Gritty reality

 

The sky blue, the sea clear and calm. You could almost imagine you were in the Caribbean were it not for the 'fresh' northerly breeze. 

On our morning walk we meet the farmers wife who tells us she has seen reed buntings on the potato barns gutters. Soon after we catch up with the man with the black labrador who has been told - unofficially - that the Outlander film crew have not been given permission to film in the village. This will be a relief to all and sundry. Finally, we bump into the retired judge. He wonders what has come over the writers of The Archers. The plot line of this every day tale of country folk usually deals with donkeys with sore paws but has recently moved sharply into the 21st century with a car accident , drunken driving allegations and all sorts of rural 'shenanigans'. The judges daily radio listening has strayed into the realm of  gritty reality and he is not happy. He's going to write to the BBC. As he heads off he wonders whether Switzerland should have won Eurovision. His money had been on Croatia.

Heading along the lane into town we pass thirty or so hunting dogs out for a walk. A man in a brown coat on a bicycle leads the pack while a 'lad' in a hoodie follows on behind. He's also on a bicycle. They're heading along the lane at a fair lick and clearly enjoying themselves.  I thought  that hunting was no longer allowed so the sight of a hunting pack comes as a surprise. The man in the brown coat leads the dogs into a field so that we can drive past. I manage to get a quick snap through the car window. We smile and wave.

A crowd of weekenders already queueing up outside the ice cream shop. The Scots go completely doolally when the temperatures nudge towards double figures. What better way to start the day than a breakfast double scoop ? 

A few brave souls have made it into the cathedral grounds. I'd hoped that the remedial work might have been completed so that the safety fences could be removed. If anything there seem to be more fences than ever this year. I guess this means that the risk of being hit by a falling piece of medieval masonry remains a real and present danger. None of this seems to bother a group of intrepid Japanese.

The small beach by the castle busy with bathers. There must be at least a hundred of them. This would appear to be the entire student population who are back to take 'resits'. 

This mornings car radio music :https://youtu.be/iU2HIKsfwEQ?t=4

A second night of this :https://www.space.com/spectacular-northern-lights-rare-solar-flares-may-2024

Maple syrup bottles :https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/maple-syrup-bottle-skeuomorph