Christmas song #2

Town suddenly empty. The recent graduates ( and their families ) have gone and the remaining students are ensconced in the library as exam week looms. A lucky few who don't have exams are already starting to drift away. In an attempt to cover overheads restaurants that were booked solid earlier in the week are now offering 30% off their menu prices.

The weather remains well behaved. Mild(ish) and largely dry. In a couple of weeks the days will start to get longer. The moon over the last few nights has been spectacular.  By three thirty in the afternoon it's already reflecting off the sea outside The last wee house before Denmark.

In town we're surprised to find that delivery men leave boxes outside front doors. An air fryer and other kitchen equipment sit on the stoop of a town centre front door from nine until the owners return at lunchtime. 

 

'The Font' ordered some things from a shop in Malmo. For each of the last three days FedEx has e-mailed to say the parcel has arrived at their depot in Edinburgh and be with us by 10 pm.  On the fourth day they don't text but they do unexpectedly deliver. The box has been crushed and the contents damaged. The customs people seem to have opened every carton and then thrown the contents back in higgeldy-piggeldy. The driver throws the package onto the doorstep rather than ring the bell. By the time we find it he's long gone. Pre-Christmas deliveries are the root cause of much stress. Today a conversation will be had with the Swedish company we ordered from. What's the betting that customs damage is not covered by their insurance ? The seasonal joy of exclusionary clauses and small print.

The supermarket doesn't seem to have its inventories fully under control. A barricade of  cream crackers has been piled up in front of the cheese counter.

Christmas music #2 :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95moNkxIgkU&list=RD95moNkxIgkU&start_radio=1

Not sure what this British Christmas advert tells us about the state of the world :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L82JuLTmjSA

Not a surprise:https://afsa.org/new-report-finds-us-foreign-service-breaking-point-after-historic-loss-capacity