Small chapels and repenting Freshers.

We drive into the depth of the countryside to see one of Scotlands last remaining cottage chapels. It's located in a non-descript farming village that is now turning into a dormitory town for Edinburgh. The place has a huge modern medical centre, an equally huge ( but ageing )  old folks home, a variety of modern housing schemes and an unattractive 70's era SPAR supermarket.

The cottage chapel is exactly what it says on the can. A chapel in a cottage. A polite retiree tries to explain the history of the place but I find my mind wandering. Perhaps it's the warmth of the afternoon sun streaming through the windows. 

'The Font' is given a leaflet which provides us with the background, and more, of the chapels Episcopalian history. It is written in a very 'worthy' style.

The chapel is very small, very plain ( if you can call a red ceiling and purple carpeted floor plain )  but has a core of devoted parishoners who meet every other Wednesday for Evensong. The pews have been removed and replaced by a dozen upright and well padded Ercol chairs. This says all you need to know about the age and the size of the congregation. How long will the place survive ? It's a miracle it's lasted this long.

After our foray into the wilderness we stop off at the hotel by the Old Course for a drink. Around six  groups of youngsters start to wander by. 

The reason soon becomes clear. It's the end of mass. The Catholic Church has opened up again for the new Semester. We're at that stage where the youngsters have started to enjoy enough freedom to warrant asking for forgiveness. 

An American Congressman is in town. He hosts a small dinner ( under Chatham House rules ) where he  comes out with the interesting statement that " in America it's moderate voters who are aware of international affairs whereas with most of my voters it's much less so ". No prizes for guessing which party he represents.

Who is the star in this ad ?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVlhHhoC3Ks

Intriguing :https://www.sciencealert.com/a-neuroscientist-says-your-brain-may-not-actually-make-decisions

A month of birthdays :https://www.popsci.com/science/why-september-9-most-common-birthday/

I enjoyed this :https://davidaaronovitch.substack.com/p/a-muslim-a-christian-and-a-jew-walk

Haakon, the new King, looks exhausted :https://youtu.be/gW1jsHSDMEY?t=14349