Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Artistic license

Three students walk onto the beach and head slowly to the waters edge. Two of them are wearing those long thermal coats. They undress and run into the sea. ' Won't their clothes get wet ?' I ask 'The Font'. " Only if the tide comes in " comes the reply. 


We're up early this morning. The three Jack Russells have had a run in with a fox. The eldest terrier found it and the other two piled in. The fox did not take well to being backed into a corner. Middle sister has a bite over her eye and 'Puppy' has been bitten on the leg. The sound of this five thirty am altercation was 'theatrical' in its intensity. The Jack Russells will be patients #1 and #2 when the vets opens at eight thirty . The eldest dog and the fox escaped harm. 


The sheep seem to be enjoying life without the ram.


We have the Italian coffee shop to ourselves apart from a PhD student wearing headphones and immersed in whatever's on his laptop. Give it an hour and the street will be thronged with students but for now all is peaceful. 

The lights are on in the old newsagents. Presumably they are packing up and inventorying what remains of their stock. Round the corner SuperDry has a sign in their window saying they'll be closing. There must be half a dozen shops in town that are now vacant. It seems that SuperDry is the latest retailer to fall foul of the shift to online clothes shopping. 


In the window of Starbucks a display of St.Andrews mugs. The mug looks as if it's been designed by someone who's never been here.  The cathedral , castle , university and golf course  have been overlooked . Instead the design features a few generic boats, the block of flats down by the harbour and a large fortified hilltop building. We aren't sure what this hilltop structure is but think it might be an artistic rendering of  one of the town gates - possibly the small medieval gate down on the quayside by the public lavatories. An unusual choice. The design , it must be said, is a triumph of artistic license.



Playing on the radio as we drive back home. Is it still the first song taught in primary school ? :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7-aEKVUSvE

'Well I never ' of the day :https://www.frontiersin.org/news/2024/01/26/writing-by-hand-increase-brain-connectivity-typing

At the British Museum :https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/legion-life-roman-army


12 comments:

Jake of Florida said...

How totally un St. Andrews those mugs are. I so hope Puppy and her sister will be ok. I've always wondered what Jake or his successor fox terriers would have done if they actually encountered a fox. And all too happy not to find out.

Fi from Four Paws and Whiskers said...

After 25 years of teaching tertiary students, I am sure that writing notes, and the use of paper activities are all important for assisting with learning but agree that typing assignments is better on the computer.... Our main issue is the students trying to access articles in class on phones as they cant afford laptops or tablets - it makes scanning text slower - but we can't justify printed materials these days.....

I hope Puppy and her sister recover quickly - never had that problem when I was in practice as there are no foxes in NZ...

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
Do pass on some POTP (power of the paw) wishes to Puppy and her sister that the scars are minimal. And those mugs are singularly unappealing! YAM xx

jabblog said...

Poor Puppy and sister - shouldn't 'play' with foxes. Poor fox being faced with 3 JRs.

WFT Nobby said...

Perhaps Puppy and her sisters will have learned a lesson. I hope her leg heals quickly. I've been seeing foxes a lot here in Aberdeen lately, including one last week crossing the main road right behind the railway station in the heart of the city. The one time Nobby spotted a fox when he was not his lead the fox thankfully outpaced him and one crestfallen fox terrier gave up and returned to his owner!
Cheers, Gail.

Coppa's girl said...

Hopefully Puppy and her sister will be none the worse for their run-in with the fox. Perhaps they will have learned to give them a wide berth in future? I've seen just one fox here, they have been deprived of their habitat with the almost manic pace of building over the years.
Those mugs are quite awful and could be anywhere. Is there a factory turning out one design and just changing the location to suit?

Tigger's Mum said...

Interesting scientific endorsement for handwriting. I started reading it wondering why they tested the typing on one finger only thinking that surely the exercise of two hands typing must engage a fair degree more brain on the co-ordination (not that I wanted to typing to 'win' but it seems a fairer comparison), and then realize they are talking about early life learning, rather than how our brains hold up in advancing years.

Diaday said...

As a former English/Language Art teacher, this statement in the research made me cringe: "Using a keyboard is now often recommended for young children as it is less demanding and frustrating." Easier doesn't alway mean better. The physical act of writing at a young age is so beneficial for hand strength and fine motor skills, hand/eye coordination, the feeling of pride as one masters a skill, and the excitement of putting one's name at the top of a paper for the first time. So much is going on in the brain and the body when one puts a pen to paper. As time passes, there is a place for digital writing and note taking but I believe it is crucial for young children to learn about their letters and putting together words thoughts with a writing utensil in his or her hand.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about the puppies and the fox. Lesson learned? Probably not.

I sympathize with your experience with so many shops closing. In my smallish city, I am dismayed by how many small independent shops have closed. It is a great loss to the community as well as to the owners. And it leaves us with very few choices about clothing, housewares, hardware, etc. Every now and then I literally have no option but to buy something online that simply does not exist in person anymore, despite my best efforts.
Nina

Stephanie said...

So much is being lost as small shops close and handwriting becomes a thing of the past. Many good wishes for the full recovery of Puppy and Sister; how amazing that the fox escaped harm. We see foxes here from time to time - always a thrill.

rottrover said...

Sending POTP to Puppy and Sister. Several years ago, a JRT, who was a regular where we walk, found a coyote den with pups and mother. The JRT didn't make it. Her owner has never walked there again. A local bookstore, Vroman's in Pasadena, is for sale after over 100 years. It's the most fantastic store, but the owner is in his 80's and the kids have no interest in running the family business. I hope they find a buyer. Thankfully there is no golf course near by, so Justin and Tiger won't be interested.

rottrover said...

PS, we have equally awful Los Angeles mugs at Starbucks. They aren't that dissimilar from the St. Andrews mugs.