Whales.

Whales in the bay this morning. Every so often one breaks the surface. They're close inshore where the rocks fall sharply away into the North Sea. This band of cold water is where the lobster boats ( and last weeks cod enthusiasts ) say the fishing is best. The local seals also cluster here so the waters must be full of goodies stirred up from the depths. Our local farmers wife says she saw dolphins by the headland where the small river has cut its path through the sandstone.

Snow was forecast yesterday but  didn't make an appearance. Today it's supposed to be bright and sunny with a high of -1 and a low of -9. As we walk there's a few sleet showers which seem to fall from a largely cloudless sky. There's no wind and we're well wrapped up so the temperatures are on the right side of bearable.

Town busy. The Shawarma House seems to be a breakfast favourite with the under 20's. They pay and order at a table set up in the doorway and then wait on the pavement until their food arrives at a serving hatch. I'm guessing the owners discovered that the students would all shelter inside from the cold and deter other customers from getting in to place their orders. This system has efficiency on its side.

Further down the street we stop to admire some grand doorways on the 16th century townhouses down by the cathedral . 

We've been trying to buy one of these houses for the last 30 years. At one stage we even employed a local solicitor to write to all the owners and ask if anyone would be willing to sell. No luck. They continue to be passed down through the generations.

On the road facing the sea the builders have finished replacing the lead on the hotel roof. Long term blog readers will remember that the original lead was stolen by a group of thieves who turned up in broad daylight in a builders van. No one thought to question what they were doing.

A very 'English' hotel in NYC. I would go just to see Crosby the Cat :https://www.firmdalehotels.com/a/kit-kemp/tour-our-hotels/crosby-street-hotel/art-collection/

Music of the day - the 60's era Franco-Greek band Aphrodites Child with their reworking of Pachelbels Canon in D ( Does anyone remember Vangelis or Dennis Roussos ?)  :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HP1DdiqaEs

There is hope :https://hakaimagazine.com/news/can-animals-evolve-fast-enough-to-keep-up-with-climate-change/