A little coastal wander yesterday - St Monans to Anstruther

A completely normal waxing gibbous moon, apparently. Any perceived redness that you might think portends, say, a rain of blood, speaks entirely of your own mental state...

Looks idyllic but don't be fooled. Have just met a student in shock after being mugged for her pastry by a seagull near Middle Meadow Walk

Lovely family holiday mostly by rail in London, Utrecht and Berlin. Yes, sights, culture, history, food, etc, but the real highlights were 1) watching people ride bikes on traffic-calmed tree-lined streets & 2) my first barrier-free modern public transport system with fully integrated ticketing

Update from Glenmore Lodge regarding the Cairngorms wildfire

Controversial but I may be enjoying watching people cycle in Berlin even more than I did in Utrecht

A warm evening in Utrecht

Dutch & English share proto-German roots, so we can sometimes make out what a Dutch word means. Using the word in context can help. For example "The independent space warrior slapped Nigel in the kookwinkel"

Utrecht helpfully highlighting for other cities what a normal amount of cycling looks like

City to tourists: drop dead, the trees were here first

Ridiculously good meal at Dolan Uyghur Cuisine in London including Lampung - hand-cut mungbean-noodle salad with a wonderful sour sauce

Not usually a fan of adventure games but the storytelling in Firewatch is excellent, the setting in a National Forest near Yellowstone NP obviously works for me, and, also, in what other game do you get your own shit trowel?

Yes climate change & further south red weather warnings but also this on today's run up Blackford Hill

Forecast for my 2 day trip to London the week:

Looking forward to Supergirl next Friday because I've loved the way Gunn approaches superhero movies with humour and heart since Guardians - the fact that people in all the worst online niches are hating on it is just gravy

Finally made it to the Scotsman Picturehouse and it seems it was worth the wait

The East Lothian coast once again demonstrating that grey really isn't a great synonym for boring or depressing

First train from Edinburgh to London cancelled this morning and I'm afraid the suggestion we check the cesspit formally known as Twitter for updates is just adding insult to injury @nationalrail.bsky.social

Increasingly finding my much loved Meindl Bhutan boots were battering my toes on multi-day walks, especially with a full pack, so switching to a Hanwag Banks SF for an even wider toe box. Was feeling bad about retiring the Meindls 'early' before I realised they'd done 10 hard years

Sea squall on the path from Gullane to North Berwick

#Pop26 starting on Middle Meadow Walk and finishing down the setts of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh

#PoP26 South Edinburgh assemble @pedalonparliament.org

Amelie meets Leon, una pelicula de Wes Anderson - beautifully, weirdly, wonderfully good (not Wes Anderson, obviously, or French, or Spanish, as it happens)

Turns out finding walks that are longish, low, near roads & new to me for my Lowland Leader prep is harder than I was expecting but the Gorebridge to Temple circuit in this morning's sunshine was a gem

Rain here in Edinburgh had gone bouncy

Not normally a fan of Barney's beers but this cucumber and dill sour delivered - sharp, bright & full of flavour. Will definitely be back to Folly Spirts Labs on Calton Road as it's now officially my work local when I'm occasionally in 'the office'

Morning light on the Pentlands

Enjoying the piped birdsong being played instead of muzak at my departure gate in Auckland, except that it turns out the source is actual sparrows which have invaded the airport - even better

Irrational complacency is the new irrational exuberance - global share markets decide a war in the middle east severely curtailing trade is fine because a theocracy obsessed with martyrdom & a President with the emotional stability of a toddler on meth will definitely work things out soon

Perhaps the more significant marker in the park is this standing stone that honours Rongo, Maori god of agriculture & especially Kumara (sweet potato). This was the staple food before the arrival of European crops & you would also worship it if you had good roasted or chipped Kumara