Climbing the wall.

June 1st. In a week the village lads head off to the World Cup on Jet Blue flight 1080 from Edinburgh.  We meet the farmers wife heading down the farm track to the beach for a morning swim. She's wearing her duck egg blue one piece, a beany hat and wellington boots and is accompanied by the two Jack Russells. A towel is draped around her shoulders. Her fears about the boys going to the US is now outweighed by the stress of living with two teenage football fans desperate for their adventure to begin. Time is weighing heavily on them - and her. She, and they, are climbing the wall. The 19 year old is under strict orders to make sure the younger one doesn't  ' do anything daft '.  " I'm sure they'll have  the trip of a lifetime " says 'The Font'. ' That's what worries me ' replies the farmers wife without even a moments hesitation. 

The local 30 year olds are making plans for the matches to be shown in the village hall. One of the New Zealanders is the proud owner of a device that projects television programmes onto a screen. This evening there will be a test run to see how it works. Angus has been asked if there is any 'spare wine' in the garage.

Monday morning. The Old Course quiet. There's maybe thirty or so golfers waiting to tee off. The flag lanyards clinking away in the morning breeze.

For the next two or three weeks we're in that state of grace where car parking is easy. After that the crowds start to return for graduation and then everything kicks into higher gear with the summer influx of golfers. That's when it gets wild and we retreat into isolation in the wee house on the coast. Once, many years ago, we nearly bought a house in San Gimignano in Tuscany. It was only by chance that we returned, unexpectedly, to do a pre-purchase check that it dawned on us how busy the place gets. Even on a Tuesday morning in May there were literally hundreds of Danes and Finns in motor homes waiting to get into the small Coop supermarket.

At the supermarket a patient dog ,and his master, wait for the mistress of the house to return.

Even the fish and chip shop is taking reservations for graduation dinners. 

Down to the cathedral . We are the only folks there.

Old churches :https://religionnews.com/2026/05/28/these-houses-of-worship-are-older-than-america-how-they-outlasted-wars-schisms-and-lawsuits/

Unusual :https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-sun-just-did-something-nobody-expected-and-it-kept-going-for-19-days

The sun :https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/research-highlights/listening-suns-heart-hints-our-star-could-be-changing