Thursday, February 19, 2026

Wizadry.

'This is a surprise ' says 'The Font' as we struggle through a ferocious sleet laden squall on our way back from the shore. What started off as a bright sunny morning has, in an act of Scottish meteorological wizardry, turned into an Arctic storm. Ten minutes later the weather has segued from 'unpleasant' into something merely 'uncomfortable'. We are drenched.


By the time we've changed into dry clothes and made it onto the town beach things are looking brighter. The Pomeranian lady is in good spirits and Archies owner is thinking of heading off again to Seoul to see her daughter who is in her second year at a university there. Archie remains contentedly at home . He's at that stage where he's more than happy for the younger dog to be out and about in all weathers while he dozes by the AGA.

Three coach loads of Italian tourists being deposited outside the cathedral. Coach tours are usually staid affairs. A guide with an umbrella leads a long line of indifferent sight seers along the pavement towards the university. Germans walk silently in single file, the French move in clusters. With Italian groups it's more like a performance of Tosca. People spill onto the road, some go in the wrong direction and have to be called back, others take photos. Some sprint. Some stand still. All the while they maintain a cheerful, high level buzz of conversation.


The Hebridean sheep seem completely oblivious to the weather.

The Epstein files continue to provide the newspapers with headlines. The Scottish Daily Mail front page says four police forces are now investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. On the bottom row another paper says he's being investigated by three of them. It is surprising how many people still come into the supermarket to pick up a copy of a newspaper.


Gut Punch classic Kimchi in the supermarket. What a name. This it turns out is made in Scotland. How improbable is that ? This must be a sign of peak globalisation. Who would ever have thought that Scotland would have its own Kimchi maker ?

2 comments:

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
Ah... sparkling Vivaldi! Yup, winter ain't done yet... YAM xx

Lisa in France said...

We enjoyed your description of the different tour groups, from which my husband deduced that Italians are "independent". From your description of the weather, it sounds as though Archie has the right idea. Also interesting that real paper newspapers are still a thing in Scotland. Here as well, and I've recently gotten into the habit of visiting our local tabac on Saturday morning to buy the weekend FT. I used to love reading it on long international flights and realized it is the perfect stand-in for my beloved old Sunday NYT. I often complain about Japan, including the milquetoast Japanese press, but I am really pleased that Nikkei has not messed with FT.