Winter wind.

 

The first day of the new month is bright and sunny but there's a bite to the wind that hints that snow and frost are on their way. Winter wear is brought out for our morning walk. Within weeks the hilltops on the far side of the bay will be dusted with white. The cheerful ladies who go sea water swimming in the pool below the castle may have to rethink their routine. Last year at this time we were beset with huge storms. This year the weather has been cloudless and calm. Can it continue ? The students seem to be oblivious to the climate and are happy wearing tee shirts.

Seems that something is happening in American politics next week. One of the local professors has views about it that drop into the inbox this morning :https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/election-update-12-is-the-democratic . I'm always slightly nervous about commentators on this side of the pond trying to call events on the other. The two continents are very different places. We'll know whether he's right soon enough although 'unpredictable' seems to be as good a description as any.

In town one of the old houses has two carefully positioned pumpkins above the front door. Their toothless grins makes us chuckle.  Look closely and you'll see to the side an old medieval door that was closed off and replaced with a more modern Georgian one three hundred years ago. The desire for home improvement  is not a modern trend. There were a few Halloween parties last night but the students seem to be keeping their powder dry for bigger events tonight and tomorrow tonight.

There is a commemoration for St Leonard on Sunday night in the little chapel that bears his name. The chapel is hidden down a side street and rarely visited. I'm guessing 99% of visitors walk by without knowing it's there. It has a 'lepers window'.  We know nothing at all about St Leonard.

It's the time of the year when the farm shop switches over to locally grown vegetables heavy in 'iron'.

The farmers wife supplies us with gratis broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage so we buy green beans and peppers.

The  pumpkin harvest has been good this year although from the pile outside the front door demand seems to have been  underwhelming .

You know it's nearing Christmas when e-mails advertising tree decorations arrive :https://www.svenskttenn.com/se/en/range/swedish-christmas-decorations

Intimate annoyance. Despite the gushy prose this was rather fun :https://www.avabear.xyz/p/the-essence-of-love-is-annoyance

Dolly Parton has launched her own wine label :https://dollywines.com/products/dolly-wines-rose