A social innovation.

 A glorious morning after a stormy night .

The beach crowded with dog walkers and their excited companions. A few student runners appear as we head back towards the car. We wave at the lady with the Pomeranian and give Archie, the arthritic labrador, a pat. A large black Briard tries to engage us in a bout of ball throwing but soon gets bored and races off after some seagulls.

This is a time of year when the tourists have gone and the place reverts to its old routines. The university end of town is now where it's all at. At five to nine the streets suddenly fill with thousands of youngsters rushing off to their first tutorial of the day. Old gateways open up ... and then close. After a hectic five minutes the streets are once again deserted apart from the late sleeping or hungover straggler rushing to their destination. 

On a magical morning like this  you could almost believe that little has changed here over six centuries. The sandstone glows in the sunshine. This wee towns gift to the world ( along with golf ) was a Presbyterian belief that everyone should be able to read. Scotland with its five universities ( at a time when England only had two ) became the first nation where the vast majority of its citizens were literate and numerate. After 1745 many of them were shipped off to the American colonies which wasn't perhaps the wisest thing to do with a literate and rebellious minority. On a morning like this it's hard to believe that such a radical social innovation was spawned here.

Haddock and chips £18 at the takeaway sea food stall facing the lecture halls. I'm constantly surprised how much things cost. I'd have expected a takeaway to cost a tenner. Korean Coley appeals to a more 'international' student palate.

An Advent Calendar in a shop window promises twelve days of mens socks. As well as having a foreshortened time frame it also seems to lack in the 'surprise' factor.

The northern hemisphere is getting darker :https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/weird-symmetry-between-earths-northern-and-southern-hemispheres-appears-to-be-breaking

Preparing for a replay of the Carrington Event of 1859 :https://www.space.com/astronomy/no-spacecraft-would-survive-europe-simulates-catastrophic-solar-storm-to-warn-of-real-risks

New era jobs :https://x.com/shakeelhashim/status/1981036255929389127?s=46

Tariffs :https://www.grumpy-economist.com/p/a-note-on-tariffs-from-the-real-world

Why a Brooklyn bar closed :https://www.insidehook.com/cocktails/dirty-precious-brooklyn-bar-closing