Halloween in Leven was disappointing for me. There was no "trick or treat", no performance fromguisers and no full moon. Next Halloween there's no sleeping tablets - I mean it! An old hag and a couple of witchy-looking women cackle in the corner of the Ship Tavern at Anstruther harbour this evening. Outside, it's a bitter cold moonlit night and the fishermen are at home with their wives and families after a long, hard days work at sea. Along the coast, landings of fish at Pittenweem harbour have improved considerably. The white fish haul increased from 344 c.w.t. to 770 c.w.t., selling for £59,173. That was some catch! The only thing I caught today was the dreaded No 95 bus from Leven to Dundee via the East Neuk of Fife. Some of my fellow travellers were big, hefty-looking individuals which surely must account for a few c.w.t., some catch eh?

The earliest written knowledge of Anstruther comes from the records of the Priory of May, a monastery founded on May Island by King David the First (1124 - 1152). His grandson William the First granted the monks of May fourpence from all ships having four hawsers, coming from the ports of Pittenweem and Anstruther, for the sake of fishing or selling fish. This afternoon I had a wee wander around Anstruther village, through the mysterious back streets, and paid a visit to the Scottish Fisheries Museum which overlooks the harbour. It is at the centre of the East Neuk fishing villages of St Monans, Pittenweem (the present home of the East Neuk fishing fleet) and Crail, the centre of local crab and lobster fishing. Along the road is the famous fish shop, where there's always a queue, even when it's closed!. So I give it a wide berth and popped into Caspian's for that local delicacy, SouthernFried Chicken and Chips, mmm! After lunch and a stroll along the high gait and I find myself on a pre-Reformation site, by the Dreel bridge, where the Anstruther Wester Church stands, guarded by its ancient headstones. Close by four properties on the high gait make up the present Smugglers Inn. In the past they were divided by a common vennel, or passage, that lead to the burn. The Smugglers Inn was a famous tavern back in the reign of Queen Anne and it was the headquarters of the Earl of Strathmore. It was said that John, Master of Sinclair, proclaimed The Pretender at Anstruther Cross in 1715 and that the health of the pretended King, James VIII and III should be drunk in the East Neuks burghs.

There's no wine being drunk in the Ship Tavern tonight, however, in my corner I'm having Tartan Special surrounded by nautical objects and framed pictures of fishing vessels. The old hag staggers up to the bar for another wee refreshment, pretending to be sober, but the barmaid shows her the door and a few minutes later she's outside, seasick. I'm off for a fish supper. The bus back home, on the dark and winding road, was quite peaceful and warm. To relieve boredom I counted the cars going in the opposite direction, then the stars and I was going to count the moons but I thought that would be a pointless exercise. When I was a boy I used to wonder where the sun went after it set. It so perplexed me that I once sat up all night dwelling on the problem until it dawned on me! See you in Crail.

Wandering Willie