~ ANNE! ~

In case you were wondering, my brother got here just fine (despite nearly missing the plane because he went for a last pint at the airport bar) and actually managed to get his passport in time. I hadn�t heard from him by 4.00 Wednesday afternoon and didn�t want to stay at work any longer, so I figured I�d go to Waverley Station and just check in case he�d lost my number. Lo and behold, I got a phone call just as I stepped off the bus saying, �We�re standing at Waverley�. So that worked out perfectly.

We got Tim and his friends booked into the hostel and went for a cheap meal at the Last Drop. Had to introduce Tim to the joys (ha) of Tennants, and I think he fell in love. They were all quite taken with haggis, neeps and tatties as well. I suppose I can understand why everyone thinks haggis is so disgusting, but if you go by taste instead of thinking too hard about the contents you realise it�s actually really tasty.

After that we headed (surprise surprise) for another pub, this time in Stockbridge. Brandon was going to a pub quiz at the Antiquary (known as the Tic, I found out from Jane, who used to work there) so we joined him. Brandon had a whole pile of people for his team so Tim, his friends Jason and Robin and I made our own team. Called the Hurtin� Albertans, of course. Rock on Corb Lund. We were pretty hurtin� at first, but we got better as the game went on (and I aced the question about Elephant Polo). Unfortunately we sort of missed the bit where you were supposed to hand your answers in, so we weren�t officially registered. Brandon�s team came in third, though.

Last I saw of the boys that night, they were off down the street in seach of a cab with a bulging carrier bag of Tennants tall cans in each hand. From the photos I saw the next day, Edinburgh probably didn�t know what hit it.

It really didn�t work out very well having to work while Tim was here. I left early on Wednesday, but Thursday I had to work a full day. However, I did manage to get into town to get my glasses on Thursday � THANK HEAVENS as my eyes didn�t take too kindly to the six hours in a smoky pub the night before. All day Thursday I felt like tearing them out of their sockets. However, a day without contacts has done wonders and I now only have the occasional itchiness and redness.

Yesterday was more of the same � dinner at the Last Drop (complete with Sticky Toffee Pudding this time � makes life worth living) and then out to Finnegan�s Wake for live music. Again, I had to ditch early because of work. I guess I should have taken some days� holidays, but didn�t really know what was going on in advance.

So Tim has seen the castle and most of the Old Town (and the inside of many, many pubs). He�s off to Stirling and points north tomorrow, which is sad as I was hoping to see more of him. He brought me a lot of presents (thank you all! Very very much!) and made me down more Tennants than I�ve had in the past year. All in all, a good visit.