Christmas song # 7

A few hardy dog walkers are out and about on the beach. The rain is heavy and the wind strong so most folks are sensibly staying dry and warm inside. Archie, the arthritic labrador, seems oblivious to the elements and plods along at a stately pace. His owner attempts to get him to hurry along but is ignored. The Met Office forecast shows it raining every day for the next two weeks. The silver lining is the forecast is almost always wrong. 

The Sanderlings are out in force. Of all the birds that call the shoreline their home the Sanderlings are a favourite. They scurry back and forth with a determination to avoid the waves that manages to be  both comical and intense :https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/sanderling . Out here at the last wee house a sparrow hawk has been roosting in the doocot. All the smaller birds ( with the exception of the wrens who remain safe in the bramble thickets ) have wisely moved on to safer spots. 

More biscuits for cheese being set out in the supermarket. Whoever knew cream crackers were so popular? The lady at the front door informs cheerily us that they'll be open from seven in the morning until nine at night in the run up to Christmas. She says half an hour before the doors close is when a surprising number of people discover the turkey they ordered isn't going to be delivered in time by the courier firm.

In the bakers a new sideline - chocolate pizzas and chocolate 'fish and chips ' ( and lipsticks ). These must appeal to a extremely youthful demographic. The white chocolate chips look particularly unappealing.

Even the pizza chain is getting into the full on seasonal spirit. Who knew that ' Cola glazed Ham Hock Romana ' was a thing ? In fact it's more than a thing - it's the ' ultimate Christmas crowd pleaser '. 'The Font' is of the view that Cola glazed Ham is a sure sign we're on the way to 'civilizational erasure'.

Christmas song # 7 sung in a very rustic 'Suffolk' way :https://youtu.be/0EAbKsXVXtA?list=PLz4WJxnUfxraquNmpSuftdXubUwqMWvuK&t=10

Not really happy the UK has sunk to #20 on this list. Still, better than some others :https://factsinstitute.com/ranking/countries-ranked-by-freedom-of-press/

It's been almost six years since we were last in China. Seems a lot has changed :https://christophermschroeder.substack.com/p/parallel-universes-my-notes-from

Some Indian thoughts on recent developments :https://trackingpeoplesdaily.substack.com/p/trumps-national-security-strategy

Heavy going but important :https://geopoliticsagi.substack.com/p/taking-agi-seriously-not-literally