Quail chicks.

Spain won (1-0)  the World Cup final against a brutish Argentinian team in a match that managed to be both bad tempered and boring in equal measure. In a sign of the times the Spanish fans booed the American President when he awarded the trophy. As he'd called the Spanish 'Bad people' at the last NATO summit this unsporting reaction was not altogether surprising. This morning the lady who cleans the village hall is already hard at work with a can of Pledge and a feather duster. She will be pleased that football, is for now, over. Later today the village teenagers will come to take down the bedsheet that's served as a screen for the last five weeks.

In the UK we are due to see yet another  Prime Minister ( remarkably our fifth in four years ) make his way to Buckingham Palace to be appointed by the King. No one knows much about the new man so judgement, for the moment, is suspended.

Out here on the coast a hundred or so crows landed on the roof at 5:21 am this morning. They stomped noisily around and then crawed loudly in unison. For the last week or so the crows have been congregating into flocks that line the old stone walls. Sometimes the flocks join together into large bands of around 500 and at others they head off in different directions. We can think of no rational explanation for this strange behaviour. We do however hope they won't congregate on our roof again. The noise they make is outlandish.

In town the scaffolding that blocked off the town fountain has been taken down. The restored stone work looks very grand. No one seems to know when it will be turned on. Presumably there will be some form of civic ceremony ? 

This morning there's a breeze brisk enough to have the flag on the town hall dancing.

There are two Episcopal churches in town. One is very fancy. The other a busy little place much loved by smiley ladies in broad brimmed hats and retired gentlemen in blazers. As we pass we observe that the notice board has been repainted in a rather jazzy red.

The quail that have been nesting amidst the rhubarb plants in the farmers garden have multiplied. Our journey back along the farm track is slowed by the appearance of a dozen or so quail chicks ahead of us. It can be said that quail aren't the smartest of birds. Instead of heading into the safety of the wild roses that line the verges they opt to scurry down the middle of the track. We follow along behind in the car at a stately 2 mph.

You know life is quiet when the highlight of your day is a traffic tailback caused by  quail chicks.

El Nino :https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/the-strongest-el-nino-ever

Andrew Garfields simple ploughmans accent sounds Australian in this story about the Black Death, taxes and Richard II :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVkrhHebz1Q

There is a certain skill set to talking seriously while hiking. Much of what he says is on the button :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9jD_EmzoAw

An American golfer reports on dancing in the streets of Aberdeen :https://www.agcc.co.uk/news-article/trump-claims-aberdonians-dancing-in-streets-amid-conflicting-reports-on-burnham-north-sea-position

Meadow Pipits .

England play France for 3rd position in the World Cup. They win 6-4 which explains the nountain of bin bags full of lager cans outside the front door of the village hall. In describing the war in the Gulf the BBC uses the word escalation no less than seven times. Later today I shall go and give the little BMW its weekly top up. We are back in the habit of keeping the battery and the petrol tank maxed out.

From the courtyard we can see two farm workers walking through the wheat field pulling out weeds. Life on the farm is at that pre-harvest quiet point. Meadow Pipits fly in every direction as they approach. 

Down by the harbour the fishermen are busy. This is the time of year when demand for lobsters and langoustine is at a seasonal high. The local 5 star hotels all have 'fresh local seafood' on their menus. American high rolling golfers remain convinced that 'Surf and Turf' is the height of fine dining. The gulls are waiting impatiently for the boats to return.

The next door village has a community owned pub that serves breakfast. This morning we're there before anyone else has shown up. We wait a while, admire the tree that's been planted, and then get on our way. Seems that our villagers weren't the only ones watching the World Cup.

Music to kick off a Sunday morning :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYazgvNmoJI

What happens if you review a restaurant in Germany :https://x.com/eigen_moomin/status/2077471686295957749

Warming oceans :https://theconversation.com/7-6-billion-mugs-of-tea-a-second-a-new-way-to-make-sense-of-the-heat-pouring-into-our-oceans-286916

American humour is alive and well :https://x.com/matt_slotnick/status/2077769817059439011

Unshackled iniquity, stalking schnauzers and singing sparrows.

The effects of the shingles vaccine have now completely worn off and life has returned to normal. No one has been able to explain to me why this is the only shot I've ever had a bad reaction to. A few days pain for a lifetimes gain.

On our way down to the shore we pass the farmers wife. She spent yesterday in  Edinburgh shopping . New clothes were needed for her daughter who is heading off to America to spend post-graduation time with the tall floppy haired American lad. This sounds remarkably like a  'meet the parents ' trip. Some rites of passage are unchanging and terrifying.  Father farmer does not approve ( wardrobe makeovers are rarely cheap ) although he begrudgingly thought the boy 'alright'. A Scots farmers son who knows how to change the spark plugs on the John Deere might have been more to his liking. The farmers wife is now concerned that Jackson Hole is the murder/drug/terrorism capital of America. We wish we'd not told her to watch Bosch on Amazon Prime.

Life on the North Sea remains calm. The old medieval town is super quiet. Parking is a doddle. 'The Font' observes this is what was like when we were students here half a century ago. In those days Angus drove a SAAB 96 with a four cylinder engine and a strange freewheeling device that I never fully understood.  To get it to  work you pulled a handle under the dashboard but what it did remains a mystery to this day. 

Politics rarely intrude onto the streets here. This is one of the most equitable of places. However, today we notice a political poster taped onto a lamp post ahead of the World Cup finals. This mornings news has been full of overnight comments about Canada.

Hundreds, literally hundreds, of sparrows busy breakfasting on the grass seeds down by the old pier. The sound they make is deafening. Even more remarkable is the torsional forgiveness of the long grass stems that bend double under their weight.

They squabble constantly and disdainfully so they must be siblings.

By the harbour the rabbits are blissfully unaware of impending nemesis.....

..... which is heading towards them in the shape of a small Schnauzer. We stop and laugh as mayhem unfolds. It goes without saying that the rabbits are quicker than the Schnauzer.

How can this be 40 years old ? :https://vimeo.com/223442837

More money than sense :https://www.the-scientist.com/a-t-rex-leather-bag-is-up-for-auction-is-it-really-dinosaur-collagen-74744

Things astrophysicists want to talk about over breakfast :https://thedebrief.org/an-asteroid-tracked-since-1998-made-an-unexplained-orbital-shift-now-astronomers-say-its-something-far-more-mysterious/

A world that's gone :https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/thousands-intimate-photographs-reveal-the-everyday-lives-the-romanovs-russias-last-imperial-family-180989126/

Odd story of the day :https://www.sciencealert.com/this-chernobyl-fungus-seems-to-have-evolved-an-incredible-ability

Detour

The BBC weather forecast says it will be ' the 13th day in a row of 30 degree temperatures '. This might be true south of the border but does not apply to Scotland where temperatures in the high(ish) teens are expected. It is also expected to be another rain free day which means the farmer will have to have the irrigation on in the potato fields. There's an American political scientist on the radio talking about oil, an escalating war and how Donald Trump is set to be a second Herbert Hoover.  He doesn't explain why this comparison is bad but from his tone of voice ( which alternates between squeaky excitement and Presbyterian basso profundo gloom ) I'm guessing it is.

We have visitors at the front door. Breakfast at the farmhouse is over and Puppy and elder sister are on their way down to the shore in search of adventure. They detour past the last wee house before Denmark in the hope there may be some buttered toast on offer.

Younger sister now has a tracker . This enables the farmers wife to follow her movements. These invariably include a visit to the kitchen at the local five star hotel followed by a call from the golf course groundsmen to come and collect her. Puppy, despite the families best efforts to make the farmhouse garden secure, remains an expert escapologist.

At the garden centre a bronze sheep has been positioned by the sliding doors. The best that can be said about it is that there's a contented look on its face.

There's also a display of teddy bears for a service charity. We've never seen these before.

'The Font' pops in to buy a copy of  a book about dogs in paintings. The bookstore had ordered 20 copies and we manage to get the last one. This either means the book is good or it's the sort of volume that attracts the dog loving fraternity in town.

The golf shops - of which there are many - are now selling 'Scottish' club covers.

Life out here on the North Sea coast remains exceedingly peaceful. The hotels in town are having a bumper year. It would seem that a lot of folks who might have gone elsewhere have chosen to vacation here because it's safe. I'm sure there's a PhD waiting to be written about wars in the Gulf and tourist flows to quiet destinations.

The Dutch work 11 years longer than the Italians :https://x.com/StefanFSchubert/status/2077691176694476851

Unknown until now :https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/colobus-congoensis-congo

Rare intelligence :https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-instincts/202607/this-is-the-rarest-type-of-intelligence

Worth watching for the expression on the cellists face :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7auBhHgi7d8

The injection.

Wednesday morning. I show up at 8:29 for my 8:30 shingles injection. The efficient woman at reception takes my details and sends me off down a long , brightly lit, corridor to see a nurse. Angus notes that new luridly blue plastic chairs have been acquired since his last visit in January.  Within four minutes my identity is checked, my history updated and the second injection given by a proficient young woman wearing what appear to be purple pyjamas. I barely feel the needle go in and inform her that she's a skilled injection giver. She laughs politely at this but clearly thinks I'm from the same school of idiocy as the man on his Golfymoon. The NHS gets a well deserved 10/10 for efficiency.

While waiting for 'The Font' to drive back from Marks and Spencers to collect me - " You're bound to be waiting for at least half an hour so I'll go shopping " - I have a cup of tepid coffee from a machine next door to the renal unit. 

A nurse stops to check on me . " You ok Love ?" . She asks this in a matronly way that makes it clear anyone sitting on their own drinking a coffee in the cafe by the renal unit isn't at all ok. We have a wee blether during which she looks at me intently and asks me if I've come far. For a moment I have the uncomfortable feeling she's about to ask me how many fingers she's holding up. The nurse tells me that feeling absolutely drained for two or three days after a shingles vax isn't unusual . 

Normal service will resume tomorrow after a few more restorative naps and the consumption of lots of Paracetamol. 'The Font' returns from the morning walk on the beach with the news that both the lady with the Pomeranian and Archie the arthritic labradors owner have had their shingles vax with absolutely zero side effects.

Thundering herd

The morning weather bulletin starts off with the good news that sun and a high of 23C is forecast for much of Scotland . It goes on to add that the exception will be exposed North Sea coasts where sea fog and a high of 17C is likely.

I'm due at the cottage hospital for my second Shingles shot later this morning. The first one laid me low for a couple of days so 'The Font' is preparing for a replay of life with a grumpy ox. Here in the village the farmer has the irrigation on in the potato field and the local teenagers are getting everything set up for tonights England v Argentina match. This is what can best be described as a 'grudge' match par excellence.

Walking on the beach we're suddenly aware of a thundering sensation coming through the sand. As we turn to look behind us a herd of footballers come charging by. We, together with the local dog owners, quickly get out of their way.

One of their coaches stops for a chat. This, it seems, is the Everton under 21 team escaping the heat down south . They're out for a 2 miles down the beach and 2 miles back pre-breakfast run. I wonder where they'll be watching tonights England v Argentina World Cup match ? Will they be allowed a beer or two .... or three ?

Outside the bakers a rather fine Triumph.

I last had my haircut before going to Canada. It's time for a fresh trim. Although it's the regular barber his English and my Kurdish have not improved to a level where anything but the most basic communication is possible. I'm in and out in six minutes.

Wednesday morning Verdi :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiSSz0snWzA

The Norwegian team have a memorable welcome home. What a crowd ! :https://x.com/joserra_espn/status/2076789558092431410

The 1980's :https://grimoiremanor.substack.com/p/why-is-everybody-nostalgic-about

Low stress

It's not hot but the sun is out and there's no wind. The golf courses are thronged with happy players. As we pass the Royal and Ancient a bus disgorges a large group of chicly dressed Japanese. Usually the golfers are overjoyed at just being here but this group seem very business like and avoid small talk. They head straight towards the first tee in determined silence.

There's a bit of congestion around the 17th tee where three leisurely American foursomes are taking pictures of each other on the 'home' stretch. There is much high fiving and back slapping. 

The shopping street in town is closed off for the delivery of new refrigerated units to the supermarket. This, in high summer, is what passes for excitement in these parts.

Today looks like it's going to be one of those rare days when the street cafes put out their umbrellas and you can close your eyes and  ( almost ) believe you are in Spain. 

Brave and welcome visitors on July 14 :https://youtu.be/yV0oZ1mD9_g?t=119

Never heard of 'Interoception' until now - :https://www.sciencealert.com/a-sixth-sense-youve-probably-never-heard-of-in-humans-may-be-crucial-for-mental-health

The Odyssey :https://theconversation.com/can-we-map-the-odyssey-how-ancient-geographers-and-modern-researchers-have-traced-odysseuss-travels-287312

A discovery in Azerbaijan :https://thedebrief.org/mysterious-stone-sphere-unearthed-at-ancient-site-in-azerbaijan-baffles-archaeologists-raises-new-questions-about-neolithic-technology/

New worry of the day :https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2026-07-12/why-mirror-life-has-doomsday-clock-scientists-alarmed/106780618

The unsmiling Japanese golfers all have powered golf carts . Until today I'd never seen a golf cart like this grey one. It can be pulled or can tootle along ( amusingly ) on four small wheels and under its own power. What will they think of next ?: