Scottish weather continues to surprise. Rainy and cold yesterday, sunny and mild today. Half a dozen geese have overnighted in the barley field. As we venture along the farm track they take off with much irritated honking. The swallows have now gone - yesterdays cold start to the day was the cue for the last of them to leave. The sand martins nesting in the dunes will stay for another week then they too will head off on the long journey south. Our gutters have become home to this years third, and final, brood of sparrows. 2024, we can report, has been a bumper year for sparrows.
Today, the marquees for the golf tournament are home to a small army of technical staff. They're busy setting up the generators and satellite connectors needed to televise the matches. A fleet of Ford mini vans are busy collecting and depositing people. Every so often a large Mercedes courtesy vehicle ( for one of the mega stars ) sweeps into the courtyard of the clubhouse. Ladies in pastel outfits and eye shades give interviews. I've commented on the size of the infrastructure before but this tournament is truly enormous. As of Saturday night the access road that runs alongside the sea will be closed for 'security' reasons. This could be less to do with security than to ensure people pay £55 for the right to see what's going on.
Even though it's three weeks to the start of the next semester we catch sight of what we think could be early returning students. The swallows leave, the students arrive. We think they're students because they have that fresh faced ' Line up the beers - we're here to party' look about them. It's quite possible they've fixed themselves up with lucrative summer jobs at the tournament. ' I caddied for Nelly Korda' has got to look good on a CV.
The windows of the old , and long empty, bank have been taken up with adverts for the new hall of residence .Student accommodation has come on a long way since our day.
Lots of local tomato varieties in the farm shop this morning. 'The Font' buys some fresh ginger.
9 comments:
Thanks for the Stonehenge link. As a resident of NE Scotland with a background in geology, I await the results of further research that could pinpoint the precise origin of the Altar Stone. Fascinating stuff! I note that lead author of the Nature paper, Tony Clarke, has not yet submitted his PhD thesis. Don't think he'll have too much difficulty in his viva!
Cheers, Gail.
Hari OM
At over £300/week, Space is double the UK average for student accoms. Relying on the bank of Mum and Dad! YAM xx
The returning students are more likely to be back for resits, sadly. This is the time of the reassessment diet at St Andrews. Swifts, swallows and house martins still plentiful further north here in Moray. The swifts will be the first to leave, in a week or so, and we'll miss their evening "screaming parties" over the village's distilleries. In a good year our house martins can hang on well into September, but this year I should think they'll be glad to head off on their way south.
Summer has flown much too quickly for me. We have one large family of California quail almost grown and now another of tiny chicks. The fresh farm vegetables and the long view across the fields are all lovely.
Golfers, students, and tomatoes. Which will bring the most joy, and be around the longest?
All those veggies are gorgeous! There's a beautiful summer meal right there.
That golden light in photo 1 looks like autumn is definitely on it's way. It also looks very much like the light in California! That garden shop is fantastic!
My student accommodation in Hamilton Hall(once The Grand Hotel) just opposite the Royal and Ancient clubhouse cost £6.00 per week ...from a grant not a loan...and was full board including afternoon tea if you were available. We watched the golfers teeing off from the common room windows - no charge! How things have changed but I know what I would still choose.
I couldn't pass up the produce. It looks just born. :)
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