A time of perfect balance

A chilly 4 degrees this morning. Coupled to a bracing 40 mph wind this makes us quickly retreat back indoors to don additional layers. 'The Font' puts on a long black quilted coat which has been gathering dust since April. Angus digs out his ear protecting bobble hat. Both, in their own way, workable antidotes to first day of winter climate shock. Tomorrow is the September equinox. A time when the earth is tilted neither away from nor toward the sun. Sylvia Plath called it " The best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time ". Well up here there's some doubt as to whether we've skipped the fall are now fast heading towards winter. It is however dry.

Usually the pre-dawn quiet of the little beach by the pier is only interrupted by dog walkers. This morning a group of highly enthusiastic teenage kayakers are up and about early. They laugh as they drag the kayaks across the beach to the waters edge. Two of the males bellow as the cold waters of the North Sea lap over their feet. The hardy young female kayakers in their group seem unimpressed. They all finally set off under the watchful eye of a watchful sailing club coach in an orange zodiac.

Advent calendars in the supermarket. The local retailers are now venturing into the foothills of Christmas.

Frog cakes have a starring role in the bakers window ....

... as do fudge donuts.

The fancy 'cocktail ' bar is adjusting its entertainment schedule to meet the needs of a student audience.

So starts a quiet Sunday in a small Scottish town adjusting to the return of 10,000 students while gearing up for a large golf tournament. The tourists also seem to be returning although now the tour buses are fewer and the passengers of a more grand-parently age. Based on the number of buses we see parked by the cathedral this company seems to have a near monopoly on September tours:https://www.tauck.co.uk/tours/scotland-escorted-tour?tcd=sd2026&filters=q:scotland

Sunday morning Schubert :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUhOZYnqEfE

Dog portraits. Published next month :https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/alison-friend/dog-only-knows/9781648294785/

Roman cuisine. Not as bizarre as we'd been led to believe :https://bigthinkmedia.substack.com/p/would-you-survive-a-week-in-ancient

An essay about going to college in the US :https://amandafortini.substack.com/p/an-education

Interesting history :https://www.nber.org/papers/w34225

A defence against flu ? :https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-death-rays-that-guard-life/