High jinks.

A magical moon last night. Seen from the kitchen window there's a glorious view of the sea and that rarest gift of all this far North - a cloudless, star filled sky. Jupiter remains as jaw droppingly bright as ever. 

After yesterdays gales the leaves have been stripped clean off the trees . Lights burning in the dorm rooms signal that some students are taking revision week seriously. 

On the beach a large group of freshers are celebrating with a dip in the sea. It's Raisin Monday - one of those old medieval traditions that has somehow survived into the 21st century.  Neither the cold nor the intermittent squalls can dampen the students enthusiasm for a party. Laughter echoes from one end of the beach to the other. In a small town a couple of thousand happy, partying youngsters can't go unnoticed. That in its own way is a good enough reason to live here. The students have been up all night and aren't yet tired. Hypothermia is a condition that doesn't exist when you're 18 years old.

A Coastguard keeps a watchful eye on the revelers from the warmth of his truck.  

On our way back to the car a group of first years invite us to a seven am 'rave'. " There's champagne " we're told.  We thank them but decline. Pre-breakfast rave imbibing  would effectively rule out the rest of our day.

This take on our southern neighbours was interesting :https://x.com/sam_bidwell/status/1847312153415438369?s=46

Architectural oddity of the day. A cube 400 metres  high :https://newmurabba.com/en/the-mukaab/inside-the-Icon/

Wind and a visitor from Yale with a wonderful name.

Our first end of  year storm that is deemed worthy of a name. Storm Ashley. Rain and 80 mph winds are forecast for the West coast but on this side of the country  Ashley is merely wet and blustery.  This afternoon the storm will have moved on and sunshine is forecast. The strong winds are expected to linger for a day or two.

In town the film folk are doing some last minute background shoots. A heavily waxed 1970's era Vauxhall estate is star of the show. The camera men and extras look miserable as indeed anyone might who is working early on a cold and wet Sunday morning. The street they've chosen to film on runs at right angles to the sea and serves as a channel for the wind. The extras struggle to keep their hats in place.

Some folks say globalization has peaked. The arrival of both red and yellow dragon fruit in our local supermarket is proof that this isn't true. Angus wonders how much of a local market for dragon fruit there can be. There again in a student town all sorts of exotic things fly off the shelves.

Yale comes to St Andrews to preach. On the notice board we see that this  mornings sermon is to be given ( unusually ?) by a doctor - although a rather senior one. Some people have wonderful names.

So starts a quiet Sunday morning in a small Scottish town on the sea.

Thin is in :https://www.dezeen.com/2024/10/17/unusually-narrow-skyscraper-dubai-rcr-arquitectes/

Things I'd never thought about :https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-human-brain-contends-with-the-strangeness-of-zero-20241018/

Fluoride :https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167629624000791

High tides and a Hunters moon.

We watch the latest episode of David Olusogas history series A House through time . Each programme looks at the residents of a particular house across the years. In this series the focus is on the inhabitants of a block of flats in Berlin and another in London :https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0jwkc2w.  Residents of the Berlin apartments include a Togolese chef, a school teacher and a Jewish war veteran. Episode 1 finishes in the mid 1930's and leaves the viewer at the stage where politics and the individual are about to collide. You want to shout ' Get out while you can !' The best thing we've seen in ages. The television we brought with us from France is beginning To show its age and the quality of the sound has become 'variable'. We shall head off into Dundee later today to look for a possible replacement.

Out on the beach we find that the high tides associated with this weeks  Hunters Moon have swept away the sand dunes. These had  been painstakingly restored by the beach rangers since the storms in March.  At the start of the week the dunes ran up to the edge of the fence. Now the fence is under threat.  I'd guess that in the last 24 hours another 5 feet have gone.

The fishmonger has cod, lemon sole and dressed crab. We're up early thanks to a low flying military aircraft heading out to check on Russians in the North Sea. Another aircraft follows ten minutes later and soon the sky is throbbing with the sound of Typhoons taking off from the airbase on the other side of the bay. 

The fishmonger also has some freshly landed halibut but we're all fished out and  decide to come back later in the week.

Half a dozen vans are about to set off into town to sell and  deliver todays catch. This is something you won't see in London.

Next week is revision week and a large percentage of the undergraduates are either heading home or heading off to the airport to catch  Ryan Air flights to somewhere warmer. First year medics will be trying to absorb the tsunami of information they've received in the last six weeks. When the youngsters get back the clocks will have changed , it will be dark by mid-afternoon and the town will have that Dickensian street lamp lit winter magic .

Remote and modern. Would you, could you, live here ?  :https://www.themodernhouse.com/sales-list/writers-house/

Scandinavian visitors have arrived. A sure sign autumn is ending :https://isleofmaynnr.wordpress.com/

This was interesting :https://www.semafor.com/article/10/15/2024/no-matter-who-wins-the-country-is-moving-to-the-right

Alarming statuary and Kamalas alma mater.

 

The clocks move at the end of the month. After that it starts to get dark by three thirty. We're up early determined to use these last long pre-winter days to their utmost. 

The garden centre has had a delivery of statues. The rutting stags that used to dominate the lobby seem to have been sold although we have to wonder who in their right mind would have bought them. A large, and rather alarming , bronze eagle now has pride of place by the cash registers.

The rest of the new statue intake straddles the zone where bad taste morphs into kitsch.

The colour Orange figures prominently in the garden centres Halloween displays. This is probably what passes for a New England look in most of the world. Closer inspection shows that everything, as in everything, has a small 'Made in PRC' label. 

Back in town the Howard University teams are squeezing in a last round before heading off to the airport and the flight back to Washington. A gentleman introduces himself as being on their coaching staff.  We discover that Kamala Harris was a graduate of Howard and that fees - pre scholarship - are $57k a year. The American youngsters have wrapped up well against the cold but I'm betting they'll be happy to get back home.

We'd assumed that British Airways would prove to be reluctant to pay for the hotel room in London and the lengthy dinner we had when they cancelled our flight to the States. Imagine my delight when they pay in full - including the bottle of wine we had but which I had removed from the claim. They also paid for the Uniqlo wardrobe we bought when our bags went missing. 10/10 for good reputation restoring corporate PR - quick and hassle free. 

Amoretto and Orange Popcorn in the farm shop. This is presumably a niche product.

A hidden tomb :https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/archaeology/petra-hidden-tomb/

And another discovery -although probably not as dramatic as the article would suggest :https://www.indy100.com/science-tech/lost-civilization-india-harappan-2669415503

On the car radio this morning . Very Spanish :https://youtu.be/UMwwsUsuqOo?t=54

Fibreglass lions.

 

It poured last night. I mean it really poured. One side of the house was pummeled by wind and rain coming from the sea, another by wind and rain coming from the mountains. We fell asleep to the sound of a stereophonic gale.

It's dry, or at least drier, this morning. The filming of Borges and Me almost over. Alan Cumming is spotted on the street by the castle. We think it unlikely that he is usually up and about this early . This is the second actor we've literally bumped into this year. Standing outside our hotel in DC Martin Sheen rushed out of the front door and into us.

The college golfers are playing the Old Course. The presence of television cameras bring out the local 'characters' who dress as if they're on the set of  Brigadoon.  We watch a tall gentleman in a kilt and a tartan bonnet with a wee red bauble on top position himself on the 18th hole in a spot where the cameras can't miss him.

A beagle on her morning walk turns on her back and dozes on the sacred turf. The beagles owner knows better than walk on the green to retrieve her. Students and dogs ensure St Andrews will never become entirely self satisfiedly smug. 

Down on the sand a group of horses and a small crowd of extras have gathered . Local dog walkers detour around them. Some dogs are intent on seeing what's going on and are chased to prevent them appearing, unexpectedly and prominently, in the scene.

The fibreglass lions put up by the film company are still in place behind the exam halls. They look rather grand.

Life in India :https://www.strangeloopcanon.com/p/life-in-india-is-a-series-of-bilateral

Music gives us the strength to carry on. A short movie premiered in London tonight :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3GGx-B1lvw

These youngsters are so lucid :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buIPHj7IQCo

Cars, movies and an iconic Argentinian poet.

Yesterdays trip to the lawyer didn't fill me with optimism. Seems that German car makers have been cutting back on production due to parts shortages. BMW have wisely ( from their perspective )  decided that the delay in delivering our car is not down to production problems but rather to a 'safety ' issue. Cars can't be manufactured or sold until this is resolved. 'Safety' is of course force majeure and removes the manufacturers and the dealers liability. This is also why the garage think they can lower the trade in price. A thorough search on Google finally unearths this story :https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=2091629  The garage have known about this for ten weeks. After the disaster with the Volvo in France we had been super cautious when signing the purchase agreement. Angus is slightly miffed that 'prudence' failed to prevent problems emerging.

Some really bizarre colours in this mornings sunrise. Heavy rain is expected later in the day.

In town the filming of the movie continues. We ask a man in a day-glo jacket what the film is called. " I'm telt it's called Burgess and something but I dinnae ken any more about it " he informs us cheerfully. 

The day-glo jacketed mans job is to stop people moving the parking cones that are blocking off the residents parking spaces so the prop cars can park there. This, as you might imagine, is a thankless task. Some of the local residents are not amused.

There is filming in Quad ...

.... and filming  down by the castle. A slightly manic feel to the proceedings  may indicate the crew are trying to get as much 'in the can' as possible before the weather changes.

A row of faux stone lions are being painted and a group of young women in 70's period costume are traipsing backwards and forwards into a lecture hall. The director doesn't seem at all happy with their performance. It's repeated ad nauseum. .Finally, the director has a not so small melt down. He expresses his opinions 'vehemently'.  Such things are rarely heard in this most 'reserved' of towns.

A passing third year student stops to let us know that the movie isn't called Burgess and something  but is actually  'Borges and Me' which is based on this story :https://www.thedailybeast.com/that-time-i-chauffeured-jorge-luis-borges-around-scotland

Back at the Last Wee House before Denmark the Amazon guy delivers this.

Having just had some dental X-rays this was of interest :https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/10/do-you-really-need-those-routine-dental-x-rays-probably-not/

Car delays and period costumes.

There's a thick frost on the Volvos windscreen this morning. Thank heavens for the pre-warm setting that de-ices the windows and heats up the interior.  I'll bet the young college golfers from Arizona will be surprised by the weather when they head out onto the fairways. There's no doubting that they're not in Tucson now.  

The car dealership has informed us the delivery of the new vehicle has been delayed until the end of November. They also want to revalue the trade in price we'd agreed on due to the delays. Angus will speak to the lawyer in Edinburgh this morning to see whether the contract allows them do this.

The first of the college teams are due to tee off at 8:45 but there's already a small crowd down by the first hole soaking up the atmosphere. There's also a group of local caddies sharing hints on how to deal with the fast running greens and wishing the youngsters well.

The excitement never seems to stop. Parking cones have been put out on the main street. A film company is in town shooting scenes for a new movie. Student extras are parading around dressed in 1970's era clothing. A group of them are being checked by a wardrobe mistress to ensure that their 'period' costumes are correct. We both find it rather salutary that 1970's clothing is now treated as 'period' . 

Uninspiring piles of Pumpkins in the supermarket.  Carver pumpkins are £2 each. In the box next door Carver pumpkins ( Conv ) are also £2. No one seems to know what the ( Conv ) means. 

The Squash in the farm store looks the part but is on the small side for a pumpkin display. The farmer has just harvested some cauliflowers and brussel sprouts. Their arrival on the shelves solves the problem of which vegetables should accompany tonights dinner.

The camera men are already hard at work beaming the golf into homes far away. We watch as a small forest of camera mounts ascend, one by one, into the sky.

The secrets to happier dogs :https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-happier-dogs-5-tips-to-help-your-canine-friends-live-their-best-life-236952

So it wasn't the wine :https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-brain-on-food/202410/4-reasons-why-you-wake-up-feeling-tired

Evolution :https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/was-toumai-a-biped

This ain't the student golf I remember.

NBC have arrived in force to set up cameras for the college golf championship. One of the camera men informs us that they'll be broadcasting live for three full days. American college golf, which used to be an innocent low key affair, is now a billion dollar business . The Saudis and the UAE are big investors in the sport which may explain the sudden appearance of a brace of brightly coloured Lamborghinis in the practise range car park. This is the second year the championship has been run in St Andrews although we seem to have missed it altogether last year. All the hotels are once again full.

Out by the barns we meet a happy lady with the back of her car loaded with jars of honey. She's on her way to a Christmas market and is pouring herself a cup of coffee from a thermos flask.  You'd think that Christmas markets could wait until November but there seem to be enough shoppers around to make it worth her while.  'The Font' is delighted to discover the woman and her team make bees wax candles. The sort of thing we could find easily in France but more difficult to source here :

https://www.cloverleaapiaries.co.uk/our-story/  

The water in the harbour calm enough to reflect the uninspiring 1960's block of flats .

We detour past the cathedral towards the Italian coffee shop for a restorative espresso. Away from the crowds of enthusiastic teens ( and their corporate sponsors )  gathering at the golf course this end of town is completely empty.

The flags are out.

 A muted sunrise as we leave the courtyard on our way into town. The weather is now somewhere on the spectrum between chilly and cold with 'cold' having the upper hand . Tickets to play a round of golf on the Old Course become much cheaper after October 16th when only the hardiest of golfers are willing to suffer being buffeted by the North Sea winds. The tickets, unsurprisingly,  get even cheaper in January.

By the time we make it onto the beach the muted sunrise has turned into a glorious one.

Three youngsters rush hollering out of the dunes and onto the sand where they  strip down to their underwear. I'm guessing they're not so much early risers as late to bed Saturday night party goers . The youngsters had planned to go for a bracing dip but think better of it when they realize the  strong wind is whipping the sand in their direction. Even eighteen year olds understand that wet underwear and wind blown sand make for an uncomfortable combination.

The student golf tournament is to be televised. The area by the club house already filling up with American teens soaking up the vibe. From the number of youngsters walking around it would seem that this tournament is a big thing. Around them technicians are  setting up cameras. One youngster from Arizona is sitting on the steps that lead onto the first tee and saying ' Wow! Oh wow !' over and over. A real 'Mecca' moment.  This morning the caddies are running up flags. The US flag at one end....

....the Scots flag at the other. In between the banners of the four  universities battle the wind. The stand that had been put up for the Womens Open has finally been taken down. The residents in the hugely expensive flats behind it must be pleased to get their view back.

We stop off at Starbucks for a coffee. The few locals out and about have dropped any sense of stylishness in favour of a dress sense that's more appropriate to the sudden onset of frigid conditions.

Sunday morning links

'New' jobs :https://people.com/texas-mom-heather-torres-porch-pumpkins-thousand-dollar-business-8723502

How weird is this ?  Wouldn't it be better to print the resume on the inside of the lid ? :https://mossandfog.com/pizza-hut-will-deliver-your-resume-printed-on-a-pizza-box-to-prospective-employers/

One very determined lady :https://x.com/Blesma/status/1844676339699241335

French 'hip' :https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=3IyQgj50fI8&list=RDAMVME4agkiTNA0M

Monkfish, Arizonans and sunshine.

 

A wonderful sunrise this morning. The clouds have a peculiar 'finger print' look to them . Last night the Northern Lights did their thing  - again. For a while the reds and green  were reflected in the sea which was an almost 'psychedelic' experience. 

On our start of day walk we pass 4 runners and 8 dog walkers and their companions. We speak to the lady with the Pomeranian  and ask Archie the arthritic Labradors owner how her daughter is getting on at university in Seoul. " She says she's fine " the reassuring answer. Two students run across the sand , leap into the water and scream as the impact of the October North Sea makes itself felt.

The fishmonger  sells fried egg flavoured crisps. This is a first for both of us.

A large Monkfish greets customers with an ice filled smile.  We buy Lemon Sole, a Salmon tail, some dressed crab and two Halibut tranches.  The langoustine wave at us which Angus feels is mildly disconcerting. 

We stopped off at sunset for a drink in the Old Course Hotel to celebrate  another sunny, cloud free day. Come mid-October the nights start drawing in quickly so now is the time to enjoy the outdoors while we still can. The view from the fifth floor towards the sea and across the links to the clubhouse is arguably one of the golf worlds greatest. Next week there is a college golf championship with St Andrews pitted against Arizona, Howard and Northwestern. The University of Arizona youngsters have arrived early to acclimatize  and are standing at the window commenting in deferential tones on the sight before them. The young males settle in the bar. The young women head off to the practise range.

MIT on superweeds. The garden here is full of them :https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/10/10/1105034/weeds-climate-change-genetic-engineering-superweeds-food/

A song with a history sung in the European Parliament when Hungarys PM came to speak :https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=E4agkiTNA0M

Climate change and voters . Little interest :https://rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/the-clean-energy-transitions-voter