We then set off for what turned out to be a speedy (by our standards) ride into Edinburgh, with the aim of being there in good time for our 11am meeting at the Royal Infirmary and, for possibly the first time on LEJOG, we were early! We had the luxury of killing a bit of time near to the hospital, before arriving on time and we then spent over an hour and a half chatting to Professor Garden, my liver surgeon, and the time he gave us was hugely appreciated. I had seen him in 2004 when I had been to Edinburgh on business, but just as when I contacted Mr Morgan at the Royal Infirmary in Lancaster, I had disappeared off his "radar" and so he was unaware of my current well being.
Again as with seeing Mr Morgan, it was great to be able to meet again in such positive circumstances someone who I had first met in challenging times. We were able to talk, amongst other things, about my own medical history, developments (and the greater success it has brought) in medical techniques since my treatment and of course our current expedition. It was a delight to see him again and this is reflected in the photo below:
This year being the 20th anniversary of the surgery by Professor Garden, hopefully the 25th will present a similar opportunity!
We eventually headed off to a shop in the west of the city as Martin needed to try to pick up a spare part for his bike from a specific shop. The visit was successful and we then dashed back to Princes Street where we had arranged to meet Fergus (the younger son of Rob and Joyce, who we had seen in the pub in Hallbankgate) by the Scott Monument and after a quick coffee and a chat (plus photo at at slightly artistic (for which read "odd") angle, below), we boarded the train south from Waverley Station. By the way, Martin admitted that as the day went on his usual standard of navigating our route was a bit off the pace. This was following the phone call he received at lunchtime from his son Jamie to say that he had been awarded first class honours for his degree - sitting opposite Martin and watching his reaction when he heard the news, I'm not surprised his mind was elsewhere!
The journey south was to enable me (apart from to have a rest!) to attend with my family the wedding of my nephew Brendan to his bride Kate in Cheshire, with a return to Edinburgh planned for Sunday, so we could pick up where we had left off.
By the time we'd reached Waverley Station on Friday we'd done 41 miles in an abbreviated day, bringing our total to 820 miles to date and with an estimated 298 remaining for the final week - in theory it would be an easy last few days, certainly in terms of overall distance. We'll see what transpires!
