A good turnout.

The bird scarer doesn't start until four thirty this morning. Almost a full hour later than yesterday. This might still be too early for the villages young fathers who had gathered in the village hall to watch the first matches of the World Cup and sink a few beers. The New Zealand mans television projector was deemed to be a great success although the wind blowing through the corrugated iron roof caused the large sheet that acts as a screen to sway. The effect on the viewer was said to be not unlike being on a small boat in a brisk breeze. The local farmer says there was a good turnout but reckons a quarter of the village population are away on vacation.

This morning we walk past the pier and up the hill to the ruins of the cathedral. It's bright but decidedly nippy. There's been an abandoned bike left lying on the shoreline for the last month. Perhaps someone will come and pick it up before it rusts away in the salt air ? The BBC have sensibly focused on football this morning and limit their comments on the Middle East to the 'whiplash' nature of the negotiations. Everyone seems to agree that the resignation of not one but two Defence Ministers will be the final nail in the British Prime Ministers coffin.

The town fountain looks as if it might, finally, be getting ready to be turned on. The workmen have been restoring it for the better part of a year and now the top tier is being gently put in place. The fountain hasn't worked in decades. In fact I'm not sure it worked properly when we were here fifty years ago but we think it will transform this busy corner of the shopping street.

'Fifteens' for sale in the farm shop. They certainly aren't a Scottish thing. The young woman behind the counter thinks they might be an Ulster delicacy. I buy two and shall report on them tomorrow. They don't look like the sort of thing you'd want to eat for breakfast but I might be wrong.

The local fishermen were out at first light and are already safely moored back in the harbour with their daily catch of lobster and langoustines for the pricey golf restaurants. Someone has bought the penthouse in the 1960's era apartment block that overlooks the outer basin. They are having a major revamp to take out the original metal farmed windows and install modern ones that are robust enough to keep out the North Sea gales. 

Tattie Soup todays special at the harbour cafe. 

Once again, as you might be able to tell, life here remains quiet as only life in a small northerly university town out of term time can be.

The secret of avocados :https://sftw.substack.com/p/how-avocados-stopped-being-seasonal

Chile v Argentina :https://marcusnunes.substack.com/p/the-chilean-mirror-what-argentina

And so it begins :https://youtu.be/gHT_fl6EYBs

The Pope weights in on the World Cup :https://x.com/Pontifex/status/2064739688104001872

2027 on the horizon :https://www.theopen.com/st-andrews-2027

The bird scarer

The farmers wife has heard no more from the two teenagers. The promise to call twice a day hasn't survived the excitement of actually being in Boston for the World Cup.  I consider saying 'no news is good news' but think better of it.

This morning the BBC news has a story about the Scottish soccer team preparing for the extreme heat of Massachusetts by spending long sessions in a hot sauna. " The heats devilish " says one fan in a weary tone of voice that makes it plain he subscribes to the view that long term exposure to double digit temperatures addles the brain. The next item is about Iran.  The tone is even less sure about what's going on in the Gulf than usual and the reporter confines himself to reporting the US Presidents announcement that 200 ships have sailed through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began. That, it's observed, compares with 10,000 that would usually have transited on their way to global markets.  The announcer then adds ' That's 2% of the norm ". Since the US President sued them for $10 billion the BBC's reporting on America has assumed a 'delphic' ,you join the dots, quality.

Here in the village everyone is up and about early. This is partly due to the fact we're coming into that time of the year when it's pretty much light 24/7 and partly due to the installation of  a bird scarer by one of the village farmers. This starts to go off like a manic cannon at 3:33 am. I know this because 'The Font' grumpily asks me what time it is.

The combination of sun and rain showers has driven the roses and peonies into frenetic growth mode. 'The Font' has been pruning like a mad thing but the stems are still weighed down with blooms. The more they're cut the more they grow. We have taken to having a cup of coffee in the garden before heading off on our start of day walk. In France we could do this in shirt sleeves. Here we need two and possibly three ( and some days four ) layers for alfresco breakfasting. This morning a score or so 'Painted Ladies' join the bees in fluttering  around the kitchen door.

One village inhabitant has left his siblings and headed off on his own to the calm of the far end of the field. He ignores us.

Our day proper starts with a trip back to the recycling centre. We have bags and bags of rose cuttings. Peak refurbishment season has hit the recycling centres  staff who are currently shipping off a truck load of ageing white goods every afternoon.

The flat the four rugby lads share seems to have escaped the seasonal refurbishment cycle.  If this is what it looks like from the outside what must it be like inside ? 

Scores of rabbits sun bathing on the grass down by the harbour. They scamper away whenever a dog appears and reappear when it's gone.

Life, as you might be able to tell, is quiet. It will be like this for the next two weeks until the graduation ceremonies and the start of peak golf season in July.

Disappearing hobbies :https://theconversation.com/three-historic-craft-hobbies-at-risk-of-disappearing-and-how-to-give-them-a-go-277886

The history of SPAM :https://stevepabst.substack.com/p/the-logistics-of-victory-how-spam

The author of Primary Colors writes reflectively from London :https://josephklein.substack.com/p/trump-from-a-distance

Long lost sermon :https://www.plough.com/articles/a-city-on-a-hill

Mad. Completely mad. To think I thought the NY restaurant that's opened in St Andrews for the summer is expensive. This Danish restaurants Los Angeles summer pop up is $1500 a head :https://www.exploretock.com/noma-la/

Advice ignored.

The BBC starts the day with the news that Iran and America have been shooting at each other again but have now stopped. The announcer thinks that this is a good thing and might pave the way for talks about talks about talks. There is then a somewhat confusing story about a controversy involving the US Department of Defense War and Mormons. At the end of the segment I'm none the wiser as to what the controversy is about or why it's on the news. Overnight there have been race riots in Belfast.

The farmers wife has received two texts from the Hyatt in Cambridge. " Arrived - all good " from the younger and a slightly more informative " In hotel. Rooms great. Going for burgers " from the elder. This is the 'succinct' no nonsense style of communication much loved by male teenagers. 

We stop off at the recycling centre. This is the time of year when landlords upgrade their white goods and there's quite a collection of ten year old spin dryers waiting to be carted off. The section that takes printers is full. Seems students leave their Hewlett Packards behind at the start of the long holidays and there is no second hand market.

The last mobile phone shop has closed. There used to be three. Two banks and a Building Society survive but they too may soon disappear.

The Orkney jewelry shop is being whitewashed. The workmen have covered the pavement in sheeting which is an unusual touch. Beside them a Belisha Beacon flashes contentedly away.

A Chinese gentleman sits on the steps and observes a group of three lady golfers. There are supposed to be four of them but one has caught a 'bug'. The caddies offer advice which is ignored. The ladies maintain a running commentary amongst themselves and anyone within earshot. When they've sunk the last putt they stand in a circle, wave their arms in the air and do a little celebratory jig. " That was awesome " they tell the caddies. It is the caddies turn to remains silent.

The weather is changeable in the way only Scottish weather can be. Cold and damp one minute hot and humid the next. Yesterday afternoon we had another of those ferocious hail and thunder mixed together downpours. Are these biblical weather events set to become a feature of life in a Scotland in an era of climate change ?

One of the men who takes "memory of a lifetime" photos finishes with the lady golfers and then waits for his next group of Old Course clients looking for immortality. He's dressed from head to toe in black which presumably brings a sense of formality to both his role and the occasion.

A local peony farm. They apparently love the Scottish climate :https://jackblooms.co.uk/

Some folks think this island house on Tiree is wonderful. The old part works well, the tin side takes some getting used to :https://www.denizenworks.com/houseno7

Not sure how this got sent to me but giving birth in Korea sounds different - not bad but different :https://emilyballesteros.substack.com/p/i-gave-birth-in-south-korea-and-im

The primary cause of rising sea levels is not what you might think :https://www.sciencealert.com/sea-level-rise-is-accelerating-and-we-now-know-the-biggest-reason-why

Spick and span

This morning the BBC news broadcast leads with the war in the Gulf ( it seems even less sure whether it's on again or off ) and the news that yet another AI company is filing for a $1 trillion IPO. We use Claude a little bit but if the price we pay is anything to go by it's not nearly enough to justify all these valuations.

It's a still wind free morning and the garden is alive with bees and butterflies. The orange pompom buddleias are covered with them. I always think of buddleias as sturdy weeds that grow beside railway tracks. They may look humdrum but they thrive out here in the coastal winds and our decision to plant a shelter belt of them has proved to be a good low maintenance idea. Is there anything as magical as a garden full of hundreds of bees buzzing and butterflies dancing ?

' Brown dog' stands on the bonnet of the lilac Mazda Miata that belongs to the woman who lives in the house by the village green. From his vantage point he can guard his family while overseeing the herd of young cows. He is a true multi-tasker and watches us pass by in magisterial silence. 

There is no sign of the farmers wife this morning. It can safely be assumed that she is celebrating the departure of her two little angels with a long lie in.

In winter you are lucky if a workman stirs much before ten am. In high summer the workmen can be seen beavering away from seven . There is a  mad rush to get the place looking spick and span for graduation and the summer golf tournaments that stretch into August. Gutters are being cleaned.

Most painters would just paint the railings. University workmen put out bollards and tape off the area.

The walls down by the Principals House are being regrouted. After the grouting has been mixed and applied the walls are covered in large sheets of wet hessian. This seems a very reassuringly old fashioned way of doing things. The whole area has been carefully cordoned off to avoid any grout related incidents.

More Indians live in Canada than the UK ? :https://x.com/stats_feed/status/2063526120486543802

Not sure I buy this :https://x.com/idyllicmusing/status/2062994923801243845?s=46

Flags :https://www.worksinprogress.news/p/good-design-is-ruining-american-flags

In the age of AI should your child become a lawyer ? :https://artificialauthority.ai/p/the-lump-of-law-fallacy

The power cut.

We rarely have power cuts but this morning we do. Thankfully, it's a bright and sunny ( and warmish ) start to the day but one without hot water or coffee. Within 20 minutes a utility company 4x4 is driving slowly down the farm track checking the overhead cables. The driver is a cheerful soul who lowers his window and says " I've nae idea what the problem is but we'll find out soon enough ".

The outage cannot have made the departure of the farmer and his wife to the airport with their offspring any easier. There's no sign of the mud spattered Discovery at their house so they must have set off super early. Male teenagers being male teenagers they were probably ready for the off at first light. To their mothers horror the boys baggage is minimalist - a spare kilt, jeans, sneakers and tee shirts. It is unlikely they will need anything smarter. Anyway is there anything more formal than a kilt ? The Hyatt in Cambridge has been chosen for its accessibility to Gillette Stadium where Scotlands first two matches are being played. The hotel is ( or was when we last visited a decade or so ago )  a rather genteel Harvardy type  place. We wonder if the staff are going to be ready for what's about to hit them.

The bees are out in force covering the buddleias. We can hear them from inside the house.

The young cows on the village green have come to associate humans with food. They watch us pass along the road with an accusatorial air. Their disappointment is obvious.

A young farmers wife has taken her seven dogs a walk on the beach. Loading them into the back of the truck isn't plain sailing. Four go in, one comes out, then three go in and the rest come out. These must be an easier way of doing things. It goes without saying the dogs are having a whale of a time.

The rams remain unhappily separated from the yewes.

The bollards outside the graduation hall have been freshly painted with black gloss  and the troughs filled with begonias. The redecoration of the town is in full swing. It's three weeks to graduation season and everything is being made to look its absolute best.

Parents who haven't made reservations for graduation lunch had better hurry up. Places are fast disappearing.  For a week Champagne consumption goes through the roof.

The migration is underway. This gentleman from Papa Westray is already en route  :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj0YZKfwrHE

Hidden gems. You can ( more easily ) get planning permission for a sky scraper in London if you include a roof deck that's open to the public . Here's some of them :https://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/2026/05/londons-free-roof-terraces.html?m=1  This could be my favourite :https://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/2019/02/120-fenchurch-street.html

A very British Library podcast :https://www.blplayer.co.uk/eventlink/1082/GuUq7UXv

Florida is thinking of getting rid of property taxes which is probably a bad idea if you ever need to call the Police :https://www.governing.com/urban/could-florida-really-eliminate-property-taxes

Why fly the fish in from Japan ? :https://www.wildizakaya.co.uk/

Moby Dick without reading it :https://www.deezlinks.com/p/the-74-most-incredible-lines-in-moby

An early wedding and an old Austin

Tomorrow the farmers offspring head down to Edinburgh for the Jet Blue flight to Boston.  The farmers wife, who has been in two minds about them going to the World Cup, is now at a stage where she can't wait for them to get on the plane. In fact she's at a stage where filicide seems like an attractive option. The boys have faithfully promised to call home twice a day . I'd reckon that's a promise that won't survive contact with the first match of the tournament. This morning the lads are out helping their father spray his brassicas. It seems brassicas are very prone to disease.

The young university faculty who populate the village have four full teaching free months before the next semester starts . Much of this time will be spent in the village hall where a large freshly ironed Emperor sized sheet has been hung from the rafters by the kitchen door. It will provide a screen for the New Zealand mans television projector. The first match will be shown here on Thursday.  There is already much discussion about the US and Iran facing each other in a play off in  LA on July 3rd. Being a dormitory for St Andrews the village has a young 30 something demographic and a surprisingly large number of toddlers. Low cost entertainment is always welcome.

The beach quiet. Black winged gulls ignore us as we pass by. It's colder than it has been and we're back to wearing an extra layer. On the way to Starbucks in the car we pass an early morning wedding. Graduates can marry in chapel. Many do. An American couple have opted for a 1937 Austin as a wedding car. The car is tiny and the brides dress voluminous. The groom is thankfully lean enough to squeeze in beside her on the back seat. Tourists getting off the early morning tour bus from Edinburgh clap. Some go 'oooh' with delight. Weddings on a sunny morning make people do that.

The baker is selling Ecclefechan Tarts. Until today I've never seen an Ecclefechan Tart on sale anywhere.

A group of Spaniards are heading out of chapel en route to the cathedral. They seem remarkably well ordered. They've gate crashed the back of the wedding and seem to have rather enjoyed themselves. The university ushers in their long black tail coats have sensibly allowed them to stay there. The wedding will be the core of countless holiday stories in Madrid and Bilbao.

Down by the first tee there is a particularly well behaved crowd. They applaud the good drives and shout gentle encouragement to those who have sliced their shots. Todays onlookers are I'd reckon  60% American, 25% Chinese, 10% European ( ie Spanish ) and 5% local. The price of a standard room in the big 5 star hotel is now heading towards the peak summer £1,000 a night level. The New York restaurant that's set up for the summer in the basement of the hotel on the 18th tee is booked solid from now through early September. Making money here in the summer is easy. It's the other eight months of the year that are a problem.

Life in a small university town, out of term time, is calm and quiet. Perhaps there will be some excitement next week ?

The most remote hotel in Scotland ? :https://wildland.scot/properties/hope/

A beautiful Manet to enjoy on a sunny June morning :https://www.wikiart.org/en/edouard-manet/pinks-and-clematis-in-a-crystal-vase

How to live in France  :https://kimberlyannwheeler.substack.com/p/things-the-french-find-completely

Some new and rather enjoyable thoughts on the universe . Best read on the porch with a cup of coffee and no distractions :https://scottsumner.substack.com/p/the-world-is-bigger-than-you-can

D-Day humour. Thank you Canada.: https://x.com/jdmstewart1/status/2063251062778114264

Grumpy rams.

The six am BBC news bulletin leads with comments by the American VP who thinks the Brits are ' in civilizational decline '. He goes on to say we have a ' politics of self hatred '. Quite why the UKs domestic political scene should be of such obsessive  interest to a foreign politician is something of a mystery. Perhaps things are going so swimmingly at home he has a lot of spare time on his hands ? The Prime Minister has replied along the lines of  ' Thank you for your comments. They will receive the attention they deserve'.

All the female sheep have been moved back to the farm on the hill leaving fourteen grumpy males in the field by the shore. The rams do not look happy with this change in their domestic arrangements.

The sun highlights some of the gargoyles on the old science building. The one in the middle is enough to give you nightmares. Minimalist modern buildings lack these architectural 'flummeries' which, nightmares aside, is probably a loss.

The colour in this photo don't do justice to the cornflowers that have started to bloom at the edge of the sheep field. The blue is quite remarkable.

I'm not sure whether these purple poppies are natural or have escaped from someones garden. They're in the golf course wild flower meadow so the green keepers must think they're kosher. The place is alive with butterflies. It seems to be a bumper year for Red Admirals. 

'Flourish and Joy' on the uninspiring  fresh flower stand at the local garage. This may be some sort of wry humour. I'm still unsure what's going on with Iran so every week I drive to the garage and top up the tank. Prices have now nudged up to  £1.61 a litre.  Overnight , as a backup, the little BMW's hybrid engine is recharged. This gives us 30+ miles of range. For some technical reason to do with being so remote we can't get the cheap overnight electricity tariff . This would reduce the charging costs by 80%. There seems to be little difference between the cost of plugging into the grid and using petrol.

Baskets for the garden :https://studioamos.co.uk/baskets

Norwegian advice on storing olive oil :https://www.sciencenorway.no/food-food-and-health/why-you-should-store-olive-oil-in-the-fridge/2672135

Englands oldest ally:https://bowofodysseus.substack.com/p/the-original-special-relationship

'That' development in Albania :https://tomselliott.substack.com/p/what-is-jared-kushner-actually-building

Some Saturday morning music :https://youtu.be/0u0M4CMq7uI?list=PLcSkPXginhQfNhQa4hYJKiYn7hQMZ66q8&t=47