Christmas song #21

A blustery Christmas Eve. The farmers sons are up early and hard at work in the barn shifting potato crates. In one fork lift  'Puppy' is seated on the lap of the elder boy. Elder sister is in the other truck with the younger. Both dogs look remarkably happy as if scooting around a barn shifting potato crates in the early morning  gloom is the most natural thing in the world.

There's a tree in full bloom outside one of the student dorms. A tree in bloom in St Andrews at Christmas ? If you look for signs of climate change look no further.

The ice cream sellers continue to thrive. The pavement table might be a tad too hopeful  but the local teenagers are oblivious to the rain showers and seem happy to walk the streets with an ice cream cone  .

'The Font' wonders how many English visitors will understand what parking 'outwith' the marked bays means. Scottish official English can be very Dickensian.

Even the tourist villages down the coast, packed to the gunnels with visitors in high summer, are quiet deserted.

There is a Christmas stillness to the area that is rather lovely. The local shops are already putting up signs in their windows offering 30% Winter Sale discounts. This must be galling for anyone who did their shopping yesterday.

Christmas song #21. An old favourite. The descant at the 5 minute mark is so English :https://youtu.be/l1wHyMR_SCA?list=RDl1wHyMR_SCA&t=246

A substack on how New York has changed :https://theneighborhoods.substack.com/p/meatpacking-district-manhattan

Swedish Christmas goats :https://jonn.substack.com/p/nothing-but-repeats-these-days

The word 'dog' is mysterious :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHiMg-DLick

Artificial sweeteners :https://www.acsh.org/news/2025/12/22/artificial-sweeteners-cognitive-concerns-49879

Australians seem to understand what's at stake better than some others :https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/shadows-of-1795-why-ukraine-fears-peace-built-on-partition/