Friday, February 9, 2024

Constant rain and high winds.

We wake to torrential rain and strong winds - a day for staying close to home. The weather forecast says another 24 hours of this lies in store. The BBC's Russian correspondent reviews Tucker Carlsons 'interview' with Putin. The correspondent  rather wryly observes that the interviewer had no hard or uncomfortable questions for the Russian President. The term 'useful idiot' springs to mind.

'The Font' informs me that there's no such thing as an 'awful' day. So it is we find ourselves, alone, walking on the beach. Even the usual cast of dog owners have opted not to brave the elements. On the way back we stop off at the student cafe. The attached store sells sensible head wear and a collection of ties. Unusually, white bow ties - a rare male accoutrement - are available for soon to graduate PhD's. Small university towns can be both ultra modern and ultra traditional at one and the same time. There's a group of a dozen or so extremely tall young men standing waiting for coffee. They're wearing Dartmouth and Brown tee shirts. Seems they are the core of the Lacrosse team. This is not, until now, a sport we thought was played here.

The rain comes in waves. Sometimes its merely heavy. At others its apocalyptic. Angus can vouch for the water repelling properties of his newly acquired ' from the boardroom to the 18th tee' Under Armor golf trousers. 


On the beach below the castle a group of teens are out for a swim in the sea water pool. Lunacy ! To say they're enjoying themselves would be an understatement. Bad weather and sea water swimming are great fun when you're a certain age. The sound of their laughter drifts up the cliff towards us. 'The Font' observes that on a rainy day like this they'll be just as wet out of the sea as in it.

So starts a Friday morning in a small, soaked, Scottish North Sea town.



An interesting take on many things including Yale :https://www.city-journal.org/article/review-of-troubled-by-rob-henderson



9 comments:

Linda said...

Lacrosse has been a sport for many years here, albeit for much of that time in the rather rarified atmosphere of private schools. The Chalet School series of girls' school stories features it in the books written in the 1920s and 1930s onwards. My daughter played it at her girls' private school in Edinburgh in the 2000s (called by us "Mallory Towers"), and it's long been popular at UK universities which are favoured by private school students. Men have cottoned on that it's a hard, fast game.

jabblog said...

My 11-year-old grandson plays lacrosse at his state primary school.

WendyAnn said...

Your last picture is wonderful - so much to see. May I also say that we are looking forward to 'Pon' news!
Wendy (Wales)

Lisa in France said...

"Lax Bros" in St. Andrews! (Lacrosse players are a distinct subculture at some US universities.) I enjoyed the story about Rob Henderson very much - his concept of "luxury beliefs" rings true for me as someone who came from a blue-collar background and his thoughtfulness is a lovely antidote to the stupidity of J.D. Vance, my fellow Yale Law School graduate.

Travel said...

Useful or useless, some people prove that they are idiots for hire. The right hat can make all the difference on a day like that.

Coppa's girl said...

For years, in the UK, I used to wear my golfing wet weather gear for walking the dogs. In fact it had more outings doing that than on the golf course. Today it's finally raining after weeks of dry and warm weathe. My wet weather gear has long since been consigned to the dustbin, so we're staying in and playing with the bouncy plastic pineapple in the living room.
We played Lacrosse at school, in my case very briefly and very badly.
Linda's comments on the Chalet School series by Elinor Brent Dyer??? brings back memories. The school was so much more exciting than mine.

Jake of Florida said...

The article about Henderson and his thoughtful realization of how harmful "luxury beliefs" can be is both touching and enlightening. Made me wonder about some of my own beliefs. Angus, are you free to travel?

Jim Davis said...

"Useful idiot" is an apt description for Tucker Carlson.

Allison said...

In the Pacific North West area of the US, the citizens like to say "there is no bad weather, only bad kit."