Five cruise ships.

The rising sun outlines the offshore wind farms turbines.  Further out to sea there's another, even bigger one, being built. One thing Scotland doesn't lack is wind. Construction vessels plough their way backwards and forwards across the horizon day and night. Recently cruise ships have started to detour so that their passengers can get a close up look at these 600 foot high leviathans. Five ships passed by yesterday on their way to the Orkneys. When we first arrived here three years ago Princess or Holland America rarely if ever ventured into these parts. Now the cooler air lures hoardes of passengers to the north. How quickly times change .

In the other direction the farmer is busy bailing up the remaining straw. The largest hare either of us has ever seen stands and watches.

In town work on the Tiger Woods/Justin Timberlake sports bar has burst into life. After being deserted for much of the summer the workmen have reappeared. Overnight new Portakabins have been installed and this morning they've started digging a trench for upgraded electrical cables. Digging the trench requires the installation of temporary traffic lights. There are now two sets of traffic lights within a hundred metres of each other. This confuses the local drivers and what passes ( in these parts ) for a traffic jam soon builds up .

Further down the road the surveyors have found asbestos in the roof space of the old 16th century building next to the chapel. Mere mention of the word asbestos and the university health and safety team have sprung into overdrive. Scaffolding now covers the building and the cafe on the ground floor has been closed.

We find a parking spot down by the cathedral and watch a woman spend five whole minutes taking selfies of herself in front of the cafe where William met Kate ... allegedly. She is completely  oblivious to the fact she's standing on a busy road. After a car hoots she repositions herself closer to the pavement where she continues to snap away.

Life here ( as you may be able to tell ) before the students arrive is very, very quiet.

Good news for Bees :https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c776kynn771o

Computer myths :https://www.popsci.com/diy/computer-myths/

Springing up.

At the village bus stop unhappy youngsters in their new, two sizes too large, school uniforms peer at their phones. Overly long sleeves and jackets that come down to the knees a sign that they are at that age where ' they're springing up ' . 

We're at the cheese shop early. The shop has been written up in a continental travel magazine and by mid-morning it becomes thronged with tourists ordering 50 grams of this and 50 grams of that . This makes getting served a 'leisurely' process. We also have to go to the house in town and see the builders who are replacing the street front sash windows. A visit from the planning officer to ensure the replacements are ' historically compliant ' is scheduled.

It's still 30 degrees in Madrid which may explain why there are so many Spanish tourists around. They, and visiting golfers from the mid-west, are keeping the hotels and restaurants busy if not full. Everyone seems to be enjoying the cool morning air. The manager of one of the new hotels stops to tell us that there are many more Chinese tourists booking rooms. They used to travel in big groups but in the last year or two they've begun to travel in smaller groups or as couples. They come to look at the home of golf, marvel at the Harry Potterish architecture and marvel at the exoticism of fish and chips. York is apparently their favourite UK destination . 

The refuse men and seagulls remain locked in battle. Large waste bins are provided for the local restaurants along with strong rejoinders to close the lids firmly. Lids that are not firmly closed allow the gulls to scavenge to their hearts delight . You then end up with situations like this. I'll bet this doesn't make its way onto TikTok.

A French company brings clients to Scotland on cycling trips. They stay in the best 5 star hotel and then drive off to scenic spots in the Highlands for a days adventure on two wheels before returning for dinner at the hotel. At lunchtime a suitably French meal, with wine, is provided. This is a very French , and sensible, way of doing things.

Into the bookstore to pick up a copy of this book which has been well reviewed. Many of the names mentioned have moved seamlessly onto the national stage.

In the village the farmers wife tends  a sheltered but disorganized garden that continues to remain gloriously in bloom. Acanthus is slowly but surely self seeding and taking over the flower beds which gives it a Mediterranean air. .By contrast our plot by the sea is pummeled by the wind and is now, bar the lavender,  pretty much over.

Old remedies for dealing with heat :https://theconversation.com/six-tips-from-the-middle-ages-on-how-to-beat-the-summer-heat-263290

A sensible way to collect garbage Indian style :https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20250818-the-indian-garbage-cafes-giving-out-food-in-exchange-for-plastic-waste

The old US embassy in London has been reborn as a Chinese hotel :https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/the-chancery-rosewood

In a straight line this restaurant is just a quick hop across the water :https://under.no/slik-kommer-du-hit/

A nip to the wind.

Elder sister arrives at the kitchen door and announces her presence. She is allowed into the kitchen where a Jacobs Cream Cracker awaits. There is a decided nip to the wind today so her sister has opted to forego adventure and linger a little longer by the farmhouse  AGA.  

The boiler maintenance man came yesterday. He pottered around for an hour, replaced a part and left. When the boiler maintenance man shows up you know the year is barreling along. We have our first conversation about whether it's time to turn on the heating. It's decided to give it a day or two in the hope the sun reappears.  When the sea mist blows away we may get up to 15 degrees.

Last night we were both surprised to find that it was pitch dark ( as opposed to merely dark ) by nine thirty. After months of no darkness at all the sudden change is startling. Villagers taking their dogs out for a pre-bedtime stroll have taken to wearing those head band lights to guide them along the track past the doocot and towards the tatty barns. From a distance they look like large lumbering fireflies. The church elder with the King Charles Spaniel was the first to buy a miners light and now every dog owner in the village - with the exception of the farmers wife -  has one.

A young Scottie is out for a morning walk. 

The Scotties 'Grandfather' is following proudly on behind in a tartan trolley.

The fancy hotel that has turned into a coffee rendezvous for the dog walkers is empty this morning. It's too cold to dawdle. The weather doesn't deter a group of Spanish tourists who stand by the bandstand and look over a deserted beach. Their guide is of the enthusiastic variety and regales them with tales of Scottish history - many of them true.

The lavender swarming with bees. There's also a few on the dark mulleins but they've lost most of their flowers in yesterdays north easterly wind. The bees are hard at work from dawn to dusk. They know the summer is drifting to a close.

The younger locals continue to dress for summer but their parents and grandparents have transitioned to jackets and jumpers. The American couples that have moved into the rental properties by the village hall comment on how 'fresh' the weather is. Little do they know what awaits them in October. One  of them has bought a three year old Vauxhall to commute into town. It is a stick shift. The crunching of gears signals when they're heading off or returning.

Today will be spent supervising the workmen who are getting the house in town ready for the new tenants who arrive at the start of the month. Fire extinguishers and smoke alarms need to be checked as does every electrical appliance. The university takes Health and Safety seriously.

Orwells birthplace :https://davidoks.substack.com/p/brief-notes-on-visiting-bihar

South Dakota and ring-necked pheasants :https://birdhistory.substack.com/p/home-on-the-range

Todays bizarre reading matter :https://www.overcomingbias.com/p/many-big-pre-sputnik-earth-orbit?hide_intro_popup=true

For our trip to the far far North in November a dinner reservation has been made here. Who in their right mind makes a resrevation two and a bit months in advance ? " People heading to a small town near the Arctic Circle " comes the reply :https://fiskekompani.no/en/

Surfers return.

One of the villagers has been to listen to Nicola Sturgeon, the former leader of the Scottish National Party, give a talk in town. More than 600 people were in the audience and 540 copies of her new biography sold. Such was the turn out the speech had to be given in one of the larger university lecture halls. Questions ranged from the friendly to the politely antagonistic.

As we talk a grain hopper rolls by.  All the wheat and barley around us has been harvested and now it's the turn of the last small field far beyond the heron pond . A  cloud of chaff slowly rising into the air marks where the farmer is working.

Surfers can be seen on the shallow waters by the marine laboratory. There is now a small, but growing, number of youngsters arriving in town. Apartments are being spruced up and welcoming new student tenants. The shops are doing a brisk business in bed linen and saucepans. In less than two weeks the freshers arrive. Our friends who have spent the summer in the house in town are heading back on the flight from Edinburgh to Philly. This seems to be a very fast ( 6 hrs ) and easy way to cross the Pond.  American use a widebody whereas United  has a 'venerable' 757 on the route. 'Venerable' is perhaps the best word that can be used about 757's. Town, after the summer, has become very quiet although a large contingent of Spanish golfers has arrived for what appears to be a huge insurance company 'off site '. 

The church still looking remarkably summery and festive. The gardeners have done a good job.

The fancy new hotel near the golf course is proving to be a stop off point for dog walkers and their pooches.

On a side street that's full of B & B's one plain little house house stands out. It has  'Y' shaped drainage pipes on its street facing wall. Why would you do this ? Perhaps the top floor has had rooms added at some point and the only way to provide them with plumbing was by putting the water pipes on the outside. It is not an architectural solution to be copied.

An interesting, if esoteric, article :https://www.statecraft.pub/p/how-to-be-a-good-intelligence-analyst

These clever dogs deserve a bonus :https://x.com/AMAZlNGNATURE/status/1956910948754628924

Travel notes from a grumpy and innocent Brit in Arlington:https://www.commonreader.co.uk/p/virginia-notes and here :https://www.commonreader.co.uk/p/arlington-travel-notes

Air conditioning 'winning' in Germany ? :https://x.com/AndrewHammel1/status/1957018808272515560

Mackerel.

The schools start today. It goes without saying the weather is warm and sunny . There's a bit of a sea mist down by the harbour but by the time we've climbed up the cliff path it's burnt away.

The golf end of town is humming. The first foursome has teed off and is heading briskly down the fairway. Behind them twenty or so eager and impatient players wait their turn. Some do calisthenics, others sip from hip flasks in order to calm their nerves. There are fewer caddies out and about this morning. It is a time when fathers are on ' drop off the little ones at the school gate ' duty. The words " You'll love it " said to doubting six year olds who'd much prefer to be on the beach.

A memorial bench has appeared outside one of the ladies golf clubs. As an epitaph  'Golf, bridge and a view of the sea' somehow manages to avoid mawkishness.

Back home the tide is out and the view back towards the spires of town unchanged in half a millennium. The gannets are continuing to stream past us like a never ending conveyor belt.  Sometimes they come in groups of a dozen, sometimes twice that but more usually there's six or eight of them flying along line astern. They've been doing this for a week now and their ability to track the mackerel and herring shoals is quite remarkable. Every so often  a group of birds will reverse course, climb to eighty feet and then plunge Busby Berkeley like, one after the other, into the water in search of food. The Australian and Canadian newcomers went fishing off the rocks yesterday. The Canadian caught 16 good sized mackerel and the Australian 11.  " You could almost walk on the water there were so many of them" the Australian tells us in his best fishing story tone of voice.

The wheat fields have been harvested. Yesterday the air was thick with noise and chaff. This morning the chaff has blown away and all is calm. 

The British Prime Minister is heading off to Washington....again. Lots of folk don't like him but give me quiet hard work and diligence after the some of the buffoons we've seen over the last decade and a half. I wouldn't want his job no matter how much you paid me. All the UK papers, without exception, in agreement on how important todays meetings are although the issue of 'the suit' seems to be appearing again.

Fertility rates in China. Scotland by comparison is 1.3  which is what you'd expect in somewhere cold, wet and northerly while the US is 1.6. Replacement rate is 2.1 :https://x.com/arpitrage/status/1956119090168287371

Your next doctor may be a robot :https://x.com/saranormous/status/1956444972141756544

Chirping :https://biologyinsights.com/why-do-birds-chirp-before-a-storm/

The first Christmas reminder . Now, that's a shock :https://www.germangymnasium.com/christmas/

Moulting finches

The man who drives the combine harvester starts work on the wheat field at exactly 4:45 am. An hour later, when it's clear sleep is impossible,  we're up and about and  heading down to the beach.  The driver stops to tell us that this is the time of year when the local finch population moult. They shed their feathers in mid-August and then spend a month hiding from the hawks in the wild blackberry thickets that line the field walls. Neither of us had ever thought of goldfinches or chaffinches moulting but it's also true that there are none of the cheeky wee things to be seen. The starlings, crows and sparrows seem to have the village gardens to themselves. Google, once again. provides some useful background on an unlikely topic :https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00063650902792031

The old course is closed for what is still referred to in these parts as the Lords Day. Groups of complaining foreign golfers traipse up and down the sacred turf wondering why they can't play and estimating the scale of lost revenue. Other less 'iconic' local courses are open and doing a brisk trade but they are, it has to be said,  nothing like playing the 'Old'.

If moulting finches didn't convince you autumn was on the way then the dusting of leaves around the pavement cafes in town most certainly would. The staff at the Shawarma House are already busy in the kitchen cleaning and getting ready for todays lunchtime rush. The sound of sitar music punctuated with laughter drifts out onto the street.

We pick up some tangy Isle of Mull cheddar from the cheese shop....

....and some lemon sole from the fishmongers. 

Sunday is shaping up to be warm, sunny and quiet.

The intern on Radio Scotland finds a very Scottish hymn sung in a very unScottish way on this warm Sunday morning :https://youtu.be/vPq9GTZ_-_A?list=RDvPq9GTZ_-_A&t=182

A summer exhibition in Massachusetts :https://www.clarkart.edu/microsites/a-room-of-her-own/about-the-exhibition/introduction

The reading crisis debunked. Our local bookstores are thriving :https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking/reading-crisis-perspective

Spume on the sand

The ship that has been at anchor in the bay since Tuesdays storm is making ready to head out to sea. The sound of the anchor chain being hoisted drifts on the air towards us. This stirs something in 'The Font' who thinks it would be good  to go to Sweden to see the Northern Lights. ' We could catch the boat from Tromso '. A Norwegian ferry company with a tongue twisting name is mentioned. Can communal dining with Vikings be any worse than it was with the Palo Altoans ? Angus fears he knows the answer to this question.

This mornings reporting on the Alaska summit was of the ' We went to bed hoping  for the best but woke to the worst' variety. A Congressman , interviewed on the radio, comes up with a pithy ' outclassed, outplayed, outsmarted' sound clip which may not be memorable but is at least concise. This seems a reasonable take :https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/putin-makes-no-concessions-but-trump

The attempt to keep Puppy confined to the farmers garden has been abandoned. It was a non-starter from day one. A working relationship has emerged whereby she doesn't attempt to remove her tracker and in return is allowed free reign of the village . This morning she has already been for a Puffin chasing dip in the sea. She wanders into the kitchen to dry off and be given a Jacobs Cream Cracker.

Having harvested the barley earlier in the week the farmer is now collecting and baling the stubble. It's long, slow work but by the time we return from town thirty or so freshly compacted bales pepper the far side of the field. The farmer tells us the secret to a good weather proof bale is to build it with long straw. Fill the bale with too much short straw and it becomes 'explosive' and quickly loses its shape ... and value. The things you learn.

The fair has gone, most summer schools have ended and the students don't arrive for two weeks. Town ( or at least the non-golfing end of the place )  has a silence and access to parking that is a delight. There are a few English holidaymakers but they too are set to migrate south in readiness for the schools going back.

Spume on the sand. It must have been churned up by yesterdays algae thumping thunderstorm and deposited here overnight. Dogs find it irresistible.

Fancy drop head cars showing up outside the R&A. Their drivers Edinburgh lawyers avoiding the high season crush in the nations capital.  A Belgian family in a Renault Scenic try to park in the spot belonging to the Club Secretary. They aren't given the chance of getting out of their car before being politely but firmly 'moved' along. Tales continue to reach us of the lunacy of scheduling a series of Oasis concerts at the same time as the Festival. Thankfully, Oasis have now moved onto Dublin.

 :

A fortuitous find. A blog written by a Scot worth slowly reading over a cup of coffee :https://www.gleech.org/deen *

The end of the Mayans :https://thedebrief.org/new-clues-to-the-mysterious-fall-of-the-mayan-civilization-have-been-unearthed-deep-within-a-yucatan-cave/

Help with reading :https://hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/how-to-tell-if-something-is-ai-written

Old masters and space :https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/08/14/oxygen-from-earths-orbit-could-save-old-masters-form-the-effects-of-climate-change-say-researchers

*This post on Aberdeen contains a description of the place  coming to life during the rare moments when the rainbows play with the sun and the granite  -   : "On a handful of days a year in Aberdeen when the sun comes out after the rain and ten billion crystals of wet quartz and mica in the clean fraction of the granite are allowed to shine you sit there in an ocean of light way brighter than the sea. You squint (you don’t own sunglasses) - you can’t really drive. A giant mirror, shrouded all year, alight. As if it’s a year’s worth in one day - enough to make you think it makes up for the grey the rest of the time, “you’re even.” You are not ".

Shoogling down.

The garden usually plays host to three generations of sparrows. This year there seems to be a fourth smaller brood that's hatched late. They're sitting on the log bin by the kitchen window shoogling down and stretching out their wings to make the most of the morning sunshine. They squabble incessantly and noisily which makes it obvious they're siblings. Is a fourth brood another sign of subtle climate change ?

The fancy ladies outfitters providing the fashion conscious golfer with a jauntily stylish wardrobe. 'At least it looks warm ' says 'The Font' in a tone of  faint praise.

The excellent butchers open bright and early. A good butcher and a good fishmonger make all the difference to the heart of a town. The neighbouring interior design store has settled in and now looks as if it's always been there although the large cotton decorative  bow at the front door might not survive the winter gales.

Look carefully and you can see a male and female crane nesting in a crevice on the side of the cliff near the old cathedral. I'd always wondered where the cranes that fish in the harbour nested. They are the most cautious of birds. I'd like to think that cranes nested here when the cathedral was still thronged with pilgrims.

The cafe below the sailing club has been minting money while serving ice cream to the holiday beach crowd. They have expanded their offerings and now offer their own line of ' Cheesy Toast Snacks ' hoodies for visitors caught out by the sudden winds that can blow in from the North Sea. Strangely and implausibly 'Cheesy Toast' hoodies matched with a calico carrier bag from Daunts the booksellers in Marylebone have become hyper-chic accessories for the Hamptons crowd.

Decidedly upmarket litter by the cafe at the harbour end of the beach.  Golf tees and a new and unused golf ball among the detritus deposited by the day trippers.

You know the year is rolling along when the summer schools start to post videos of the great time they've just had. The teenagers are always 'enthusiastic' visitors and the place is immediately much quieter when they go :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgGD8vVjLjg . 

Interesting music on the car radio this morning. The adventurous summer intern must still be choosing what to play :https://youtu.be/pR4iCWB-VVQ?t=11

This seems very 'adult' :https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2025/08/putin-trump-alaska-summit?lang=en&center=russia-eurasia

Medical research ( the benefits of ) :https://www.acsh.org/news/2025/08/13/carbamorphine-could-fascinating-molecule-become-holy-grail-pain-relief-49649

Remember the Sony Walkman ? :https://www.freethink.com/consumer-tech/sony-walkman-technophobia

That AI fear again :https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-ai-was-fed-sloppy-code-it-turned-into-something-evil-20250813/

Hard working electricians.

The Alaska summit the lead story on the news. There is an underlying tone of 'the world we knew has gone' weariness which the BBC does it's best to hide. This is quickly followed by a segment on a spat between Ms. Laura Loomer and Marjorie Taylor Greene. The presenter thinks this is a relief from never ending rehashing of the Epstein story. I'm not so sure. Having 'done' England we learn that the American Vice President has now arrived in Scotland for the next leg of his holiday. He will be staying here :https://www.carnellestates.com/

God bless Scottish power. They've made three appointments to fit a smart meter and simply not shown up for any of them. Explanations or apologies are notable by their absence. A text book example of customer service without the service. We've now given up and moved our electricity contract to Octopus. Their fitter shows up as promised at seven am to install the new 5G meter. That by any standards is an early start and is why ,when we look out of the window, we find the ship that's anchoring in the bay is still ablaze with light. The fitter will work through lunch installing meters and then take his three year old to the beach. This seems a very sensible work life balance.

Guess who is sitting on a rock glaring at the cormorants ? She hurtles across the sand and up onto the path towards us. Does she never sleep ? Puppy follows us as far as the old lifeboat station and then heads off in pursuit of a partridge.

The strip of barley field that was 'missed' yesterday is being harvested. Afterwards it will be the turn of the large wheat field behind us. We will need to keep the doors and windows tightly shut.

There's a shuttle of tractors that run back and forth past The last wee house before Denmark collecting the grain.

By seven thirty the local are heading down towards the sea with their children. The good weather is expected to last through the weekend. This provides the perfect excuse for families to take the last of their holiday allowance before the autumn weather arrives. So far this morning a dozen toddlers and their picnic carrying parents have made it down to the shore. There is much laughter. For those who work at the university there's two weeks to go before the class of 2026 arrive. For those who work at the local school there's two days. Time is no longer rushing by. It's sprinting. 

This is a very French thing to do :https://archaeology.org/issues/september-october-2025/features/how-to-build-a-medieval-castle/

A surprise to come across this. I'm surprised  ( but delighted ) DOGE hasn't defunded the Library of Congress :https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2025/07/everything-is-peachy-summer-recipes-from-historic-newspapers/

This seems sensible but what alternative is there ? :https://www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/why-i-stopped-being-a-climate-catastrophist

Information you'll never use :https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/quantum-deception-attempts-turning-water-into-wine/4021991.article

MIT take on the human condition :https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/why-human-irrationality-is-evolutionary-not-accidental/

Dealing with heat.

The first helicopter of the day clatters up the coast from Edinburgh as we're heading out for our morning walk. After dropping off its passengers it returns south ten minutes later. There was a time , not so many years ago, when Rudi Giuliani and Lyndsey Graham could be seen holding court outside the breakfast room in the big 5 star hotel. I wonder who the helicopters are carrying today ? Give it half an hour and more of them shipping the 'great and the good ' ( or at least the great )  will be wending their way towards the golf course.

Last night the man with anger management issues phones to let us know that temperatures in the small French village hit 41 degrees during the day. There was no breeze to speak of and at ten at night ( when he called ) it was still 36. He was thinking of sleeping outside by the swimming pool.

At the supermarket an old lady has tied up her three companions to the trolley stand while she goes shopping.

One of them barks constantly to let anyone and everyone know that they've been left alone. Angus watches as all the delivery drivers without exception ( not usually a sensitive demographic ) stop to have a wee blether with the dogs. This may, or may not, say something  psychologically interesting. The third dog at the back adopts ' I'm here if you need me ' approach to meeting humans.

Golfing guests can be seen  standing out on the roof terrace of a hotel overlooking the Old Course. They're eating their bacon rolls in the fresh air. You usually don't see many folks on the balcony. It's only open when 'the weather allows '. In Scotland that's infrequently.

The club house balcony is also being used. Three men in blazers, grey flannels and ties look down on the world below from their Olympian heights. They are wearing  the uniform of the club member.  The Royal and Ancient maintains a rather Edwardian dress code although shorts are now allowed on the course as long as they are dress shorts and come down to the knee. This is a nod both to the sartorial demands of American visitors and to climate change. I've noticed that this year the 'dress' part of the dress shorts requirement seems to have been interpreted rather liberally.

The beach already busy. This is the last week before the schools go back. The weather is good and by Scottish standards set to get blisteringly hot. Some parents have adopted the 'let's get them on the beach early and tire them out' approach to child rearing. By lunchtime the sand will be packed.

So starts a Tuesday morning in an unusually hot Scotland. 26 degrees forecast for tomorrow, 22 today. The farmer worked until late last night cutting the wheat and barley fields. This leaves the large field inland of The last wee house before Denmark to be harvested .

The things you learn :https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/painting-melun-dyptich-stone-age-folding-rep/

Breakfast conversation :https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/do_couples_with_similar_personalities_have_happier_relationships

The meaning of thirst :https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-does-it-mean-to-be-thirsty-20250811/

One Michelin star restaurants have something to prove. Two Michelin star restaurants ( and above ) have nothing to prove and tend to disappoint :https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.2023.04302