under another sun

Up not too early. Had a chat with Mog's parents Shelia and Peter, and into Wester Cottage to have coffee and a bit of breakfast with Sam and Jade. A bus day today. We caught the bus to St Monan and The East Pier Smokehouse . Gorgeous food, which I washed down with a glass of cider. Lorraine had a sea bass, head and all, Jade had half a lobster, and Sam had mackerel. Easily the best haddock I have ever tasted.  Then a walk along the coastal path towards Elie. Utterly gorgeous walk along a rugged coast, full of colours that changed as rapidly as the weather. One minute in full sun, the next cowering from rain. Lots of sea birds, of different species, butterflies, wildflowers, and the Firth of Forth looking gorgeous and brooding.  At one point, quite near the end of our walk, the rain started falling with a good deal of enthusiasm, so we mooched off the path into the Address Farm, where there was a farm shop where we had some soft drinks, from which Lorraine bought some garl...

Slept pretty well, and wandered downstairs and out of Mog and Jerome's house and into Sam and Jade's home. A strong Sam style cup of coffee and toast and Lorraine's seedy breakfast and all was well. Jade drove us to St Andrews, where she works. She was a great tour guide today. We looked at the amazing building Jade works in, and the castle ruin, and along the coast for a couple of hundred metres to a small harbour, where people were fishing for crabs with ground lines. Looming behind us were the remains of a medieval castle, framing sections of the sky. Next food. Went to eat on the pavement outside a cafe, and as the day was warm and fine, and the whole thing felt unexpectedly mediterranean. I ate an unbelievably healthy salady vegan style dish. Afterwards Jade became guided us through town through academic courtyards of mowed lawns and centuries old buildings and into a wonderful bookshop, where I bought Alasdair Gray's  The Ends of Our Tethers, 13 sorry stories , an...