The ticket machine.

Down to Edinburgh on the train. It's bitterly cold on the platform so we venture into the station waiting room. This is pleasantly warm and has recently been esoterically decorated with a collection of jigsaws showing pivotal moments in British railway history. The completed jigsaws seem to have been stuck directly onto the waiting rooms walls which is odd. The presence of the jigsaw puzzles  may speak volumes about how railway employees on a quiet station between Dundee and Kirkcaldy pass their time. There has been talk of closing the stations ticket office and replacing it with a second automated machine. This would not go down well with students or foreign golfers trying to navigate the intricacies of UK rail travel.

It's still daylight when we leave Leuchars but darkness falls quickly at this time of year. An hour later we arrive to find that Edinburgh is testing out its Christmas lights. The castle is being floodlit  in a sort of honey orange hue. Scotlands capital city, it has to be said, looks wonderful on a cold, clear skied, November night. The gritting machines are out in force - a sure sign that snow is on the way.

It's years since we ventured inside the American chain  hotel we've chosen to stay in. I remember it as having very long corridors. At some stage in recent year it's been updated with glass pillars and shiny black marble floors. This combination is perhaps more Malaga than Scotland but is inoffensive. There's a crowd checking in so we have to wait in the lobby which gives us a chance to admire the Christmas decorations which look very corporate. Brits may have stopped going to China but Chinese tourist haven't stopped coming to the UK. A large bus load from Shanghai are  being welcomed by the cheerful Scottish staff. The Chinese tourists incomprehension of English as spoken by the Scots is total. The Shanghai group head happily  off to the bar to try the whiskies on offer. So as not to waste time they ask for their luggage to be taken directly up to their rooms.

On George Street marquees are being put up. They stretch all the way from Charlotte Square to Frederick Street. Marquees are a very clever way of getting people out spending and enjoying themselves in the winter months. Edinburghs festive season encompasses both Christmas and - an even bigger event - Hogmanay.

Further down George Street large , red, Christmas trees are lined up along the middle of the road. It seems that on top of everything else the town is celebrating its 900th anniversary as a Royal Burgh. We are in two minds about red Christmas trees.

We go for dinner to a restaurant that has been recommended to us. The menu promises much, some of which it delivers.

How we spent our time :https://onepercentrule.substack.com/p/how-people-spent-their-time-in-the

Chinese food :https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/63-chinese-cuisines-the-complete

Our common ancestor :https://www.quantamagazine.org/all-life-on-earth-today-descended-from-a-single-cell-meet-luca-20241120/

Scotlands fertility :https://www.boomcampaign.org/p/scotland-is-the-south-korea-of-the

Flying by.

As soon as you comment about something on the blog 'things' mysteriously happen. An overly friendly salesman from the BMW garage phones to say the new car will arrive in the UK  tomorrow and transportation will be 'expedited' so that it arrives in Scotland by next week. We 'tentatively'  arrange to collect it from the dealers on Tuesday. I think of making a snide comment about the experience to date being a great advert for the Chinese car industry but keep this thought to myself.

Term time rushing by. Exams now getting perilously close.  A throng of determined looking teens head along the pavement from the lecture halls towards the library. Usually, the library is a quiet place. Now it's bursting at the seams with panicking youngsters wishing they hadn't partied quite as hard. Looking through the windows I'd reckon there must be a couple of thousand of them in there. 

A few clouds offshore but ( so far ) no sign of snow on this side of the bay.

We wander down to find what the construction work next to the R&A is all about. Our neighbours Bridge Club information was almost right. Scottish Water are indeed building a new water main. This will supposedly be completed and operational within three months. Angus wonders whether three months will become six months or a year. Play on the Old Course it is claimed will not be interrupted.

This man is always worth reading :https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-phantom-campaign

Art Deco :https://www.fashionablylatetakes.com/p/america-was-supposed-to-be-art-deco

Lunacy !

 

Two of the Jack Russells are out on patrol bright and early. The eldest is at an age where she prefers to linger by the AGA on chilly mornings.

The younger dogs greet us enthusiastically but finding us devoid of biscuits are soon off in pursuit of excitement. A large flock of pigeons feeding in the barley field have to be chased. This is done noisily and inefficiently. 

The Volvo's thermometer says it's minus 8 . I'm usually somewhat sceptical about what the cars ageing electronics tell us but it could be correct as there's a thick frost and the tops of the hills on the far side of the bay are coated in snow . This blast of Antarctic air isn't enough to deter a group of students from enjoying the perfect surfing conditions in the bay.

There are twenty or so cavorting in the waves when we arrive for our morning walk. By the time we retrace our steps this has risen to forty. Yet more arrive and soon the car park is full . Kayakers and canoeists also start to show up. Lunacy !

The local dog walkers, prevented from going onto the beach by the high tide and waves, watch the students from the safety of the grass bank. We all agree that the youngsters inhabit a different planet.

So starts a decidedly nippy Wednesday morning in a small university town on the North Sea. The new car is supposed to be delivered this week but the BMW dealer is adopting a ' If I don't answer their e-mails all will be well ' approach to their customers. After six months neither of us can remember much about the new car, our enthusiasm has disappeared and if given the chance we would go and buy a Kia. So much for that premium German experience.

What will they do next ? :https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c30p16gn3pvo

Music bars :https://dirt.fyi/article/2024/11/louder-in-japan

Substack :https://read.substack.com/p/4-million

A calm sea.

Another clear, magical night. There are more shooting stars.  What a contrast with the storms and driving rain of last year when the sky was hidden by layer on layer of cloud. Coming on midnight the moon lights up the small hillock where they've discovered the neolithic tombs. How peaceful it looks. Out at sea they're hard at work expanding the wind farm. When the weathers good and the sea is calm like this  they're hard at it 24 hours a day.

We pass the fish and chip shop that had the 'glowing' review in the local paper. Caramel filled Churros are on the menu . After a half battered pizza what better way to end a meal ? They also have a dog menu . 60% of the proceeds go to the SSPCA. We wonder what goes into a Puppuccino.

Building works down by the golf course. There are always building works down by the golf course. A rather substantial wooden fence is being put up. One of our neighbours in the village has heard that it's something to do with upgrading the drainage system. They heard this at their bridge club so hastily add that they can't vouch for the accuracy of the information.

Christmas entertainment season is upon us. This production , I bet, will only run north of the border.

In the souvenir shop window a Mel Gibson look alike with painted face has joined the plastic pipers in the all Scottish window display. We are once again reminded of the power of globalization. There is probably a small family injection molding business in Chengdu shipping these things far and wide.

A couple of weeks and the winter exam season kicks into gear. Foot traffic to the library seems to have picked up substantially. Starbucks, usually quiet, now has a serious early morning student clientele. We drive home through town at 20 mph. This is a prudent speed to avoid Kamikaze teenagers who are too engrossed in their phones to check  before they fling themselves across the road.

Battered mince pies.

Last night a completely cloudless sky, a virtuoso display of shooting stars and the moons reflection in the sea stretching like a broad band of silk all the way to Norway. High in the sky Saturn was out burning as bright as a car headlight.  Winter night shows are one of the joys of living in a place where there's no light pollution. Clear skies bring with them arctic temperatures. The Volvo dashboard tells us its minus seven this morning although the Volvos electronics have always been a little suspect. 

The local paper informs us that one of the towns fish and chip shops is offering a seasonal menu. Battered turkey with chips followed by battered mince pie. For those who aren't keen on mince pies  a deep-fried Mars bar is available. I'll put money on the fact that long queues will form to sample these culinary delights. The village in France is only 1,000 miles away but in culinary terms it's so, so much further.

A solitary heron is standing in the harbour mudflats. It ignores a flotilla of gulls who paddle noisily by.

The gulls seem to be in their element. The young have shed their adolescent plumage and are now strutting around as if they've always owned the place. In this regard human and gull teenagers are similar.

The parking bays still suspended. The work laying the high speed fibre optic cable to the hedge fund managers house seems to be on pause. I stop to admire a rather grown up junction box that has appeared in a trench.

On our way back to the car the sun has risen and the day starts off with eye achingly clear blue skies that , this far North in mid-November , are nothing short of miraculous. Two students are down in the salt water swimming pool. They seem oblivious to the cold. 'The Font' makes some comment about young love. Angus thinks it more likely that the male is waiting for the right moment to come up with a suggestion for how they might  fend off hypothermia. There is always a logic to 19 year old thinking.

Before dinner yesterday, with a glass of Margaux in hand, we watch the first  episode in the final series of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall on BBC. Mark Rylance is brilliant as Thomas Cromwell. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0k30wk0

Tchaikovsky on the radio this morning :https://youtu.be/KhbuNZ8p3hg?t=156

This insight seems sensible :https://x.com/Jabaluck/status/1856139470011310348

" Mene, Mene,Tekel, Parsin " - Writing on the wall :https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/11/andrew-wilson-spirited-life-daniel-writing-on-wall-babylon/

Succinct

For the first time in over a week America's once and future President has to share the front page with a story that's not about him. The resignation of the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury brings home grown news back into focus.  The C of E is an institution that has evolved over millennia but has struggled to respond to social media that judges in hours. Information age iconoclasm is quick, nuance free and unforgiving.

Something about the cold air that supercharges the russet tones in this mornings sunrise. Even hardened dog owners stop in their tracks and watch the swirl of colours rise over the skyline of the old town. If the phrase ' Red sky in the morning, Shepherds warning' has any truth to it then we're in for a day of exciting weather.

Down to the fishmongers for some freshly landed prawns. We also pick up some lemon sole and a salmon tail. No Monkfish today.

The supermarket is either still setting up its Christmas display or is taking minimalism to entirely new levels.

The wreath that was laid on the flagstones outside the chapel has been carefully picked up and hung on the  railings. After a week it is still beautiful but has lost that first bloom of youth and is starting to 'curl'. A father walking his young daughter stops to look at it and tells her ' It's from a time when people were burnt for their religion '. This is perhaps an overly succinct way of describing Scottish history. Thank God our Taliban moments are long gone. 

We've probably walked by these old railings ten thousand times but never noticed that they're decorated with small circle encased Saltires. There was a time when civic architecture was a marvelous, built to last, thing.

So starts a quiet ( and decidedly chilly ) Sunday morning in a small Scottish town where weather, history and happenstance join seamlessly - and mostly happily - together.

Go for broke. The UK's former ambassador to the US shares his thoughts on last weeks events.... or at least some of them. The guy, as you might expect,  is a smart cookie. He had to be recalled when one of his more critical  dispatches 'leaked' :https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/inside-briefing/donald-trumps-team-calls

Chocolate and cinnamon :https://floramanson.substack.com/p/recipe-chocolate-and-cinnamon-pavlova

A calming car radio start to the day :https://youtu.be/XtIw5AkUEsE

Art work by the staff at The Met. Open until the start of the New Year :https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/art-work-artists-working-at-the-met-2024

Music to make you smile

It's turned colder. Much colder. This morning the windscreen on the Volvo covered with a layer of something that wants to be frost but hasn't quite managed it. The wipers deal with it quickly. There's a weather warning out for snow on higher ground. Out here on the coast it's calm , the skies are clear and the sunrise has that rich golden colour only seen in the far North. Snow, for those of us who live right on the coastal fringes, is a rare thing. It may , however, be time to invest in a bag or two of salt just in case. The Filipino cabbage pickers show up at first light. Today they're turning their attention to the field on the waters edge. What a marketing point that could be - Cabbages grown on Scotlands coastal fringes. 

A thousand crows busy gleaning the barley field. The crows have been here for two weeks now and seem to have opted to make this their winter home. When they all take to the air it's like the first shots of a Hitchcock movie. The braver of the crows venture down to the waters edge where they peck at the seaweed and coexist, more or less peacefully, with the curlews and cormorants . The curlews are back in greater numbers than last year. Avian flu has not defeated them. The cormorants also seem to be doing well although they rarely stray from the rocks far out in the water which makes any finer judgement on their numbers difficult.

Snatches of a tune issuing from the music centre. Some eager medical students practising before a lunchtime concert. It's not every day you hear a brass band and its most certainly not every day you hear a snippet of this :https://youtu.be/3cXJJlf3l-s?t=20 . A very Yorkshire sound and one which makes us smile. Student towns offer an eclectic choice of music. Victoriana like this is strangely unexpected and out of time. 

The baker now well and truly in the Christmas groove. The reindeer biscuits are displayed at toddler eye height.

A walk back through the university medical buildings to the car. Some views haven't changed at all in 150 years. It looks peaceful but there are Russian aircraft heading down from Norway to Scotland and the boys in blue are out in squadron force. The sound of the students musicians soon lost in the roar of after burners.

What's next and what's possible  :https://frompovertytoprogress.substack.com/p/priorities-for-the-second-trump-administration

1960's dreaming :https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/visions-of-nuclear-powered-cars-captivated-cold-war-america-but-the-technology-never-really-worked-180985437/

Birds :https://birdhistory.substack.com/p/happy-bird-day

Home and frost is on the way.

 

Snow is headed towards Scotland but here in London it's mild and balmy. We've set off from St Andrews wrapped up in coats and jumpers but these are soon discarded. Sloane Square is busy with shoppers and a smattering of tourists enjoying the sunshine.

The breakfast news broadcast on the television dominated by events in America. The names Matt and Tulsi and Elon banded around as if they're old friends. Seems like there's nothing else happening in the world. I have to turn to page 3 of the paper to find anything Brit related. On the radio some Senator describes the new Trump agenda as ' the Manhattan project of our time' . I wonder if this phrase is meant literally or is actually sarcasm hiding in plain sight. 

A shop selling Australian plates is a surprise. Whoever knew Australian plates were a thing ? I try to work out the economics of shipping ceramics from Australia to London. The prices must be astronomically high to justify having an outlet in the W1 postcode.

'The Ivy' is setting up Christmas snowmen on the pavement by their front door. These are identical to the ones outside the Marylebone branch. I'm unimpressed but two young Japanese ladies are taking each others photo in front of them. Perhaps the snowmen will look better when the cold arrives. As it will.

We used to live on this Square in Chelsea. It was five flights of stairs from basement to the roof. Not the most practical of layouts. The houses at the end were flattened by a V-1 in 1944. They were rebuilt wider and  lower. This ruins the proportions of the Square which now looks like a wide street with a garden in the middle. We like London. It's civilized and international and safe but it has a 24/7 pulse that has advantages ... and disadvantages. Ideal for 30 and 40 somethings with boundless energy. Scotland with its intimacy and gentler pace of life is just fine for us.

We also lived on the next street down. It was fashionable then and is even more fashionable now.  Parking was a nightmare and the houses were too small. In the intervening years the colour scheme on the street has become brighter although not necessarily more tasteful. Our house had been owned by a famous Swedish actress who built an over-sized conservatory that swallowed up the garden. In one corner she had installed a jacuzzi with golf swan head tap fittings. I wonder if it is still there ?

Heathrow is quiet. Heathrow is never quiet. One of those conical  low maintenance Christmas trees glimmers away by the departure gate. It's a desultory thing devoid of charm. Thankfully, seasonal music hasn't yet started to play. By the end of the month it will be chaos.

The British Airways flight on our way down was on a brand new plane. Heading home we have one that is somewhat older ... and smaller. Edinburgh airport has opted to close for 45 minutes to test a new radar system. How Presbyterian of them to do this in the middle of the day. You would have thought they might do their testing at night when the airports closed and the inconvenience would be minimal. That of course is not the way people in authority think. The pilot promises to get us there on time and does. I would have thought it physically impossible to get from a gate in Heathrow to a gate in Edinburgh in 45 minutes, but it is.

As we cross the Forth the sun is setting. Peak winter is pretty much here. By the time we get to Leuchars it is sepulchraly dark.

What a surprise ! :https://www.livescience.com/animals/dogs/smarter-dogs-have-smaller-brains-surprising-study-reveals

An exhibition in Edinburgh :https://theconversation.com/stitched-from-high-born-women-to-crofters-daughters-exhibition-showcases-two-centuries-of-scotlands-finest-embroidered-art-242425

Perspective :https://lawliberty.org/politics-in-flux/

Brutal Chopin :https://youtu.be/Gy5UHK4EeM8?t=27

A brand new plane.

 

We're up and out early on our way to London. Quite the sunrise over the potato barns to speed us on our way. The sky has that 'snow is on the way' look to it. We park at the station, catch the train south to Edinburgh ( which runs on time ) and enjoy a brand new British Airways A-320 on the flight to Heathrow. Why is it new cars and new planes have such a distinctive and welcoming smell ? Talking of new cars there's still no news from the garage about when our miracle of German engineering is due to be delivered.

London girding up for Christmas. A miniature Eiffel Tower rising on the Kings Road. Large chickens seem to be a feature of the design. A team are slowly covering it in fresh foliage.

Something equally spectacular, and floral, going up on a wall further down the road. Let's hope it's strong enough to withstand the winter winds.

Even the pubs are getting into the spirit of things. Quite how the Christmas tree and tipsy customers will interact remains to be seen.

London is quiet but it's conference season and all the hotels are full. We're told that our room won't be ready at the three o'clock check in time. The young man behind the front desk thinks six might be more likely.  Seems they've been booked solid and a large number of guests have checked out, late.  Housekeeping hasn't been able to keep up with the rush. We express our displeasure and miraculously, a room is found.

Another of those questions I'd never thought to ask:  https://www.upworthy.com/why-didn-t-people-smile-in-old-photographs-it-wasn-t-just-about-the-long-exposure-times

Neither of us had heard of this movie but it's visually superb :https://youtu.be/iZwykQK9aZo?t=1

Can't be changed.

The vase in the window of the house down by the student cafe freshly arranged this morning. Term papers can be glimpsed on the table inside. Have they been marked or are they waiting to be read and scored ? Two students are arguing on the pavement while waiting for their lattes. He's planning to fly back to Oregon on November 29th after his last exam. She has exams a week later and  wants him to stay so they can travel back together through JFK. He says he's already booked and paid for his ticket home via Seattle . They are not changeable. This answer  is not winning him brownie points. A removal of 'benefits' is on the horizon.

Lights on in a kitchen of a house facing the language laboratories. There's something very warm and inviting about an old fashioned kitchen like this.

Much excitement out here on the coast . A tomb has been discovered in the field near the heron pond. It's on a wee hill next to where the early Christian graves were found and is covered by a stone slab a metre and a half square. The local policeman has been out to confirm that the bones aren't recent. He drives up in his car, chats to an archaeologist who says they're at least four thousand years old and then drives off again. " Not my look out ". Four thousand year old tombs of this size and in this condition are rare and news of the discovery has attracted a group of senior archaeologists from Edinburgh. They park their cars as close to the excavations as they can which is easy as the dry weather has hardened up the soil. The farmers wife is there with the Jack Rusells. She's quite excited. The farmer is less thrilled. ' More paperwork ' he says somewhat grumpily.

A fancy wreath.

The weather remains resolutely sunny and mild. What a difference from last year when we were battered by incessant rain and howling gales. The local farmers are making the best of the weather and are fairly zipping through their cabbage harvesting.

A wreath has been placed on the site outside chapel where Patrick Hamilton was burnt at the stake. The letters PH outlined in the cobble stones mark the exact spot where he was martyred. It's neither his birthday nor the date of his death so someone has presumably decided that November 11th is as good a day as any to commemorate him.  Tourists, students and people waiting to get the bus all carefully navigate around it. I don't think I've ever seen a wreath left, unattended, anywhere else. Closer examination shows that it's a rather fine affair :  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Hamilton_(martyr)
 

Further down the road three pumpkins on a window sill are showing signs of neglect. The students were keen to decorate for Halloween. They seem less keen  to clear up after.

The U.S Consul General in Edinburgh is coming to talk about Transatlantic cooperation. Perhaps not the best time to have scheduled a talk.

This was last sung, on this day, in Paris 80 years ago for Churchill. Plus ca change : https://www.bfmtv.com/politique/11-novembre-le-ch-ur-de-l-armee-francaise-chante-god-save-the-king-et-la-marseillaise_VN-202411110361.html

Dogs :https://www.the-scientist.com/what-drives-the-wet-dog-shakes-reflex-in-furry-animals-72317

AI powered binoculars :https://www.wired.com/story/swarovski-optik-ax-visio-ai-binoculars/

Ostriches. Do they ? :https://www.livescience.com/animals/birds/do-ostriches-really-bury-their-heads-in-the-sand