The memorial plaque

The Heathrow flight is cancelled but the flight to London City is going on time.  It's on one of those Brazilian planes with weak air conditioning and low headroom ( you can be sure to bang your head no matter how careful you try to be  ) but it's only an hours flight so we're happy to be 're-booked'. There's a group of thirty or so smiling folk from Fort Worth Texas onboard. We know this because 'Pastor Bob' , who is their leader, stands up before take off to introduce himself and tell his fellow passengers how ' blessed and uplifted they've been to visit Scotlands holy sites '.  He is wearing shorts, Birkenstocks, a large red money belt and a tee shirt with' School of Anesthesiology TCU Fort Worth Texas USA ' written in large letters across the back. He also has a closely shaved head which contrasts with a luxuriant beard that wouldn't shame an Old Testament prophet. Pre-flight  'sharing' may be common in Texas but is an unusual occurrence on British Airways.  'The Font' observes that anaesthesiology is spelt differently here. The Fort Worth group all clap as we land. One or two also shout out 'Praise the Lord'. This is also something that doesn't happen very often on British Airways although for those who are experiencing the rapid descent into London City for the first time it might be justified.

We have forgotten that it's a Bank Holiday on Monday. London is busy and hot. 30 degree + temperatures are expected over the weekend. Local cafe and restaurant owners have moved into continental mode with pavements and courtyards covered in tables. Our hotel is busy but not full.  Seems that visitors from the Gulf and American business men aren't travelling. By contrast leisure travellers from the US and Asia have taken up 90% of the slack. The staff at reception think this is because the UK is seen as the safely dull option for travel. On our way down we noticed that Jet Blue are now flying into Edinburgh which brings the number of daily flights from the US to Edinburgh to 8.

'The Font' heads off to Chelsea while Angus heads off for his six monthly check up with the eye doctor. ( For those heading down the Kings Road look out for the display in the bookstore where the flowers seem to magically grow through the window ).  My hospital visit is a periodic reminder that men of a certain age should not attempt to climb ladders ( repeatedly ) to prune tall wisteria without proper safety protection. There is a new AI enhanced system to measure my eyesight which is brilliant and takes a fifth of the time the old visual field tests used to take. On the way to the clinic I pass this house with a small plaque outside.

These days the number of people who pass by and who know who Benedict Arnold was could probably be counted on one hand. He's described on the plaque as an American patriot which may , by some, be seen as a somewhat subjective description. Will there be some sort of ceremony here on July 4th or has he been written out of history ?

On the plane I read this little book which turns out to be both interesting and well written.

Closing the Strait of Hormuz is something that's been happening for centuries. The British faced exactly the same problem in 1798. I Can't help but think that if only the book had been published a bit earlier someone in DC might have read it and remembered the possible pitfalls. There again who needs a foreign service and institutional memory ?:https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jared-kushner-read-25-books_n_5e31f995c5b6fb636bae221f

Oddity of the day. The last handwritten newspaper in the world :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUmdx2YHGcA

This is unusual :https://www.discovermagazine.com/gabi-an-ai-robot-has-been-ordained-and-is-now-a-buddhist-monk-49119

Higher education faces a shake out :https://amardashehu.substack.com/p/what-the-university-is-now-for