Our mad evening in Edinburgh

So, on Thursday evening we had our first time away by ourselves and what did I do? I went to a knitting group at K1 Yarns while Doug went off for a walk around the Festival. This is what the street looked like when I arrived at K1 Yarns



That was just after 6.00pm. Soon the street really filled up and I felt like I was in somewhat of a goldfish bowl. Apparently there has not been one week gone by, not even in the deepest, darkest depths of winter, where the K1 Yarn knitting group has not been photographed. Knitting. What is so amusing to tourists about a group of women (and later on a man as well) sitting in a circle with a few pots of tea knitting is beyond me. I must have had my photo taken 20 times in two and a bit hours. Hopefully we might encourage more people to pick up some wooden sticks and some yarn. All in all, it was the most bizarre and most hilarious knitting group I've been to. I have to admit that the initial reason for wanting to go was to meet someone in person who has designed some patterns that I have knitted and love, Ysolda Teague

It was interesting to hear from someone who is considered to be a leading light in knitting's new wave (if I can call it that) of what she's up to (see the Twist Collective, it's fantastic).

I'm glad that I wasn't the only knitting tourist there - there were two ladies from California and another from London (who was dressed as a scientist as she had just finished a play). All very interesting and I look forward to going back there next time we're in Scotland.

We then tried to go and get something to eat. There's a very nice looking Indian restaurant called Kushi's that we tried to get a table at (depsite being huge and in a beautiful building, there was a wait of 45 minutes), so we went down to the Grassmarket and ended up going to the most fantastic pizza place outside of New York. I have only once eaten such good pizza, at Ray's of Greenwich Village in NYC in 1993. It's called Mamma's and they do the best gluten-free pizza I could possibly imagine. We're taking the kids back there next time we're in Scotland. So refreshing to find a place that does gluten free pizza, and then one that's a fantastic pizza. Doug and I, for a little while anyway, felt like we were in our 20s, not in our 30s, as the music was loud, from about 10 years ago (U2 and the such like) and made me all nostalgic for the States. I lived there in 1992/3 and loved it. God willing we will be going back within the next few years.

Then the heavens opened and we went back to his mum's for tea, QI and a blether with his family. And of course, knitting.