The Crown, Biggar

There was a technology issue of some description - possibly an operating system upgrade, who knows? - but a photo was lost. It was no longer on the 'phone, not on iCloud, not on Dropbox, nowhere. When you're used to everything getting backed up all over the place, it's odd to find you've actually lost something.

The photo in question - possibly being taken as I took this - was for the Minx's 'Cityscapes' series and so its loss was a bit of a blow. But, pretty much as one, we suggested going back to take it again. Simple as that.

Once we'd decided to go, we needed to think about where to stay. Edinburgh was very booked up and also rather expensive, so we talked about getting a hotel in Biggar, which I've driven through many times and always fancied. However, due to a small - but nonetheless hotly disputed - communications issue, we actually ended up with a hotel in Livingston*. By way of compensation, we stopped off in Biggar for a drink on our way through.

We parked up and had a quick look 'round. It was too cold and miserable for a leisurely review of our options and the Minx pointed to a nearby pub, The Crown, to which we quickly made our way. It was an inspired choice! It was a proper old-fashioned place, with wood-panelled walls, a friendly bar staff and a handful of people, sat chatting amongst themselves.

We made ourselves comfortable in a small. cosy nook and read our books while sipping our drinks. We would have liked to stay longer but we had our hotel to get to.

*The hotel was called the The Bankton House Hotel and it was great, too.