Scotland The Brave, World Over

This flag has seen stalwart service oversees: across the pond in America.
His Lordship used it a celebratory wrap in the Bay to Breakers run in San Francisco a few years ago.

He of course was fully clothed beneath it unlike many of the other competitors.
This being a fun run (for most of us), being staged in California and San Francisco in particular, there were many weird sights en route, from the totally naked to the lightly fig- leafed. There were families running where the only clothed member was the baby in the pram.

All good fun, but being prudish Scots, we were suitably attired and had possibly the last laugh as we approached the finish at the ocean end in the rain and cold, when the naked turned a fetching shade of blue.

Not something happening today with temperatures in the teens, even though the wind had whipped the rain into stinging horizontal barbs, leaving us thoroughly soaked on a dismal outing to buy the much publicised mince pies from Asda.
They had better be worth the effort.

Outside the windows there is a procession of sodden people tussling with umbrellas which have been given a life of their own in the wind. Tomorrow the bins will be full of their skeletal remains.

Hooded anoraks come in useful in such weather, but still our southern students far from the softer climate of the Home Counties regard these with disdain.
I was even more foolish in exiting with neither umbrella nor hood before the advent of the rain, and my hair is now plastered unattractively over my brow.

Still, it's sun for tomorrow and we still haven't had to contend with icy pavements; so that's good.