I was away from St. Andrews from the 25th of March until today, and I refused to check in with the "real world" via email or phone or internet or, for the most part, TV. That is, until this morning, when I woke up in my hotel in Edinburgh with my grandparents to find the BREAKING NEWS: bird flu has invaded the UK! Not a big deal, I thought, I think I heard it was in France and I was just there a few days ago. Plus, Europe is still big, and so is the UK. But then I heard it was in Scotland. And, even more than that, it was found in a dead swan near Anstruther, which is about 10 miles from St. Andrews. So I guess I should be worrying, even a little bit.

My parents are here visiting for the second half of my Easter break, and they seem to be worrying a little more than I am. Of course, they're heading home on Saturday, and their fears are more about being quarantined and leaving me behind than their next two days of possible exposure. I'm thinking about what precautions I'll be taking for my last two months here in Scotland, which will include avoiding my daily 2 hard-boiled egg whites as long as I can find some other source of protein that isn't lamb or pork (both of which seem to be staples here, and neither of which I like), and probably stiffening up whenever I see a stray dirty feather. But other than that, what can I do?

I would advise watching the AP websites for further stories about the fate of the Scottish and their poultry, while I'll be watching my own fate...