New pool

Sharon went out to Bubbles (or Excite as it is now known) in Livingston earlier in the week with the boys and the Valentines, only to discover it was closed for some work (during the summer holidays?). On the way back into town they tried the pool at Wester Hailes and it was a great success. There was an inflatable water slide, some fifteen feet high, and a diving pool as well as a kiddies pool.

The diving pool had two boards: a springboard about four feet above the surface of the water and a fixed platform about seven feet above the water. Sean was nervous at first but soon managed the board and then the platform, making up silly jumps in competition with Lewis. Finn jumped off the springboard but couldn't bring himself to go off the platform, despite Zoe managing it. To her credit, Sharon tried to show Finn how brave she could be, by jumping off the springboard. It took her a while but she did it. It doesn't sound like it was elegant; in fact Karen was poorless with laughter and the attendant looked aghast. Finn still wasn't persuaded however.

I've moved office, to Standard Life House in Lothian Road. Having worked for the Standard for 23 years this Monday coming, it's the first time I've actually been based in SLH. I've somehow managed to avoid being in the thick of it for some time but there's no hiding place any more! Consequently, I've lost my parking space and so I'm back to getting the bus in regularly for the first time in a few years. It's not so bad at this time of year, with the school holidays on too, but I'm hoping I get a space back by the time the nastier weather arrives. Although with this wet summer, it'll be hard to tell the difference.

Sharon also took the big two to the reopening of the National Museum on Friday morning. there was an animatronics dinosaur and some people abseiling off the roof, as well as a bizzarre, one-note specially commissioned piece played on some odd instrument. All in all, Sharon said, it was a bit of an odd mish-mash. They didn't go in as it was too busy. Instead the met the St. Johns and went down to the Meadows playpark. I then took Sean and Finn for lunch at Mama's in the Grassmarket - a rare opportunity for me to have a gluten-free pizza.