Curly's Capers

With cigarettes taxed at 86% in the UK, many smokers opt for rolling tobacco , which with papers works out cheaper than propriety brands. That is not the case in Spain and hence cigarettes with pukka tips are smoked and then discarded onto the pavements etc. This, though in the main,  seems the main form of littering. Abundant litter bins and recycled receptacles  keep the debris off the streets . The Spanish, who are generally small and stocky seemed to regard me as somewhat of a freak  being 1.95 M. in height and wearing a sun-hat; instead of the obligatory base-ball version - A dead tourist give-away. At least I didn't succumb to sun-glasses, which I think the men especially frowned upon. Basically, we Brits, with  our traffic laws are a law -abiding lot. Not so the Spanish, who routinely , seem to park wherever there is a space including street corners; double yellow lines and pedestrian crossings. Furthermore,  some seem not enamoured with seat-bel...

The Easy Jet flight from Gatwick ( London )  to Valencia took one hour, forty nine minutes. In this time it had flown the channel, crossed France and entered Spain via the Pyrenees and gained one hour. Stepping onto the runway, the heat hit me like a mildly enraged teddy bear, waiting to give you a hug but actually too tired  to bother. It was over 30 degrees centigrade. Not normally anxious to enter customs, I embraced the cool air conditioning of the building with appreciation. Waved through passport control, we walked to a cool non crowded Metro tube. It slunk out of the station, exactly on time. According to the carriage display the outside temperature was 33. By the time we reached our stop it was only 27. It's getting colder ! But outside on the  plaza ( see top pic. ) the heat seeped up from the floor and the impressive stone of the building. Adjacent to the railway station the celebrated bull ring. Generally , although voluble,  the Spani...

Forty- fied (1974 - 2014 ) Time that impudent scamp Of moments, days and years . Distorts memories like cracked  Mirror images . Tries to fade events like sepia crumbling paper. But trust and listen to  the Heart. It beats slowly, feeding on;  Tenderness , Affection, Compassion,  family values.  And above all , it stores love. It rejects the superficiality of age and sees little value in youthful zest and pace , Rather it respects wisdom and knowledge as an increasing virtue, Life is always one beat away from closing time But in loving care ,  life can be  A long song;  so revel in the chorus and marvel at the notes, Until the end of the score. Ck. 29 / 08 / '14. 4000000000000000000000004 Avebury Manor The above link is my blog entry for my last  visit to Avebury Manor in 2012. Yesterday  with  D. and d. we visited Avebury Manor again. ( the picture at the head...

" ' Two days wrong! ' sighed the Hatter. ' I told you butter wouldn't suit the works! ' he added, looking angrily at the March Hare. 'It was the best butter, ' the March Hare meekly replied.  'Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well, ' the Hatter grumbled: ' you shouldn't have put it in with the bread knife. ' The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily then he dipped it into his cup of tea and looked up again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, ' It was  the best butter, you know. ' " From " Alice's Adventure In Wonderland " by Lewis Carroll.  Illustration by Mervyn Peake. Well bless me, if paying a visit to B. and J. in Cirencester and then walking into town; we didn't spot this chap. A veritable March Hare!  What was this chap doing in August, you might ask? Well it comes about because of this :   Hares More deta...

Time  from Pink Floyd. Seconds Out  Whilst looking up at a  fiery dragon today.  and observing  it burning up the highway.  I tripped over a writer’s  block  and was nearly run down  by a  speeding  carriage clock. Why does time go so fast I i sighed ? "You better watch out it won’t be denied, " said a  Grandfather. “ you’ve gotta  understand  there is no such  thing as  time on your hands.” “ I’ve been a time server all of  my days, failing as a keeper, trying to mend my ways. If I had a second chance I’d live  in the  now tense and not  be  so clock wise about those  future events.” So I threw my time sheets down, and moved on,    still in slight shock.  gazing  away from the knowledge tree with  its  squawking cuckoo clock. From now on it was time out ! About time too. Ck. 15/ 08 / '14 ...

D. and I went up Shurdington Hill, last Thursday (06 / 08 ) to look for some blackberries. We had heard there was an early crop, but arriving here, we found mostly unripened fruit. The few worth picking  were elusively behind thick brambles and mostly hidden from our view. I sat down and surveyed the scene  and wrote down the following: Summer Is Yawning Summer is Yawning  Rising early , but gradually  sloping off  for  a longer sleep in bed   and retiring  the day Calm in August morn-light  a silver sheen floats on the grass. Thistles nod and ride the air. A silence envelopes the field A tension in the pulse of life. The earth awaits the softening kiss of rain. Berries, unwilling to display their ripeness hide in bramble  corners.demanding a moisture bath for their reddened  relatives. Yes Summer is yawning so  tired and weary of heat  soon to welcome c...