Extended range.

With the troubles in the mid-east rumbling on we've taken to charging up the battery on our little BMW hybrid. One of those 'just in case ' routines. We plug it in after dinner and hey presto the next morning it's ready for the off. Slow but effective. In the winter the heater drains the battery in the blink of an eye  and we'd be lucky to make it the seven miles into town and then back on a charge. Come these balmy mornings we don't need the heater on and we can get two and possibly three return journeys to the supermarket before the petrol engine kicks in. I can remember petrol rationing books being issued in 1973 but can't recall whether they were actually put into use. In those days I had just started as a student here and had a red Saab 96 which I ( possibly alone ) thought was very svelte. Who'd ever have thought that half a century on we'd be facing a reprise of an oil embargo ? Plus ca change ... 'The Font' observes that the use of the phrase ' I can remember when ' officially indicates that I've now stopped being my father and have officially turned into my grandfather.

Sunday. Another perfect day. Not quite the 19 degrees we saw on Friday but close enough.

The weather has brought out day trippers, dog walkers and golfers. Canny visitors know to park out on the beach and then walk back into the centre. This morning they are streaming in. The town is shaking off its winter dourness and bursting into life. On the first tee the starter is in a bad mood. Three lads have registered as a four ball but are their missing their fourth companion who is nowhere to be seen. As the crowd of impatient American golfers builds up he loses his patience and tells them to tee off. ' Your colleague will just need to play through ', This is said with a finality that indicates he has little patience for students or their time keeping.

We're into the pre-Easter wedding season. All day yesterday the road outside the Catholic church was blocked off for the days events with skillfully placed no parking cones. In Starbucks we're surprised to find the place is full of young English couples. The men in tails and white tie their partners in brightly coloured wedding attire. They're waiting for their 'event' in the university chapel. Locals seem completely unfazed by this Home Counties sight.

Back at the last wee house before Denmark we stop to watch the reed buntings and yellow hammers basking in the sunshine on the old stone field walls. They are enjoying themselves. They squabble happily and incessantly.

Our bird watching comes to an abrupt end. The farmers youngest is spreading bone meal over the soon to be planted tatty field . In the absence of wind he discovers that by putting his foot all the way down he can accelerate the tractor to a speed that generates a cloud that rapidly diffuses across the furrows. We head indoors. For someone about to take his IB exams the lad seems remarkably relaxed :https://www.stleonards-fife.org/curriculum/international-baccalaureate

A public servant and brave veteran dies. Usually at times like this their dedication is recorded. I'm not quite sure what it says about society when ' Good, I'm glad he's dead ' is deemed acceptable.

Watched a bit of the Louis Theroux investigation into the manosphere on Netflix which was unsettling. This essay on the male condition appeared in the inbox this morning and is artfully and tellingly written. Blowing raspberries on giggly tummies is a phrase you don't often see :https://drunkwisconsin.substack.com/p/men-only-want-one-thing

A picture of a London tube train :https://substack.com/@wluvv/note/c-226721649?r=48ea6r

Climate weirdness :https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/03/the-us-is-looking-at-a-year-of-chaotic-weather/

Oil :https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/talking-with-robin-brooks