Sophie is still coming to terms with the concept of incoming tides.
This morning a particularly powerful wave surges across the sand. It gets the full on 'glare ' treatment. I tell Sophie King Canute had the same problem. She is unimpressed.
Nothing like a custom paint job to wake you up in the morning. From the number of empty parking spaces I'd reckon that those students lucky enough to have online tests are gradually heading home.
Those students unlucky enough to have written papers can be found across town sharing their thoughts on what to expect. They tend to congregate where pavements are narrowest. Sophie has long ago found that students , although jovial, are best ignored. They never have Jaffa Cakes. The town has a year round population of 17,000 so the sudden departure of 10,000 students is a bit of a shock. .
On the golf course the daffodils are past their best but in the thorn thickets the late spring flowers are coming to the fore. The golf courses are gearing up. By six thirty there's a small crowd - maybe thirty or so - waiting by the first tee on the Old Course. I'd reckon todays crew are 40% American but mostly Spanish. A large motor home with the words ' Spanish Golf Tours - Mobile Office ' is parked on the seafront esplanade. An indication that this is some sort of corporate freebie. Local caddies are advising the golfers which iron to use on which hole.
Just over a week before the coronation. Hand cooked chicken crisps make an appearance in the supermarket. Apart from that you wouldn't know constitutional change was in the air. This evening we shall be going to a talk given by a man who is an expert on the sacred oil that will anoint the new king. For the first time in a thousand years the monks in Jerusalem will make it without using civet cat glands. This is good news for civet cats. Small towns like this are the repository of esoteric knowledge. We try to go to public lectures once or twice a week. The attendees are often more interesting than the speakers. Fueled by free wine the Q and A sessions often become 'lushly' intense. Sylvia Plaths daughter will be here soon to talk about her new book - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/62919412 . We shall go to that.
5 comments:
I'm most impressed by your commitment to attending St Andrews' public lectures. I think I'd give the annointment oil one a miss although, on reflection, my experience of these talks is that it's the speaker not the topic that determines one's level of enjoyment.
Cheers, Gail.
Wise Lady, students are best ignored unless they are helping with your research.
The wildflowers (Hyacinthoides hispanica, I believe) among the thorns are a cheer. Thank you for the alert on the Frieda Hughes book. I would like to attend her talk. And Sophie, keep a sharp eye on those waves!
Not sure I'd want to attend the lecture on the sacred oil either. Though I'll be interested to hear from you afterwards as to the interesting (or not) content.
Poor Sophie, first impudent waves and then Jaffa-cakeless students - what's the world coming to!
Thank you for the American Pie link! It provided me a hearth laugh!
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