We learn a new word

The weekend edition of the local paper leads with the news that a delivery driver has fallen into a hole in the dark. The poor man is shaken and bruised. How does a newspaper editor tell you it's quiet without telling you it's quiet ?

After an 'incident' involving a six year old and a shopping trolley the minimalist Christmas tree has moved from the supermarket foyer into the space by the sliding doors. 

At the bookshop a rather gloomy stocking filler is for sale on the counter by the cash register. The bookseller says that in the week running up to Christmas the vast majority of the customers are men. It seems the male of the species likes to leave present buying until the very last minute. The technical term for this is 'panic buying'. This is when cook books fly off the shelves.

The festive thistles have reappeared. Last year they were projected onto the fountain. This year , with the fountain away being repaired, they light up the cobble stones in front of the Subway sandwich shop. 

On Sunday night we go to one of those current affair lectures given by a well known professor from the US.  We learn 1) a new word - autogolpe and 2) that all the senior Russian analysts in the State Department have been 'let go' . It can safely be said that the lecturer was not radiating festive cheer.

The BBC team are busy packing up. Yesterday they broadcast the Radio 4 St Andrews Day service first thing in the morning and a two hour slot on Radio 3 in the late afternoon. All being well they will be back in Glasgow for lunch. 

Exams start here next Monday and this week is lecture free and supposedly revision heavy. For a lucky few who don't have exams this means the de facto end of term. The local hotels are filling up with 'bubbly' friends and families of the students graduating on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Seasonal cheer :https://x.com/colmflynnire/status/1995137947205538094

1997 wasn't a good year for Macy's :https://www.military.com/feature/2025/11/12/top-10-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-mishaps-made-history.html

The first words :https://www.sciencenorway.no/language-the-human-body/how-did-the-first-words-originate/2576459

Caffeine:https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking-student-contributors-health-and-nutrition/nappuccino-myth-or-midday-miracle

Cling film :https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2025/11/this-3-ingredient-film-made-from-food-waste-may-actually-beat-regular-plastic-packaging/

Some writing from Iowa that pops unexpectedly into the in-box :https://michaeljudge.substack.com/p/big-snow-in-iowa-f93