Holidaying at home.

Welcome to April. On the radio this morning we learn that the American President is to address the nation on Wednesday night. No one on BBC Scotland seems quite sure why. Some think he'll announce he's won. Others that he's going to double down and send in troops. We also get official confirmation that the King will go to Washington at the end of the month and the Prince of Wales will be there in June for the World Cup. To say there is a reticent attitude to the Kings trip with so much anti-Brit sentiment around would be an understatement. Let's hope those early morning tweets remain civil.

Up here we've reached that  'flip a switch ' time of year when we move from being a small quiet university town to a busy golfing centre. From the number of cars with English registrations filling the parking spaces I'd warrant that  a lot of folk have decided to holiday at home rather than venture abroad. You can spot visitors cars because Scottish ones have a number plate that begins with the letter 'S'. Thanks to the influx it is now impossible to find a parking spot between ten thirty in the morning and four in the afternoon.

Students are enjoying the sunshine and are out having their morning bacon rolls . They're breakfasting before the dustmen have started their rounds. The students are of course oblivious to the wheely bins and trash sacks scattered around them. The forecast calls for rain this afternoon so people are enjoying the fresh air while they can.

The bus tour that leaves Edinburgh at seven arrives outside chapel to disgorge its warmly clad passengers. Today it has brought a mix  of French, Spanish, and Italian visitors who do some cursory sightseeing before heading off towards Starbucks and its washrooms. The practicalities of tourism. They will wander down to the Royal and Ancient to take some photos and then board the bus to head on to Scone Palace.

Student golfers are also out and about. One of the bonuses of being a student here is access to the sacred turf. The starter tells four lads to 'get a move on'. They rush to tie up the laces on their golf shoes. One of them discovers tying shoe laces under the watchful eye of the Old Course starter is not as easy as you might think.

We go to the new cafe that has opened up above the World Golf Museum. Off to one side photographers are taking snaps of the new dinner offerings. A group of three publicists arrange the food and check the lighting. We sit at the far end and  opt for two decaf Americanos. ' Last of the big time spenders ' says the waiter with a laugh.

The breakfast menu seems targeted at an American audience :https://www.claretsstandrews.com/documents/view.php?documentID=1 

After 50 years this is open to the Sao Paolo public :https://www.aberto.art/en

A new addition to the Miami skyline . Very much of the times. All the people in the architects video look similar in a non-diverse sort of way. The number of folks in black tie is impressive. I'd never really associated humid Miami with formality :https://www.trumplibrary.org/

Who knew that milk had become political ? :https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/03/30/raw-milk-myth-wake-up-call/

More Norwegian research :https://www.sciencenorway.no/culture-language-neuroscience/the-weirdest-brain-hack-on-earth-mastering-two-grammars-at-once/2639521