World news intruded on President Obama’s Vineyard vacation Wednesday, with briefings for the press and the president on unfolding violence in Egypt. “The United States strongly condemns the use of violence against protesters in Egypt,” principal deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said.

Willy Mason is sitting on a barstool in a London pub, smoking a cigarette and considering the last decade. He takes a pull on his beer and thinks about what all the buzz — tours with Radiohead, collaborations with the Chemical Brothers and duets with KT Tunstall and Rosanne Cash — has really meant to the young bard now closing in on 30.

Fried food at Nancy’s to go, eaten at friend Valerie Jarrett’s house in Oak Bluffs. Dinner out alone with the first lady at the Beach Plum in Chilmark. A round of basketball in the middle. These were the benchmarks of President Obama’s vacation (day four) as he plied familiar haunts.

West Tisbury businesses, from a gas station to farm stand vendors, fear that the partial closure of South Road and prominent detour signs spurred by President Obama’s visit will hurt sales during one of the busiest weeks of the year.

President Obama arrived for a nine-day visit on Martha’s Vineyard last Saturday. The first family is staying at a private home off South Road in Chilmark. Because of security concerns, South Road is closed between Meeting House Road and Wooton Bassett Road until August 18.

The top-seeded Martha’s Vineyard Sharks will go to the championship series of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League after a 7-3 victory against the Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide Monday night.

Despite rain showers, President Obama spent his second full day of vacation much like the first, with an afternoon on the golf course followed by an evening out with friends.