Rain is forecast for tomorrow. The farmers will be pleased. This is seemingly the longest recorded dry spell in more than 60 years. The farmers wife , who knows about such things, says that apart from sea mist the crops haven't had any moisture since early April. Sunshine is expected to return on Sunday.
The quail family that have made their home in the patch of long grass between the courtyard and the barley field have had a 'good' year. The two that have been our neighbours since the spring have miraculously turned into a fine family of eight . We stand and watch them saunter - mother in front, father behind , youngsters in between - towards the farm track and the sea. They soon turn into the safety of the barley stalks.
A group of youngsters outside the exam hall. Some stand alone and in silence. They look nervous. Four years condensed into the next three hours. Others adopt the 'lets test each other before we go in ' approach. From the noticeboard it seems that its the turn of the School of Psychology and Neuroscience to hold their exams today.
In the evening we pop into the trendy cocktail bar for a quick glass of wine. Four gentlemen golfers are sitting at the bar. They arrived last night, played a round this morning, opted for a quick pre-lunch snifter and have been here ever since. They are now at the stage where their 'sampling' of whisky has transported them into a post jet lag world of quiet contentment. One of them reminisces, at length, about his Oldsmobile. ' Best goddam car I ever had '. I'll wager they'll sleep well tonight.
I would not wish to run into a pig nosed frog :https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/ugly-animals
Progress ? :https://spectrum.ieee.org/star-autonomous-surgical-robot
11 comments:
Hari OM
I see liquorice in nearly all the supermarkets - I favour Lidl's as it's vegan, but the best is the Swedish Salted from the big yellow barn... YAM xx
We have a supply of liquorice in the cupboard all the time.
Black licorice is an acquired taste. I love it. Good & Plenty candy? Yum! Fun fact--there is a plant called Sweet Cicely, that has seed pods and leaves that taste like black licorice. We have it dotted around our yard (bunnies also apparently like licorice) and the seed pods are like candy!
RJ's Licorice is made in Levin, New Zealand. It really is a small world when it goes from a small town here to a photo on your blog! My partner gets given a bucket of "Allsorts" every Christmas, and loves lolly cake, made from them, as a special treat.
Canadian here. Yes we like licorice. When I was a child the licorice came in long shoe strings. I preferred the red rather than the black. Licorice All Sorts was part of our Christmas gifts along with a Life Saver Book, Mandarins wrapped in purple tissue, nuts and hard candy. Most of the licorice available locally has wheat in it and unfortunately I am now Gluten sensitive. I should try a on-line search.
Surprising that 1) it should be made where you live in NZ : 2) that it should be shipped half way round the world to St Andrews and 3) it should be 'exotic' enough to grab my attention !
Thank you.' The Font' will b delighted to know that Canadians are indeed 'big' on liquorice.
My husband and I are big fans of licorice, especially brands from Finland. My husband is of Finnish ancestry. We both grew up in the shores of Lake Superior across from Canada. We’re going to Finland in August and will delight in shops that sell homemade licorice! https://www.touchoffinland.com/cdn/shop/products/Halva-Finnish-Soft-Salty-Licorice-_200g_1080x.png?v=1643818864
I had three Oldsmobiles back the late 70s, one leaked, one was ugly, and the other one was boring. He probably had an Aurora, probably the best they ever made with a corvette engine in it.
Other Canadian here. Licorice is available and popular, although, perhaps, not as widely popular as in European northern countries.
Growing up in France, I remember the shoestring licorice, sold in neat little rolls with a round white or red candy in the middle. Red was highly prized.
I live in Auckland, but Levin (located 550km south) is where my father's family is from, so I spent many holidays there as a child, and went to a family reunion last December at our old family home. It is a small town with approx. 21,000 people (1.5% of the population of Auckland), so exporting licorice to St Andrews is impressive and something I never expected to see on your blog.
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