The summer exhibition

We're on an early train down to Edinburgh for the summer exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy. It's dry and the sun is out but there's a cheeky wind that bites the ankles and quickly makes us seek the warmth of the station waiting room . We're soon joined by a group of a dozen or so American golfers heading to Gullane to play on the course there. They're nervous that the train might go without them knowing. I assure them there are only two platforms and that there will be an announcement before it's due but they treat this information with ill disguised scepticism. The more nervous among them move back out onto the platform in case the train tries to sneak through leaving them , and their golf clubs, stranded. Others, aware of the impact of cold wind on males of a certain age, stick near the facilities. The train runs on time and arrives into Edinburgh a minute early. We last see the golfers looking for the way to the cab rank.

You'd expect the summer exhibition to be packed but tourists seem intimidated by the large RSA sign hanging outside. Braver ones ask the staff at reception what the cost of entry is and seem non-plussed when they discover it's free. Most say thank you and retreat without heading towards the galleries. Maybe they just can't believe anything in Edinburgh is free.

'The Font' thinks this years exhibits are wonderful. Angus thinks there's too much of that brightly coloured installation art that will eventually find a home in the lobby of a municipal office building or hospital where it will bemuse all who come into contact with it.

Some galleries are cold and sepulchral. This one has a friendly vibe with locals walking around slowly sizing up the works they like... and those they don't.

I'm quite taken with a small bright picture of a cat watching the washing in a spin dryer. Someone else has spotted the painting and it's already got a red 'sold' sticker. 

The painter who lives at the end of the village has something on show. It too has a red sticker.

We already have a work by this artist. It catches something about the south of France but it's far too big for the down sized house. We spend a happy hour looking at the exhibits and then head off to Ardfern , the trendy wine bar, for lunch. Angus tries a glass of Uruguayan Zinfandel which the waitress says is a delight. 'Delight' is another of those words which has the elasticity to mean so many different things to different people.

On our way home we stop off at the Edinburgh branch of our local bookstore for a copy of 'What if Reform wins'. They've sold out of all their stock in St Andrews but have phoned down to Edinburgh to ask them to hold onto a copy for us. It has suddenly become a best seller. There is annoyingly no question mark at the end of the title. It turns out to be jauntily well written.

A new hotel in Venice :https://airelles.com/en/destination/venice

Latin American problems :https://www.richardhanania.com/p/why-is-latin-america-so-violent

Somewhere in New York where you can get ( a decent ) glass of wine without having to buy a bottle :https://www.aldosohmwinebar.com/about