'Sure honey'.

On cloudless days there's always 'that' moment at dawn when the sun pops up above the horizon and the sky turns improbably red. This mornings 'pop up' moment is more improbable than usual.

Two bathers come haring out of the water to say hello. Discovering we have neither a ball to throw nor treats to dispense they move quickly on. The back of some dog owners car is about to be covered in sand and salt water.

The collegiate tournament has brought with it a large contingent of golfing fans. We see Texans in Stetsons. Others wear ' Ken Paxton for Texas Senate 2026 ' caps. Some sport those strange shoe lace neck ornaments that actors on Rawhide used to wear. The folks from Washington and Pennsylvania are less partisan than the Texans in their clothing choices but are equally fond of 'bright' hues. 

Despite the town being busy with the golf tournament someone has cleverly scheduled this weekend as a 'come visit' time at the university. Next years aspirants are here in record numbers. This also means that there are a lot ( and I mean a lot ) of polite middle aged couples wandering around looking serious and attending workshops on module content.  Their teenage youngsters have no interest in such things and look as if they'd like to start making new friends. The weather is obligingly mild. In the bakers an American mother announces to another American wannabees mother that ' this is as warm as Paris '. I feel like saying 'Sure honey' but restrain myself. Give it a few more weeks and it'll be clear that this ain't Paris.

This was an interesting read. The man was brilliant and privileged but deeply, deeply flawed. Perhaps the most positive things that can be said about him was that he was a bigot and a liar and oozed malignity. There was a time when he would have been remembered as the McCarthyist lawyer who persuaded the jury that Ethel Rosenberg should be executed but perhaps his greater claim to fame is to have been the mentor and guide to America's current President. The authors write with wit but don't pull their punches or try to sugar coat Cohn and his minimalist morality.

Back at the last wee house before Denmark the early flights from London and Dublin to Scandinavia are being routed directly overhead. They leave a wonderful Saltire in the sky. The Northern Lights have been busy the last few nights but it's been too cold to stand outside in the garden looking for them. We've been watching Celebrity Traitors instead which is absolutely riveting.

The words 'stab in the back' in all the Sunday papers. No prizes for guessing what that's all about.

Croissant photography :https://substack.com/profile/207297736-side-plates-and-little-spoons/note/c-346125063

Irish humour:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8HO2WiIfJM

The end of gold leaf ? :https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16848783

AI and pilgrims :https://theconversation.com/ai-is-changing-pilgrims-journeys-but-sacred-journeys-have-always-adapted-to-new-technology-290216

Call centres are shrinking :https://www.reveliolabs.com/news/ai-and-work/after-a-decade-of-growth-global-call-center-employment-is-shrinking

This makes sense in a low key sort of way :https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/pete-hegseths-stunt-will-probably

Page 11 onward makes a lot of sense :https://thebulletin.org/premium/2026-09/opinion-the-world-has-moved-on-but-it-need-not-stay-this-way-forever/

The new i-Phone .

Too good a morning to stay at home. The weather once again warm and cloudless. After listening to the down beat six am news bulletin ( The French budget, televised executions and America allying with Russia ) we make a spur of the moment decision to pop into Edinburgh. The 8:38 train from Aberdeen is on time and gets there at 9:30. This allows us to visit the Apple store opposite the station to see the new fold out i-Phone. Disappointingly, we discover it doesn't arrive in the UK until the 23rd of October. A helpful young woman tells us to order ours now as the demand is strong. We thank her but decide we'll wait until we see one in the flesh before taking the plunge. The 'crease' in the middle of the screen may ( or may not ) be an irritating feature. Is it the sort of thing you can slip in your pocket ? Is it heavier than the current i-Phone ? Is it just a more portable i-Pad ? At a starting price of £1999 in the UK it certainly isn't cheap.

Edinburgh is busy with tourists. It always is these days. The locals are starting to wear their winter outfits. Edinburgh has a street layout that can channel the wind with toe numbing ferocity.  A frisbee carrying dog at the traffic lights opposite the Balmoral seems oblivious to the crowds.

There's time to get to Valvona and Crolla for a double espresso and a croissant.  The croissant isn't French but it is clearly European and a closer relation to a croissant than anything else we've found in Scotland.

While 'The Font' chooses artichokes and waits for the prosciutto to be sliced  Angus wanders off to buy some wine. It's along time since we've drunk Italian wines. Both of us  have become firm believers that French is difficult to beat. Perhaps our taste buds will 'zing' again as we rediscover Sassicias ?

Onto Peter Jones for some new saucepan technology. I have no interest in this part of our shopping day and cannot tell you why a new saucepan is required or what the 'new' technology is.

Finally we head to George Street in a cab. Angus has been told he's in need of a radical wardrobe refresh. Thankfully, this turns out to be a rather hurried affair as we're left with ten minutes to get back to the station for the 11:30 northbound. Grey and navy blue cords are vetoed so I return with new winter trousers in a variety of more 'modern' shades. It is unlikely I shall be mistaken for a style conscious student.

A cheese threat :https://www.the-scientist.com/a-mysterious-fungus-threatens-cheese-in-the-northeast-us-75114

An app for art lovers ... or the bored traveller with an hour or two to spare while waiting for a train :https://art-exhibitions-search.vercel.app/

The rise and fall of the plasma screen :https://www.construction-physics.com/p/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-plasma-screen

How will we keep our data safe ? :https://ai-frontiers.org/articles/ai-could-end-encryption-as-we-know-it

A wedding and pruned roses.

Labour win the St.Pancras byelection. A month ago it looked as if the Greens would storm home in first place but the mood of the country has changed since the start of September. This is probably a good thing. 

Another bright start to the day. The October air full of the sound of Pink-footed geese arriving from Iceland. They come in groups of twenty or so, circle over the old bothy and then swoop down for breakfast and a rest in the parsnip field. At this time of the morning the rising sun paints their bellies golden. From here on the ground they look like waves of  small plump glowing angels heading towards us. This remarkable sight makes us both laugh aloud. By the castle four girl students wander down to the seawater pool but after a quick length they soon opt - at pace - to head back to the warmth of their dorms.  This also makes us laugh.

For the first time in seven months there's no early tour bus dropping off tourists at the cathedral for a comfort break. September used to mark the start of the off-season but this year demand has stayed strong for longer. I'm told Christmas and Hogmanay are already sold out in Edinburgh. This may have something to do with the strength of the dollar. The University of Pennsylvania alumni in town for the Collegiate championship have a preference for Preppy colours. Lime green trousers and red shirts are very much in evidence. 'The Font' calls this the human tulip look. 

In the neighbouring village there's a quiet, mid-week wedding underway. A third of the men are in kilts, a third in tartan trews and a third in suits. People have brought their dogs with them.

There can be no doubting you're in Scotland. The ladies wear long dresses which manage to combine formality with lots of primary colour. It's a happy and unpretentious affair of the sort the French would term as 'correcte'. A number of gentlemen wear those glasses with integrated hearing aids.  All of the kilts, I'm glad to report, are worn decorously at mid knee.

The military graves in the kirkyard are looking good. The roses have been pruned back for the winter and the grass verges trimmed straight. Bark has been laid to suppress the weeds.

A woman with a Sheltie passes by. As she approaches the Commonwealth War Graves she kisses the end of her fingers and then touches the top of each of the headstones. She lingers by the New Zealanders. We've seen her - and others - do this before. A small gesture to let these fallen , far from home, boys know they're not forgotten. Anywhere else I'd think this was unusual but in these Presbyterian heartlands it seems quite natural. Her Sheltie is used to this routine and heads off to drink from the bowl beneath the graveyard tap. Weather apart the differences between rural corners of France and Scotland are not as great as you'd imagine. Both have long memories for gratitude ...... and for slights.

A daily blog may not be exciting but over time it quietly tells you a lot about a place and its inhabitants.

Russians describe Trump as a 'cactus' :https://ecfr.eu/publication/bewitched-sleep-russians-views-on-ukraine-and-the-world/

People are still looking :https://www.dw.com/en/this-island-in-kiribati-could-be-the-key-to-solve-the-amelia-earhart-mystery/a-79517455

Tiny plants :https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/scientists-uncover-how-the-worlds-smallest-flowering-plant-became-so-tiny

How much ultra-processed food is bad for you ? :https://www.acsh.org/news/2026/10/07/two-cookie-problem-how-much-ultra-processed-food-too-much-50372

Intermingle.

At first light there's a group of thirty or so folk standing lined up facing the sea. They're here for the scattering of the ashes of the very small and very old lady with the Westie. We used to see her wandering slowly around town, followed three paces behind by her devoted companion. For the last six months she's been in the modern ( and supposedly very good ) care home out in the new development. The presence of a number of enthusiastic labradors who are keen to participate does not make the scattering of ashes as easy as it sounds. What more joyous or magical place can there be for farewells than the beach on a calm, sunny, October morning ? 

The sky may be bright but the wind is chilly. 6 degrees this morning. Those long padded coats have been brought out of storage and are now being worn by many beach walkers.

Others cope with the cold by doing hearty exercises. What is hearty exercise for humans barely registers with their dogs.

The walk back to the car via Waterstones reminds us that Scottish childhoods .....

.... are served by literature that deals with local issues.

The town is suddenly inundated with golfers. I'd assumed that after the Dunhill tournament that was it for the year. Seems the Collegiate championship is about to hit town. It is a much bigger deal than you'd expect. This year teams from Texas and Washington are joined by Pennsylvania  ( and of course St Andrews )  which may explain the large numbers of middle aged alumni who are happily wandering around waiting for the bars to open.

The English were once considered to be the most 'Catholic' of all nations. For those who know Rome you can still find the English College :https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-are-medieval-english-coins-doing-in-rome-they-could-be-rare-evidence-of-a-little-england-enclave-that-received-special-papal-privileges-180989625/

A question I've never asked myself :https://www.sciencenorway.no/culture-food-milk/why-dont-we-drink-pigs-milk/2718018

Reptilian language :https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2026/the-surprising-sounds-made-by-reptiles

Swedish bee  research :https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/honey-bee-colony-can-be-viewed-superorganism

Delays.

For some reason the flight down to London is delayed by four hours.  This might be down to fog but no one seems sure what the reason is. Angus is supposed to see his ' eye man ' but by the time I make it to central London he's had to head off to speak at a surgeons seminar in Monaco. We shall try to get together again in a month. The next time we'll go down the day before.

From the aircraft we get great views of Buckingham Palace and The City. The flight down, once it finally gets airborne, manages to cover the distance from Edinburgh to Heathrow in 39 minutes. This we think must be some form of record. There is an American gentleman who is not at all happy at being delayed and loudly declares that this sort of thing never happens on United. He also informs the staff that he's got a level of frequent flier membership that's so elevated the airline holds the flight for him if he's ever delayed. The lounge staff take this with a theatrical deference that he takes to be genuine.

'The Font' discovers a Scottish perfumier.

'The Font' also discovers that Mary Quant is still going and has an outlet with a 1970's era Carnaby Street feel to it. This Swedish farmstead look must be popular with a younger generation.

Peach yoghurts were one of the joys of living in France. In the UK when you do find them they're of the low fat variety with that unusual and unappealing metallic taste. The local supermarket in London has the real thing but the thought of getting them through airport security stops me from buying everything they have to offer. If you ask anyone in London if they ship to Scotland you are met with a look that says " the difficult we can do but the impossible we can't ". 

Ants to avoid :https://www.sciencenorway.no/animal-kingdom-insects-pest/you-dont-want-to-bring-these-ants-home-from-vacation/2714144

Evolving brains :https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-political-animal/202610/stone-age-brains-and-the-adapting-mind

A hidden tomb :https://theconversation.com/secret-chambers-in-tutankhamuns-tomb-could-hold-the-burial-of-a-lost-egyptian-queen-we-may-get-answers-soon-292973

Climate change dining.

The i-Pad doesn't want to talk to Blogger. There again it could be the British Airways WiFi. Whatever the reason todays blog has disappeared into the ether.

Tonight we're in London. Who would think it possible to be sitting having dinner outside in October ? You wouldn't want to do that in Scotland.

The price of strawberries in the trendy Swedish part of town is an eye opener.

A book for Christmas

Welcome to the season of spectacular sunrises. A time of the year when cold air from the Arctic battles warm air from the Azores with dramatic results. 

The four medical students who live in the flat near us in town have decorated their front window in readiness for Halloween. The pile of rugby balls has gone and been replaced by a wig wearing skeleton. The cigarette is a surprisingly artistic touch. It can safely be said that the lads are living life to the full. Their parties are surely 'epic'.

'The Font' picks up a book from the booksellers. It's been highly recommended. I think that it's going to be one of those 'yet another' coffee table type gardening books that is skimmed through and then put in a pile and forgotten.

In fact it's a remarkable tale of making a world class garden in Devon and then visiting, and falling deeply in love with, a Georgian house on a small island in the Orkneys. One of those " I'm meant to live here " moments. The serendipity of the tale is a joy. Serendipity is a little remarked on but important part of life. The chatelaine who waits for years until she's found the right buyer and then, contented the house is in safe hands, dies shortly after the sale is agreed. The battle of establishing a garden in a part of Scotland that's so windy no trees will grow . I'm not sure which chapter is more delightful. This book is alluring in its description of simple pleasures. If you're going to buy an escapist book this year then make it this one for the charm and warmth of the language.

Some of the pictures are heavy on candles and leave us wondering if the house in Orkney has electricity.