Shove ha'penny

Who says that getting your car MOT'd can't be interesting? 8am whilst still dark in Edinburgh, I take my car to get MOT'd at a different garage to our family-favourite garage 'Powerhouse' because Dave is apparently closing down. GW Martin is also located in Jordan Lane Morningside (I need to tell you some time as to why an area of Morningside has so many biblical names for their streets Morningside street names ).
So, first time in reception area, I hand in my keys and go sit patiently at the customer waiting area where, on the coffee table, there is a board made of slate and peppered with Penny coins. Gerry of GW Martin hands me The Scotsman. I read the first page, place the newspaper on the coffee table and decide to read my iBook on street photography instead. Less depressing.
Gerry comes back five minutes later with a glass of water and asks me if I'm going to play the game. 'The Game?' I ask. 'Aye, this' as he points to the slate. 'I wondered what this was' I said. Gerry explained that this was a medieval game dating back to the 15th century. 5 Penny coins are placed one-by-one at one end of the board slightly protruding over the edge and are shoved forward toward scoring lines, with a blow from the palm of the hand.
Shove ha'penny explained

I was so chuffed that I had a game to distract me. Gerry was so enthusiastic about his history of the game, that I quite forgot where I was and spent a delightful age playing the game and taking some pictures.