The action gets closer.

Press commentary on the visit by a New York real estate mogul to our small and windswept corner of the world has, by and large, been adult and moderate. The use of an old American saying in the Sunday Times made me smile.

The surprise of the visit has been the arrival of so many hangers-on. There again if you're going to conduct trade deals on vacation you need a lot of back-up staff. Today the whole  entourage moves over to the eastern side of the country which means that even more helicopters and large grey C-17's will be flying low overhead and annoying the cormorants. https://www.nationaljournal.com/s/729167/trump-embarks-on-the-first-ever-family-business-trip-by-a-president/

The weather, as you can see, is very Scottish. The rosebay willowherb thriving in these conditions.

Highland coo's remain a favourite tourist souvenir. The one on the right has a light sensitive switch that makes its arm swing up and down in never ending greeting. This, I think, would soon prove to be exceedingly annoying.

The gentlemans outfitters has a window full of light weight summer jackets. Two of the jackets are modeled with Paisley shirts while the third has a Paisley tie set against a black shirt. The lilac jacket features a flamboyant peach coloured pocket handkerchief. Who buys clothes like this ? Will visiting secret service agents wanting to blend in with the 'Scotch folk' be tempted ? Perhaps this is the go to destination for visitors who've lost their luggage ?

For a little town there is a mid-summer menu of world class music on offer.

Tonight we shall go to an organ recital in the Episcopal church. This is a large empty barn of a building built by the Victorians for visiting English. Episcopalianism has always been something of a foreign religion in these Presbyterian parts but somehow the old building and its ageing congregation soldier on. The acoustics are rather fine in that sound echoing way you only find in large churches with lots of brass, acres of ceramic tiles and rows of highly polished oak pews.

The trolley problem - a moral dilemma explained :https://sketchplanations.substack.com/p/the-trolley-problem  You can compare your decision(s) here :https://neal.fun/absurd-trolley-problems/

Tickets for this Royal Shakespeare Company performance are already proving difficult to get. The play of the year ? ( Helpful hint opt for a date after the schools go back in September ) :https://www.rsc.org.uk/born-with-teeth

Keeping the sun off Fido :https://rajtentclubshop.com/products/dog-tent

The Norwegians are further advanced than the Scots is promoting cold weather tourism :https://www.thebolder.no/

A bit long and slow to start but worth dipping into :https://www.edwest.co.uk/p/the-world-of-peter-brown

Hints

The birds already starting to feast on the rosehips. A dozen chaffinches busy pecking away at them this morning.

In town they've started collecting for the Poppy appeal.

Yesterdays newspapers still on display in the small supermarket. The Sunday editions haven't been put out yet by the staff. The lead story is the arrival in the country of a golf club owner visiting his Scottish properties. Apparently 6,000 police are on duty although the 'showery' weather has kept the protesters away.

We're surprised to discover that in the four days since we were last out for a walk on the dunes the sheep have been busy. A dozen tiny new born  heads peeping up from the long grass. The mothers seem exhausted.

Out here on the coast we catch sight of the first of the berry pickers. A woman in a white linen suit and matching broad brimmed hat ( clearly a holiday maker ) is zigzagging from side to side down the farm track snacking as she goes. She holds her mobile phone in one hand and picks berries with the other. They're far from ripe so she may soon regret her foraging adventure. 'The Font' wonders aloud if a white linen suit is the most practical thing to wear when berry picking.

The rain has stopped the wheat from being harvested. I'd expect that to change and for the farmer to catch up during the coming week. 

Talk in the village has now turned to the harvest festival celebrations. There are more than a few hints that the northern summer is drifting gently towards autumn.

If I was eight years old I'd reckon this was the epitome of cool :https://www.tesla.com/tesla-diner  The menu is certainly aimed at an eight year olds palate :https://www.tesla.com/diner-webapp/menu/#8869b4bb-c066-4787-b237-72728628a4ad

Amish kids and allergies :https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/amish-dont-develop-allergies-but-why/

French food goes Japanese:https://www.muraecovillage.com/

Steps in Colorado :https://coloradosprings.gov/manitouincline

Packed to the gunnels.

 

Puppy and her elder sister are out with the farmers wife. It's just cold and windy enough for us to be wearing jumpers this morning. The first hint of autumn? Elder sister has discovered that standing on the old stone field wall provides an excellent vantage point to look for hares to chase. Puppy headed off some time ago in pursuit of crows. Life for a Scottish farm dog is a constant whirl of activity and adventure. 

We're down at the fishmonger as the days catch is still being set out.

Today we opt for lemon sole, crab and two overly large lobsters with thick shells. A thick shell, we are told by the fishmonger, is the sign of a succulent crustacean. 

'A Bonnie Wee Cake' says the sign painted onto the side of a very old Vauxhall  that's parked by the chapel. A quick search on the internet suggests that someone has a busy weekend of wedding receptions ahead : https://www.abonnieweecake.co.uk/

The town remains hectic. The bar in the 5 star hotel on the golf course is packed to the gunnels with stern looking men. It has a very 'Washington' feel to it. Black SUV's and those large Volvo's favoured by upmarket car rental companies are much in evidence. You know they're rental cars because they have that small sign on the petrol filler cap to remind you not to fill it up with diesel. We catch sight of our first MAGA hat of the season. There can be no doubting that the country is hosting an important visitor with an impressively large entourage. Hotel prices have doubled and large helicopters thud away overhead from seven 'til late. In Starbucks a gentleman wearing a Congressional Country Club baseball hat informs his colleagues ' The Scotch folk sure as hell like their coffee weak '. He then informs them what he thinks the coffee tastes like.

Glass gowns :https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-do-you-wear-a-gown-made-of-glass-marvel-at-the-eye-catching-history-of-this-unlikely-fashion-trend-180986998/

Some people learn from experience. Others don't :https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/07/study-sheds-light-on-why-some-people-keep-self-sabotaging/

Bird flu has been mild :https://www.statnews.com/2025/07/23/h5n1-bird-flu-immunity-boosted-by-previous-influenza-a-infection/

The ventral ganglion :https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2025/july/ancient-squid-mystery-solved.html

The imperial court.

The number of visitors in town has suddenly risen. Overnight you'd think we'd become the 51st state. Even at six am golfers can be found happily heading towards their early morning tee offs. I'd thought the President might cancel his five day trip to Scotland but it seems he's already on his way. All Police leave here and in Ulster has been cancelled and every chauffeur driven car in the country has been booked  to transport the entourage around : https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-scotsman/20250724/281582361673187 . Rental cars, not surprisingly,  are only available at a huge premium. 

Students are doing something artistic in Quad. It is only six weeks before the new semester starts and plans are already being made for freshers parties and introductory lectures. Perhaps more than anything else this early sighting of students screams out that the year is rushing along.

High tide this morning. The houses on the cliff face almost never come on the market. When they do they command Pebble Beach prices. The house at the far end with the balconies that look over the sea is owned by the Chairman of a large US pharmaceutical company. Next door a man who is something to do with Palantir has had his application for a new house turned down because it was 'out of keeping with the vernacular architectural style '.

The Catholic Chaplaincy has a new, young and ( we're told )  politically active priest. In the last six weeks an old 1950's era Formica kitchen has been removed from the Presbytery , walls knocked down and a new open plan 'drop in' communal dining area installed. This morning old furniture is being taken away. Builders are about to move into the main building to bring it out of the 1890's and into the 21st century. Double glazing has been installed and the doors and window frames freshly painted. New plumbing is promised along with 'remedial' works to the roof. The new incumbent seems to have exceedingly good connections in Rome or wherever these capital investment decisions are made.

The butcher is just setting out some lamb which makes this evenings choice of dinner nice and easy.

We have made a booking here for some Swedish cooking :https://www.restauranthjem.co.uk/  It's also right on a stretch of Hadrians wall that's great for walking.

Grounded thinking :https://www.thenewatlantis.com/collections/how-the-system-works

'The Font' tells me this is fascinating :https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/six-little-red-dots-nearly-broke-universe-black-holes

The things people do :https://theconversation.com/orlando-bloom-tried-to-clean-his-blood-to-get-rid-of-microplastics-heres-what-the-science-says-261203

This takes some nerve :https://www.rediff.com/news/report/fake-embassy-scam-up-man-posed-as-west-arctica-envoy/20250723.htm

Busy bees

You know you're in the Highlands when the big story in the local newspaper is the winner of the local agricultural show. This year 'Girl Power' dominated the field with the very lovely Cadran 4th taking 1st prize.

The 'big birthday' celebratory dinner was exceptionally good. The wine list everything we'd hoped for and the service warm and attentive. The menu featured local wineberries which aren't something you see every day. The chef trained at a restaurant in France ( Les pres d'Eugenie )  that was frequented by not one, but two, generations of Polish Lowland Sheepdogs. 

The hotel considers itself to be very grand. We are less convinced. It used to be stellar but now 'good' might be a better description. The corridors are long and have a hint of 'The Haunting' about them. The staff , with one or two exceptions, seem to think smiling might devalue the experience. This is what happens when private equity companies take over old and distinguished family concerns. Prices soar, maintenance is gently deferred and corners are quietly and imperceptibly cut. There's an equally grand hotel in La Jolla that's gone the same way. 'I remember when' opinions  like this may be par for the course when you reach a certain age.

After an enjoyable breakfast we're on our way early. We spot three eagles on the walk down to the car park. 

An hour and a bit in the car and we're back here on the coast . On a good day you could do it in 45 minutes but high summer is the time when the utility companies think it a good idea to dig up the roads to lay new pipes. The contraflow system on the M90 is particularly dire - it adds twenty minutes to the journey.

The bees are out en masse. I thought that this was an ok, at best, year for bees but this morning there are thousands of them busily at work. One has a bright white band on his back. On the evidence of this morning I'd upgrade 2025 to being a bumper year for bees. The sound of thousands of bees happily enjoying themselves is one of lifes most basic pleasures.

China loves hotels with the word Vienna in the name :https://towardsdatascience.com/i-analysed-25000-hotel-names-and-found-something-unexpected/

Dogs :https://www.sciencenorway.no/can-animals-also-get-sunburned/2533345

Spiders:https://news.arizona.edu/news/tiny-fossil-suggests-spiders-and-their-relatives-originated-sea

Delayed celebrations.

Last night we meet the farmer who says the Swifts that live under the eaves of the potato barns have started to head back to Africa. The swallows and House Martins will stay for another five or six weeks before following them on the long journey down to Mauritania. The farmer also tells us the council has given approval for the caravan park to expand onto the field the curlews use to feed on in winter. The curlews are an endangered species and deserve better.  Static caravans 1: graceful and unassuming birds 0.

The Begonias outside the church are enjoying the current ' wet one minute, warm the next ' summer weather.

Down by the 16th tee a local dog owner is walking his dogs. Perhaps another, more realistic, take is that his dogs are walking him.

They look ferocious but are as gentle as lambs. They pass us going one way and reappear ten minutes later going in the other.

We pick this up in the local bookstore.

Angus had a 'big' birthday on Monday. We are now heading off to celebrate in a hotel restaurant which 'The Font' booked a year ago. Tonight was the closest opening they had available. Angus has called ahead and spoken to the sommelier to see if there any hidden ' gems ' that don't appear on the wine list. It seems that there are some 'bin end' Pomerols the thought of which puts an anticipatory spring in my step and a whistle on my lips.

Why you should avoid fizzy drinks on a long flight  :https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/what-ultra-long-haul-flights-do-to-your-body/

Sight suffers in space :https://www.universetoday.com/articles/what-if-a-trip-to-space-changed-your-eyesight-forever

26% of Americans are Costco members :https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/06/22/just-how-many-americans-are-costco-wholesale-corpo.aspx

A ( partial ) solution to nuclear waste :https://interestingengineering.com/energy/waste-eating-nuclear-reactor-stellaria

Burly visitors.

 

The American President is due in Scotland at the end of the week. The town suddenly full of 'burly' young American men with short haircuts and serious unsmiling faces. We assume they are a Presidential 'advance' party and are here to acclimatize by playing a few rounds of golf.

The sheep grazing down by the golf course are blithely unaware of impending visits and world events. They are simply happy with the wild flowers in their field. One pauses, briefly, to watch us as we wander by.

Angus pops into the local Kurdish barber for his monthly haircut. The barber asks 'What you want ?' I explain and he pretends to listen. Some routines never change. The end result is always exactly the same. I note that inflation has hit the hair cutting industry. What used to be £15 has suddenly risen to £20. In addition to the Kurdish hair dresser the town also has a variety of barbers that serve the student demographic.  Angus avoids them because they are a) much more expensive b) have Stygian lighting and c) employ trendy staff with alarming nose piercings who gyrate to Charli xcx's latest sounds while they work. 

Mist and drizzle this morning. This is typical weather here in July and August. May and September tend to be sunnier and drier.

Handel in the Strand :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIhBWwPmnm0

Whatever next ? :https://www.popsci.com/technology/robots-in-china-subway-7-eleven-deliveries/

Waking up :https://gizmodo.com/brain-scans-reveal-why-waking-up-is-sometimes-such-a-difficult-experience-2000631441

Plus ca change :https://providencemag.com/2025/07/dominance-to-dilemma-the-rewards-and-risks-of-strategic-prioritization-for-twentieth-century-britain-and-twenty-first-century-america-1/