Breakfast good & quick. After breakfast when we were back in the room I noticed to my embarrassment that I still had the key of Ardenlee in my pocket! After we reported our small toilet problem we got on the bus to Ayr. First priority there was finding a post office so that I could mail back the key. after this had been accomplished, we wandered a bit through town, and ended up at the beach. Here we could see the Isle of Arran, a couple of kilometres off the mainland. We then passed St. Johns tower. A sign there states 'visitors are always welcome' but the entrance fence has a large lock & chain on it… we then checked out the stores in the centre of town. Had a coke at Burger King.(originally I'd hoped for a milkshake, but the ice machine was out of order, we were told and yes, it appeared a bit bombed out… More window shopping. Bought some books at Bargain Books. Had a bite at Pumpernickel. Nice 'loaded garlic bread' & 'strawberry sundae'. We took the bus back to the centre of Prestwick, and did some booze shopping at Neils off sales: a couple of bottles of Wallace whisky liqueur, a bottle of Drumgray, a miniature bottle of Old Course Clubhouse whisky for Leif, and 4 miniature bottles of Glenfarclas whisky for the lads at the office.
When we returned at the hotel we ran into the owner who informed us he'd picked up a new toilet seat/cover for our room, and he asked when it would be most convenient for us for him to install it. We told him it was up to him, and then were told he'd do it right away if that was ok. Well, of course it was! Before he came I settled the bill with him, which went quick and easy. He even arranged a taxi for us for the next morning and promised us a 'continental breakfast' before the normal weekend breakfast time! 5 minutes later he came to the room and installed the new seat/cover with a friendly chat & a smile (and a 'Glasgow screwdriver' as he referred to his hammer). He also told us that all police activity we saw earlier today was probably due to George W. Bush departing from Prestwick today. (the presence of Air Force One there until today would explain all the police we've seen in Prestwick since our arrival here on thursday.)
In the beginning of the evening we had a great dinner at The Pinewood in Prestwick. Sidenote: the menu also had 'Dutch Coffee' on it, which would contain a liqueur named Kummel. Since I'd never heard of it I inquired about it. The waiter showed me the bottle (and offered me a free tasting which I chose not to bother them with), and then the mystery was quickly solved: Kummel is a Danish drink, not a Dutch one…! I chose for Gaelic coffee instead. By 7.30pm we were back in the room. More news on the London bombings on TV, and after that a classic: 'the man with the golden gun'. I enjoyed the movie with a 0.5 litres of Strongbow.