What a cake.

It's one of those unmistakably Scottish winter mornings. The cobbled streets glistening with last nights rain. Bobble hats are much in evidence.  As we head off to Starbucks we see that some of the municipal Christmas lights have been disconnected. Others haven't. Two strings of them shine happily away in the distance. I guess this makes it a quasi-festive time of the year. A small group of  supermarket staff in tee shirts brave the cold and rush out to set up a line of traffic cones by their front door. Cones laid out they rush back into the warmth. The lorry from the warehouse is due any minute.

A little later, by the time we're caffeined up, the sky has brightened. There's three extra minutes of light every day now.  We marvel at the fulmars on the cliffs by the Catholic church who seem quite happy nesting on a rock ledge six inches deep. 

The baker has bowed to the gravitational pull of Burns Night and has a suitably seasonal display in his front window. The all purpose biscuits reappear.

The shop by the ice cream parlour has also got into the spirit of things and opted to welcome Burns Night with a collection of Scottish fudge. The 'Oor Wullie' bucket o'fudge will confuse bemuse English visitors.

Angus returns to buy one of the bakers Burns Night cakes in the shape of the bards home. " It's just angel cake with a coffee roof but it's good " says the lady behind the counter. 'The Font' mutters something about someone having the taste buds of a six year old. This jibe is ignored although by way of redemptive explanation I point out how important it is to support local businesses in the off season. I'm looking forward to seeing what the chimney stacks are made of. The green icing is an artistic touch that in these parts might pass for sophistication.

Video of the week :https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/2012796305366548684

Shrimp as pets :https://x.com/mrjeffu/status/2012897688334082075

Unusual things in space :https://interestingengineering.com/science/iron-cloud-in-ring-nebula

'Give them enough rope ' :https://www.coolidgereview.com/articles/who-built-ussr