We’ve been in Saint Andrews for several days now. The days leading up to arriving as well as the next 36 hours were filled with fog and rain. Saint Andrews is a quaint town but when you’re fogged in it takes away from the feel of a cute coastal town (or at least what you can do in it). Since then, however, we’ve had one beautiful day after another and we’re really starting to warm to the town.

This is a town of 1,800 registered tax payers, being September we’re past the rush of summer tourists but there is still good life in the town before October when most shops close and the seasonal folks all head out of town. Being a small town life moves slower here and trust is more easy to come by. Two great examples:

1. The moment you step onto the road cars will stop and let you pass. There are no frustrated faces in the car windows, they don’t make desparaging remarks, nor do they speed away once you’ve passed. They’re just not in an hurry and stopping to let you cross is no big deal.
2. I forgot to bring cufflinks to the wedding and while I had a backup shirt that didn’t need them I’d have preferred to wear the one that did. So this morning I set out to find some cufflinks in one of the stores knowing full well that it was quite unlikely that I’d find any. The first shop I tried apologized and said that maybe next door at the jewlery store I’d have better luck (although they thought it was unlikely). Indeed the jewlery shop was just more bad news, they only got about one request a year for cufflinks and only had them in a catalog that I could order from. As I was gearing to leave, the owner called me back and asked if I’d be around tomorrow. I said I would but that I needed them today. He then suggested that his father had given him cufflinks and I could borrow his if I’d return them tomorrow. Wow. I offered money and he refused. Very cool. You wouldn’t find that kind of hospitality in London (or any large city for that matter).

Today is the day of the wedding and unfortunately it looks like rain all day only to be replaced by more beautiful weather again tomorrow. It’s bad timing but I think we’ll all have fun anyway and hopefully Dirk and Vanessa don’t feel too bad about their bout with mother nature.

Tomorrow, after dropping off the cufflnks, we’re off to Maine for a day and then back to Montreal and our flight back on Monday. I’ll post pictures of the trip as soon as I can.