The Boxing Day mystery

 

Boxing Day. The big hotels full, the town quiet. It may not have been a white Christmas but the weather was warm ( 10 degrees which is balmy by Scottish standards ) and generally well behaved. Down on the beach a half dozen dog owners greet us. One of them asks us to warn any one with their dog off the leash that she's seen a seal pup on the dunes below the sheep pen. 

There's a German motorhome parked by the medieval gate that leads from the harbour to the cathedral. The side door is open and three identical toddlers can be seen sitting at a table eating breakfast. I guess if you have triplets then putting them in a motorhome and driving to a quiet place with a beach, where they can run themselves ragged,  makes a lot of sense. 

On the cliff top by the  castle there's a dozen Chinese girls watching two more Chinese girls doing laps in the salt water pool below. They shout encouragement , take photos and laugh. The mystery of why there should be so many Mandarin speaking tourists in a small Scottish seaside town in the depths of winter remains an unanswered mystery. We are coming round to the view that the new Netflix series of The Crown must have a strong Chinese following.

Two seagulls standing on the grass by the car. They're tapping on the ground with their feet to attract worms. They are completely unconcerned by our presence. The  local seagulls literally rule the roost.

Didn't know the Dutch did this :https://twitter.com/HillelNeuer/status/1738952677474947142

Italy :https://www.edwest.co.uk/p/what-the-italians-did-for-us?r=zlrl