The ducks are back.

We go for dinner at the recently opened hotel that overlooks the Old Course. There's some form of committee meeting in the club house opposite and from our table we watch a steady stream of large electric cars glide silently up to the floodlit entrance. They deposit affluent looking men in suits. It seems the American President is having a golf summit in the White House which may explain the activity. Some buildings look better in darkness. The R&A is one of them. The hotels 'plush' pavement chairs remain unused. We think of having a drink before going inside but the chilly temperature soon makes us think better of it.

The interior of the new hotel is decidedly opulent. This has been what the newspapers will call a  a 'bespoke' fit out. It can't have been cheap. The food and the service reflect the fact that they've just opened. The diners fall into two categories. Local sixty somethings looking for somewhere new to eat without having to drive and serious early twenty year old couples who stare intently at each other. One young man at a neighbouring table suggests that his companion might prefer to start with the smoked salmon rather than the ( extremely expensive ) oysters. She's having none of it and opts for the oysters. He puts on a brave face but economizes by ordering her a glass of wine and himself a beer. " You can have a second glass whenever you want ".

This morning we find that the ducks who consider the pavement outside The Shawarma House to be their home, have returned.

Some students take photos of the ducks. Others stop to say hello. No one passes by without making way for them. I like student towns. The youngsters haven't had enough time to become immersed in their own self importance and maintain an upbeat vibe of innocent, duck talking, fun.

We're firmly in the run up to Easter . Music is playing a bigger part in the towns life and tickets for events are selling out quickly. 

Blackbirds are survivors :https://birdhistory.substack.com/p/black-birds-black-powder

A downside to owning a dog Tennessee style. This is intriguing on so many levels :https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/12/tennessee-man-shot-by-dog

In some states child care is more expensive than college :https://www.epi.org/child-care-costs-in-the-united-states/

I can't even begin to get my head around this :https://singularityhub.com/2025/03/10/darpa-wants-to-grow-enormous-living-structures-in-space/