Numbers.

 

We have to look up '8647' to see what all the fuss is about. Do you know what it means ?

'Ah ! The romance of Scotland ' says 'The Font' flinging wide the hotel bedroom curtains to reveal a scene of urban dowdiness. Angus has booked the room at the last minute so beggars can't exactly be choosers. The hotel is full of a huge Chinese tour group all of whom are wearing identical red jackets. There must be three hundred of them - all 20 something males. They stand in the lobby marveling at the exoticism of Scotland and the Scots. Nothing, it would seem, has prepared them for the Edinburgh accents at check-in.

We've found our new favourite restaurant in Edinburgh. It's close to where the replacement sofa is being made in what might be termed an 'up and coming ' part of town. We arrive at six thirty for a seven pm reservation and are directed to a small wine bar that serves us two large glasses of suitably chilled rose champagne while we wait. In both the wine bar and the restaurant  the staff are intelligent, informed , charming and efficient. Proof that there are places in Scotland that manage to do it well. The restaurant has also avoided the fad of the seven course tasting menu. We are both delighted to be able to order 3 courses of what we want.

For dinner 'The Font' chooses fish and I choose duck. The wine list is long enough to contain a few intriguing bargains and after a lengthy discussion we settle for a light Cornas . This is good enough for 'The Font' to have not one but two glasses.

This morning it's a five minute walk from the hotel to the train. The local day-glo jacketed workmen are starting off their day with either a trip for fried egg sandwiches from Dimitris or sausage rolls from Greggs. Scottish workmen seem to spend a large portion of their day queueing at sandwich shops.

Outside the station a memorial to the locals who fell during the Great War. I'm guessing from the sheer  size of the monument that there must have been a 'Pals' batallion - or three - from here. Sending off youngsters from the same schools and neighbourhoods seemed like a good idea at the time but after the scything at the Somme in 1916 the downsides were quickly recognized.

The train on time but busy. Every seat taken. From the fact the entire population of Melbourne seems to be onboard I can only assume it's some sort of Australian holiday. They all order bacon rolls from the catering cart for breakfast apart from one lady who orders a lamb curry which seems a brave thing to do at this hour of the morning.

Poisoned wallpaper :https://www.historytoday.com/archive/great-debates/hidden-death-victorian-wallpaper

Tonight 'The Font' goes to a lecture on this :https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2025/05/the-tale-of-genji-1000-years-of-romance/

Mare Island :https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/05/12/navy-subs-nuclear-secrets-and-beer-riveting-history-of-bay-areas-mare-island.html

I hadn't heard of the marshmallow test :https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/05/a-peers-promise-can-help-kids-pass-the-marshmallow-test/

The history of making milk safe :https://www.worksinprogress.news/p/making-american-milk-safe