On Friday B.A., my mum and I all sat around the big kitchen table in the cellar-level of the New Town Flat and had supper. I had finished and submitted three stories that day, so I was feeling tired but cheerful.
"Tomorrow let's do something en famille," said B.A. "That is, the three of us, since the rest of the famille is in Canada."
"What would you like to do, Mum?" I asked.
"What about a Fife Coastal Walk?" she proposed, and so on Saturday morning we took a bus to Elie, Fife and walked along the official Fife Coastal Path to St. Monans.
The weather was warm--but not too warm--and slightly breezy--but not too breezy, and the sun began to shine when we alighted in Elie. We bought sandwiches in the village deli--there being no supermarket--and sat on tussocks of grass, watching men in white playing cricket on the beach. Cricket is an unusual sport for Scotland, let alone cricket on the beach!
We had a marvellous walk, exploring one of the small ruined castles that abound in Scotland, and puzzling over wildflowers, racking our memories for their names: bewgloss, rosebay willowherb, red campion...
The sky and the Firth of Forth were many shades on the spectrum of Blue, and home seemed comfortable near on the other shore. Sometimes the path was quite steep, and I was out of breath, and it felt all very healthy. B.A. observed that his treatment hasn't left him tired out yet. He's got two weeks, two days to go.
When we got to St. Monans, we all had a look in the restored 14th century church, which has been Protestant since the Scottish Reformation. As is our wont, when alone in pre-Reformation Churches, B.A. and I turned to the easternmost wall and sang "Salve Regina". On this occasion, the church vibrated with the sound.
"The acoustics are great," Mum enthused.
We decided that we didn't have enough time to walk to Pittenweem and catch the 4:10 PM bus back to Edinburgh, so we got ice-cream cones or espresso in a teashop and visited a church jumble sale instead.
Thank you for all the prayers! B.A. was very moved last night when he read my last post and saw your comments.
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