Wet and miserable but sunshine is forecast for later this morning. A few drenched dogs and their owners use gaps in the rain to venture out onto the grass by the bandstand.
The sea below the catholic church looking most unwelcoming. Two seals are having fun bobbing up and down in the waves. The fulmars, who nest in crevices in the cliffs, have sensibly opted to opt out of flying in these winds.
After closing during Covid the old hotel by the Chaplaincy is being converted into six 'luxury' flats. Since we walked past yesterday the building has been wrapped in a series of metal bands. This seems rather high tech for these parts. I wonder if the small family run hotel next door is prepared for their neighbours heavy construction work.
That time of the year when teenagers receive their exam results. Groups of hopefuls ( some with parents ) having guided tours of the town - this takes all of forty five minutes. Difficult to believe that in six or seven weeks time the town will suddenly lose 10,000 inhabitants.
The hotel that had the lead on its roof stolen by some fleet footed miscreants is having a replacement put on. A small army of day-glo jacketed workmen are standing around waiting for the lead sheets to arrive. The building now has much improved security.
Daffodils in the garden of the auld kirk.
Outside someone has laid some brightly painted stones in a flower bed. I wonder what they symbolize ? One of them has a picture of a pilgrim standing outside the cathedral. Strange how often the word pilgrim has appeared in this blog over the last fifteen years. In Italy pilgrims passed us on the way to Assisi, in France they were on their way to Santiago. St.Francis, St.James and now St.Andrew. Quiet echoes of history.
We must have passed this doorway a thousand times without reading the words on the lintel. The first $ sign. Who'd have thought it ?
So starts a day when it seems nothing is happening in our small, northerly, part of the world.
10 comments:
Hari Om
I woke up in Maud to a frosted window. I'll take that, the cloudless sky and the bright orb over the deluge of yesterday any time! YAM xx
Bright, frosty and a dusting of snow on the hills here in Speyside. Not sure what exam results are out just now? Both Scottish and rest of the UK results don't come out until August. University offers are coming out just now, and universities are holding "offer holder days" to help applicants choose between their various offers, and St Andrews definitely has offer holder days around now. The applicants then have to wait until August for their exam results before their university place is confirmed.
It looks like a wonderful place to spend a few years as a student.
Two little connections on your blog post today:
Eye catching, delightful painted stones along a trail in Nantucket where I vacation and my office is in Philadelphia close to the printing hot bed of the 1700s.
It does the soul good at times to have the world seem a bit small.
Your last photo captured my interest, and I found this, which may be of interest: https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Extras/Type_foundry/. We often wish we could find the histories of the buildings in our neighborhood in France, or at least the age. Our little village is on the Route Napoleon, a different sort of pilgrimage altogether. Today is our one-year anniversary here, and the rains seem finally to have stopped. We've discovered a broken pipe in our basement that is going to cause us some grief, but at least the garden is very green.
You frequently mention starting your day when it seems that nothing is happening in your small part of the world but you always find things that may seem small but paint a beautiful big picture.
Those pebbles are really attractive and I love the two main rocks next to them. The last picture and information was very interesting.
Wendy (Wales)
Thank you, Lisa in France, for the link. Here's more fun reading re the last photo:
https://shadycharacters.co.uk/2023/03/miscellany-99-dollar-sign/
That sea and those daffodils! What beauty.
Coming from Philly, my connection with your reading of the lintel is of course Benjamin Franklin and his print shop, still a memory for all to see. Wonder what he thought about the $.
Post a Comment