Sinfully ungrammatical.

The clocks have gone back an hour. For the next three months it will be brighter for the kids heading off to school in the morning and for the early rising dog walkers on the beach. The downside is that by four in the afternoon it will be dark and gloomy. Perfect conditions for Halloween parties. To brighten the darkness the council have installed the Christmas lights in the centre of town. Soon a 'C' list dignitary will be asked to turn them on. The Rockefeller Centre it ain't but it's the thought that counts. 

It has rained again overnight. The lake in the potato field has grown from the size of a tennis court to the size of a football pitch. After the last couple of weeks downpours the ground is now completely sodden. There are twenty or so fat seagulls paddling around contentedly in the muddy and presumably nutrient rich 'tatty' water. The Jack Russell puppy has discovered that chasing the gulls through the muddy pond is heaven .... absolute heaven. The farmers wife despairs.

Down by the harbour the North Sea is throwing a tantrum. Waves are breaking over the end of the pier and sending spray shooting twenty feet into the air. A few brave students are standing there playfully trying to avoid getting soaked. We can hear their laughter from the quayside. It's the highest tide I've ever seen. The sea is flooding in over the sea wall. A man, a dog and a toddler are standing watching it. The lobster fishermen have sensibly kept their boats moored in the inner harbour with the sluice gates firmly closed.

A friend tells me that the best book he's read on what's happening in the Middle East is 'Eighteen Days in October'. It's only published in the US but the bookstore ( after some prodding ) agrees to order it. Buying books on Amazon is much cheaper than buying them in the bookstore but if we don't support the bookseller who will ? The shop is a haven of peace amid the pre-Christmas bustle and a source of warmth when the wind is blowing from the North Pole. The first chapter of 'Eighteen Days' is really interesting. Like a Victorian couple we sit in the snug and 'The Font' reads to me while I listen. This avoids eye strain....for me at least.  It also gives us the undiscovered pleasure of being able to discuss things as they unfold. It's clear that Israeli politics is something we know almost nothing about.  I'm not sure how long this Bronteesque reading habit will last.

Earlier in the week a particularly annoying and sinfully ungrammatical headline spotted on a tabloid paper in the supermarket.

So starts a Sunday morning in a small Scottish town where the surge tide will be todays main topic of conversation.