Sudden and unexpected.

"We'll know more about the explosions in Venezuela tomorrow morning " says the news reader on the six am radio broadcast. The New Year is already fast looking like the old. Quite what happens to the 30,000 Cuban troops who have been guarding Maduro is left to consider another day. This is a first appraisal ( and hats off to the author for writing it so quickly ) although it may be too bullish and may spur China on to do something similar :https://substack.com/home/post/p-183340848

It's below freezing this morning. The local dogs are out on the beach modeling their Christmas outfits. Archie, the arthritic labrador, is not out. It's too cold for him and he's asleep at home in front of the AGA. His owner tells us this is the first day he's ever missed his morning walk.

The crows continue to congregate in huge numbers. Must be a thousand of them out in the potato fields today.

Yesterday, the gas cylinder runs out as the last of the blinis emerge from the oven. The replacement canister is empty. Three months ago the gas man replaced one of the empty bottles but forgot to replace the other. We give him a call and ask if he can come next week. He says that he'll happily tack us on to the end of his delivery schedule and come over in the afternoon . " It's quiet. I should be with you by five ". We are more than delighted when he shows up at six thirty.

An hour later two no nonsense Policemen show up at the gate. It seems the driver got to the main road and had a sudden and massive heart attack. A man out walking his spaniel found him slumped in the cab of his truck which had clipped a parked car and come to a halt by the 'T' junction. The retired nurse was soon on hand and used the defibrillator from the village hall but it was too late. We were the last people to see him alive. The Policemen ask if the man had been acting strangely. He hadn't. In fact he seemed the model of good health. Neither policeman seems to think this is an unusual occurrence. "Life is a fragile thing " says one with a sensitivity that you wouldn't expect from a bearded 6' 6" former professional rugby player. He adds ' we see it all the time '. 

This event casts a sad cloud over the start of the New Year. A bouquet of flowers already marks the spot on the grass verge where it happened.

The police were marvelous. Efficient and kind in a no nonsense way. Statements taken, traffic diverted, family informed and an ambulance despatched with a smooth  professionalism that reminds us how much of our day to day well being we owe to public servants. Theirs is another of those jobs I would not like to have.

Be cautious of self driving cars :https://strangecosmos.substack.com/p/self-driving-cars-arent-nearly-a

Not sure what this insight into the car industry says about the economy :https://www.carscoops.com/2026/01/car-inventory-surge-2024-2025-models-not-selling/

2025's best buildings :https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/15-projects-that-will-shape-architecture-in-2025/

Had never heard of exposomics :https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2535078122

Climate change reflected in insurance premiums :https://substack.com/home/post/p-183243295

The place to go if you're building a new ballroom :https://www.arcstonegranite.com/