We'll come back tomorrow

Late summer weather. Warm during the day but a duvet needed at night and a extra layer first thing in the morning. On the beach our only company watching the sun rise is a jogger and her Sheltie. 

The builders have relaid the uneven concrete floor in the conservatory. That's the good news. Now the bad. Somehow liquid concrete has managed to find its way into the electrical junction box. The power has to be disconnected while the electricians go to look for a pneumatic drill. The painters and the slaters decide there's nothing they can do. 'We'll come back tomorrow'.  The kitchen fitters also want to leave but are told ( in no uncertain terms ) that they're staying. The builder reminds Angus that the contract says the work will be completed during the week of August 9th. He interprets that to mean within 7 days. Hmmm.

The elderly gentleman who wears a kilt, a ( rarely changed ) cream coloured jumper and a black balaclava helmet cycles by. He pulls onto the pavement and stops , as he does every morning, at the small cafe down by the golf hotels. He's there on the dot of seven when they open. Today the young American barista is still unlocking the door when he arrives.  'You're late' he tells her gruffly. The kilted gentleman is what might best be described as a 'character'. All towns have one.  The staff at the coffee shop provide him with a start of day conversation, a smile and a gratis coffee. I'm not sure which of these things is of greater importance. Perhaps it's the combination.  Kindness is rarely reported on but when you look for it you find that it's not only alive but kicking.

On the sea below the cathedral a flock of gulls. Despite the high tide they're clustered together. Thirty or forty adults form a protective crescent on the seaward side; a similar number of  fledglings bob about safely in the  shelter of the cove . 'Our' three chicks have survived. The slow developer is now joining his or her siblings on circuits across the roof tops to the cathedral. They return home to the neighbouring rooftop three or four times a day to be fed. It goes without saying that they're there , and extremely  talkative, at four in the morning. 

The first students slowly trickling back into town. It's three weeks before term kicks off with a vengeance. The university buildings, empty since May, are looking spruce and tidy for the incoming  cohort. Floors gleam and door handles shine. Quiet testament to the cleaning staff. In the lobby of the IR Department a large new sign has appeared on the wall. Soon the place will look like a war zone.

The first time I've ever seen an animal depicted with a halo - ( click on the picture to expand ). The Wolf of Gubbio - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolf_of_Gubbio#/media/File:Luc-Olivier_Merson_-_Le_Loup_d'Aggubio.jpg  The butcher feeds it meat from his hand, while the little girl and a cat seem unperturbed by its presence. 

You must have a certain psychology to want to draw up lists. However, her ideas , are in the main, interesting : https://mariandrew.substack.com/p/100-things-i-know?ref=thebrowser.com