After a week of solid sunshine the weather has reverted to its changeable norm. This morning there's an intemperate wind blowing in from the East bringing with it a Siberian chill. The young American family have loaded up their large Skoda estate and are heading North into the Highlands for a weekend camping trip. They stop the car and tell us the decision has been made to return to the US. Visa issues were complex and his job offer had an acceptance deadline. Career wise it's the right step. Seems that Austin is a big up and coming centre for STEM research. We wish them well. The mother has had a teaching post at a local primary school where she's upgraded their systems and has become 'indispensable'. I'm guessing she is more integrated into Scottish life than he is and less keen on going back. We wish them well on their exciting new adventures. They'll leave in June.
The woman whose daughter is studying in Seoul ( Archie - the arthritic labradors owner ) heads off next week. ' I'm flying Business Class with Korean ' she tells us as she's told us every time we've seen her over the last two weeks. The mothers enthusiasm excitement is evident. Little is said about whether the daughter is equally enthused at the thought of spending two full weeks with her bubbly mother.
7:30 am. The sunlight is only now managing to reach some of the towns less visited nooks. Where darkness lingers the university garden department do their best to provide light and cheer with their jauntily cheerful floral planting schemes.
The BBC has a retro vibe this morning:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLRCFyLtu7M
Indian art reaches new high at auction :https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/03/19/record-mf-husain-indian-painting-christies-auction
Living in a car free neighbourhood:https://www.dwell.com/article/culdesac-tempe-car-free-neighborhood-resident-experience-8a14ebc7
8 comments:
Hari OM
Having spent last evening in Rosslyn chapel (or St Michael's church, as it's known by its congregation) listening to St Margaret's Singers enthrall us with a program of various spiritual music, and seeing how the 160(ish) audience responded at the end, there is no question that music is a connector! YAM xx
The young American family is making a huge mistake, they will not recognize their homeland. Although Austin is quite "liberal", the TX governor on down are backwards and as such, TX is not safe for women and children. I wonder how long the husband will be able to work in his field in a red state in this political/ evangelical climate. My daughter and SIL lived in Austin for 5 yrs, then sold their home there and moved to DC 3 years ago.
Trump is moving quickly toward dictatorship. The life we knew here is no more.
Angus, hope your “wee bug” is fleeing. In spite of it I’m glad to see that you are still able to see the bright side of life - jaunty flowers, chatty neighbors, and interesting events in town. Thank you for your apolitical, morning essays.
Such a pretty place, it would be hard to leave.
Really bad reviews on Reddit, of the developers and development.
We have a STEM school in town and its enrollment increases yearly. As Travel stated, St. Andrews is lovely and would be a hard place to leave. You're lucky to call it home.
Asian Art Week in New York has just wrapped up, including the Christies auction where the Indian painting was sold. We used to collect Japanese prints rather seriously, so we are still on the mailing lists and have been enjoying all the exhibitions online. We did break down and buy one print this week, our first (well, maybe second) in a couple of years. We bought our very first print in Los Angeles just a few days after the LA riots. It was some sort of life-affirming act, and it hangs in our dining room here. I think these new prints are kind of the same thing. After the earthquake/nuclear accident in Japan, we varied the pattern and bought our African Grey parrot, something we said we would never do as we didn't want to encourage the trade. But it was the same kind of thing - life goes on - and she is living happily with us here.
Your sea-fog picture is really pretty; as are the flowers planted around the campus. The car-free neighborhood is intriguing, and being adjacent to the university, is well placed. Someone should design a senior-living community using this model. We could all limp around on our bad knees!
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