A first sighting

Events in Iran vie with the law suit against Jerome Powell (the Fed Chairman) as story of the day on the morning radio broadcast.

On Sunday it rains solidly although the downpour pauses for an hour after lunch. This morning the Old Course is dotted with large pools of water. Thankfully, the freezing temperatures and strong winds have gone and been replaced by milder weather. The absence of sheet ice makes walking around much, much easier.

As we head back to the car four laughing teenagers hauling their golf bags pass us by. They're on their way to the golf academy. This is our first en masse New Year sighting of returning students. Each of them nods and says 'Good Morning ' with a politesse that won't last long. Soon they will revert to their feral  teenage male state of staring at their i-Phones and ignoring everyone in their path. The local bar owners will be delighted to see them back.

An old iron post down on the embankment is slowly but surely becoming more rust than metal. Generations of council workmen have painted its surface leaving the rust to bubble away underneath. I fear its days are drawing to an end.

We have two Burns suppers to attend - the university festivities and the 'event' in the village hall.  By donating a 6 bottle case of Fiano di Avelino to the village raffle we hope the villagers won't notice if we arrive late. 

Haddock Kiev sounds truly gruesome like an acquired taste.

In the Economist the obituary for the MIT physicist Nuno Loureiro who was  murdered by a gunman sounds strangely lyrical. The Economist obituary page has the rare and interesting art of always being beautifully well written. In this case it manages to make the complex world of plasma physics almost comprehensible.

The once chic 'W' on Union Square has been reimagined ( or so an e-mail in the inbox informs me ):https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/nycnu-w-new-york-union-square/overview/ The carpets look wild.

I can't remember ever having had a souffle pancake. I'm told by 'The Font' that I have :https://www.flippersus.com/   A quick search shows they they can also be found in Paris :https://fuwafuwapancakes.fr/en/

Canadian v German railways :https://x.com/1234Fit/status/2010327741380616258