Frozen tourists and a tyrannical government.

A bright and sunny Tuesday morning. On the far side of the bay the hills are covered in thick, fresh snow. There's a brisk wind blowing from the North which makes us dig out an extra layer before setting off. Heading into town the breakfast news leads with Don Jr's visit to Greenland and the ongoing spat between Elon Musk and the mild mannered  British Prime Minister. Americas wealthiest man is now bizarrely wondering whether America should liberate the UK from its tyrannical government. Most folk are bemused by this . This analysis provided some enlightenment although the word 'Ketamine' was the thing that stood out :https://www.tortoisemedia.com/2025/01/07/musks-obsession-with-britain-is-complicated

The shoe repair shops mechanical cobbler has changed out of festive gear into something more practical for this weather . I wonder how many passers by are aware of these seasonal costume changes ?

The cashmere and tweeds store have started their sale. Yesterday was without a doubt the quietest day of the year in town. I'm sure some shops had absolutely no customers. Winter weather and post Christmas belt tightening do not make for  bumper retail sales.

The Italian cafe has a caramel sludge slice in the window that is at once both enticing and alarming. Wnat manner of colour is that ?

The new Texan tenants are due to arrive at the wee house in town. We take down a  super efficient booster heater. We usually keep the thermostat at 19 but have noticed that the tenants always turn it up to 28 as soon as they arrive. The small office at the front of the house is the coldest and darkest room ( it's also where the printer is kept ) so we leave the heater there. Five hundred years ago, when the house was remodeled , this room is where an entire family would have lived.

A few intrepid tourists can be found wandering around the clifftop by the cathedral. They've come up on the first sightseeing tour from Edinburgh and are doing ttheir level best to ignore the biting northerly wind. A guide leads them from the golf course to the harbour. They then retrace their steps before heading off to Starbucks to warm up.

This will spark conversations across the dinner table :https://www.livescience.com/animals/are-cats-and-dogs-smarter-than-babies  

Historic climate change lessons :https://theconversation.com/what-brought-the-decline-of-the-eastern-roman-empire-and-what-can-we-learn-from-it-245101

The people in the background, and their attempts to keep dry, are as telling as this American couples commentary :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdbytz3iOo

Angus agrees with this :https://www.commonreader.co.uk/p/seventieth-anniversaries-1955-was  The year of the first McDonalds restaurant.