Still living under virus rules...

On Thursday we went down to Daughter 2's for-sale flat to check it and then decided to go for a walk from there. I was amused to see this (I would think) 18th century cottage still stubbornly sitting at a strange angle to the current road, surrounded by 19th or early 20th century houses. The one on the left has a strange, triangular front garden because the cottage back garden cuts in front of it. 

We walked through the park opposite and down to the river. 

This swan kept chasing this immature one - we thought it was an older male swan bullying a younger male, but in fact it was a parent chasing a straying teenager back to the family. This happened several times as we walked along. 

Here's the family together. I don't think I knew that swans stayed in family groups for this long. 

It was quite a dull day though not as dark as it looks here. I now get my photos from Google photos instead of Picasa, where I knew how to adjust them a bit. I must ask a clever person if one can do this in Google. Anyway, this is The Shore area of Leith. 

 

On the way back we noticed this building and went to have a closer look. It's painted this orange colour which is quite traditional in old Scottish buildings (it wouldn't have been, if they'd asked me first). 

It was indeed quite old,

. 

with a gargoyle-thing. 

This bit is the new extension. It turns out that it was originally St Ninian's Church, but it seems to be used as offices now.

It's just occurred to me to look it up and I found this 1890 photo. You can see the church with its unusual, Dutch-style steeple in the middle of other buildings which aren't there any more. 

We're still not allowed to see the family, except the children, indoors, so we all walked up Blackford Hill yesterday. It's very mild weather at the moment, though it's been a bit rainy so it was slightly muddy underfoot. 

From the top you get a good view of the city and of the nearby hills. 

Smile please! 

Then Big Grandson came back with us to play with his Brio. He wanted something with which to build docks and shipping containers, so I dug out these bricks that I bought for Daughter 1, 40 years ago. How charmed the 30-year-old me would have been to think of him playing with them, all this time later. 

There are murmurs of Central Scotland going into more restricted lockdown soon. Sigh. I wish people would be more careful. It's rather trying that those of us who're mainly just lurking at home, obeying the rules, or going for walks in secluded places, are going to be further restrained because of those who aren't. Perhaps we should schedule haircuts before they're unavailable again... . 

Piano key border, yes, that was it - thanks to various people. Lovely to hear from you! It's done now. Nearly at the stage of quilting.