Lunch

Today was our last day in Edinburgh (sigh) and having not received a lunch invitation from Sandy we had lunch with a work colleague of S here in Scotland. In the morning S had a haircut and I posted some books home (I just couldn't take them to the second hand bookstore like S suggested).
We caught the right bus and didn't get lost and were early so we went to the shops to find something to take as a gift. We found this chocolate shop that was kind of bizarre with funny chocolate globes hanging from the ceiling,enormous chocolate muffins and piles of fudge that would induce a diabetic coma. I wanted to get the chocolate bagpipes but S opted for the chocolate dinosaurs and hedgehogs. We weren't even sure if Mintu and his family liked chocolate but hoped we'd made the right choice.
We found the apartment and I met Mintu and his wife (who I am really sorry but I missed her name and I know that's terrible but there was a lot going on and I was still in the hallway as S removed his boots and Jacks shoes) and their little boy Ashish. Mrs Mintu produced a chocolate for Jack which he thought was wonderful and then she told us that it was the last one. We thought that Ashish would be upset (I know Jack would) but he seemed to take it in his stride. Actually he was happy watching the teletubbies.
Mrs Mintu had made us the loveliest meal, she just kept on producing food with no fuss or bother. She didn't put chilli in anything because she said that people here in Scotland complain and drink a lot of water when she does. We had noticed that the Indian food (and thai) here is very, very mild and thought maybe that it was just us, though S doesn't really like his food too hot. When she found out that I like spicy food, Mrs Mintu offered to get me some chili but I assured her I was fine. We had eggplant and potato pakoras and a lovely lentil and vegetable soup that Jack really liked. Then we had rice with a chicken curry. The spices and flavours were so zingy and tasty. Mrs Mintu kept urging me to eat more and more and I was so full that I couldn't eat ice cream they had for dessert. I think they thought I was fibbing or watching my waistline but I was seriously full.
When it was time to leave, Mintu and his wife tried to give us food to take with us, biscuits, coco pops and an umbrella. We assured them we were fine but Mintu was insisting I take the umbrella as S disappeared up the street with the stroller. We ran off into the rain in search of a taxi.