Today, a friend offered to take us up in his microlight. The weather was pretty near perfect and we had a beautiful afternoon.

1) Aidan was first to go up – he was so excited (although I do admit to swallowing a few motherly nerves – “am I completely mad to be allowing my small boy (he’s 8) up in that tiny machine?”), and he had such a wonderful time!

2) The view from the microlight was stunning – the river Forth gleamed with sunlight, the water clear and turquoise, the beaches golden, and acres of fields, some ploughed, some speckled with hay bales; towns and villages, castle ruins, power stations, hills.

3) We flew high above the gannet colony on Bass Rock and looked down on the birds as they wheeled and circled around the island. Awesome.