Auld Reekie - not smelly but windy

Gosh I was so excited when I learned that Gail and I would be spending the weekend with our dear blogging friend YAM-Aunty and her father in the fine city of Edinburgh.

Did you know that the Scottish capital is sometimes referred to as 'Auld Reekie'? And that this translates into standard English as 'Old Smelly'...

Well what could be more appealing to us canines than a few days in a famously odiferous metropolis? 

And so I must confess to being a tad disappointed when I sniffed the air outside the home of YAM's father, and failed to detect anything other than the normal city aroma. 

However, early on Saturday morning it was impossible not to notice that the air molecules were rushing past one's nose at an unusually high velocity, ruffling one's beard and leg 'furnishings', and lifting one's ear flaps to a streamlined position.

It was perhaps optimistic to imagine that on top of nearby Blackford Hill, weather conditions would be calmer.

In a sheltered spot away from the summit I had the rare pleasure of an encounter with a pretty wee foxy lass called Saffy.

I even allowed her to give me a quick kiss. Mmmm. Nice.

The next day, YAM-Aunty kindly drove Gail and me out to the quaint little town of North Berwick. (I must say her car is a lot cleaner than Gail's*.)

After a trot around the harbour we paused to admire a memorial commemorating the role of the RAF's Coastal Command in defending our country in World War Two. (You might already know that Gail's late father was a pilot in 248 Squadron, part of Coastal Command's 'Banff Strike Wing', in 1944-5.) 

The wind was still blowing mightily. Nevertheless, Gail and YAM-Aunty were apparently both in perfect agreement that if the sun is shining, and one is beside the seaside, and a van selling excellent quality local ice cream is parked on the promenade, then one is obliged to partake of the goods on offer.

And you know what? The nice man in the 'Luca's Ice Cream' van even gave me a wee taster. Yum! 

Back at base, I had a fine time getting to know YAM-Aunty's father better, and was rewarded by some most satisfactory head scritches before we sadly had to depart and return to Aberdeen.

You know, I had such a lovely weekend that I have decided to forgive Gail and YAM-Aunty for their terrible decision on Sunday afternoon to visit Aberlady Nature Reserve, one of the very few places in Scotland where dogs are NOT ALLOWED!!! Despite the fact that I was left shut up in the car for at least 87 HOURS. (Gail says more like 87 minutes).

Oh and finally, I suspect that YAM-Aunty will be posting her usual superior quality photos of our adventures on her blog at some point in the near future, and so suggest you watch that space.

*Er, Gail claims this is only because YAM-Aunty herself does not currently own a dog....