Pre-exam week quiet.

The beach quiet this morning. We have a chat with the woman accompanied by her 'yappy' Pomeranian.  Usually there are a few students runners out and about but exam season is fast approaching and last minute cramming is the order of the day. Outside the club house a small group of Americans are waiting for tee off times . A young guy from Duke , working as a caddie, explains how he came here to play golf last summer, met a local girl and stayed. This may or may not be what the American fathers planning to send their offspring abroad  want to hear. The weather promises to be dry and warm. Warm in Scotland at this time of the year means a high of 12 degrees.

In addition to the two sets of roadworks coming into and going out of town we now have the water board getting in on the act. All of the towns three streets are now blocked. The water board has started work exactly a week later than scheduled.

Christmas lights appearing. At night the town is beginning to look quite jaunty.

Scotland managed to beat Denmark for a place in the World Cup. The local retailers see this as an opportunity. It will be interesting to see how America reacts to the arrival of the Tartan Army on their doorstep . The celebrations here were something else :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2eJbaqQKyM

A Christmas tree delivery at the delicatessen. The trees are a quarter the size of the one we've had delivered and are four times the price. They look to be the right size for student dorm rooms. The sales margin must be huge healthy.

This was interesting:https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/11/21/doge-elon-musk-succession-00641110

Of unknown origin :https://www.livescience.com/space/mars/odd-looking-rock-on-mars-is-totally-alien-to-the-red-planet-perseverance-rover-finds

A blast from the past :https://www.coolidgereview.com/articles/coolidge-thanksgiving