Bank Holiday calm.

Yesterday the morning news bulletin was vaguely optimistic about peace in the Gulf. This morning things seem to be less positive. I'll carry on charging the little hybrid battery up every night. It has the range to get us into town and back twice. Interestingly this range is much better when its warm than it is in the depths of winter when it barely manages a single return journey.

Three gentlemen carrying golf bags head towards us on the street that leads down from the cathedral to the Old Course. Two of the men are wearing tartan hats with the inscription ' Jesus is my Savior. Trump is my President '. Seems that not every golfer wears 'Titleist' head gear.

Further down the street the student residents of a town centre apartment have headed off leaving their bikes padlocked to the railings.

At the cinema that's been turned into a sports bar a new poster of Tiger Woods has gone up. Why is he pictured alone ? Have Tiger and Justin split up ? Maybe Tiger is used for advertising in a golf town and Timberlake appears in 'hipper' locations ?

I must find out what plant this is. If it can survive in a front garden in town it might survive out at the 'wee house' on the coast.

The departing students have turned the old phone box by chapel into a poetry corner. We both agree that unexpected outbursts of poetry enhance life. 

At home the alliums and the ceanothus in the back garden are vying to see which is the more stridently colourful. There is a peony that was planted last year in a sheltered spot that is about to burst into bloom. It has the subtlest orange peach tones.  When it blooms I'll take a photo. It may be spectacular.

Life here, with the students gone, is calm and peaceful. Yesterday started warm and became, briefly, hot in the afternoon. More of the same is expected today. The village pre-schoolers are spending much of their day playing in the rock pools down on the beach. Graduation is five weeks away so there should now be a month of peace before the class of 2026 return one last time and the heavy partying kicks off.

El Nino :https://sketchplanations.substack.com/p/understanding-el-nino-basics

Unspoilt Italy :https://ladarbia.com/

We may try staying here when we're next in London :https://stclement.co.uk/

New choristers in a cathedral. Something you'd expect to see in Europe but not the US. A little reminder that pockets of quiet old fashioned gentleness still thrive . The man in the purple cassock smiles constantly :https://youtu.be/IfW-6oC_0zk?t=2700