A roseate glow

The headlines on Radio 4 are about Venezuela and Iran. For light relief we turn the dial to the classical music on Radio 3. Before we switch stations a MAGA gentleman is interviewed and cheerfully  insists that 'bringing Greenland home ' will give the administration a huge boost in the mid-terms.  In case we are in any doubt he pronounces huge as a long drawn out ' hewwwwge '. This enthusiastic candour must be perplexing our neighbours across the water in Denmark.

The hills to the North covered with fresh snow. In the sunrise they have a decidedly roseate glow . The forecast is for us to have snow by lunchtime but the forecast has said the same thing for the last two days and been wrong.

A Mystery Day Trip bus disgorges passengers outside the chapel. A quick chat with the driver and we discover they left Edinburgh at seven this morning en route for Pitlochry. St Andrews is the first comfort break. Today he has 42 passengers on board. If the snow closes in he will abort Pitlochry and head to Dunfermline. Most of the passengers are Spanish and are hoping to see the Loch Ness monster. For a variety of reasons - not least of which is being on the wrong side of the country -  they are likely to be disappointed. The Spanish passengers are all wearing hats. They use the loos in Starbucks and Pret a Manger, wander round the Quad and then reboard the bus.

It only seems like days ago that Halloween items dominated the aisles. Now we're already onto Valentines Day. We wonder if the retired Church of Scotland minister with the 'acts of congress' problem on his flat kitchen roof approves.

The cloud is building up by the time we come back from our morning walk. Perhaps we will get that snow ?

Ancient tourism :https://thedebrief.org/1400-year-old-artifacts-unearthed-in-the-judean-desert-reveal-an-ancient-industry-of-christian-pilgrimage/

What an amazing thing :https://www.sciencealert.com/unique-golden-shark-caught-off-central-america-diagnosed-with-rare-condition

Let's hope this writer is wrong:https://www.wakeuptopolitics.com/p/there-is-no-trump-doctrine

There's no quick money to be made. Amid the hype this thread is a serious take on Venezuela and raises all sorts of interesting questions :https://x.com/Brad_Setser/status/2007864731626090633

Plus ca change :https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/benjamin-franklin-tried-to-annex-canada