The farmer stops his tractor and wanders over for a wee chat. A chance for him to have a break from 24/7 potato planting. 'Granny' Jack Russell dozes in the warmth of the tractor cab. She's been slowing lately and they're making sure she's always got a member of the family as company. The old lady seems to be enjoying the attention - and the absence of the two younger terriers. In an hour , after the younger children have gone to school, he'll pop home for a coffee and let her sleep by the AGA. The farmer has pre-sold his entire crop to a potato chip maker in Newcastle. 'The price was reasonable' he informs us in a tone of voice that suggests a new Range Rover may be coming along soon.
There's another glorious sunrise over the beach. This weeks weather has been a wonderful surprise.
Starbucks , when we get there, already busy with students and dog owners .
The first of the new seasons fresh peas in the garden shop. There's also fresh asparagus. It can't be long before strawberries are in season.
This morning instead of lemon sole we opt for some freshly landed brill.
A week today we head off to Japan. This morning an unexpected e-mail from Palo Alto informs us that ' the departure from Borneo has been delayed due to technical reasons and a new embarkation time for passengers joining in Yokohama will be advised'. I have a presentiment of a disaster/adventure in the making. What sort of technical reason can possibly prevent a boat from getting underway ? Having flown to Borneo how are the 30 Palo Altans taking their delayed departure ?
Lost birds :https://birdhistory.substack.com/p/birding-10000-bc
A pricey new way to see Italy:https://www.orient-express.com/la-dolce-vita/
Cambodian history :https://thediplomat.com/2025/03/cambodia-the-unbearable-memory-of-the-khmer-rouge/
This has the great advantage of being brief . The closing paragraph is to the point :https://www.econlib.org/what-would-true-reciprocity-mean/
A St Andrews professor gives his views of what's happening in the world. This may be more opinion than analysis but the last line seems to sum up the consensus pretty well :https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/how-to-make-us-rivals-stronger-101