Familarisation.

That 'was it or wasn't it ?' terrorist attack at the air base in Gloucestershire leads the morning news broadcast. Before being arrested one of the men  had phoned 999 to alert the authorities to what was going on. This is an unexpected twist to the story. Police are being coy about what happened but it seems the Russians are employing local criminal gangs to cause opportunistic 'mischief'. 

The tournaments 'familiarisation' stages get underway at first light. Despite the early hour there's a small crowd of players waiting, with various degrees of patience, for their allotted tee off times. 

I was surprised by how many visitors showed up to see the golfers and the ' C ' list television celebrities yesterday. Today, despite some passing showers, it looks as if the numbers of onlookers will at least double . What will it be like when the tournament proper starts at the end of the week ?

Parking for most ... but not all .... is a nightmare. Two 'reserved for' signs outside the club house indicate that some have an elevated place in the earthly hierachy . Good weather is forecast. This means crowds. We may opt to stay well clear of town for the next five days. If we do come in it will be at six in the morning. 

The new Captain of the R&A is an Irish woman. The first woman captain in the clubs history. It's only taken them 250 years but they've finally moved into the modern era :https://www.irishgolfdesk.com/news-files/2026/9/25/claire-dowling-drives-in-as-first-woman-to-captain-the-royal-and-ancient  I'm sure some of the crustier members will view this as a sign of the coming apocalypse.

At the other  end of town the students move in herds from one class to the next. 

As a testament to the benefits of higher education a few of the brighter ones have now learnt how to use pedestrian crossings. Most still prefer the kamikaze approach to walking which involves wandering across the road diagonally or darting out from behind parked cars. Kudos to the three young ladies who stopped in the middle of North Street for a wee chat. They ignored the lights turning from red to green and then back again. Local drivers were not impressed but kept their thoughts unvoiced.

Wednesday morning Beethoven :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNFPILp1jy0

The weather mystery of the 1840's :https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/09/scientists-solve-1840s-space-weather-mystery/

Where Aristotle taught Alexander :https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-the-2400-year-old-school-where-aristotle-taught-alexander-to-be-great-180989581/

New Zealand. Some interesting insights :https://www.kvetch.au/p/new-zealand-introduction-part-1