How different the town feels. There's a few unfortunates waiting for their exams to finish but the students have almost all gone and many of the faculty have followed them. The small , nondescript square in front of the library, usually crowded, is now completely empty. In summer the students are replaced by waves of golfers and tourists but in winter their absence gives the place the feel of a ghost town. There can be few other places where overnight the population rises and falls by 50% or so twice a year.
The youngsters may have gone but the local workmen are busy enjoying a bout of pre-Christmas overtime. The seal pens at the Aquarium are nearly finished and the hotel that had all the lead stolen from its roof seems to be coming along quickly. On the ground floor a new awning has been put up . This will be the entrance to a large 'Oyster pie and ale' restaurant designed to serve expensive and cholesterol heavy cuisine to the hotels high rolling golfer guests. Progress seems less smooth on the Old Course where the new sewage pipe is still far from being ready. The mechanical excavators have had strings of fairy lights draped around their cabins which hints that they'll be here for a while.We stop and watch as a large blue crane hoists an air conditioning unit high into the sky. This would ordinarily not be worthy of our attention but on a quiet December morning in a deserted seaside town this can be classed as high drama. We wander back to the car discussing how many weeks a year - if at all - the new air conditioner will be used.
A creative writing workshop in Ekphrastic Poetry being advertised in the coffee shop window. The coffee shop gets 95% of its business from students so has sensibly closed down until the start of the new semester. I wonder how popular an Ekphrastic poetry workshop will be.
To Leipzing for Christmas music #17 sung in perfect English :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MyPMMvqr14
Another video of Scotland in the winter snow :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC9W2ydXIY8
2024 :https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/17/1108883/the-8-worst-technology-failures-of-2024/
8 comments:
Hari Om
Clear and concise diction, well done that choir! I might have applied for the poetry were I a StAs student... YAM xx
Ekphrastic poetry...once again I learned something new from you. You and The Font always find something of interest, even when the town is quiet.
The poetry sent me to Google to learn more, it could be a fun class. Some of us don't know how to live without AC.
Such pleasure today of Mabel and Olive. Haven’t heard of them and what fun I’ll have during quiet holidays catching up. Thank you for sharing your wealth of enjoyable entertainment through the years. MS Nell
Today's Christmas music is exceptionally beautiful. I love Olive and Mabel; what stunning views of Scotland in the winter.
Andrew Cotter is a gift. I discovered him, Mabel and Olive during the lockdown phase of the pandemic, and it felt like he saved my sanity.
Nina
I, too, enjoyed Mabel's birthday hike. And the video helped me imagine what the hills are like that we se in the distance of your photos. My favorite Olive and Mabel video is when they had a Zoom meeting during the pandemic! Those units being lifted by the crane may be heating/AC units. 2 for the price of 1! Are those apartments or townhouses that are receiving the upgrades. Beautiful in any event!
Mabel and Olive! Following them and listening to Andrew Cotter’s narrations helped through the lockdown and beyond.
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