Long forgotten memories.

We have the central heating  boiler serviced. It may seem unusual to have this done in August but it means when winter arrives we won't have to worry about anything going wrong. The man arrives at six thirty in the evening and goes an hour later. " All's fine Pal" he says breezily before adding " You needed a new timer ". With that he's off.  I also arrange to have the heating oil topped up to the brim. Who knows what will happen to the price as we head into the first frosts of autumn ?

Wednesday morning . At quarter to six the sound of heavy machinery tells us the farmer has started bringing in the wheat. From the bedroom window a cloud of chaff can be seen slowly but surely heading towards the back garden of the house. Like mad things we rush around closing all the windows.

Red Admirals much in evidence on the flowers today. They seem to be having a good year but nothing like the Cabbage Whites which flutter around in swarms. The lavender bed isn't so much covered in bees as alive with them. In our four summers here this is the best year, by far, for bees. There is something rather reassuring about that.

The night of the lunar eclipse. The Scottish weather remains mercurial so we may, or may not, see it. After a bright start to the day cloud and rain are forecast for the evening. There's probably a 50% chance we'll have clear skies. An e-mail from the power company drops into the inbox this morning asking us to be prudent in our use of electricity during the eclipse. The loss of solar power may 'stress the grid '.

The fun fair has ended and this morning the whole caboodle is being packed up. The huge tower that winches youthful customers to the top and then releases them into a stomach churning free fall has been very popular. 

This music is playing from the loud speakers as the last of the rides are disassembled :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZANKFxrcKU . I haven't heard this since the age of 2 or 3. My father used to sing it to me as we drove around the island in his Humber Imperial.  I always thought there was something ever so slightly sinister about it and the Teddy Bears although it may have had something to do with my fathers singing style. It is an interesting insight into how sounds can trigger long forgotten memories.

I cannot imagine any dog being trained to sit through an MRI scan :https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1137798

The kids at the second ( and final ) summer school session are heading home. They only seem to have just arrived. At the 2:21 mark there's a cameo appearance of the owners sheepdog that keeps a watchful eye on the youngsters from its position by the summer schools front door. It is the best behaved dog we've ever seen :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBda0sfwPR4

Thoughts on architecture :https://www.bensouthwood.co.uk/p/eight-architecture-myths-busted-by

You could not make this up ! Harry Potter fans triumphant :https://www.nme.com/news/film/harry-potter-fans-succeed-moving-construction-project-avoid-dobby-grave-3961714

On the Twitter feed of a former Portugese Foreign Minister makes a wry comment :https://x.com/MacaesBruno/status/2087196392041197700