Christmas song #10

On our way down to the heron pond the farmers two teenage sons stop us for a wee blether. They are keen Scotland supporters and reckon they can go to the World Cup on a joint budget of £7,000. This is the sum of their two bank accounts and what they reckon they can earn by doing additional work around the farm over the Christmas holidays. They want to know if £65 a night will get them a hotel room in New York. " That should be no problem at 'aw " says the elder with the logic defying certainty that is peculiar to seventeen year olds. Angus isn't sure where you can find a hotel for that much anywhere in the US but suggests they Google the prices of hotels in Philadelphia and use that as a base to travel from. This is a 'letting them down gently' strategy. The cost of food doesn't seem to have entered into their calculations.  Basic tickets for the Haiti-Scotland game ( ie those seats that are high up in the stands and where the view is partially obstructed by a pillar )  are going for $265 if you can get one. Slightly better 'Standard' tickets are going to cost $500. A single seat for the final match will cost more than their combined budget. This is an expense that is unlikely to face Scots fans as they may be home well before then.

The Christmas tree is up and the creche has been set out on a shelf on the half landing.

Considering it comes from the Communist era Czechoslovak Socialist Republic the creche has survived being dragged around for the last four and a half decades in remarkably good condition. One of the angels has had a dual wing malfunction but this is soon put right with a dab or two of super glue. The creche may yet move.

We pass a dozen chaffinches sitting sunning themselves on the long grass down by the 4th tee. There's a crackling sound in the air as they open the seed pods with their beaks and hoover up the goodies inside. The second I bring out the i-Phone to take a picture eleven of them fly off. Can you see the remaining one that's unbothered by our presence ? If only someone would make a phone with a great zoon lens.

A few students hurry along quietly  getting in a few holes before the ticket office opens.

The beach sauna is busy. It's being used by four pretty girls and one Scots lad. Every so often they charge down onto the beach and then, ten minutes later, return to warm up. Someone has put a Christmas wreath on the side of the sauna. Every day the town quietly becomes more festive. This may come as a surprise to J D Vance who seems to think we follow Sharia law and traditions.

Only 72 views so far for Christmas song #10 from Linkoping in Sweden. Some of the echoing chords have a very medieval sound that wells up:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5haGB3_ypc&list=RDl5haGB3_ypc&start_radio=1  The girl fourth from the right seems to be feeling the cold.

Weekend reading :

The all important role of sleep :https://www.sciencealert.com/one-critical-factor-predicts-longevity-better-than-diet-or-exercise-study-says

Irans water problem isn't getting better :https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/irans-water-crisis-a-national-security-imperative/

Coke shows how not to do it :https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/how-coca-colas-calories-out-myth-backfired-spectacularly/

The success of Singapore:https://www.richardhanania.com/p/human-capital-not-industrial-policy

Amsterdam hip :https://www.dylanamsterdam.com/

Young journalists uncover some interesting facts :https://www.digitaldigging.org/p/they-droned-back

Christmas music #9

We get an e-mail informing us that it's the 40th birthday of the Union Square Cafe in Manhattan. Back then we used to be regular visitors. In those distant days NY was ( alongside SF ) a foodie haven in a land of overcooked pork chops. We toyed with the idea of an apartment in the Flatiron building opposite but decided the druggies in Union Square would never leave and it wouldn't be a good family investment. How wrong could you be ? Today the neighbourhood is much changed and decidedly more chi chi....and expensive :https://madisonsquarepark.org/art/exhibitions/larry-bell-improvisations-in-the-park/  

Thursday afternoon. Some hearty youngsters race onto the beach, tear off their clothes and charge -laughing- into the water. An end of exams celebration. Their immersion in the North Sea lasts all of two minutes before the water temperature makes them think better of it. They retrace their steps and head off to find warmer  ways to mark the event.

It's stopped raining which means the men who are installing the irrigation system on the Old Course can get back to work. Yesterday, it was too wet for them to do anything. Puddles the size of small lakes formed. The local duck population were delighted.

Angus thinks of getting 'The Font' an electric bike for Christmas. After half an hour with Greg the electric bike expert I'm less sure this is a good idea. They make a lot of sense in town but are less suited to those who live at the end of a long heavily potholed farm track. The suggested bike costs 50% more than the £1800 we paid for our first 'new' car in 1977. This was a stylish but eccentrically built Peugeot 205 GTi. Hit a bump in the road at anything over 30mph and the switches would pop out of the fascia. In those days we thought it was chic. Today I shudder in horror at how basic it was. More go kart than car .

The Tiger Woods-Justin Timberlake sports bar opens at five and closes at eleven. These seem to be rather staid opening hours. Half of the students aren't even getting into the swing of things by eleven pm. The manager thinks the lobby has a ' glitzy LA look '. Glitzy clearly has a variety of meanings. I'm also not sure that this is what a Californian would describe as an LA look. In fact with the exception of a marble front to the bar I'd say little has changed although two strands of red rope do hint at sophistication hidden inside.

After Storm Bram the weather has perked up and we  (briefly) get some sunshine. Parking is a doddle.

Christmas song #9 :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GZ47sSy5HY

A sensible response without descending into TDS :https://samf.substack.com/p/the-enemy-within

Routines are important :https://bigthinkmedia.substack.com/p/why-your-brain-needs-everyday-rituals

Latin America :https://uvamillercenter.substack.com/p/the-new-monroe-doctrine

Good croissants in Edinburgh :https://www.lannanbakery.com/

Glass bottles are best :https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-health-risks-of-bottled-water-268513

Another example of 'civilizational erasure ? 'The Font' observes that of all the  embassies in DC the Norwegian has the most popular Instagram page. It is very popular with young ladies who work in the State Department :https://www.instagram.com/p/DPCeCSpkjh0/?hl=en

Christmas song #8

Gusting wind and torrential rain leave the town deserted. It's also cold. Far out to sea the sky has a deep blood red glow which doesn't auger well. There's a large fleet of idle golf trolleys lined up outside the starters hut. The locals for whom  sensible rainwear is a given now have the place to themselves. The hotels and restaurants are super quiet apart from a few parents here to pick up offspring that have finished their exams. You can see them at night peering at the gloom from brightly lit restaurant windows and wondering why their little angels chose to come here rather than Oxford. Next week the exodus of youngsters will become a flood. The cannier amongst them will have made seat reservations on the (super crowded) trains heading south.

With the arrival of winter the turf outside the golf club has four months to recuperate before next years golf addicts arrive. The grass already has a pristine look to it.

We head off to the fancy food shop. They have French and Venetian candles.

They also have exotic Christmas puddings. There was a time when 'The Font' made them but now we buy them. Some Christmas tasks are too labour intensive for a small kitchen.  This years pudding is coming from a restaurant we ate at in the Lake District a couple of months aga. A backup ( should the courier not arrive ) has been ordered from Bettys.

'The Font' is delighted to discover Italian Truffle Honey on the shelves.

Christmas song #8 . Three Tirolean men with golden walking sticks. One of them maintains a wry smile throughout which suggests he may have had a glass of schnapps beforehand :https://youtu.be/ClZmDIJ0u7Y?list=RDClZmDIJ0u7Y&t=2

This helps me understand what's going on in Venezuela better :https://fpif.org/the-geopolitics-of-trumps-venezuela-campaign/

Proof the vaccines were worth it :https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2842305

Mysteries:https://www.nasa.gov/missions/osiris-rex/sugars-gum-stardust-found-in-nasas-asteroid-bennu-samples/

Christmas song # 7

A few hardy dog walkers are out and about on the beach. The rain is heavy and the wind strong so most folks are sensibly staying dry and warm inside. Archie, the arthritic labrador, seems oblivious to the elements and plods along at a stately pace. His owner attempts to get him to hurry along but is ignored. The Met Office forecast shows it raining every day for the next two weeks. The silver lining is the forecast is almost always wrong. 

The Sanderlings are out in force. Of all the birds that call the shoreline their home the Sanderlings are a favourite. They scurry back and forth with a determination to avoid the waves that manages to be  both comical and intense :https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/sanderling . Out here at the last wee house a sparrow hawk has been roosting in the doocot. All the smaller birds ( with the exception of the wrens who remain safe in the bramble thickets ) have wisely moved on to safer spots. 

More biscuits for cheese being set out in the supermarket. Whoever knew cream crackers were so popular? The lady at the front door informs cheerily us that they'll be open from seven in the morning until nine at night in the run up to Christmas. She says half an hour before the doors close is when a surprising number of people discover the turkey they ordered isn't going to be delivered in time by the courier firm.

In the bakers a new sideline - chocolate pizzas and chocolate 'fish and chips ' ( and lipsticks ). These must appeal to a extremely youthful demographic. The white chocolate chips look particularly unappealing.

Even the pizza chain is getting into the full on seasonal spirit. Who knew that ' Cola glazed Ham Hock Romana ' was a thing ? In fact it's more than a thing - it's the ' ultimate Christmas crowd pleaser '. 'The Font' is of the view that Cola glazed Ham is a sure sign we're on the way to 'civilizational erasure'.

Christmas song # 7 sung in a very rustic 'Suffolk' way. There is something of a  'Grandma's been at the cooking sherry' vibe to this performance :https://youtu.be/0EAbKsXVXtA?list=PLz4WJxnUfxraquNmpSuftdXubUwqMWvuK&t=46

Will this Philippines brand come to St Andrews? They seem to have hit all the other main student towns Has anyone eaten here ? :https://www.jollibee.uk/

Not really happy the UK has sunk to #20 on this list. Still, better than some others :https://factsinstitute.com/ranking/countries-ranked-by-freedom-of-press/

It's been almost six years since we were last in China. Seems a lot has changed :https://christophermschroeder.substack.com/p/parallel-universes-my-notes-from

Christmas song #6

Outside the museum the brass band are collecting for charity. Dogs and their owners on their way back fom the beach stop to listen to this very Victorian sound. Not all the dogs seem enamoured with brass bands. A group of pre-schoolers and their mothers, having dropped of their siblings at kindergarten, sing along enthusiastically if atonally. I wonder if the sound of the band playing Good King Wenceslas reaches as far as the exam halls on the far end of the street ? 

It has poured torrentially overnight and more monsoon like rain is expected later this morning. Scotland seems to be getting warmer but wetter. Later in the day Storm Bram is forecast to add strong winds to the mix. The workmen installing the new irrigation system on the golf course in this lengthy downpour must wonder if someone up there is taking the Mickey.

An Alpaca farmer has parked his van outside the fish and chip shop. Trips to the alpaca farm are popular with families trying to keep their children busy and entertained in the run up to Christmas.

The baker has at least a dozen varieties of his all purpose biscuit - Burns Night, Easter,  Graduation, Valentines Day - the list goes on. With the arrival of  Christmas he's getting close to the end of the annual biscuit repertoire. Only the Hogmanay edition is left. The biscuits started off the year at £1.65 and end the year costing £1.95. The red ones look very festive.

A difficult choice for Angus this morning . Sponge Snowman or Orange Truffle Christmas Pudding ? Both would be a suitably cheerful end to todays lunch .

Christmas song #6 by one of the worlds best choirs. The scarves and Christmas jumpers leave no doubt that this is a very English performance :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBCYZ9jIJkI&list=RDcBCYZ9jIJkI&start_radio=1

None of our dogs would have been able to sit on a stool let alone be trained to do this :https://x.com/TimNolanTV/status/1997728075610812480

We have never been to Las Vegas so are ill placed to comment on this :https://slate.com/business/2025/11/las-vegas-travel-sphere-hotel-donald-trump.html

Christmas song #5

Reality dawned sooner than I thought. Much sooner. The Sunday papers lead with the discovery that the cost of hotels and airfares are soaring ahead of the World Cup. A flight plus ten days in a La Quinta Inn near Atlanta airport will cost a Tartan Army follower more than £10k. If you want to see all three of Scotlands qualifying matches it will be a multiple of that. I'll wager that all our soccer mad local workmen will be keen to do a lot of cash raising overtime the closer we get to the big event. Those floor tiles in the downstairs shower room that have been waiting for the last six months may finally get laid.

It poured torrentially overnight. Out here at  'The last wee house before Denmark' the crow population are enjoying the wind free morning. They're sitting in a line drying their wings on the stone field wall. This morning we also see six cormorants flying in formation and two swans heading to somewhere only they know.

To say town in term time is quiet would be an understatement. In the evening the pubs are empty, the streets deserted. This will of course not be the case on Friday night when exam week ends. The close of semester 'blow out' beckons.

At the other, golf course, end of town there is much activity.  Men in orange overalls are hard at work. An irrigation system with sprinklers is being installed on the sacred turf. Divots of grass are scattered everywhere.  I'm surprised some bright spark hasn't driven down in the night and liberated a few. On line ' Genuine St Andrews Old Course grass '  would fetch a tidy sum.

You know climate change is really a thing when irrigation systems are installed on what used to be ( and for all I know may still be ) one of the wettest and windiest golf courses on the planet.

A rather formal Christmas song #5 from Berlin. Beautiful sound but I can't claim the choir look as if they're enjoying themselves :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuqYxPD4ZWI&list=RDHuqYxPD4ZWI&start_radio=1

A Canadians view on what's going on :https://substack.com/home/post/p-180946797

A Finnish Independence Day music snippet :https://x.com/TallbarFIN/status/1997592651827380643

Sobering but well written and right :https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/europe-is-under-siege

Christmas song #4

 Sunday morning in a small, rainy and very quiet university town in Scotland.

A flashing blue and white penguin stands on guard outside the ice-cream shop. The thing is, in its own way, quite remarkable. It wasn't here yesterday when we passed by. I'm guessing it will attract droves of four year olds ( and their parents ) as they come out of the pantomime in the theatre on the other side of the road.

Abandoned at the bakers doorway. The mournful look on this dogs face makes it quite clear that to be tied up and left so close to the croissants is a cruel and unusual punishment.

Through the rain streaked windows of Parliament Hall we see exam desks being set out. For the medical students who have nine o'clock tests tomorrow morning this sight is a good reason to double their pace towards the library. Usually, you don't see many students up and about before nine. This morning there are a lot of teenagers trying to squeeze in as much 'revision' as they can. Many must be vowing to spend less time partying in the New Year. 

Something very innocent and festive about these young London buskers. Christmas song #4 :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7tQhCLAXoA

Weekend reading

Colour of the year. Off white :https://sarahsewell.substack.com/p/pantones-2026-color-of-the-year-cloud

This woman makes the Kings sgian-dubhs :https://www.ellismhairicameron.com/products/sgian-dubh-iii?_pos=3&_sid=d29a6f75b&_ss=r

Much debate this week as to whether $140k is enough for a family to live on in the US :https://thepurse.substack.com/p/weekly-roundup-december-5

Rosemary Kennedy:https://www.historydefined.net/rosemary-kennedy

RIP Tom Stoppard. He was remarkable :https://tinabrown.substack.com/p/why-tom-stoppard-was-the-real-thing