We stepped out into our yard to discover that it was snowing – in May. With a shudder TPR pulled the front door shut behind us and we set off up the road to meet our friends for coffee. On the way we were stopped by a couple cyclists on East Claremont Street, one of whom claimed that I had taught him as an undergraduate. In the short time that we were talking to them the snow melted all around us.

The last part of the short route to the café included a dangerous obstacle: an open culvert on Leith Walk about three feet across. It had been widening for weeks and now took some measure of agility to jump across it.

In the open-air café we joined our friends over three tables and discussed diets. LM confessed that she had recently dropped to six stone two.

Afterwards TPR did a friend a favour. JM’s girlfriend had taken ill at work so TPR offered to pick her up and take her home.