Ariane's 20th

We had a great night out at a bar in Leith called Port O' Leith. We came across it a couple of weeks back, and it was Ariane's choice for her twentieth. It has seafaring decor, extremely eclectic retro music, and an unusual grab-bag of patrons, from two-tone-haired girls dancing on the bar to a late middle-aged man reading a newspaper in the corner. The bouncer is a grey-haired, contented looking woman who it turns out is also the owner. Being in the bar feels like you might be living in a movie.

Axier and I spent Saturday morning buying gifts for a goodie bag to present on behalf of all the international group. I think the present pictured below, an angry mannequin, was a gift from Mary, a nightclub friend of Ariane's who we only met for the first time that night.

It turned out to be a good test run for a twenty-first birthday. We all mixed our drinks horribly. For Edinburgh, the drinks are cheap.

Kale and I won the bright-eyed approval of the owner by doing a frenzied jig to a particularly jig-worthy song. She complimented us heartily after closing time, as we made our way out to more dancing in Leith Walk dens of iniquity.

Axier, Carmen and Joaquim stayed over at mine. Most of the group, in rather diminished spirits, met over my kitchen table for late cooked breakfast on the day of Ariane's actual birthday, Sunday. Ariane had difficulty stomaching the morning, but was determined that she couldn't spend her birthday in bed.