The Valentines Haggis.

After a brief spell of sunshine the rain has returned. We wake to find scudding clouds and a strong Siberian wind rattling the gutters and downpipes . This wet weather isn't just impacting Scotland. In parts of England two thirds of Februarys average rainfall has fallen in the first week of the month. The farmer tells us this is the wettest start to the year in these parts since 2016.

The hyacinths in the window of the house by the Sports Bar are now past their best. Inside the large wooden table is piled high with essays waiting to be marked and paperwork to be filed. There's something of the absent minded professor about this never changing tableau.

Down on the shore mechanical diggers are trundling slowly backwards and forwards through the surf. The process of redistributing the sand and repairing the storm damage will take weeks. What a cold and tedious job.

A Valentines Day Haggis wrapped in red paper is nestled at the back of the butchers window. 'The Font' observes that Frenchmen may think they're the worlds greatest Romeos but nothing shouts out amour like a Scotsman bearing a rose festooned Haggis. 

Raised tail gates on the cars parked along the shopping street reveal dog owners removing the sand from their pooches coats. A daily post beach ritual that's so commonplace we usually don't notice it.

Tasting menus seem to have conquered the universe. A very few are good. The majority are mediocre and hostage to the chefs talent ... or lack of it. Amorous students can celebrate Valentines Day for £69.00 ( wine pairing included )  in the local hotels. We wonder how many make use of the overnight stay option.

How the Mediterranean happened :https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/physical-world/2026/case-against-zanclean-megaflood-filling-mediterranean

A newly discovered dinosaur with unusual features :https://connectsci.au/news/news-parent/7809/Spiky-dinosaur-from-China-rewrites-the-script?searchresult=1

More about the secrets of the human mind :https://psyche.co/ideas/spirituality-cant-be-reduced-to-whats-happening-in-the-brain

There are things to buy in Kyoto that you can't but anywhere else :https://bigthinkmedia.substack.com/p/how-a-small-shop-in-kyoto-connects

The Danes are still exceedingly angry. This may be an example of Danish humour. The two youngest look bored :https://x.com/RasmusJarlov/status/2021184890310480067

Things never used to be like this

A dozen Greenshanks have joined the sixty or so Curlews feeding in the long grass by the shore. The farmers wife is very excited. She and the two Jack Russells rush up the farm track to tell us.

The students are into their third week of classes, the skies are brighter and the days are getting noticeably longer. After a month of solid rain people are getting out and about again.  Life in these northerly climes is showing signs of mellowing into something that approximates to being habitable.

The storms of the last month have stripped away another couple of yards of sand from the large dunes that protect the golf course from the sea. A small fleet of diggers and dumper trucks are busy shifting loads of sand from one end of the beach to the other heavily eroded end.

The gull population are still busily feasting on whatever goodies the high tides have deposited on the sand. They are not best pleased with all this activity. Every time a truck trundles by they rise into the air in an irritated, squawking mass.

One of the coffee chains in town has some wonderfully delicate stone carving around its front door. It 's a hangover  from the towns  architectural glory days.

More than a hint of blue sky this morning. It's a welcoming  60% cloud, 40% sky split.

Old friends have gone off to Milan to watch the Winter Olympics. They phone to tell us that the Hyatt is full of folks with a heightened sense of their own entitlement. One couple finding their town car isn't waiting for them barge to the front of the taxi queue and announce ' We're staying in the hotel'. When that fails to impress they then announce that they're going to ' a very important dinner '. In case anyone's in doubt heavy emphasis is placed on the word 'very'. The locals have been surprised to find that the American VP and Secretary of State have each brought over a large fleet of Chevy Suburbans. A dozen of these leviathans in convoy are enough to bring the narrow streets in the centre of the city to a complete halt . Things never used to be this imperial - or did they ? :https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/seduced-by-the-louis-xiv-treatment  The Italian newspapers are  incensed to discover that JD Vances delegation have also flown in their own food. Guess they think the local offering in Milan is too 'risky'.  Our friends ate at this restaurant brashly unpretentious restaurant and laughed with delight at the freshness of the food on offer :https://risoelatte.com/duomo/risoelatte-duomo/  Milan has better food than Rome, Venice or Naples although Mantua and Bologna might better it.

A visitor goes to Shenandoah . The last paragraph is the best :https://www.commonreader.co.uk/p/confederate-flags-and-shenandoahs

War Horse was based on a true story :

https://x.com/nettermike/status/2020350498151493782

For sale - Range Rover owned by one very careful lady owner :https://www.iconicauctioneers.com/2007-land-rover-range-rover-vouge-se-rec16065-1-nec-1125

Deep Maniots :https://www.science.org/content/article/remote-greek-culture-has-been-genetic-island-4500-years

Blue sky.

Bad Bunny makes it into the Scottish morning news broadcast. This is the second time we've heard of him in the last six months. A well known American political figure has said they couldn't understand a word he said and that the performance was ' an affront to the greatness of America ! '  A young skier by the name of Hunter Hess has also faced the well known politicians ire.

Here on the Scottish coast we wake to a dry Monday morning. Even better there are gaps in the cloud and we can see patches of blue sky. Whoever thought that climate change would make Scottish winters wetter ? The farmer tells us, as he tells us every year, that this is the wettest it's ever been. This year he could be right.

Thousands and thousands of gulls lining the seashore . The overnight tides must have brought in something really good to feast on.

A group of dog owners have found a dead seal pup on the beach. They warn others to steer well clear of it. Labradors seem particularly intrigued by the scent of seal. A large colony of seals live on the sandbars in the river estuary. The recent high tides and strong winds have swept some of the younger ones away. This one looks as if it's just fallen peacefully asleep. A beach warden will be down soon to bury it is the sand. 

Puddles on the golf course bear witness to how much rain and wind we've had over the last month. Longer days are bringing out visitors to the golf range. There must be all of 30 students there despite the early hour.

More posters for the upcoming university election appearing. 7,000 staff and alumni are registered to vote which must make this one of the more 'focused' electorates.  This woman candidate used to be our Ambassador to China and then to the UN. I'm again left to wonder why we can't find and elect politicians of this calibre. Interestingly none of the candidates use their titles in this fiercely egalatarian part of the world. We know who we'll both vote for but it will be a hard decision.

Dreams by country :https://substack.com/@thebagatelles?

A bumper year for pomegranates :https://pajhwok.com/2026/01/30/nearly-23000-tons-of-pomegranates-exported-to-foreign-markets-this-year/

How legible is your writing ? :https://substack.com/home/post/p-185984694

Cairo as an affirmation of life :https://substack.com/home/post/p-185850526

A story stumbled across  in a London  blog on art history :https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/blogs/so-lonely-strange-country-leopold-ettlinger-scholar-exile

Is a drawing of a foot worth this much  ? :https://x.com/arthistorynews/status/2019471451473027072

The duckling.

Scotland lose to Italy. 'Clueless' is the verdict of the Sunday papers. The bottle of wine I'd opened in the morning becomes commiseratory rather than celebratory. The despondent shout that echoes out of every bar in town as Scotland miss their last chance of a conversion can be heard out here in the village. Next week Scotland play England in Edinburgh. Tables in the bar and restaurants are already sold out.

The Sunday morning news roundup on the radio radio tells us that the American Vice President has had a rough reception at the Winter Olympics in Milan. The American team was cheered but he was booed. 'There are  detractors in the Republican party who say he lacks the intelligence and warmth of the President' says the announcer wryly. 

The cutest little Eider duckling has been blown up into the courtyard by the gales. For a moment we think it's a puffin. Down on the shore the Eider mothers are braving the waves and paddling back and forth along the shoreline looking for it. The wee thing has opted to shelter under the car . This is out of the wind but it's a spot that is frustratingly just out of my reach. The Waitrose driver ( an early era Syrian refugee who now speaks with a Scots accent straight out of central casting ) choses this moment to drive into the courtyard and drop off 'The Font's monthly komboucha order.  He sees me crawling on all fours and asks if he can help. If we don't do something the chick will starve. He gets down on the ground , stretches his arms, picks the chick up and then carefully carries the wee thing down to join its siblings on the beach. The Eider mothers watch him. To our surprise it is soon reunited. Interfering with nature is always a damned if you do, damned if you don't affair.  For the last seventeen  years the kindness of people has been a staple of this blog. This is the latest example. The driver must have taken a good fifteen minutes out of his schedule. The Syrian refugee likes to stop out here in his lunch break to have what the Scots call his 'piece'. Sometimes he brings his children with him. He is a gentle man.

In the souvenir shop windows Highland Cow hot water bottles. Practical if not stylish. 

At the fancy 5 star hotel the man who puts up the flags pulls them down again quickly. In these winds the flags would be shredded in an hour. The Union Flag is already looking frayed at the end.

Westie and Highland Cow golf club covers for sale in one of the golf shops. Not sure that they'll catch on with the Pebble Beach crowd.

What a surprise. Buying an antique quilt here can be cheaper than going to Peter Jones :https://www.instagram.com/antiquequiltcompany/?hl=en

That 40's feeling :https://theconversation.com/the-truth-about-energy-why-your-40s-feel-harder-than-your-20s-but-there-may-be-a-lift-later-on-274250

Driven to crime. In a country without free health care would the % be higher ? :https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/the-breaking-bad-effect-is-real-data-shows-cancer-diagnoses-drive-a-14-spike-in-criminal-hehavior/

Buying art :https://x.com/eliblee/status/2019000863155445991?s=43

Someone over dinner says this is the nest version of Hallelujah. The language fits the music and may be better than the standard English translation  :https://youtu.be/XH1fERC_504?t=13

Electioneering.

At first light we make it down the track from the courtyard to the shore. It's so wet we just come straight back home again and change into dry clothes. The cormorants are in their element. High winds, jagged rocks and pounding seas. What could be better ?  Italy play Scotland in Rome tonight so I bring up a bottle of Margaux from the cellar and open it in readiness. In cold, damp weather like this the wine needs all the help it can get.

In town the rain eases off and it's dry for all of ten minutes. By the Belisha Beacons there's a poster urging us to vote in the forthcoming Chancellors election :https://barbarawoodward.org/ . The electioneering is conducted with a reserve and politeness that is strangely out of tune with the times.  Another contender has a Twitter page which is considered rather racy and modern. It is as a neighbour said 'more security services than Foreign Office'  :https://x.com/marksedwill He has started to wear tartan ties in the videos.

The question as to the freshness of the bakers lemon 'Love' sponge is answered. New ones are delivered every morning. Demand is picking up.

Valentines sharing cakes are now flying off the shelves according to the lady behind the counter. Angus is amazed at the price.

It would be churlish not to buy something so I opt for a coffee 'Love'  sponge with piped pink highlights. This is a new line for the baker and the sales lady doesn't know whether the filling is cream or custard. I promise to return and let them know what I think of it. Back at the car  'The Font' simply sighs rather than commenting on the sophistication of my palate.

French humour :https://x.com/Grand_Continent/status/2019805633286156338

Being practised on the chapel organ this morning :https://youtu.be/VwFyzq-AfEo?t=84

Camouflage :https://www.sciencenorway.no/animal-kingdom-biology/why-dont-animals-have-green-camouflage/2609278

Supermarket roast chicken :https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/frivolous-costco-chicken-lawsuit

60's era sideboards.

We dodge a heavy downpour and pop into the uber trendy new cafe in town. It's full of youngsters staring at their laptops in pre-tutorial silence. After last nights opening match in the Six Nations a few of the lads look slightly hungover. We opt to sit in the laptop free zone which is frequented by an older ( and noisier ) crowd of sensibly dressed dog walking pensioners and young mothers with gurgling pre-schoolers in bright romper suits. Pre-schoolers and dogs are soon on first name terms. 'The Font' notices that our chosen 'zone' has been furnished with 1960's era sideboards. Seems that old furniture never dies it just gets recycled into trendy student cafes. I look in vain for a radiogram. Who remembers those ?  We had a Grundig.

At the small kilt makers by the Divinity School a black jacket, black shirt and black tie. Why ? The grey kilt is even more of a fashion travesty. Angus is mortified. Who, why, where and when would you wear this ? 

The lemon 'Love' sponge ( or Valentine's Gateaux as cake purists would know it ) remains in the bakers window. Is it the original we saw last weekend or is it one of a daily batch?

The local branch of Clydesdale Bank has closed down as has Barclays. The Bank of Scotland is being boarded up and this morning a group of men are removing the two external cash machines. The town is now left with three places you can get cash - The Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide and a small outpost of The Trustees Savings bank. Which will be the next to close ? The Royal used to be the bank which we used as students. Angus was forever being called in to address his 'Font' induced overdraft.

More groups of Chinese students seen wandering the rain swept streets. They look glum. Each group is accompanied by two or three older 'minders'.  Some Scottish universities have thousands of Chinese students. St. Andrews only has a handful. Is this about to change ? I'm guessing that after their brief exposure to the local weather many of the wannabe attendees will opt to study in the sylvan climate of southern England.

A great reshuffling ( apparently ) in the world of fashion :https://katebevan.substack.com/p/milan-or-paris-who-won-in-the-great

Polar bears adapting :https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/02/a-polar-bear-paradox-is-unfolding-in-the-arctic/

Puzzling tunnels :https://www.404media.co/scientists-keep-discovering-mysterious-ancient-tunnels-across-europe/

The Irish share the same rain humour :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48Fw9ErE8Qg

First time ever seen :https://x.com/MAstronomers/status/2019100966407246048

For the serious minded:https://thetwocents.substack.com/p/the-safe-assets-that-werent

Random history video :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H05H_chbBRk

'Canyon'.

What a week. In the UK the Epstein files have defenestrated a Prince, an ambassador who is being called traitorous and now, quite possibly, a decent but unexciting Prime Minister. In the US the consequences for the elite and discussion of  the involvement of the Russian security services seem to have been rather more muted.

Another day of rain and wind. This morning the sea has worked itself into a fury and is pounding against the castle ruins. Usually we manage 15-20 thousand steps a day. Yesterday, in the brief gaps between downpours we clocked up a miserly 9 thousand and today doesn't look as if we'll manage many more. The rain is of the schizoid sort that really wants to be sleet. It artfully manages to squeeze through  that small open space between the zipper on your jacket and your neck. Tonight, no matter what the weather has in store,  all the bars will be packed watching Ireland play France in the opening match of the Rugby Six Nations.

Behind us the waves are breaking over the pier. Usually, you can expect a couple of students to be out braving the elements and dodging the walls of water but this morning any daredevils are thinking better of it.

A notice in Starbucks promises a university gift for participating pooches. While we're waiting for our espressos one of the students waiting in line has his name called out by the barista. 'Canyon' is a name neither of us has ever heard before. It  only goes to show the richness of American English. 'The Font' wonders if ravine and gulch were considered before settling on canyon. Gulch would make a great name for a dog - possibly less so for a male child.

The farm shop has freshly made Brownies. They're £1.80 each which seems pricey to me but I've lost all sense of  what's pricey and what isn't since Covid.

Groups of Chinese wannabe students touring the university. Facing weather like this I'd opt to stay in Harbin and study surgery there. What must they be thinking as the easterly wind brings in another band of freezing rain ?

Music from Denmark :https://youtu.be/s7AcPrzTvto?t=193

Special Norwegian forests :https://www.sciencenorway.no/forest-plants/why-is-this-rare-norwegian-forest-so-special/2611192

A Finnish painter at the Met until Easter :https://finland.fi/arts-culture/new-yorks-met-museum-showcases-beloved-finnish-painter-helene-schjerfbeck/

Iran :https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/january/in-tehran?dm_i=7NIQ,2I800,3EISZS,5D3KG,1,0,0,0