Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Winter graduation meets the pantomime

The town busy and full of happy graduands and parents. Winter graduation isn't as large as the summer and the age profile is a different one ( there are more PhD's being awarded ) but it's enjoyed just as much. It helps that nature is being kind - the bright, dry, sunny weather of the last few days is forecast to last until the weekend.


On the streets the kilt is much in evidence.

With the sudden influx of visitors getting a restaurant reservation or hotel room is well nigh impossible. Large cars from Wimbledon and Esher glide silently around looking for parking spaces.  We see a man in a camel hair coat and a trilby walking away from a duo tone silver and lavender Maybach. His wife is wearing furs. Neither of us can remember the last time we saw a mink coat. Come to that neither of us can remember the last time we saw a duotone Maybach. After dark the streets are unusually busy ...


... and the shops are staying open late. A piper is playing 'Ding Dong Merrily on High' outside the auld kirk. This is a tune that lends itself to the pipes.


The ' awfy braw' pantomime is sold out. A group of eight year olds are getting off a bus and being shepherded into the theatre foyer. For them the Christmas school outing is the high point of the year. It shows. They are already in the hyper ' It's behind you !' pantomime spirit.  The teachers deserve a medal - or a calming dram or three.


After a rather dull dinner at one of the golf clubs we find a group of sixty or so youngsters out for an evening run heading towards us along the pavement. 'They' seem oblivious to the existence of anyone else. We step off the pavement  into the space between the parked cars to let them pass. Angus mutters. 'They' seem to find anyone over the age of 35 completely invisible.


Things we miss about France. Paris chocolate :https://debauve-et-gallais.com/

All our dogs were super intelligent - if you believe the ability to understand the word 'biscuit' in 84 languages is a sign of super intelligence. By every other measure they weren't :https://www.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/news/study-suggests-curiosity-and-focus-could-be-key-factors-that-make-mans-best-friend-a-genius


What remodeling says about the householder :https://www.coolidgereview.com/articles/how-presidents-change-white-house

4 comments:

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Getting properly festive around you now!

My angel dog, Jade, was a label recogniser... Not a phrase I would have used until reading that article. I just accepted that I could speak to her as I might a toddler and would get the sorts of responses that suggested she knew exactly what was said. When visitors commented on how responsive she was, I didn't really think about it being out of the ordinary. Only on meeting many other dogs and seeing how it very much wasn't the norm, can I think back with pride at her ability! I must say, it has spoiled me a bit when I think of adopting another canine. Big paws to fill... YAM xx

Lisa in France said...

I'm glad the weather is being kind to the graduates. I'm sure that graduation from St. Andrews in good weather (or even not, I suppose) is something to be remembered forever. The article about dog intelligence was interesting. The article doesn't mention it, but the think attentiveness and pattern recognition is important. If I say "I'm going upstairs now," Charlie's up the stairs long before I am. He often seems to know what we're about to do before we do, but I assume that's because he's been paying close attention to patterns these last five years. Interestingly, he still hasn't figured out suitcases. If I had three wishes, one of them would be to see the world from Charlie's perspective for a little while. (Probably a second would entree to our African Grey Parrot's world. Unlike Charlie, Lucky's not at all interested in pleasing us, but she's also always watching and listening.)

Travel said...

A Maybach, is just a long wheelbase S class in drag, built on the same assembly line out of the same parts. Kind of like wearing the fur coat, more for show than to make a difference.

Camille said...

I inherited my Mom's gorgeous custom mink coat. Never wore it. For starters, it was heavy, hot and bulky. And it was also during the height of the "Let's throw red paint on anyone wearing furs" phase of society. Finally donated it to a lovely woman who made one of a kind Teddy Bears out of discarded furs and successfully sold them on Ebay. Go figure, stuffed animals were then considered ok but worn on your back taboo.
Every Cairn we've ever owned has been incredibly tuned in to our patterns and habits. Perhaps not so surprising regarding Terriers as they seem to miss nothing.