Why LWD cocks her leg when she pees except when she’s wearing her raincoat; then she squats as a bitch should?
Where does graffiti become art?
When was rubbish collection day changed?
How will I spend that extra £2 per week the Pension People pay me after April?
Life is tough …
Having stopped travelling but not photography I felt I didn’t really have much to blog about, hence the silence.
Over the past 12 – 18 months I have developed Fibromayalgia, much to my disgust, and am now going slow because I can’t do anything else. For anyone who doesn’t know about this syndrome, in a nutshell it’s all about aches and weakness in any/all muscles, fatigue and brain fog. There is no treatment except analgesia. It’s a bummer and if anyone reading this is also a sufferer – you have my love and hugs.
A catch up for any former readers. Kate is still teaching and loving it. I still can’t understand how my previously impatient daughter does so well at her chosen but late started career. Unfortunately Jonathan’s fiancée died just over a year ago, he’s struggling on. The Smart One is at Uni in Bristol, first year maths, doing as we all knew he would extremely well. He’s been noticed by several Professors who are wanting him to take their courses when he’s finished with this foundation year, which he’s well on the way to completing already!!!
LWD is still as she always has been, totally attached to me, affectionate and mad as a hatter. She does however nap a lot more, not unexpectedly as she’s almost 10, and doesn’t appear to be missing our long hikes.
That’s all for now except to say that I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve cleaned upstairs today …
and am now shattered; but do mean to continue to blog about my life with FMA.
Until next time.
January is such a boring month I’m reduced to finding amusement where I can. Today took me to the local garage for tyre pressure check and the car wash …
Now where to go …
Rather a large garage bill today – nice one in mid January, NOT.
I have been prompted to restart boring my follower again by The Bezzies currently blogging from Spain – really I’m bored and thought I’d pass it on …
So what has happened in my world since my last attempt at entertaining? Well I was just about to leave for Portugal when the world shut down and the great toilet paper shortage began (well it did in the UK), An awful lot of my fellow countrypersons decided that loo paper would be in extremely short supply (despite diarrhoea not being a symptom of Covid) and as we were about to go into lockdown they’d better purchase as much as possible, and I decided Portugal would have to wait.
Time passed, Brexit happened, rules changed and I decided that if I couldn’t travel exactly as I wanted, I wouldn’t travel Full Stop … hopefully R0X1 is giving her new owners the same enjoyment she gave me.
And then nasty things started to happen, five of my favourite people, people that I regarded as family, unfortunately died in the space of 8 months, not one of them from Covid. If my previous follower(s) is reading this, you may be sad to hear that my dear lifelong friend R, who I mentioned in several blogs, when staying with her and J near Lorca, succumbed to the very nasty Motor Neurone Disease. The root cause of the fall in which she fractured her pelvis was sudden loss of balance. R remained her dignified self; prepared her family for what was to come and stayed cheerful despite the rigours and indignities she suffered. We had our last call near to the end, just before she was no longer able to speak.
Then it got even closer to home; BB was discovered to have a very large abdominal aortic aneurysm which very urgently needed a stent. During the health checks for his anaesthetic risk he also had scans for the surgeons to design his stent. An abnormality was seen in his right lung but on further checks it was found to be precancerous and of no immediate significance. There followed a couple of anxious months during which BB got Covid, operation cancelled, and the specialist stent guy got Covid, operation cancelled, his stent was fitted six months after the aneurysm was discovered. He made slow and steady progress. However at the 12 month review of his lung scan, he failed; and is now recovering from a lobectomy (lung that is, not brain). He too has opted for house living and is off the watery world of the canal network.
I’m really glad that I decided to stay in the UK with all that occurring, it has however taken it’s toll on my mental health but my anxiety levels are now dropping and the depression is lifting. I’m starting plan the future.
That future will include photography, LWD and hopefully later this year a move into a flat or bungalow.
The Smart One has had 4 offers from various universities, he’s a popular chap. He had an interview for Cambridge but has already decided it isn’t the right fit for him – it will be interesting to see if they give him an offer. K got a permanent job at a school in Frome two years ago, is teaching year 3 this year and loves both the school, her class and colleagues. Noj has gained himself a lovely fiançee in L, and they’ve bought a house together and I shall have a second (step)-grandson.
Next post will be of my last trip, Denmark in 2019 if anyone is interested?
I have been nagged (repeatedly) by The Smart One because I haven’t written anything since April; as I’m about to go driveabout again I decided to humour him. Here’s the story …
As I said in my last missive I had a great few days with the Mad Dutch couple in Anduze. We ate a lot, drank a lot, laughed a lot, walked a bit and visited a couple of flea markets. We also diagnosed me with a nasty case of hayfever. The beautiful weather we were enjoying came to an end and as the forecast for Anduze and France in general was for “beaucoup de pluie” the eminently sensible Mad Dutch decided to head south in search of the sun. I was feeling the need for family time and headed towards Dieppe and the ferry via Florac and the Cevennes with a return visit to Bonneval for veterinary purposes. The weather was cold and windy with torrential rain and the so called hayfever sneezing turned into an extremely heavy cold; my misery was compounded when one morning the boiler flatly refused to fire.
The Cevennes and a mural on the side of houses in Florac
Bonneval in (a very cold and wet) spring
I arrived in Somerset cold, damp and dirty and spent the next couple of days in bed.
Upon recovery my thoughts turned to the, neglected since well before we got here, state of our courtyard garden. K is very happy to have a minute garden as, although she loves flowers, trees and shrubs, she’s definitely no gardener and over the years even potted plants have succumbed to her (lack of) ministrations. I’ve redesigned the patio and mainly concreted area, decorated with all the blue pots I’ve collected for other gardens, planted said pots and the two very small flower beds and permanently placed the hooked up hose where she can reach it! (Not that the hose has been necessary for the past few days as the English summer has arrived) Just give me the (Chelsea) Gold medal!!
Courtyard (not quite finished)
I was much relieved when a new fuse sorted the malfunctioning boiler issue, I’d had visions of major repairs costing hundreds and plans for future travel being totally scuppered for months. With the garden sorted and no longer needing to save up for a massive boiler repair, ( £1.80 bought me a replacement fuse and a spare) my thoughts turned to travelling plans. According to my Denmark guide it is inadvisable to try camping there from mid-June to mid-August as all sites are pretty well full during the school holidays; so Denmark is delayed until mid-August. Instead I’m off to … Cumbria …never been to the Lake District. I’ve decided to treat the trip as if I’m abroad and shall be using lesser roads and Britstops (similar scheme to Passion France). First five stops are planned, also a meet up with BB who’s on a canal somewhere in the West Midlands.
Here’s hoping the rain stops …
🙂 🙂 🙂
LWD couldn’t contain herself when the descendants arrived, there was the whole body wag, the excitement yips and whimpers, the allover quivering and the gasping for breath. Yea, the pack is together!! The following Wednesday morning she couldn’t quite understand why the rest of the pack didn’t turn up. We left for pastures new rapidly; before she could get depressed.
Whilst the descendants were here we did did a trip into Barça so that the football fan could visit Nou Camp, wearing his Maidenhead United supporters gear of course! I think I’m safe in saying that that is the closest Maidenhead United will ever get to Nou Camp! (They did also visit several other tourist must visit sites.)
We went to a couple of markets, sat on the beach, mooched and generally holidayed for the six days they were here. I took The Smart One on a train trip to Mataro which, it being Monday, was almost closed but he enjoyed himself, and all too soon their Departure Day arrived.
In the meantime having heard from the Mad Dutch Couple that they’d had enough of the Northern European weather and were headed south, when the descendants left I headed north and am now in Anduze (France) and am typing this whilst well under the influence – situation normal for being with Meriam and Paul! They are both well and it’s lovely to see them again. LWD has forgotten that the descendants have gone and is delighted to be reunited with her favourite Dutch friends (faithless bitch!).
P.S. I am happy to report that K did NOT buy the red sombrero but she did buy a fabulous red handbag.
🙂 🙂 🙂
Well, dear Regular Reader, I did promise to explain why I interrupted my trip around the Natural Volcanic park of Garrotxa, so here goes. Those of a squeamish disposition may prefer to go straight to the photos at the bottom.
I called in at Banyoles to admire the lake and do a bit of walking for a couple of days before moving on to Vic but got a bit delayed …
In the early evening of my second day here, having just had the successful photo session with the fishing huts, I arrived back at the campsite intending to pop into reception and get a token for the washing machine. As I approached the tiled concrete steps I tripped over the very low, almost invisible kerb and crashed onto the aforementioned steps. Thoroughly winded I accepted help (which appeared apparently from nowhere) to change into a sitting position, and was given paper towel and told to apply it to my right eye, I was also informed that an ambulance was on it’s way. Why, thought I, still rather breathless, on earth would I want an ambulance? What my helpers could see, and I obviously could not, was that I had a deep gash on my eyebrow which was losing a lot of blood and folk were saying it needed stitching. Still winded and dazed I was soon in the ambulance on my way to the local community medical centre where everyone was very kind. Thankfully my EHIC card still had a few days to run (I didn’t know until they looked at it, that the damn thing even had an expiry date – K’s bringing my new one with her when she comes this week) so all eleven stitches through my eyebrow were free (unfortunately I had to pay to have them removed! I suppose I could’ve tried removing them myself … then again …). By the time I was leaving it was closing time and staff were starting to depart. I’d arrived in an ambulance and had no idea where I was, I was also feeling very shaky, my wound felt fine but my ribs were beginning to hurt and I was starting to feel a little lost (literally!). When I asked at the reception for directions to the campsite one of the staff insisted on giving me a lift back – way above and beyond bless her – my plan to walk back was vetoed by just about everyone. So a huge thank you to the ambulance guys, and all the staff there for taking care of me and being so kind.
The next morning my right eye was a stunning shade of purple and somewhat swollen. Later that day the left eye decided it wanted the same shade of eyeshadow and turned purple as well, which I didn’t mind, I do like to be well coordinated! My ribs were extremely painful and bruised as were my knees and my right boob; I felt everyone of my 90 years! However I managed to keep moving with the aid of over the counter meds and did deep breathing exercises religiously, no pneumonia for me. My stitches are now out (€30) and finally my ribs are starting to hurt a bit less, but the boob remains in glorious technicolour.
The site manager informed me that I was by no means the first person to trip over their low flying kerb, but of course I was the first to do it such a spectacular fashion, and that my stay would be free until I’m fit enough to continue my travels. I’m off the day after tomorrow to meet up with the family, it’s not a long drive, so I’ll be fine. I’ve been able to walk around and continue sight seeing and have managed to circumnavigate the lake (7kms) a couple of times.
Spring has arrived in Catalunya!
P.S. Nearly forgot to mention that in the middle of all this my habitation water pump died and for a few days before I felt able to drive to a camper repair place a short way away I was having to carry jerry cans of water to R0X1.
Formed in a tectonic depression and fed by several springs, L’Estany de Banyoles (The Lake of Banyoles) at 11.42sq.km., with a depth of 62.4m. and a circumference of 7km, is the largest natural lake in Catalunya. Home of the rowing events in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, it still hosts an annual triathlon and other national and regional events. The lake is zoned and all sorts of watersports take place with rowing training on the lake occurring most days except Sundays when the “grockles” appear to take over.
The backdrop is spectacular, the lake being completely encircled by mountains of the not very high variety with the Pyrenees peeking over the tops. (LWD and I will be tacking a fairly low peak sometime later this week.)
Training on the rowing course
The Pyrenees peeking …
Dotted along the eastern and southern lakeshores are over 20 pesqueres, fishing huts, which range from very simple single rooms with a tiny jetty to elaborate houses with a large dock. No two are the same.
Pesqueres
We’re here for at least the next 9 days, so lots more exploring to do and explanations for the unexpectedly long stay later.
🙂 🙂 🙂
Breathtaking views, medieval villages, forested volcanos, basalt rock – the photographs took themselves …
Who wouldn’t pull over to get these views?
Castelfollit.
Medieval village built on an outcrop of basalt.
St Joan les Fonts
Three lava flows lie on top of one another here – the oldest dated to around 700,000 years ago, the next at 170,000 years and the last at 130,000. Given the lengths of time between each eruption – how can they say the volcano is definitely extinct?
St Joan des Abbdesses
I was a little caught out by the nighttime temperatures here – but then realised the altitude was 786 metres; the heating got switched on and we left after just the one night!
Santa Pau
The medieval village here is separate from it’s modern counterpart, something I really appreciated.
🙂 🙂 🙂
The first town as one enters the Garroxta, Besalú’s history goes back to the ubiquitous Romans but it’s better known for its medieval buildings and bridge over the R Fluvia. The current inhabitants are proudly and fiercely Catalan.
Protest against the imprisonment of Catalonian separatist politicians
Some parts of the bridge date back to the C11th
It’s a good place to wander
I’m now heading into the area of 30 (hopefully) extinct volcanos in the Garrotxa natural park …
🙂 🙂 🙂
nomaggsrush 