Wine and apple crumble.

Now the Dunhill and Collegiate golf tournaments are over the town is fast emptying out. The tents and marquees are coming down, the television camera crews have gone and the hotels and restaurants have 'availability'. In the post this morning we receive an invitation to a dinner to be held in the R&A in April 2027. This comes as a surprise. Some people clearly like to plan well ahead.

Thursday was a day spent organizing the wine cellar in readiness for Christmas. In the process some solitary bottles are found. Where these lost delights were bought is a mystery. Most of the wine we brought with us from France has sadly now been drunk. This Pernand is one of the last hold outs. It was opened at lunchtime to give it six hours to breathe. Over dinner we agree it was 'more than acceptable '. It pains me to say that wine is a good 40% cheaper in France. The unforgiving Northerly climate here means wine has to be given plenty of time to ' s'epanouir '. 

At the bakers two apple crumble tarts are bought. These turn out to be large and extremely filling. French visitors seem bemused by Scottish bakers. American golfers by contrast love the sturdy sugar rush on offer.

In France these cream towers would be called religieuse. There the similarity ends.

'The Font' picks up the last of the strawberries from the farm by the round about. They remain delicious to the end. The supermarket may sell  English berries for the next couple of weeks but after that it's back to the woody  imports from greenhouses in the Netherlands. That's when we stop buying them.

Two Westies at Starbucks this morning. Shortly after this picture was taken they each got a tub of whipped cream. High degrees of enthusiasm and joy were intermingled as they licked up every last drop.

Tonight the students traditional mid-semester parties kick off. They will continue pretty much without a break until Monday :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIxhfkBMt24  The 18 year olds love foam fights but for those of advancing years it seems to be the sort of behaviour you' might expect to find in a Waco cult. How dare they be enjoying themselves so much and so innocently ? 

These were written up in yesterdays New York Times :https://www.dogster.com/dog-breeds/mcnab/

A Dutch Stonehenge:https://www.zmescience.com/science/archaeology/stonehenge-in-netherlands-rep/

Written by a brilliant guy at Salk in San Diego and worth reading:https://erictopol.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-t-cells

An important election that seems impossible to predict :https://www.timesofisrael.com/small-parties-hovering-around-minimum-vote-threshold-could-determine-israels-election/

This pretty much sums up the turning point we've reached. Oil over allies :https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/10/the-russia-diesel-deal-is-a-strategic-mistake/