Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Our journey takes us out of Ullapool towards Inverness. How strange to be back in a place where you spent so much time and have so little memory of… I remember the place well, and two or three people who worked with me at the hotel. And Banoffee Pie. For the rest it is a blur. Also strange where life has lead me too – I do think that having lived and travelled in so many places when one is so young you tend to forget. By the time I was thirty I had worked in Salzburg, Oxford, London, Ullapool, Gordon’s Bay, Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Pretoria. And the Wimpy in Heidelberg and the winkel in Jongensfontein. And Rondebosch. The drive along Loch Ness brings us to a stop at Blair Atholl Watermill, a per chance pulling off the road discovery of the a real old watermill that is still operational milling wheat to produce a range of different types of flour. The tea shop serves the most delicious Tiffin, a type of Millionaire’s Shortbread, only the shortbread bit contains raisins and honey. A pot of wonderful tea, Tiffins and we are ready for the road again. A nearby garden attracts people by virtue of the fact that the owner collects money for the RSPCA. Good enough for us to empty our wallets of lose change. Our road trip is nearing its end. We drive into Edinburgh to spend our last night on the Forth of Firth. An amazing new bridge is being built – a massive construction alongside the already impressive iron bridge and a road bridge. Our campsite is Silverknowes on the banks of the Firth of Forth, directly under the landing path of the airport. A very well kept place for serious campers, we bring the average age (and weight) down considerably! The instructions of how and where to park are very precise… We find what we think would be a quiet spot. The local pub is recommended as a place to find good food. Toby’s. A fifteen minute walk across the magnificent golf course, by the time we get there I have a hay fever of note. Toby’s is a carvery franchise. (That was not mentioned). There is a choice of beef, gammon and a massive turkey, vegetables that have been cooked to death, a selection of glossy gravies, Yorkshire pudding that looks like little mushroomed pastry cups. For the record, I hate carveries. Yet there is very little else on the meny to choose from other than sandwiches made of the carvery roasts. The place is packed with what seems to be very happy overweight locals, bringing Granny for a little feast, kids running riot. On our way back to wonder about life here compared to life back in SA. The stark contrasts – our constant fear of crime, the harsh socio/political/economic realities of our staff and millions of people in SA, the threat of running out of water or electricity. (At least now almost every country has a totally dysfunctional government we don’t have to feel too bad…) And yet, we decide, we would not be able to live here, ydillic as it may seem. We are fuelled by the edge, that energy that drives us and for me perhaps the most important thing being the fact that we can make a difference in so many ways. The next three days we spend in Edinburgh, then back to old London town…