Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Swallows arrive, youngsters break the rules.

Tuesday early evening. We set up a table in the garden , open a bottle of Pomerol and prepare to enjoy the sunset over the bay. No sooner are we settled than a solid wall of cold, dense, sea fog quietly rolls in and settles over 'The last wee house before Denmark'. Annoyingly the rest of the village remains unaffected and is bathed in warm, bright sunshine. We retreat inside.

The first swallows have made it to Scotland after their long migration from Africa. This morning four of them sweep low and fast over the barley field before circling back and  doing a series of barrel rolls. A skillful flying display to let us know they've returned. We pause on our walk and congratulate them on their artistry. We tell the man with the Spaniel about the swallows and he passes on the good news to the other village dog owners. There's nothing like the return of the swallows to tell you the promise of summer is about to come good.

Noreen, the farmers middle dog, makes an early appearance at the kitchen door. She is given a Grissini which is eaten with something approaching grace. She would have preferred Jaffa cakes or a sausage.

It's another study week so many of the youngsters are out of town on a pre-Easter visit to their families. A time to have laundry done and eat at sensible hours.


The students that remain are enjoying the sunshine and each others company. They ignore the ' Keep off the Grass' signs. These are put up every year and ignored every year. 

Some students are enjoying breakfast on the lawns outside their dorms. We spot the first frisbee of the semester. What a day - Swallows and frisbees .


It's good to be in town early. By lunchtime the place is full with day trippers making the most of the school half term holidays. Our cleaning lady drives by and  stops her little FIAT van to tell us all her Air BnB's are booked solid until the 22nd. Then things get quiet again until Whitsun and the first of the graduation ceremonies. This puts things in perspective. Not only are we approaching finals season but in five weeks time a quarter of the youngsters will be getting ready to leave here for good.



Who is domesticated ? Dogs or humans ? :https://longnow.org/ideas/self-domesticating-ape/

Some common  sense on manufacturing :https://x.com/molson_hart/status/1908940952908996984?s=46

Rational optimists. Who knew there were such things ? :https://rationaloptimistsociety.substack.com/p/our-secret-plan-to-change-the-world




12 comments:

Lisa in France said...

Yes, my son is about to arrive from London for his holidays and called yesterday to let me know that the washing machines in his residency are out of order so he will be bringing home an extra suitcase full of dirty laundry.

Anonymous said...

That manufacturing article is excellent. Any chance of getting the President to read it?

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
Rational Optimist seems to be the posh way to say 'geek'. Which is fine with me. Mr Hart the toy geek seems to me to be very rational - if less than optimistic. Oh to be a Jack Russel dog with only the concerns of bread versus sausage... YAM xx

Travel said...

Sometime the first week in May, we will be one of those daytrippers, I can't wait to see the wonders in your corner of paradise.

William said...

The manufacturing article is interesting, but like many people, he forgets that most of the imports go from ship to trains, not trucks, until final destination. And, in the break room at the railroad, we would have joked about the brain drain and substandard managers….

Melinda from Ontario said...

Thank you so much for posting the manufacturing article. I get it now! I knew very little about the issue and was yearning to get my head around it. The author was an excellent teacher.

Anonymous said...

You took the words right out of my mouth.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the link to the manufacturing/tariff article. It articulated it in simple language that anyone can understand about the very real impact of tariffs. I don’t remember tariffs covered this well in the Economics courses I took.

Anonymous said...

Even shipping by rail is risky with the deterioration of rail lines evidenced by multiple accidents involving hazardous goods in recent years. This part of infrastructure needs attention too.

Stephanie said...

Thank you for your lovely welcoming of the swallows back to Scotland and the graceful Noreen.

Diaday said...

Another post full of delights...thank you!

Jim Davis said...

That presupposes he could read it, which is doubtful, and understanding it is completely out of the question.