This six am news bulletin starts with the story that the Princess of Wales has cancer, moves onto another terrorist attack in Moscow before segueing onto Marjorie Taylor Greenes true believer crusade against her fellow Republicans. 'That's a cheerful start to the day' says 'The Font' as we head down the track to the sea. This morning the skies are blue and the view across the waters of the bay towards town is almost Caribbean. Looks can of course be deceptive.
The two young American archaeologists have gone. The site of their excavations once again covered. A few pieces of the stones that lined the burial chambers left sticking above the soil.
Seems that the bronze age cemetery was once much larger. It would have been centred on a small hill rising on the shoreline. Erosion and the construction of a gun battery during the last war have leveled the hill and destroyed three quarters of the burial site. A few old graves can be seen right on the waters edge.
In town the golf course already busy with eager players waiting to tee off. Angus notes that Under Armor all weather golf attire is much in evidence. In fact it seems to be the uniform of choice for a large group of identically dressed 30 something Alabamans. Many are wearing NASA caps so I guess it's some sort of works outing. They inform us that ' We flew into Edinbro last night and were up at four. We couldn't wait to get out here to play'. No such thing as jet lag for them. They share this information with everyone that passes.
The new movies at the cinema don't appeal. The horror film of the week has moved on from a demonic teddy bear to a demonic nun.
A few students sun bathing on the lawn outside chapel. It's early, the grass is damp and there's what one might call a 'brisk' wind. None of this seems to deter the youngsters who seem oblivious to the elements. We catch snippets of conversation that indicate that end of term exams are now entering the collective consciousness.
Good to know that Angus will be blending in, sartorially, with the 30 something Alabamans. Perhaps they'll donate him a nice NASA cap!
ReplyDeleteAs an American Southerner I feel it my duty to let you & Angus know it is Alabamians, which is far more fun to say IMO
DeleteThanks for the correction!
DeleteGail (originally a Nottinghamian).
Hari Om
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, in Alness, we are facing sleet showers interspersed with bursts of glaring brightness...and still firmly in the single figures of the thermometer. No sunbathing here!!! YAM xx
Thousands of years, of people living and dying there, watching the waves, and the tides and the coming of spring. And here we are for our short interval in that vast history.
ReplyDeleteLack of third places, city planning, infrastructure and prioritizing cars put Americans low on the list of happy people, especially children. It's nearly impossible for an 8 year old child to independently run to a nearby store to buy a missing ingredient for a soup or get a treat for themselves. Cars make it unsafe to walk to school. Younger kids can't go independently on a playground. Libraries forbid kids younger than 13 to be there by themselves.
ReplyDeleteThere's not much agency to exercise at school, where 30 minute lunch requires sitting or eating, outside recess requires being playing in the sun or standing. Parents don't have it easy either because they have to seek out experiences for their kids, drive them, pay for it Any mention of doing something for the common good gets you a communist label. Most people don't know what they are missing out on, unless they came from a different country and know that things could be better. This parent is definitely not very happy about all this, and very sad for the kids who don't get as many good experiences and relationships in the process.
What a glorious morning! We've got rain in Los Angeles.
ReplyDelete-An Angeleno
All that start-the-day news gets washed away by blue skies and a beautiful blue sea.
ReplyDeleteAngus, your first photo is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYes, that first photo might almost be the Caribbean - except for the lack of cruise ships lining up to dock!
ReplyDeleteThere must be many bronze age bones on the sea floor in the bay.
Iza - We often wonder why so many US youngsters come to spend 4 years here. This year 20% of the intake is from the US. You'd think they'd be desperate to get back to Manhattan or Beverly Hills after 3 months. Seems they enjoy not having to have a car and being able to walk to bars and shops ( and lectures ) all within a five minute radius. We've also noticed that a lot of houses are being bought by American golfers who come to play and then decide that six months here every year ( over the summer ) is not such a bad way to pass their time.
ReplyDeleteThe first photo is absolutely beautiful and would make a lovely watercolour painting.
ReplyDeleteWendy (Wales)
The blue of the sea in the first photo is very beautiful. And both of your links are very thought-provoking. Earlier this afternoon, I had spent a half hour or so reading an article in the WSJ headlined "US no longer ranks among world's top 20 happiest countries." The rankings were interesting, but now reading the article you've linked, I'm thinking the Finns might have viewed things in a less competitive light than the WSJ.
ReplyDeleteOh Angus. I hate hate hate seeing the name of MTG in your awesome blog. Bad enough what she's done to our legislature.
ReplyDeleteAn American friend sent this. Have you seen it. Seems to capture both candidates....
ReplyDeleteBritish Writer Pens The Best Description Of Trump I’ve Read
https://community.pearljam.com/discussion/300432/the-best-written-description-of-the-45th-u-s-president-yet