An early wedding and an old Austin

Tomorrow the farmers offspring head down to Edinburgh for the Jet Blue flight to Boston.  The farmers wife, who has been in two minds about them going to the World Cup, is now at a stage where she can't wait for them to get on the plane. In fact she's at a stage where filicide seems like an attractive option. The boys have faithfully promised to call home twice a day . I'd reckon that's a promise that won't survive contact with the first match of the tournament. This morning the lads are out helping their father spray his brassicas. It seems brassicas are very prone to disease.

The young university faculty who populate the village have four full teaching free months before the next semester starts . Much of this time will be spent in the village hall where a large freshly ironed Emperor sized sheet has been hung from the rafters by the kitchen door. It will provide a screen for the New Zealand mans television projector. The first match will be shown here on Thursday.  There is already much discussion about the US and Iran facing each other in a play off in  LA on July 3rd. Being a dormitory for St Andrews the village has a young 30 something demographic and a surprisingly large number of toddlers. Low cost entertainment is always welcome.

The beach quiet. Black winged gulls ignore us as we pass by. It's colder than it has been and we're back to wearing an extra layer. On the way to Starbucks in the car we pass an early morning wedding. Graduates can marry in chapel. Many do. An American couple have opted for a 1937 Austin as a wedding car. The car is tiny and the brides dress voluminous. The groom is thankfully lean enough to squeeze in beside her on the back seat. Tourists getting off the early morning tour bus from Edinburgh clap. Some go 'oooh' with delight. Weddings on a sunny morning make people do that.

The baker is selling Ecclefechan Tarts. Until today I've never seen an Ecclefechan Tart on sale anywhere.

A group of Spaniards are heading out of chapel en route to the cathedral. They seem remarkably well ordered. They've gate crashed the back of the wedding and seem to have rather enjoyed themselves. The university ushers in their long black tail coats have sensibly allowed them to stay there. The wedding will be the core of countless holiday stories in Madrid and Bilbao.

Down by the first tee there is a particularly well behaved crowd. They applaud the good drives and shout gentle encouragement to those who have sliced their shots. Todays onlookers are I'd reckon  60% American, 25% Chinese, 10% European ( ie Spanish ) and 5% local. The price of a standard room in the big 5 star hotel is now heading towards the peak summer £1,000 a night level. The New York restaurant that's set up for the summer in the basement of the hotel on the 18th tee is booked solid from now through early September. Making money here in the summer is easy. It's the other eight months of the year that are a problem.

Life in a small university town, out of term time, is calm and quiet. Perhaps there will be some excitement next week ?

The most remote hotel in Scotland ? :https://wildland.scot/properties/hope/

A beautiful Manet to enjoy on a sunny June morning :https://www.wikiart.org/en/edouard-manet/pinks-and-clematis-in-a-crystal-vase

How to live in France  :https://kimberlyannwheeler.substack.com/p/things-the-french-find-completely

Some new and rather enjoyable thoughts on the universe . Best read on the porch with a cup of coffee and no distractions :https://scottsumner.substack.com/p/the-world-is-bigger-than-you-can

D-Day humour. Thank you Canada.: https://x.com/jdmstewart1/status/2063251062778114264