The surprise visit.

The sound of a klaxon has us scurrying into the garden to see what's going on. A hundred yards offshore a large naval vessel is storming into  the bay. When she draws level with the rock the cormorants call home she does a wide turn and then sprints out to sea again. The churning  wake trailing behind her indicating she's making good speed. Why HMS Iron Duke has come barreling past our quiet stretch of the coast is a mystery. By the time I've hurried back to get the i-Phone she's well on her way out to sea again. The klaxon is tooted three times in quick succession and then she's away across the waves towards the wind farms on the horizon. Navy grey camouflage works well in these northern latitudes.

Early birds - or at least those woken by a passing frigate - have a choice of finding parking spaces. Late risers heading into town are condemned to driving round in ever increasing circles looking for somewhere to park. We park by Parliament Hall on a shopping street that a large firm of estate agents has just ranked the 105th best in the UK and the best in Scotland. Edinburgh may be surprised with these rankings.

University towns out of season are oddly quiet. Last night we went to hear an entertaining American politician talk about tariffs. In term time he'd have had an audience of five hundred. Off season it's a more intimate chat with thirty or so local residents. Entrance is all of £5. His view is that tariffs will raise $5 trillion + over the next decade and now they're here they'll never go again no matter which party is in the White House. More plausibly they'll mutate into an American version of VAT. The politician is much, much more worried about nuclear sabre rattling which has been something Presidents of all parties have historically tried to avoid. After hearing this we stop off for a restorative glass of wine on our way home. Faced with his nervousness I'd have gladly drunk a bottle but I was driving.

One place you can be sure is busy on a weekend morning is the fishmongers.

Today, John Dory, lemon sole and two lobsters are acquired. If you're a seafood lover then there are few places that can hold a candle to Scotland. 

The same may not hold true for baked goods

One good reason to live in Helsinki ( if you can cope with the winters ) :https://yle.fi/a/74-20174831

New ways of representing climate change :https://thebulletin.org/2025/07/how-clear-and-simple-data-visualizations-bring-the-climate-crisis-home/

The shroud of Turin :https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/shroud-of-turin-wasnt-laid-on-jesus-body-but-rather-a-sculpture-modeling-study-suggests

America's automotive sector is doing just fine :https://eig.org/myths-and-lessons-from-american-automaking/