Impractical.

Last week the town was full of French and Spanish tourists on day trips. This week it's parents here for their childrens graduation. The streets bursting at the seams.  Parking spaces that are usually home to the local farmers mud splattered Land Rovers are taken over by gleaming executive saloons. At eight am a small group of school blazered  boys can be seen peering through the windows of two bright red Ferraris that are parallel parked outside the Wee House. The early-teens gabber loudly. Not every day the walk to school is so exciting. Further down the road they come across even more exotic finds - a silver Aston Martin 4x4 and a bright blue Lamborghini. All these vehicles , with the possible exception of the 4x4, are highly impractical on the towns cobbled streets. Practicality is, of course, not a word that an early-teen would recognize.

Begonias everywhere. The gardeners have been working over the weekend to make the flower beds look their best for the first of the graduation ceremonies. Somewhere over by the medical buildings a piper is already practising Scotland the Brave for todays events. Hanging baskets have gone up on the Ferrari sheltering lamp posts outside the  Wee House. The hanging baskets are full of white begonias. The emphasis is clearly on imparting as much colour as possible to this northerly townscape. The overall effect is what Scots would call 'cheery'.

The watering wagon is out - again. Today, the gardeners are focused on  the flower beds they didn't irrigate yesterday. Flocks of large aggressive seagulls look on. The seagulls are not used to being disturbed. Their irritation is plain... and audible.

The wine merchant has sensibly placed champagne at the centre of his window displays. Sales of bubbly go through the roof at this time of the year. By opening time there will be a small queue of fathers in rented for the occasion tail coats waiting outside to buy a celebratory bottle.... or two. Impatient mothers in broad brimmed hats ill suited for North Sea gusts of wind will be urging them on.

Even the kitchen shop is entering into the spirit of things with a large CONGRATS  in gold balloons strung across one window. Why the kitchen shop should wish to celebrate in this way is something of a mystery.

Outside the library another snippet of poetry. 

So starts a rather lovely Monday morning on the outer reaches.

Intriguing on Putins real (?) mother :https://www.economist.com/obituary/2023/06/08/vera-putina-claimed-to-be-vladimir-putins-real-mother

Scottish music. This was played on the radio this morning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQl5AvTfbBY