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

Murk.

Light rain and a stiff breeze according to this mornings weather forecast. 'Murk' might be a better way of describing things. It's been wet and cold like this for the last three weeks and looks like there's at least another week of rain and chill easterly winds ahead of us. As we drive into town we pass a large German coach disgorging a group of forty or so glum looking Swabians onto the street outside chapel. A woman with a light wand is shepherding them down towards the golf course. Off season tourism can be a hit or miss affair for those involved.

The last of the new bunkers in nearing completion. In this unfinished state they look more like installation art than sand traps.

It seems bunkers have been built like this ( here at least ) in the same labour intensive way for centuries. The turf is removed from the top and then cut into thin strips that are built up, one on top of the other, to form the steeply angled side walls. Come the spring the grass will start growing and the new feature will look as if its always been there.

The Six Nations rugby tournament starts on Saturday. The savvier bar owners are offering reserved tables ( together with bar snacks and wide screen tv - drinks extra  ) at £25 a head . The offers went up on Monday and we pass three hostelries that are already sold out. The Tiger Wood / Justin Timberlake Bar is among them.

There must be some other way of collecting rubbish in medieval town centres. I know narrow streets and small courtyards don't lend themselves to modern commerce but the sea gull resistant bins outside the fish and chip shop are just plain ugly. You don't see this in Oxford or Cambridge - or do you ? How do other places deal with commercial waste ?

Expanding cities:https://www.worksinprogress.news/p/many-victorian-cities-grew-by-tenfold

Birds:https://birdhistory.substack.com/p/were-not-sending-our-best

What does this say ? :https://www.edelman.com/newsroom/richard-edelmans-6am-blog/insularity-next-crisis-trust

Brexit a decade on  :https://www.historytoday.com/archive/behind-times/brexit-britains-forever-war

The sound of Venice :https://youtu.be/aXBWrNN64z8?t=5

China :https://nbarkin.substack.com/p/watching-china-in-europe-february

Stars.

In the good old days you booked a hotel and that was that. Now a morning is spent trying to communicate with the hotel in Lisbon about arrival times, passport numbers, pillow options and restaurant reservations. You'd think this could easily be done by e-mail but it seems nothing in Portugal is that simple. We are bombarded with messages. This whole process, a young lady at the front desk informs me, is to ' ensure a smooth and seamless guest  experience'. I bite my tongue. The young woman suggests sending a car to meet us but when told the price Angus says we'll take a cab. As an aside TAP, the Portugese airline, is to be acquired by Air France. This, for anyone who tries to make an online reservation for two seats together, cannot come a moment too soon. Their systems have a certain archaic charm.

We look up and the rain clouds have parted. There are stars to be seen ! Our walk from the car to the theatre for the evening performance completed under Mediterranean skies.

When we head back to the car afterwards the streets are wet. That parting in the clouds must have lasted for all of half an hour before the rain returned. The owner of the Italian restaurant remains hopeful that al fresco dining will become a February thing. I'm not sure that even the students are other worldly enough to try sitting outside at this time of the year.

We order an Indian take away. Take aways here are designed for the mega healthy  student appetite. One portion would happily have satisfied both of us. We briefly toy with the idea of eating in the restaurant but it's full, the noise levels are stratospherically  high and the average age of the diners is somewhere well south of twenty - all of whom are conducting conversations with friends six tables away.

A most un-Presbyterian message projected onto the wall of the old town hall.

'The Fonts' favourite store in town is having a sale. Some sales are understated affairs. This is a particularly understated affair.

Life in these northerly parts remains quiet.

Some French history I'd never heard of :https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2797/ball-of-the-burning-men/

All over the news but I'm not sure what to make of this. It seems rather alarming :https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/01/ai-agents-now-have-their-own-reddit-style-social-network-and-its-getting-weird-fast/

Lab grown meat :https://sentientmedia.org/how-to-explain-lab-grown-meat/

More on Ireland :https://www.thefitzwilliam.com/p/most-irish-foreign-aid-never-leaves

Our local Professor of International Relations remains unhappy :https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/no-the-guardrails-are-not-holding