$50 coffee

The 'savage wee bug' is living up to its name but the sun is out and we manage a brief walk through town. The news this morning dominated by the 'surprising' fire that's knocked out all power to Heathrow. We pass the local Post Office and the neighbouring Bank of Scotland which are housed in truly awful 1920's era buildings. The architect(s) were big on straight lines. We try, vainly, to find something positive to say about their design.  The two buildings also have their own flagpoles although I've never seen a flag on either.

The upmarket student drop in centre now has olive trees positioned outside the front door. The great unveiling must be drawing nigh. A sign has appeared which  says 'SPACE' in capital letters. It's presumably the sort of name that signals style and conviviality to the average nineteen year old.

Through the - firmly locked - front door I can see a woman filling a shelf with house plants. Angus wonders how many students will pop in for a latte and a ficus but assumes that someone has thought this through.

The menu is more of a surprise.Does $50 for a cafetiere for six together with half a dozen croissants sound reasonable to you ?

Back at home the local Postie delivers some magazines and stops for a wee chat ( from a safe distance ). He and his girl friend are thinking of going to Egypt for their summer holiday. " We can be sure it'll be sunny and the prices are great but we have tae fly frae Manchester ". Angus wonders how long the typical pale skinned Scot would need to spend under the August Red Sea sun before suffering skin burn. Thirty minutes ?  Twenty ? He keeps this thought to himself. 

The front cover of Scottish Field with a Westie amid snowdrops has been designed as an attention grabber.

Private Eyes front cover keeps us abreast of current events.

A piece of art from The Met :https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/656912?

Pineapples:https://www.worksinprogress.news/p/king-of-fruits

A surprise if true:https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/are-there-billions-more-people-than-we-thought-controversial-study-suggests-rural-population-may-be-undercounted-by-50/

Molly the dog explores the local villages :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol4B6Vu0jKE  which links to this, our local salt maker :https://eastneuksalt.com/