The new tracker

A perfectly formed rainbow greets us as we head down the track towards the shore. As rainbows go this is a 10/10. On the right hand side a small white yacht darts in and out of the colours where the rainbow meets the water- white one minute, spectrumed and sparkling the next.

Readers of the blog will be glad to know that after last weeks excitement a dog tracker has been bought and fitted. 

This morning the farmers wife can be seen, in the distance, running through the wheat field staring at the screen on her phone while gesticulating wildly. Puppy is chasing pheasants and has become deaf to the sound of the dog whistle. The new tracker shows where the dog is but the tips of the Jack Russells ears are a good six to eight inches lower than the top of the wheat stalks. This makes her to all intents and purposes invisible. Every so often the farmers wife disappears as she attempts to rugby tackle the little darling and attach a lead. This is not as easy as it sounds and much of her time is spent sprawled inelegantly on the ground , rump in the air. This only serves to reinforce the Jack Russells belief that this is all part of a hugely exciting game arranged especially for her. Using the tracker will be much easier once these fields have been harvested.

In my inbox this am a piece that suggests the American head of the International Relations Department at the university here is not happy with what's going on in the world :https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/despicable-very-effectively-done  

The BBC airs a rather weak documentary on the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. It says nothing new. I'm reminded that when we were there earlier in the year we came across a plaque marking the exact spot over which the device detonated. Three German youngsters had also found it hidden away on a small side street opposite a childrens hospital. The mundanity of the location seemed much more poignant than the tour group crowded peace park a couple of hundred yards away.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the concrete Bank of Japan building. Within two days of the explosion rudimentary banking facilities were up and running again . At the time no one in the country had any idea what radiation did to those exposed to it. This combination of innocence and efficiency was strangely heart rending in a 'life goes on regardless' sort of way.

Cocktail attire:https://articlesofinterest.substack.com/p/cocktail-attire

Comparisons:https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2025/07/18/what-is-the-richest-country-in-the-world-in-2025?utm_id=2099958

What centenarians have in common :https://theconversation.com/the-key-to-a-centenarians-long-life-may-be-their-superhuman-ability-to-avoid-disease-new-research-262645

Rethinking history. Not sure I buy much or any of this :https://model-thinking.com/p/the-sun-never-leaves

Stupidity :https://www.acsh.org/news/2025/08/08/stupidity-dummies-guide-49663