' One for the raven, one for the crow, one to rot and one to grow'. The farmer uses this old truism to calculate how much seed to sow. Three quarters of what he puts down is either eaten by the birds or blown away by the gales. This morning there must be the better part of two hundred crows happily hoovering up what he planted yesterday.
The exodus of students - or at least those who've already finished their exams - starting in earnest. It's barely six and a team from the storage company are already collecting boxes from the student flats down by the cathedral. One more week of exams and then the academic year is over. By this time next week the storage people will be working 24/7. This is also the start of the ' I'll phone you every day' season when the restaurants are full of soon to be separated young couples having 'serious' conversations. A residue of party goers will stay on until mid-May. They are the heavy partying ' I'd love to come home but I really must finish my course work ' crowd.
It's now peak cherry blossom time. Yesterday, a large cruise ship docked in Dundee. Many of the passengers opted for a shore excursion to the home of golf. They wandered round the place not quite sure what they were seeing while wishing they'd dressed more warmly. At least the cherry blossom was out to give them a show.
This morning we aren't sure whether the students sprawled on the lawn outside the medical buildings are super early risers or super late clubbers returning home. We'd put money on the latter. A group of lads are playing a game of football on the roped off grass . Every time one of them scores there's a roar that can be heard a mile away. Their enthusiasm makes us chuckle.
Hats off to the university gardeners. The flower beds hitting just the right note at just the right time. The exam takers are probably too busy to notice the colourful displays all around them.
By the beach a very tasteful wreath has been placed on the Martys Monument. Orange roses and bluebells. Five hundred years on and old traditions and memories are still - quietly - remembered.
10 comments:
Hari OM
St Andrews on a braw spring day shines like a jewel! YAM xx
The crows must view the farmer's seeds as the birdie equivilent of McDonalds!
The floral display is a delight on such a beautiful sunny day.
We've read much about the "over-zealous" attitude that American police have - looking at this video it proves they are just thugs in uniform. What a disgrace.
OMG, those "officers" need to be canned immediately. They are an embarrassment.
It is a lovely time of year in St. Andrews indeed. I am really struggling to understand the current situation on US university campuses. I remember well the Vietnam War protests, although I was too young to be directly involved, and for years I have wondered why students didn't react to various issues - why not Russia's invasion of Ukraine, for example. And now we have this. I'm glad my son graduated last year.
I thought the video of the Irish accents was interesting. I couldn't understand some of them. I tried just listening and not watching the video and then I could understand what they were saying. I wonder if there are any studies on this. I will try researching. I'm from Eastern Ontario Canada.
I retired from an administrative position at a university in 2016, and I am so thankful that my time there was so peaceful (not conflict free, but peaceful!) Having lived through the Viet Nam war protest days, it breaks my heart that we are enduring it again. Unfortunately, protests like the one at Emory do take a nasty turn, mostly due to paid activists who do everything they can to light the fire. Then the police react, and they can't tell a professor from an activist.
My first office there had glass walls and looked out onto the Student Lounge. As the end of semester neared, I saw so many couples, who would sit literally for hours, not speaking, just gazing soulfully into each other's eyes.
Nina
So much beautiful color, and such a contrast to all of the grey days you've had. The university where I teach part time is locked down to everyone except residents. What a mess, and so much misinformation. Some months ago, you shared a book title about recent middle east history. Was the book helpful? interesting? Could you share its title again? Thanks.
Rottrover - I think the book you're referring to is 'The Donkey and the Boat - Reinterpreting the Mediterranean Economy 950-1180. Not an easy subject but Chris Wickham ( who was head of the British school in Rome ) jaunts his way through it. I enjoyed it - but in a 3 or 4 pages at a time sort of way.
So complex. So much misinformation, whether wilful or innocent. A triplex: Free speech? Classic civil disobedience? Plain old lawlessnesss? Students and professors at my Barnard/Columbia alma mater are saying the most hate-filled things. Now my husband's alma mater, Washington University in St Louis, has joined the chorus.
Thankyou, Angus!
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