Institutional alarm.

A small patch of asbestos has been found in the attic of one of the universities old medieval buildings. The word 'asbestos' clearly induces institutional alarm and things have progressed ( unusually ) quickly. In the space of days the staff have been moved into alternative accommodation and scaffolding has been erected. From a displaced professor walking his labrador by the potato barns we learn that scaffolding prices rose by 40% last year in the aftermath of Storm Henk. Who'd have known ? In the old days builders would often just clamber up a ladder and pull any asbestos tiles out by hand. These days safety and environmental legislation require hazmat suits, filtration masks and a lattice work of metal pipes that covers the entire building - front and back. Before he leaves the professor tells us how much the work will cost. It will make more than a dent in the departmental budget. Three quarters of the cost will be for scaffolding.  I make ( what I hope ) is a suitably impressed whistling noise through my teeth. We agree that in the old pre-enlightenment days before Health and Safety legislation things were cheaper .... much cheaper ...  but perhaps not better.

A blast from the past on the local radio station as we head off in the car. Must have been thirty years since I last heard this :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6VrKro8djw  It makes us laugh.

The Christmas tree in the supermarket foyer displays a certain uber minimal jauntiness. Perhaps more decorations will be added as the day goes on ? 

It's rained heavily overnight but by the time we make it into town the rain has stopped and the skies have cleared.

Town dogs - like their owners - now venture out wearing coats. There's a sudden influx of American 50 year olds. This hints that the next parents open days coincide with the Thanksgiving holidays . Worried looking mothers and teenage daughters can be seen consulting their phones and trying to work their way around the towns three streets. The golf courses are busy with cheerful American fathers and late teen sons discovering that the wind here is quite a thing. There can be few schools where fathers show such a keen interest in their offsprings SAT scores. Demand for this coming year is through the roof up strongly.

We've now found a seventh outlet offering wreath making 'masterclasses '.

Bought this book by Mary Fulbrook. The young PhD behind the bookstore counter recommends it. Fulbrook is professor of German History at UCL and writes clearly and concisely. Not a subject I'd usually rush to pick up but her careful insight into how Germany conformed so quickly to the lunacy of the early 1930's has some eerily contemporary resonance. I'm always nervous of the ' history doesn't repeat itself but it does rhyme' form of analysis but sometimes it's true.  People are mostly decent but compromise and constrained compliance are very rational reactions to government rules. Are we condemned to making the same mistakes ? :https://a.storyblok.com/f/287853162362820/x/98a6001fc9/ef-epi-2025-english.pdf

New Yorks very unlovely Penn Station :https://www.compactmag.com/article/a-bright-future-for-penn-station/

The Dutch are great English speakers - the French less so:https://a.storyblok.com/f/287853162362820/x/98a6001fc9/ef-epi-2025-english.pdf

Something important has been broken :https://aeon.co/essays/the-cycling-of-phosphorus-is-the-basis-for-all-life-on-earth  The last two paragraphs are very 'Celt'.

Growing faster than light :https://www.universetoday.com/articles/yes-the-universe-can-expand-faster-than-light

Long Covid cure ? :https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/strange-story-nicotine-patches-treat-long-covid

Evolution :https://mikeklymkowsky.substack.com/p/why-every-living-thing-is-noisy-and