Continuity is a greatly underestimated virtue.

Seven bees at work on the lavender beds this morning. Two weeks ago there were hundreds. Yesterday twelve. Tomorrow ?

The autumn winds are blowing from the west at 40 mph. The Gannets ride them sixty or seventy feet into the air before plunging down at right angles into the sea.  One of the young lecturers is out on the village beach with his three and five year olds. They stand and watch these dare devil divers and, when the bobble hatted youngsters are looking in the right direction, clap .

The trickle of incoming teenagers has turned into a flood. The average age of the people you pass in the street has fallen by thirty, possibly forty, years. Some of the incomers look barely old enough to be out on their own. A high proportion appear to be having the time of their lives. Others seem petrified. Most have an air of slight bewilderment. They move around in the safety of groups. Proud parents bustle proprietorially around. Mothers get weepy.  Younger siblings wonder why they've been dragged along. Fathers head to the golf course bars. This is one of lifes great generation unto generation moments.  We see three young couples holding hands in that tentative way that eighteen year olds do. This is reassuring proof that Freshers quickly get their bearings and get down to doing what Freshers always do. Continuity is a greatly underestimated and reassuring virtue.

Wedding time. 1960's era Rolls Royces bedecked with  wedding ribbons are lined up by chapel. Chauffeurs stand around in grey suits. 'The Font' notes three of them wearing pocket squares. Clearly these are 'fancy' weddings. Pipes play. From the pavement outside we hear this decidedly non-Scottish hymn being sung lustily :https://youtu.be/wD9-djEuEjM?t=171  This is standard end of ceremony fare at polite English weddings but is the first time either of us has ever heard it sung in Scotland. Turns out to be an English lad marrying an American girl so I guess it's forgivable allowable. The English guests wear tails, the Americans are evenly split between suits or kilts. A gentleman from Los Angeles ( presumably a relation of the bride ) enters  into the spirit of things by adopting a Braveheart look complete with a shield. We stand and watch this cultural melee in awe struck silence.

More European accents heard around the place this year which is a sign that things are starting to remedy themselves after the self harm of Brexit. 

Out here the farmer is still waiting for the part to arrive for the all singing all dancing cabbage harvesting machine. Next week the eldest son heads back to Edinburgh and daughter starts law school. Youngest son remains blase about heading south.

11C. A  high of 17C forecast for this afternoon. 'The Font' makes it clear that this is the time to switch on the central heating.

Weekend reading:

Eggs :https://takshashiladispatch.substack.com/p/the-curious-case-of-the-egg

Unusual research from London :https://www.qmul.ac.uk/news/latest-news/2026/science-and-engineering/se/chimpanzees-have-accents-too-study-finds.html

Developments on Saturn :https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-mysterious-decagon-unexpectedly-appeared-around-saturns-south-pole-the-ten-sided-shape-seems-to-be-a-wave-in-the-atmosphere-180989449/

Horrifying and infuriating. What are we doing to the planet ?:https://gizmodo.com/australia-is-evacuating-an-antarctic-base-so-no-one-has-to-watch-thousands-of-seals-die-2000807054