April 8, 2026 – Keith Robertson

“University Reunion”

Diana’s week started out with a long walk and after that she was ready for a nice lunch at the Laird’s table outside Fenwick. This is the restaurant with views out onto a fly-fishing lake. We enjoyed a delicious lunch with all three of us trying different seafood dishes. Here’s a picture Diana took after lunch:

After lunch we made a trip to the Marks and Spencer’s Food store in the Newton Mearns mall. This is a wonderful store, quite unlike anything we find in the US. So many pre-packaged meals, cheeses, meats, and everything else you could hope for. We picked out some lunch and dinner treats. After that, we made a short side trip to B&Q home store to look for a new magnetic shower door strip. That was a no-go – only available online.

Diana ventured out into the Scottish countryside again for a long run and walk on Tuesday morning. Then we drove Mum’s car through to Edinburgh to meet up with my university friends for our 41st graduation anniversary get together.

We walked across to the Beehive pub ahead of our scheduled 7pm meeting time. I was in line to order a drink when I received a WhatsApp message from Euan. Thankfully that included a picture and a description of where he was sitting and the colour of shirt he was wearing. I went across and introduced myself. Bobby and Kirsty showed up a short while later and then Fiona and Patrick. We made our way across the street to the restaurant at the Apex hotel. The hotel is a remodel of the Heriot-Watt Mountbatten building where we studied Electrical Engineering all those 41 years ago. The ramp that we walked up to enter the building is still there – now the handicapped entrance. We walked up and noticed the red wall where our results were posted outside Dr. Davidson’s (head of electrical engineering department) office.

Left to right – Fiona, Bobby, and Euan.

Dinner was very enjoyable, the restaurant occupying what was one of two large lecture theaters in the building.

We reminisced about a “presentation skills” class we had taken in that theater all those years ago. Euan talked about his experiences digging graves as a summer job, I shared how sound wavelengths operate in brass instruments (with live tuba and trombone demonstrations), Bobby discussed a new album that his country dancing band had released, and Fiona talked about gemstones with foils from a local museum.

All of the group are retired now (quite an achievement given we average 62) with Euan doing some occasional consulting with early-stage high tech startups.

This was a lovely evening from start to finish. We’ll have to get together sooner if it’s going to happen again in these lifetimes.

We had a workout on Wednesday morning, followed by a “healthy” breakfast at a place called Hula in the Grassmarket. I had a falafel bowl that was huge and delicious and brought a good bit of it home for later. The drive back to Mum’s was smooth and easy, with a quick stop into Marks and Spencer for some special cookies and other snacks. We chuckled at the alternatives to easter eggs:

We visited the Dunlops (Jeanette and Robert) on Thursday afternoon. These are good friends of Mum’s who live one street away. I babysat their children at least once many years ago. We had a very enjoyable chat, with an “online shop” showing up during our visit. This was included:

Prosecco without the alcohol. Diana was horrified. It’s also “suitable for vegans” according to the label.

Mum made beef olives for dinner on Thursday. Ever heard of them? Care to guess what they look like?

They are a Scottish dish of thin beef steaks wrapped around sausage meat, stuffing or even haggis.

Why the “olive” in the name? There are no olives in the recipe. It’s not clear to me – some online postings talk about the stuffed beef wrap looking like an olive – I’m not sure I see that. Despite all of that, these made for a delicious dinner.

Julie and Robin invited us over to dinner on Friday evening. We were joined by Lorna and Russell.

Dinner was a team effort – chicken tikka masala and naan bread by Julie, fancy rice with cinnamon sticks from Robin, and a raspberry meringue roulade from Lorna – all wonderful.

Lots of fun stories were shared. It’s really such a lovely group. The “Morgan” was mentioned several times during the evening, and Diana was confused about what that might be. Any car enthusiasts reading that know? Robin demonstrated as we were getting bundled up to leave – “Oh, It’s a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” said Diana.

Morgans are really unique. They are still built using ash wood for the frame and are largely built by hand in the Malvern, England factory – the same one has been used for over 100 years. Only a few hundred are built each year and the wait time can last up to 10 years.

We walked home a little after midnight (brrr!) and apparently missed the “clues” that were left to indicate that we were expecting a visit from Heather, Michael, and Hamish.

Meanwhile, back in New Orleans, Kara and Chris Peet, along with Nina, Ian and Hannah, were all running in the Crescent City Classic 10K. There were over 20,000 runners involved.

Kara came across Chris and ran with the Love flag for a while.

We enjoyed a visit from Hamish, Heather and Michael on Saturday morning. Diana was out for a run before major storm “Dave” arrived in the afternoon. She returned in time to enjoy some Hamish time, including learning a new song about winding up a bobbin and pointing to the ceiling, floor, window and door.

Sunday was a long travel day. Our regular taxi driver shared the audio of this Tom Jones performance as we were talking to him about Jazzfest experiences.

We were a bit nervous on seeing very limited visibility and sleet/snow from the airport lounge.

As we’ve learned, no reason to get too concerned as the weather will change in a few minutes. True to form, the sun was out in ten minutes.

I’m always amazed at the quality of the service on the short flight from Glasgow to London. We were presented with a food and drink menu and some delicious food. Even a special Easter dessert. The transatlantic folks could learn a lot from the folks working these flights.

We did not need to go through additional security or change terminals in London. That meant more time in the lounge, Diana enjoying the selection of champagnes.

The menu on the transatlantic flight included a chicken tikka pie (reprising Julie’s dinner) and a carrot and ginger soup (Mum made this too). I enjoyed them both.

I was trying to make some progress on Fred’s World War II book on the flight. I was entertained to read of some characters trying to escape Spain via a ship from Bilbao with a stop at Saint-Jean-de-Luz – neither of which I would have known about prior to our holiday.

Clearing immigration in New Orleans couldn’t have been any easier – probably a much better option than going through Dublin. After a short Uber ride we were finally home. All seemed in order with our house.

I read in the newspaper that Easter Sunday has become a big day in the French Quarter – it certainly seems that way from the pictures.

Being in Edinburgh brough me back to Ian Rankin and his John Rebus books. I don’t think I ever read the original in the series, “Knots and Crosses.”

A paragraph that sets the scene for typical Scottish weather – “grass percolating water.”

“It was April 28th. Wet, naturally, the grass percolating water as John Rebus walked to the grave of his father, dead five years to the day. He placed a wreath so that it lay, yellow and red, the colours of remembrance, against the still shining marble. He paused for a moment, trying to think of things to say, but there seemed nothing to say, nothing to think. He had been a good enough father and that was that. The old man wouldn’t have wanted him to waste his words in any case. So he stood there, hands respectfully behind his back, crows laughing on the walls around him, until the water seeping into his shoes told him that there was a warm car waiting for him at the cemetery gates.”

A good football reference – it was all midfield:

“He was growing tired, realising that the game was going nowhere. It was all midfield, a friendly rather than a cup-tie. He checked his watch conspicuously. “Time I was getting back,” he said. She picked up her newspaper. “Are you doing anything this weekend?” she asked. John Rebus sat down again.”

Maybe I need to take up Rebus’ rule – if I don’t like a book in ten pages, then move on?

“Rebus collected unread books. Once upon a time, he had actually read the books that he bought, but these days he seemed to have so little time. Also, he was more discriminating now than he had been then, back in the old days when he would read a book to its bitter end whether he liked it or not. These days, a book he disliked was unlikely to last ten pages of his concentration.”

Typical Rebus thinking – not wanting to play the part of a normal human animal:

“Often he declined invitations, because to accept meant that he had to dust off his brogues, iron a shirt, brush down his best suit, take a bath, and splash on some cologne. He had also to be affable, to drink and be merry, to talk to strangers with whom he had no inclination to talk and with whom he was not being paid to talk. In other words, he resented having to play the part of a normal human animal.”

A flash back to Denny and Anne in Edinburgh – their catacombs tour educated them about Deacon Brodie and we paid a visit to the pub on the Royal Mile:

“The British press had cottoned onto the fact that Edinburgh had a rather less than genteel past. They ran reminders of Deacon Brodie (the inspiration, it was said, behind Stevenson’s Jekyll & Hyde), Burke and Hare, and anything else that came to light in their researches, right down to the ghosts that haunted a suspicious number of the city’s Georgian houses.

The typical postcard home from an Edinburgh boarding-house: “Edinburgh is lovely. The people rather reserved. Saw the Castle yesterday, and the Scott Monument. It’s a very small city, almost a town really. You could fit it inside

New York and never notice it. Weather could be better.” Weather could be better. The art of euphemism.”

A walk down memory lane for me – I made the walk from Marchmont, across the Meadows, past the Royal Infirmary and Greyfriars Bobby every day on my way to University:

“From his flat in Marchmont to the library could be a delightful walk, showing the strengths of Edinburgh as a city. He passed through a verdant open area called The Meadows, and on the skyline before him stood the great grey Castle, a flag blowing in the fine rain over its ramparts. He passed the Royal Infirmary, home of discoveries and famous names, part of the University, Greyfriars Kirkyard and the tiny statue of Greyfriars Bobby. How many years had that little dog lain beside its master’s grave?”