Going out to eat.

 

Down to the harbour . It's quiet at this time of the morning.  The perfect chance to see the arts festival before it officially opens for the day. A cup of coffee  in the marquee that's been erected to service the summer crowds costs £3. In France it would be a euro eighty. We've found the cost of living here is roughly the same as it was in Toulouse with some big differences. Insurance for the house and car is much cheaper in the UK. Food, with the exception of wine,  is pretty much the same although surging inflation and a weak £ is changing that. However, going out to eat is off the Richter scale compared with France. We're shocked that even a basic meal in an Indian restaurant here in town costs close to £40 a head. 

This morning we meet a young, and early rising, lady landscape artist. She collects up sand and soil from the local vicinity which she then uses to colour  and texture her own paint.  This gives each canvas the hues of that particular locality. It seems to work.

The 'English' church is being used to exhibit the works of another artist. Three paintings , on easels, have been placed in front of the altar.

They have a calmness to them.

In another studio a large seascape looking across the Forth catches my eye. 

On the beach more signs that the Auk population is being decimated by avian flu. Another dozen washed up on the shoreline. It's heart breaking not least because there's nothing one can do.

This man seems enthused about a building in Dallas :https://matthewlodge.substack.com/p/the-most-beautiful-building-of-this

Scots and other residents of the Celtic fringes may find this interesting :https://www.thepathnottaken.net/p/why-are-the-celtic-nations-so-progressive