Try this ball

Busy, busy day.  I drove to the pool as it was raining and gloomy and not the follow up you would expect from last night's loveliness. 

I set off for #2 son's but got waylaid by a Whatsapp call to #1 son, sat outside Lidl.  Bought some plants and then to the garden.  Of course it took me longer than I expected and I discovered the large sprayer was broke. However, I did get everything that I wanted to do done, inlcuding giving the grass another cut.  

However, I suffered for my 'good deeds'.  Today it was a pulled muscle in my lower back. Ouch.  At home I had time for a quick lunch and then got changed and set off for Milton Rd, in heels.  3 buses and 90 minutes later I arrived at the College.  The problem is the diversions to avoid the North Bridge and the tram works on Leith Street.  Once there I sat and had my weekly chat with A and hen we walked over to EH15 for the French-Scottish exchange dinner with our partner College in Dinard.

It was amazing and all cooked by the students.  An 8 course tasting menu with wine (hence the buses.  The menu had a Scottish/French theme and the blip (dessert) was a rugby them, a white chocolate rugby ball filled with cranachan parfait with edible goalposts on an edible pitch.  The trou Normand was irn bru sorbet.

The restaurant was full. In fact we had a waiting list of 40.  It was great to catch up with staff whom I haven't seen for over 2 years, including the indomitable M, Head of School.  It was interesting hear her talk about her visit to the new Castlebrae School. At the end we had some speeches, including from me.  It felt good that all of representing the College were female. And I was completely taken aback to be given a gift of French pate.  A fabulous evening, though sitting for over 4 hours wasn't the best treatment for my back.

I got a taxi home.  It was raining.