Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Pre-Easter calm.

Town is quiet. There's no sign yet of the Easter crowds that will soon descend on the place. The sky is bright but the piercing Northerly wind might be putting the visitors off. We say good morning to the lady with the Pomeranian and Archie the arthritic labrador and his owner. Posters are going up detailing Easter events. The Baptists will be holding a sunrise service in the anatomy school car park while the Presbyterians will be gathering to watch the dawn from the ruins of the old 6th century chapel on the cliffs. Last year they were joined by a group of Catholic conservatives carrying a  large wooden cross and praying for the restoration of the Latin Mass. This was an 'unusual' comingling of religious beliefs.


We stop off at the doctors for our tetanus and typhoid booster shots. Hardly what we'll need in the Four Seasons in Shanghai but the doctor reassuringly says you can never be too careful. She then adds ' particularly at your age '.  Angus chooses to ignore this. Recently I've noticed that shop assistants have started to ask ' Can I help you' in a tone of voice that hints that I exude an air of mild befuddlement . 'The Font' thinks that with a recession on the way they're just trying to be helpful and  drum up sales. Angus prefers the old days when the local shop assistants used to studiously ignore you.

Back at The last wee house before Denmark there's a small fishing boat sailing slowly along the coast. The boat is right on the sudden fault line where  the deep water ends and a line of razor sharp rocks soar 60 feet up from the deep. A dangerous place and usually only the cormorants venture there . Let's hope the skipper knows what he's doing.


Not a soul to be seen down by the harbour. 


Five new houses are being built on a plot of land within the medieval priory walls. How they ever got planning permission is one of those mysteries that doesn't bear  thinking about.  The builders have taken up a dozen parking spaces to store their materials and tools. Removing parking spots is just what's needed ahead of a busy weekend.

The fancy clothing store has a new window display.  It has something of the '1930's' to it.

Soon, possibly very soon, the calm will evaporate as the first waves of day trippers , golfers and Airbnbers arrive.


Heaven. Just driving along :https://x.com/Arteymas_/status/2038181186871116032

Bones  :https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/when-are-bones-no-longer-a-person

Silicon valley :https://www.goldsea.com/article_details/how-the-ai-race-is-changing-silicon-valley-demographics

5 comments:

Lisa in France said...

Heaven indeed! We've completed the first phase of our Easter preparations by successfully rounding up white eggs. The first year we were here, we didn't focus on the fact almost all eggs in France are brown until it was too late and we were forced to confirm that brown eggs don't take color at all well. It's an entirely different question why we are still doing Easter baskets for our kids, but why not. Lots of fun stuff here.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
OH yes, heaven and then some!

Historic Environment Scotland do not have a policy of selling off land under their care, though (quote), HES has initiated a strategy acknowledging that "it may not be possible or necessary for us to be the custodians of a place forever". This involves evaluating sites not only on historic value, but also on their economic, social, and environmental impact. Rather than commercial sales, the focus is on potentially converting properties into community spaces or sustainable rented accommodation. (End quote.) So I wonder if those homes are to be the latter? It will be interesting to watch development via this blog! YAM xx

Angus said...

The homes are on sale for £1.75 million each which hints that they may not be 'community' owned. Having said that they're a bargain compared with the four houses down by the railway bridge which are on sale for £7.5 million apiece but come with ' an unparalleled view of the iconic final leg of the Old Course '.

Travel said...

Based on my upcoming trip to parts of Europe, my doctor recommended a polio vaccine booster, my last one was about 60 years ago.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Crikey... then I think that plot must not have been under the HES boundary after all... Yxx