Saturday 4 July

Luca and I must have looked a right sight by the time we got back to Inverurie this morning.
To say we were glistening is to put it mildly. The sweat was running off us!
Luca's hair was clapped to his head and mine was heading for the full blown afro.
Happy days!

Well, happy days right enough...
Luca and I had got into the car and set off for Inverurie but had only got as far as the lights in the High Street, when this chap ran up to the car and smiling at me through the open window said, " Hello Josephine, I'm just after saying to Mum, 'Wouldn't it be funny if we bumped into Josephine in Banchory', and here you are!"

I stared back at him for a moment, couldn't place him... and then just as the lights changed to green it dawned on me.
Lindsay Quail!

The Quails lived in Storie Street. They had the house next door to Granny and Granda Sowerby.
June is widowed now but still lives in 54a and Catherine, her daughter, bought our old house to be next to her mum.

Anyway, I managed to park the car and ran back to the High Street hoping to catch sight of them and sure enough they hadn't gone far.

What a lovely surprise seeing them.

Luca was a big hit. I didn't have the heart to tell them that no, he didn't look like his great Granda Sowerby - black eyebrows and dark brown eyes - and we parted with Luca a couple of pounds better off.

It's an old tradition to cross the palms of little ones with silver when you 'meet them'. I think it's for luck.
I remember when I was young, folk would slip a silver coin into the pram when they met you with your baby for the first time

Not sure how common the practise is anymore or how widespread it was.

Anyway, Luca put his two pound coins in his car box which he was conveniently carrying and I told him how June and Linsay had given him the pennies to spend on whatever he wanted.
"Chocolate," he confirmed with a nod of the head.

Sitting having coffee with Gary, I recounted this tale to Gary who disappeared into the kitchen and appeared back with a little bar of chocolate which he sold to Luca for A POUND!! :)