Drawing in.

August approaching and the days gently drawing in. In the morning it's still light by five but last night  darkness had fallen just after ten. This was enough of a surprise for us to comment on it.

This morning we wake and find the garden bathed in bright sunshine. Down at the end of the track that leads to the shore the sky is black. A passing squall. Thankfully, it's heading at 90 degrees away from us and out to sea. The news this morning tells us motorised suitcases have been banned at Japanese airports :https://modobag.com/ . Neither of of us has ever spotted one of these things. Whatever will they think of next ?

To the cheese shop. A quiet time for them. The locals are away on vacation and day trippers tend not to be big buyers of cheese. Europeans staying in Airbnb's take up some of the slack . Oddly, during term time, students tend to be big buyers of cheese.

An early wedding in the chapel. Everything is working smoothly. Men in frock coats guide guests to their places. A smartly turned out piper plays Amazing Grace and Highland Cathedral.  It has the look of a 'planned' event. A small fleet of large and extremely shiny limousines are lined up where we usually park the Volvo. There is more than a hint of Stockbridge to this crowd. The ushers suits are 'sharper' than those usually seen in these parts and definitely more modern than the tweed variety worn by local farmers. The women guests are uniformly big on floral patterns.

Some American golfers have had an early breakfast at the cafe by the Kirk. A brave seagull is devouring a tattie scone having already finished off the remains of a fried egg. Spare a thought for the serving staff.  You'd need to be a brave soul wanting to clear the plates away before the gull has finished.

Two rather fine bearded Collies ignore the wedding, the golfers and the gulls as they head off on their morning walk.

The Olympics throw up a heart warming story :https://x.com/Aaronsmith333/status/1817431315916165475

The pros of Asian food :https://sketchplanations.com/open-air-kitchen

A place to pass a few summer days :https://cavendishhotelbaslow.co.uk/