Buxom and smiling.

Third time lucky. The Volvo goes in to have  two new front tyres fitted. The car has done 16,000 miles since July so  that's not too bad. Neither the garage owner nor his sidekick are talkative. In fact they are dour to the point of being monosyllabic. While they put the car on the ramp I go for a walk. 

Down the hill from the garage is a bathroom showroom, a police station, an undertakers and an ALDI. The ALDI is open. The place has very bright neon lights . That's good enough to tempt me in. There is a pile of very unripe pineapples on the fresh fruit counter . Next to that there's a small mountain of Easter Eggs  that are being heavily discounted . The packaging suggests they're of Slovene origin.  Down by the end wall the wine section hoves into view. This is extensive but caters more for a student audience. There is a heavy emphasis on wine with colourful packaging. A bottle of Blue Nun with a label showing a smiling and exceedingly buxom young woman milking a cow on top of a mountain is examined. My interest in the bottle has not escaped the notice of a woman in a blue nylon coat. ' Ye cannae buy alcohol before ten ' she shouts out before adding ' It's against the law'. " Thank you but I'm just looking " I reply. The unsmiling  woman stares at me in a way that suggests that I'm the type that needs a bottle of Blue Nun to start the day. She maintains a glaring and watchful presence until I leave.

On my way home after picking up the car there's time to stop off at the old barbers by the Baptist church. The two women who own it are in the process of opening up for the day. 'Any chance of a quick trim ?' . It's my lucky day. I'm in the chair  and out again in six and a half minutes. They charge £8 which must be the cheapest haircut you can get anywhere in the UK. The two women maintain a conversation about a man in their village who found two halibut steaks in a bag, cooked them and then suffered from food poisoning. ' Did he grill them or fry them ?' asks the younger of the two women of the other. Angus wants to ask if it would have made any difference but keeps this thought to himself. He'd also like to know where the two halibut steaks were found. At a bus stop ? On a park bench ? 

Sophie has a walk along the full length of the beach. The weather continues to behave. It rains at night and is bright and sunny by the time we venture out of doors. It's taken eight months but now we know the super active Pomeranian, arthritic Archie, Charlie the nervous Spaniel ,  the yappy Westie and the completely deaf, but lamb like, Pit Bull called Roger.

Classes coming to an end. The students starting to take studying seriously. At the Good Coffee Cafe there's already a line of youngsters waiting to get their  caffeine fix before heading off to revise in the library. The first exams start the week after next and everything will be done and dusted by the 10th of May.