Beyond cold.

Another cold morning made colder by the northerly wind. Think -10 and you're on the right track. The weather forecast informs us that visibility this morning is 70 kilometers and air pollution a healthy 1 out of 10. Snow is forecast for later this morning but there's no sign of clouds in any direction. It's too cold for Archie the arthritic labrador to be out. We great his sister and his owner before cutting our walk short and heading back to the warmth of the car.

The town is now at peak quiet and the streets empty. The holidaymakers have gone and the students are yet to arrive. We go for a pre-dinner drink in the fancy cocktail bar. We're the only customers and the barman serves us and then quickly returns to studying his year two textbook on cardiovascular medicine. He avoids small talk. Many of the  shops and restaurants will stay closed until the new semester starts towards the end of the month.

Even the 5 star golf hotel is closing for a couple of weeks. A note on the front door informs would be guests that the lobby is undergoing ' a superlative transformation which will highlight our Scottish heritage'. The hotel has American owners which may explain the use  of this gushingly un-Presbyterian language. I can only assume they're using decorators from Edinburgh. The local decorators aren't big on superlative transformations.

The mechanical figure in the cobblers window is wearing a badge which espouses a sensible philosophy on life.

Luxury Christmas crackers offered at a 75% discount. Christmas crackers are something that seem to surprise American students. Perhaps this is a tradition that hasn't crossed the pond. In recent years it has become difficult to ship them from Scotland to the US as the American postal service takes the view that they are an 'explosive' device.

The farmers eldest son hard at work in the barn. He's singing ' Is this the way to Amarillo ? ' at the top of his voice. Even the most charitable would say the lad is not a natural musician. This morning he's shifting potato crates with the fork lift :https://youtu.be/myBbOIdwUGo?list=RDmyBbOIdwUGo&t=101 .  He has two more weeks of holiday before the university in Edinburgh starts up again. His younger sibling starts back at school today. For the ( male ) teenage villagers the World Cup remains the dominant topic of conversation.

Monday reading:

The congregations reaction to Auld Lang Syne at the end of this is very Italian :https://youtu.be/je3ft4xA81Q?list=RDje3ft4xA81Q&t=141

A Chicago must see in 2026 ? :https://obama.org/  Followed by this in LA ? :https://www.lucasmuseum.org/

A very Norwegian advert for an Oslo hotel :https://thethief.com/  This artists works will be exhibited at the Munch Museum :https://www.munch.no/en/exhibitions/paula-rego/

Even Norwegian cycling holidays seem different :https://www.theslowcyclist.com/destinations/norway-cycling-holidays/

A new addition to Scottish cuisine :https://www.hutton.ac.uk/blog/scotlands-new-superfruit-the-honeyberry/