Upbeat ?

 

The news reader has an upbeat tone to his voice and  informs us that the American President thinks the war in Iran is almost over. Let's hope the Iranians ( and the Russians and Chinese ) agree with him. We have had heating oil delivered so that's a sure sign oil prices have hit a peak and will now start to come back down. The newsreader also calls the new Iranian leader a messianic extremist which is perhaps the polite BBC way of saying he's not a ray of sunshine.

Yesterday was spent collating documents that were then e-mailed to the insurance company. They reply wanting details of all our bank accounts to ensure we've not been reimbursed by another insurer and ask for proof that we've asked the airline if  they'll pay for the ' no show ' charge. Once they have these they will consider our claim. Dealing with insurance companies does not fill the heart with joy. It is the mental version of swimming through a sea of treacle.

The weather has gone back to being cloudy.

A group of scantily clad young women in red dresses are practising a dance routine in the chapel cloister. John Knox must be turning in his grave.

A 19 year old surfer alone with his thoughts on the beach. Perhaps he's also dealing with an insurance claim ?

Golfers now arriving in dribs and drabs. I guess there will be a slow build up and then a sudden  explosion of them as we head towards Easter. Parking remains easy. There have been no more sightings of the large group of American Wall Streeters dressed menacingly from head to toe in black.

Brewdog, the Scottish beer company, has gone into liquidation and then been bought by a US compnay. The local outlet has closed much to the dismay of the rugby team. We came across a Brewdog in Yokohama last year. It was empty. That was the first hint that the company had ill advisedly  'gone for growth'.

A new range of 'Mary Queen of Scots and the plague' memorabilia in the museum shop. These will almost certainly be a big hit with the students.

 

Surprising fact of the day. Usnavy is an unusual name  :https://x.com/MyLatinLife/status/2028597593563861194

This is the original :https://patowmackpacket.substack.com/p/have-you-seen-the-first-declaration

Change accelerating ? :https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/climate-change/the-warming-trend-nearly-doubled-after-2014-the-rate-of-global-warming-has-accelerated-more-in-the-past-decade-than-ever-before

We have a lot of New Zealanders in the village. I'd always thought it was a Scots diaspora thing but maybe there's more to it ? :https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/06/world/new-zealand-australia-emigration-midlife-intl-hnk-dst?Date=20260307&Profile=CNN+International