Christmas song #17

Today my companion is sporting her wind battered look. This is what you get when there's a stiff northerly breeze blowing in from the sea. We stop at the end of the path that leads to the shore and watch a dozen cormorants drying their wings on the rocks. Sophie has now reached an age where she's happy to stand and watch rather than bark and chase.

The super smart Los Angeleans are on the phone early. They think that 60% of Chinas population will suffer Covid symptoms in the next 90 days. That's 10% of the worlds population. Covid was one of those words that I'd hoped I wouldn't hear again.

Parking is now easy. That strange time of the year when the students and staff have all gone and the holiday makers haven't yet arrived. This morning we park outside the wee house in town and detour through an open gate to to the good coffee cafe. We pass the hotel with the sausage dispensing French chef but he's  nowhere to be seen. 

On the shopping street a sign that says ' Ladies that love to shop love pretty things'. There is a political incorrectness to this that makes me laugh. Sophie is much more interested in some dogs on the other side of the Belisha beacon.

Spring  and the onset of weather warm enough to allow grooming ( and baths ) can't come a moment  too soon.  Sophie's un-aerodynamic shape is getting more anvil like with each passing day. The family diva is more than happy to prioritize warmth over style but her fur is continuing to grow at an impressive rate.

 Christmas song #17 :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj7Z4ZdwjjU

Christmas song #16

The forecast says that warmer weather is on the way after last weeks deep freeze. So far there's no sign of things heating up here on the coast. A piercing wind greets dog and master as they head out of the front door.

The tide has gone out and the sand is frozen solid. The PONette is not quite sure about this. We walk a mile down the beach and a mile back up it. A few balaclava wearing joggers pass us. Sophie finds an old rubber ball which she 'requisitions'. This is the cause for much happiness. She snorts with delight.

On our return leg along the beach we see an early morning swimmer who sprints from his car into the sea. The rubber ball is forgotten and the swimmer becomes the focus of the PONettes attention. Angus wonders how long anyone could survive in the North Sea in temperatures like this. Sophie, sensibly, maintains a healthy distance between her paws and the water.

We're the first and only customers at the good coffee cafe. The students have largely gone although as I'm ordering a group of half a dozen Singaporean girls arrive to order their Americanos. They ignore me and surround Sophie who is more than willing to be tickled and fawned over. The girls have opted to stay in Scotland over the holidays to get ahead of next semesters course work. From what I can hear they seem to have a busy social calendar over the next few weeks. Forays to London and Paris are planned.

Sophie and Angus stand on the empty pavement and share a pain au raisin. The bowl of water outside the door is fresh so hasn't had a chance to freeze over. Angus is surprised to see a veggan haggis roll on the menu.

This week we're expecting the carpet fitter, the electrician, the plumber and the decorators to show up. It's also the village carol service. The surgeon out walking her dog tells me we should really make an effort to go. 'It's really quite batty '.

An unusual sound. Christmas song #16 from Bavaria :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhUzz1ph1Qk

Christmas song #15

Village pig greets us enthusiastically. Sophie moves so that Angus is strategically placed between her and this noisy beast. As all PONettes know prudence is the better part of valour. 'The Font' claims to have seen five piglets in the undergrowth yesterday but there's no sign of them this morning. How wonderful it would be to have new village residents in time for Christmas. Someone - presumably one of the Jack Russell owners - has been along earlier and left some iceberg lettuce and orange peel for village pig.

Warmer this morning although it's still hovering near freezing. The biting wind has gone which makes our start of day walk easier. We don't see many aircraft overhead up here but there's a contrail of a large four engined plane lumbering more than flying due north. I'm guessing an LAX or SFO flight heading to the arctic and then down on the great circle route across Canada.

The puddles which have been covered in a thick layer of ice all week are now beginning to thaw. Sophie stops every hundred yards or so for a lengthy and noisily indecorous slurp. Puddle water is infinitely preferable to fresh water from a bowl at home.

Outside a restaurant in town what remains of a snow man. It's been slowly but surely shrinking since we first saw it on Friday morning. I'm guessing that it's the offspring of students celebrating an end of exams dinner. The cold temperatures at night have extended its life although what's left is a mere shadow of its earlier glory. Perhaps there's a Christmas book in there - The little snow man that refused to melt.

A carrot and some chocolate buttons - the snow mans facial features - have somehow survived.

'That' voice and the tenderest of carols. Christmas song #15  :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpO9iNgjBCs

Christmas song #14

Yesterday, the builders phoned to say that the roads were blocked and that try as they might they couldn't make it out to the 'wee cottage'. Odd that. We had no difficulty in getting into town, and back, for our morning coffee and later for a trip to the supermarket. Parcel Force and the refuse collectors also managed to make it out to see us. Two Oscar winners for creative embellishment stand out. The carpet fitter said he'd tried three times but the roads were axle deep in drifting snow and completely impassable . The electrician was slightly less theatrical - he merely said his van couldn't make it up the hill because of the ice. At least they called. They both promise - faithfully - to be with us next week. I could have told them we'd found the roads they found impassable completely trouble free. There again why ruin a good snow day ?

Out to the east the sky has a snow laden look. Sophie is delighted.  It's possible a blizzard may head our way. In conditions like this I'm keen to complete our morning tour of the village as quickly as possible. Sophie has different ideas. This is the perfect day for a long bracing walk. She heads off across the field. I follow. Scents are all the better for being deep frozen. 

This morning my companion discover the wonders of running onto frozen puddles and then scotting across them legs akimbo. This is repeated five times. What joy there is in having the fur on your belly coated in ice. 

Finally,  the family diva is 'encouraged' home. This is one of those days when a dog owner can never have enough towels or blankets. 

Back to Africa. A toe tapping Christmas song #13:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NxGOsdEzVw

Christmas song #13

Last night we finished 'You're dead to me ' on Netflix. Is there any plot twist that wasn't used by the writers ? 

We return from our morning tour of the village. Sophie's paws hint that a thaw is on the way. Where once there was ice, now there is mud. A thaw means that there is a strong probability of heavy snow later this morning. Already a bank of cloud is forming just off the coast. Further south there have been reports of a foot of snow falling on the Edinburgh road  and creating havoc for rush hour travellers. Angus thinks the chance of us seeing any of the workmen who promised to show up today - or of getting deliveries - is exactly zero.

Time enough for a quick trip into town. The gritter trucks are out.  Outside the good coffee cafe we find one very sad lady waiting for her family to pick up their lattes.

The very sad lady decides that she doesn't want to have a lengthy conversation with an exuberant Sophie. She turns her back and ignores the family diva. Sophie simply cannot understand this.

Down to the harbour to meet the lobster fisherman. He's been out since three but has come ashore as the clouds build.  Lobsters he can sell. Langoustines are 'exotic' and therefore harder to shift. We take a dozen. Sophie is greatly taken with the smell of the lobster creels. She is 'encouraged' back to the car. 

The quay side is deserted- the students are gone and other dog walkers are presumably tucked up in bed to avoid the coming snowmageddon.

This Scottish fiddle music popped into the inbox overnight . What a coincidence. Filmed down by the harbour where the lobster boat docks - Christmas song #13 :https://youtu.be/KY2iW9813u8?t=4

Christmas song #12

Four months since we moved North. The 'Last Wee House before Denmark' is slowly getting into some form of shape in a two steps forward, one step back, kind of way. Yesterday, the planning permission for the new garden room was submitted, the electricians showed up to install new lights in the garden ( and left again as they didn't have the right cabling ) and the carpet layer confirmed he'd be here on Saturday. We've finally opted for the ultra modern broad stripe .The company that delivers fuel oil texted to say - with studied imprecision -  they'd be a 'couple of days ' late. The new kitchen has been designed and the supplier would like a deposit  but the joiner has gone down with the flu and hasn't signed off on the final plan.

We're heading into the winter solstace. This far north it's barely light at seven thirty. Sophie gets ready for her tour of the village by the lights on the Christmas tree. The lady in the shop tells me that these new tree lights will only use 2p of electricity every hour. This sounds reasonable for these straitened times. What she doesn't tell me is that the 3000 lights have a fade in and fade out programme built in. 'The Font' reckons we can learn to live with this. 

The new star at the top of the tree is temperamental. This morning it has slumped to a 30 degree angle. We put this down to overnight temperature changes . The alternative explanation would be field mice sheltering in the relative warmth of the conservatory and clambering up the tree.

A  ribbon of white snow on the hills on the far side of the estuary. There is a bitter easterly wind this morning. Angus is keen to get home and into the warmth. His companion is in one of her lets dawdle moods. Why not enjoy this splendid weather ? Every blade of grass is closely examined.  My impatience is ignored and admonitions to get a move on fall on deaf ( although freshly trimmed ) ears.

By the time the PONette gets into the back of the car ( that Volvo key fob setting that allows you to clear the ice from the windows and have the heating blasting away is a Godsend on a morning like this ) her fur has developed a 'lived in' look. It's so cold this morning that the heating element in the steering wheel has switched on. This is an option I didn't know we had.

At the cafe there is a vocal moment when the family diva discovers there's a thin layer of ice on the dog bowl. This problem is quickly corrected and peace descends. A shared pain au raisin helps things settle down.

In the absence of students the town is deserted. Things should pick up again when the first of the out of towners stream in for their Christmas or Hogmanay stays at the big golf hotels.

Christmas song #12 . Some Handel from Ghana :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzDfoOe5ENk

Christmas song #11

 

Caught a scam just in time yesterday. A gutter cleaning company dropped off a personalized leaflet in the letter box. Just what was needed to clear out the old unused birds nests in the down pipes. Checked out the company online. Also checked them out with the Companies House website. Good reviews and fifteen years of unblemished trading history. Phoned the number at the bottom of the leaflet  and agreed a time for them to come and a price. Both were reasonable. The charming young lady on the other end of the phone asked for my credit card details which I gave. Guess what ? Within seconds a charge was applied to the account that was very different from what had been agreed. Misappropriation of a genuine traders identity is a new one on me. Got the credit card company just in time. Just because the name is that of an honest company doesn't mean the person you're talking to works for them. In future I'll always check the phone numbers.

Another bright and sunny but bitterly cold morning. There's a bank of cloud offshore which is forecast to 'burn off' in the sunshine. The family diva joins me for a quick detour into town for a coffee, bowl of water and shared pain au raisin.  Sophie has discovered that frozen puddles can be alarmingly slippery. 

The sound of Christmas carols wafts up from the forecourt of the museum. A group of lady brass band enthusiasts are playing away to a non-existent audience. Their bucket is empty so I slip them a fiver.  How dispiriting it must be not to make your petrol costs. They all stop mid-tune and wish me a Happy Christmas. Why they should be playing to an empty forecourt on a cold exam day morning is unexplained. They'd do much better on one of the shopping streets.

Christmas song #11. Very Stanford :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnBcqV1PoNU

Christmas song #10

100 yards into our morning walk and the wind has sculpted Sophie's fur into a spikey Goth style. The PONette is not entirely sure about this. The rest of the country seems to be suffering from snow and sub-zero conditions ( https://youtu.be/-fSNl4a_3Ig?list=TLPQMTMxMjIwMjI4Es5jnaTzRQ&t=1137 ) but here at our isolated 'last house before Denmark' location the ground is dry and the sky is completely cloudless.

Half an hour and a tour of the village later and Sophie's  sporting a  straight  out of the spin dryer  look. Super fluffy.  Northerly winds will do that to a girl. An inch or so of the hair at the end of her ears was cut yesterday to make drinking from puddles easier. The hair over her eyes was also shortened to help her see. Looking at the end result  this morning I wonder if 'The Font' has taken enough off. In fact I wonder if 'The Font' took any off.

Into town for a coffee, a bowl of water and a shared pain au raisin. One good thing about the Volvo - you can get the engine started and the windows de-iced by pressing a button on the key fob five minutes before you want to head off. Sophie settles down for the journey in the back of a warm car

The good coffee cafe is once again empty. Seems  that the exodus of students after their exams is well underway. Pity the poor youngsters who have to wait until this coming Friday for their final tests. We stop off at the fancy shop for a star for the top of the Christmas tree - the previous one having got lost in the move back from France. I quietly wonder if the new owners of The Rickety Old Farmhouse have discovered the seven strands of Christmas tree lights that lurk, somewhere , in the cellar.

Scottish Starbucks bears in the local Starbucks. There are also St.Andrews Starbucks mugs. I can see that city themed mugs would work in a major urban centre but in a small town with a population of 18,000 ?

No puddle drinking today. The harsh frost overnight has frozen the water rock solid. The diva may have to drink the fresh water in her bowl in the kitchen.

Christmas song #10. Not the usual tune :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDYgl8qafXw

Christmas song #9

 

Out on the hill we meet a 30's something couple with a young black labrador on a lead. I say a cheerful 'Good Morning'. The couple ignore me and look resolutely ahead. Sophie wonders why a young dog would be kept on a lead in the depth of the country. Angus wonders what kind of people would ignore a cheerful 'Good Morning'. Takes all sorts. Both of them are wearing 'impractical' shoes which might indicate they're out of towners who've rented a house on the coast for the festive season. 

A squall blows up. Sudden squalls bring with them great light shows. The sky to the north darkens to black as gusts of sleet bear down on us. Then, where the estuary meets the bay, the rising sun turns the black clouds yellow, then salmon pink, then red. The whole thing is very Fingals Cave. The squall remains out at sea which means dog and companion are windswept but dry.

The Christmas tree is up. We asked for an eight footer but got a six footer. What it lacks in height it makes up for in girth. The few ornaments brought from France seem to have survived the journey. Only one was broken although the star for the  top has gone AWOL. The tree has been put up in the horrid, and soon to be replaced,1980's era conservatory. The wind howls through the conservatory windows which keeps the temperature inside at a chilly ten degrees which should stop needle drop.

And so we segue towards Christmas. The rest of the country seems to be suffering heavy snow and bitter cold but out here on the coast it's windy but mild. Back in France the temperatures fell to minus five last night with colder weather forecast. The villagers have been told to expect power cuts. After two years of Covid lockdowns and dislocations the old mayor thinks a few power outages will go unnoticed.

The Christmas creche has also survived its return journey north although we remain unsure where to put it.

Christmas song #9 - a favourite from last year :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyEjH7YDmMM

Christmas song #8

 

More half hearted snow on the ground this morning. Down on the beach Sophie sees an excited puppy playing with an orange ball. For the family diva this is a state of affairs that must be investigated. How can this puppy be enjoying itself without her there to organize matters ?  Puppy is of the hyper active type. This can no longer be said about Sophie who is settling into her 'grande dame' age.  The puppy dances around her, does back flips and rolls on its back. The family diva has a look on her face halfway between bemusement and shock. Having satisfied herself that Jaffa Cakes are not to be found Sophie continues her morning walk. Some companions - even if they have an orange ball - are simply too active. She turns and looks at me right in the eyes as if to say 'I could have done back flips like that if I'd wanted to !'. " Of course you could" I find myself saying out loud. 

The patio doors have slumped slightly on their hinges and do a poor job at blocking the drafts when the wind blows from the north. We stop off at the hardware store for some draft excluder. This morning  a pile of snow shovels have made an appearance in the display of goods outside. This can't be a good sign.

The hardware store has a large selection of plastic garden animals. These never seem to sell although the prices are periodically adjusted higher.

The store also has an unheated Christmas decoration section. Angus wonders if these four monochrome gnomes are for sale or are an 'installation' ?

On our way home we detour to the butcher for a rack of lamb. The butcher chats away to my companion but doesn't give her a sausage.

A Teutonic Christmas song #8 :https://youtu.be/tJYvbPhkoTY?t=92

 A small Scottish company that has made lampshades for inside the wee cottage. :https://www.dorvallighting.co.uk/

 

Christmas song # 7

A dusting of snow this morning. On our tour of the village Sophie is intrigued to find that the puddles have all frozen over. She discovers that by walking on them she can break the ice and have a drink. How cool is that ? Cracking ice also makes a very satisfying noise. 

I reckon 40% of her body mass must now be fur. This comes in handy in a Scottish coastal winter. 

The town is emptying out now. Students finishing their exams and heading off to warmer climes. The threat of Christmas week rail strikes a further spur to getting home early.  Down on the Chariots of Fire beach the family diva sees a student making a snowball. She becomes transfixed... as in completely transfixed. The snowball gets larger and larger as the student rolls it across the snowy sand. It seems to have a life of its own. She's put on the lead and I try to coax her away. She refuses to budge.  Sophie's finally let off the lead so she can go and sniff it. 

From Sophie's perspective the snowball is magical. It moves but has no scent. What sort of wonder is this ? Eight long, chilly, minutes are spent observing or sniffing the snowball until the family diva decides it's time to move on. A PONettes life is full of amazing discoveries. The student, it transpires, is a dog lover from Omaha, Nebraska. He's waiting to head off for a United flight from Edinburgh to the US. Now, that's going to be a complex journey home.

We head into town and stop off for a warming bacon roll, a Jaffa Cake and a bowl of water. We are the only customers who venture outside.

The fish lady appears at the garden centre cafe. She shows up once a week. We order some lobsters for Christmas Eve. Lemon Sole - which was hard to find in France - is a big thing here. I pick up half a kilo...caught this morning.

Didn't even know this was a thing. Only in America. Christmas song #7 :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiUDWMX0jsw

What toy was 'hot' the year you were born :https://stacker.com/retrospective/top-holiday-toys-year-you-were-born