Nothing happening.

July 14th. There seems to be a little more amity in Franco-British relations than there has been recently : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLMOy7XHNWE .The morning news informs us that the American President is due to be in Scotland between the 24th and 28th of this month to play golf. I'll bet all Police leave has been cancelled.

The towns souvenir shops making their Scottishness plain to any passers by. I'd reckon local 'souvenir' retailers book 75% of their sales in June, July and August. The same goes for the restaurants if the queues outside are anything to go by.

The sound of a brass band is a regular feature of Sunday afternoons here. 

Thursdays see the official sandcastle competitions. Lucky winners get a toasted cheese sandwich. Commercialism is yet to run rampant here.

Anything to do with golf - no matter how esoteric -  attracts swarms of eager 30 something males. They're latter day pilgrims.

The municipal flower troughs were in full bloom for graduation week. They're still radiating colour. We're glimpsing the first badly dressed academics here for summer schools. They stand on street corners deep in conversation while talking earnestly to each other. It's difficult to judge whether they're enjoying themselves or are deeply unhappy at having their routines interrupted and having to come to somewhere so deserted remote.

There are a few white horses on the sea out by the estuary. The hot, balmy weather may be about to change. Heavy red cell rain is expected by late morning. The farmers wife says the 'crops need it '. This is a very farmers wife view of the world.

Readers of the blog may be able to tell that very little is happening here in the absence of the students and the staff.

In 1774, firewood output accounted for 28 percent of US GDP. Chopping down and burning trees was as significant to the 1770s economy as health care plus manufacturing are to today’s economy:https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w33974/w33974.pdf

A John Muir inspired sketch :https://sketchplanations.substack.com/p/going-out-is-really-going-in

Cousins :https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2023/12/cousin-relationships-fertility-rate/676892/

Everyone makes them but who has the time to watch ? :https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/are-podcasts-ruining-our-lives

Picturing the sun :https://www.universetoday.com/articles/this-is-the-closest-picture-ever-taken-of-the-sun