One for the road

 

The British and Canadian Ambassadors to the United Nations in town giving a talk. There's a lot of interest and the venue is the biggest lecture hall in the modern languages building. The seats are torturously right angular which may help students keep awake during classes but makes me fear I may lose the blood flow to my legs. The UN has many, many flaws and needs major reforms but it's still good at dealing with the details and is arguably the last best hope of mankind in troubled times.  'The Font' goes to a lecture on the latest finds at The Ness of Brodgar. After 20 years of excavations the site will be covered again this year :https://events.st-andrews.ac.uk/events/ness-of-brodgar-1000-years-in-the-making-20-years-of-discovery/  It's a long time since we've been up there. Perhaps we'll head off for the summer solstice next year.

We meet up after the talks for a restorative pre-dinner drink. The archaeologists ask more questions than the diplomatic crowd and I'm there a full half an hour before 'The Font'.  The bar is  packed with cheerful students. They are adherents to the 'I'll maybe just have one more before I start studying ' approach to learning. 'Maybe' does a lot of lifting in that sentence. Adjusted for its size St Andrews has the highest density of pubs of any town in the United Kingdom.

Windy this morning. In weather like this the canny owners of long haired dogs walk them on the golf course rather than the beach. Getting wind blown sand out of long hair can be a time consuming process.

The sheep are completely unbothered by the wind. In fact they seem to find the North Sea weather balmy in comparison with their Hebridean home.

Windfall apples on a bench by the bus stop. The small red ones are beautifully sweet and refreshing. The larger green ones are less popular.

Back down on the golf course the sun is up and tourists are posing for the obligatory photo on the Swilcan Bridge. Town is quieter than it has been but there are still golfers around enjoying the pre-winter quiet. In two weeks the clocks change and it will start getting dark by five in the afternoon. Folks are making the most of the light while they still can.

A new hotel in Manhattan. Not sure whether I could face the decor :https://www.faena.com/new-york/dining

A restaurant in an old Roman cistern in Istanbul :https://www.sultansarnic.com/tr/

'Hope is the quiet song in your heart that can sing despite everything 'comes to Fortnum's :https://www.fortnumandmason.com/stories/charlie-mackesy-at-fortnums

October and India's still sweltering :https://www.downtoearth.org.in/climate-change/daily-heat-tracker-its-october-but-nighttime-temperatures-stay-above-normal-in-20-cities

We have now made the last dinner booking for next months Arctic Circle trip. Heading North seemed a good idea when we booked six weeks ago. Now the weather here is cooling the thought of heading into the ice seems less attractive :https://restaurant-smak.no/en/