Signs of returning life.

I had hoped the idea of heading to the far tip of Norway to see the Northern Lights might have been forgotten. If ever there's a time to flee the cold and go somewhere sunny like Florida then surely it's November ? Not a bit of it. Restaurant reservations have been made and a cabin booked on the boat. Cheerful Norwegian restaurant managers with annoyingly perfect English phone up to suggest that we dine early. " It will be very dark and very cold so you might want to think of eating at six rather than seven thirty ". The word 'very' seems to be a constant in these conversations. I'm guessing that above the arctic circle in winter dinner is a relaxed and lengthy affair. The wine lists promise to be somewhere between good and interesting although, as you might expect in such remote locations,  expensive.

I speak to an old friend who is a diplomat in New Delhi. He's just back from a hectic couple of days in Beijing where little of substance was agreed but the vibe was good. He is quietly 'surprised' that American alliances so carefully nurtured over decades can be discarded so quickly. 

Young folks continue to gently drift back into town. Between ten and five the coffee shops are getting busier with twenty year olds getting reacquainted after the long summer. On the radio a professor observes that Elon Musk is a polymath matched only in American history by Benjamin Franklin. " Of course they have different views of democracy " she adds perhaps a tad too quickly. https://collections.st-andrews.ac.uk/item/benjamin-franklin-on-st-andrews-links/1001370

The weather continues to be kind. It's even warm enough for visiting golfers to sit and breakfast in the sun. It's that time of the year when everyone can still enjoy the street cafes and pretend we live in France.

The pavement cafe by the Shawarma House is doing a brisk trade although the Scottish climate seems to have taken a toll on their umbrellas. They look very fin de saison.

The wild roses by the cathedral have now (largely ) stopped flowering and have moved onto the rose hip stage. There are a few bees about but not in the numbers that were here a month ago. Over the last few days there has been a sharp fall off in the daily influx of tourist buses from Edinburgh so the abbey precincts are oddly quiet. In fact we're the only souls around.

'The Font' heads off to meet the cleaners who are doing a deep sprucing up of the wee house in town before the new tenants arrive on Thursday. I'm dispatched to pick up some pillows from the bedding store which is open but there's no sign of  any staff. While I wait for someone to appear I examine the shelves. Stylishly minimalist Christmas tree lights and decorations are on sale. Only 15 shopping weeks to Christmas !

Tuesday morning jive. Rather alarmingly I can remember listening to this as a seven  year old :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3zJZ2d4cis

#10 was interesting :https://openthebooks.substack.com/p/bloated-opaque-and-undisciplined

Danish research :https://www.sciencealert.com/hidden-rhythms-between-your-stomach-and-brain-could-shape-your-mood

Random shopping. A bird bath with a camera :https://uk.birdfy.com/products/birdfy-bath-pro  and a  water bowl for dogs :https://elfinfountain.com/en-gb/products/elfin-fountain