Christmas song # 17

The last day of exams. Sympathy to those poor youngsters who've drawn the short straw and are taking a late afternoon paper on  'Antimicrobials - Mode of Action and Resistance'.

Last night we try a fancy new restaurant . The young woman at the front desk doesn't even bother to look up from her phone when we arrive. ' Have you made a reservation ?' said in a tone of voice that suggests she's hoping we haven't. It's never a good sign when restaurant staff are too disinterested to smile. On our way to the table Angus tells 'The Font' that the food tonight is going to be sub-optimal. This is not the actual term I use. I'm told to look on the bright side but am proved right.

This morning huge swarms of crows circling over the village. The farmers sons are up early. They'll be working clearing out the barns over the holidays in return for cash for their planned trip to the States to see the Scottish soccer team. Seats on United Airlines from Edinburgh to Chicago have already been booked and paid for. The two lads and five of their school mates will be travelling together. 'They can keep an eye out for each other' says their mother with an endearing innocence concerning the group psychology of teenage males.

The elder son thinks the crows behaviour has changed due to the warmer winters.  ' We've had 7% more rain this year than last ' adds the younger . This is the sort of fact farmers sons know. I'm sure any American girls they meet on their trip will be bowled over with small talk like this.

In the next village down the coast the primary school children have had a carol service in the kirk. Free at last they rush along the pavement singing and dancing.  There's no doubting the fortitude of local Christmas traditions .

The houses here have terraced gardens that have been carved out of the cliffs. The views out onto the water must be quite dramatic in a winter gale.

We stop off at the cafe by the harbour. You know you're in deepest Scotland when your coffee comes accompanied by lumps of tablet.

Christmas song #17 by the smartly turned out choir of St Andrews Kirk in Chennai. The church has an amazing centre for blind girls with leprosy. The video  is filmed in the old Anglican church down on the beach where Eli Yale was Minister. I don't think we have ever been anywhere as hot as Chennai :https://youtu.be/uuvkSqOTx6E?list=RDuuvkSqOTx6E&t=18

A touch of poetry reposted ahead of tomorrows winter solstice and the start of longer, brighter days :https://poemanalysis.com/sheenagh-pugh/sometimes/

Serious talk:https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/america-and-the-world