want to venture out onto the Forth in her if the sea was bit choppy; with that broad, flat bottom she could give you a rough ride.

As you can see, it was a day of big skies and they lasted all day. Later on I made an attempt at the spectacular sunset behind Arthur's Seat but, unfortunately, I couldn't control the illuminations of the retail complex at Kinnaird Park.