The morning after.

The rain has gone - replaced by blue skies and a stiff breeze. The floodwaters have also disappeared. In fact they ebbed away as soon as the council workmen arrived to unblock drains blocked by leaves and fallen branches.

The feeling amongst the dog walking villagers is that this is the worst rainfall they've ever known. The church treasurer dissents from this view. He thinks 1989 was wetter. 'Not that it bothered me. I had a Land Rover in those days'.  Apropos of nothing his wife informs us that hawthorn trees love wet weather. 'They're very long lived. Some are as much as seven hundred years old '. I feel like asking her how she knows this but opt to remain silent. We are told that there is a cupboard in the village hall that contains sandbag covers in case we're ever threatened by flooding. This is useful to know although flooding is unlikely as we stand on a small hill that falls away steeply on three sides. The church treasurer and his wife almost made it through the downpour to open up the kirk on Sunday morning. Unfortunately they ran into particularly deep water by the old bridge and only extricated themselves by engaging reverse gear and driving out very slowly.

Monday saw the last of the golf. Three days play condensed into one.  A scattering of Spanish tourists gather to watch the proceedings but soon decide that the warmth of a coffee shop is more appealing. In the evening there is a small fire work display but being a school night it's poorly attended.

They're putting in an underground spa and changing rooms at the Royal and Ancient clubhouse. I'm guessing that they'd hoped to have the works done and dusted in time for the tournament. As with all building projects the planned completion time and the actual completion time are two entirely different things. I see on the sign behind the clubhouse Scottie that the work is due to be finished by 'winter' 2023. What a gloriously imprecise timetable. I'm almost sure there was a sign there at this time last year that said everything would be completed by 'Spring' 2023.

A lone television cameraman records the teams as they head back along the fairway to the 18th hole. The small crowd standing behind the railings claps them half heartedly.

This morning we see a group of four young Norwegian golfers in the supermarket. They can't afford to stay in one of the big hotels and are in a B&B at the wrong end of town. They're buying sandwiches. The life of a young golfer ,scrambling to climb the rankings , is far from luxurious.

Water spouts on the Great Lakes :https://earthsky.org/earth/world-record-for-waterspouts-set-over-great-lakes-oct-2023/