Thursday 20th April 2023

Second full day in Valencia, and a day of culture planned, or at least visits to several churches.

Which counts as culture, right?

We laid in bed to half seven, then leapt out, had showers and after dressing went down for breakfast. Breakfast was fruit, cold cuts, fresh rolls and cakes all with lashings of coffee, was good.

Traffic outside the hotel is mad in the morning, with it trying to get on the main roads alongside and over the long park, we walked over to the other side and flagged a taxi down to take us to San Nicolás de Bari, or close to it, though walking would not have taken much longer than the taxi ride. We think we got the driver to understand our required destination, and he drove off, weaving in and out of the other cars and buses.

He dropped us in a narrow alleyway lined with old shops covered in grafitti, not sure it it was art or just rundown. But with Maps on the mobile, we walked the three minutes to the church, and found out it opened at half ten. We had 90 minutes to kill.

Down the street was a coffee shop, so we had another coffee and watched the world go by from our small table on the street. We then sat on a bench nearer the church as time crept to half ten and the opening of the church.

I will be forever haunted by the homeless man who was in the doorway opposite, who had made a pair of shoes from offcuts of plastic, and who bought a coffee when he had begged enough. He had dreadlocks, and a trolley of possessions, but was young, handsome, and who knows what his story was.

I even thought about buying him some shoes and taking them there next day, but the heat of the day made me feel quite ill, so not up to the walk.

Both Jools and I have had luck, we both nearly went bankrupt and could have ended up homeless.

St Nicholas is an ancient church, but had something of a Baroque makeover in the 18th century, and the walls, ceilings and everywhere covered in paintings, fresos and statues. As a whole it is remarkable, and the work is of a very high standard indeed. As is the way here, it seems, the church was lined with side chapels with statues or triptychs.

I took lots of shots, though my vertigo was giving me grief, and I would have to sit down between taking shots up at the roof. This would come to a peak at the basilica later that morning, when snapping the inside of the dome I nearly fell over. Jools saw that I nearly came over to catch me.

Oddly, that was the last day I had vertigo, a week later after staring at choughs on the cliffs for ten minutes, I realised I wasn't getting dizzy.

So it goes, so it goes.

Or went.

A short walk away is the Cathedral, a large a sprawling complex meaning that in the search for the entrance I found another Basilica conjoined to it, so we went it and found a small square church by with the underside of the dome gloriously painted.

Basílica de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats is a stone box with a dome, at least from the outside, but the Spanish Baroque had visited here as well, most impressively on the underside of the dome.

It was crowded, which meant any detailed shots were impossible without annoying people who had come to actually worship..

We sat for a wile in the cool before moving on, but crowds at the entrance to the cathedral meant we thought we would return on Friday, early, to beat the crowds. It was half eleven, and in trying somewhere to shady to sit, I find two more churches which to visit, the second a service began at midday.

Santa Caterina offered a climb up the belltower for a few Euros: not in this heat I thought. So we entered the church and found a brick vaulted building, austere compared to St Nicholas and St Mary, but cool and calm.

I took a few shots before we went in search of somewhere to get a cool drink.

We found Església de Sant Tomàs i Sant Felip Neri also open, but just before midday itmeant a service was about to start.

We did stay for a while, but in a break in the service, we make best our escape back into the bright sunshine.

Back outside it was hotter than ever, and packed with people. One last visit was to Pl. Redona, a circular plaza, which looked photogenic. But as most other photographers from Europe and beyond had the same thought, and it was filled with market stalls and street cafes, I take a few shots and we leave again through a portal into a quiet street.

But being after midday, it meant bars and restaurants were open, and on a side street we fond a small place that did cold beer and were happy to make us a bowl of Valencian paella, made with chicken and rabbit. Paella takes at least half an hour to make, so we sat, talked and drank cold beers untel the tin pan full of rice, herbs, vegetables and meat was brought.

Once we had eaten, it being two in the afternoon, we walked back to the hotel for a siesta. Going was hard, but we walked on the shady side of the streets, and in 20 minutes we were back in our room, but it had yet to be serviced. When the maid came at three, we went and sat in the shade in the small park in the centre of the boulevard outside the hotel, watching people and traffic coming and going.

We sat in the room, writing and listening to podcasts until it was half six, and the heat of the day had left, to walk back to the centre for arts, so we could take shots of the complex once the sun set at quarter to nine.

In fact, the hour we took to ambe there on Wednesday could be done is close to 20 minutes if you don't stop every 20 yards to take photos. Who knew?

The paths and tracks were packed with people doing exercise, taking their dogs or children out for a walk, or just out.

Like us.

Once we reached the complex, crowds had thinned as all was closed to visitors, so it was just a hardy band of photographers and tourists waiting for the sun to set. We had 90 minutes to wait, so we walked up to the far end of the site, where the zoo was, and in there is another fine building, but it could not be seen from the road or paths, but the walk did increase our step could to over 16,000!

As the sun set, lights came on, so we walked back to the taxi rank, taking dozens, if not hundreds of shots, as the light changed minute by minute, and lights came on, illuminating and highlighting the shapes of the buildings.

Half nine, it was dark, and it took ten minutes for a taxi to come by that we could flag down, he whizzed us back to the hotel, and a walk over the road to the Irish bar where most of the city were inside watching the various games ebig shown. I got us a drink and we took them to sit on the cool pavement tables, watching the traffic and beautiful people passing by. Some were on their way out to paint the town, we were pooped, so went back to the hotel.

Wednesday 19th April 2023

My 13th annual work anniverary at the wind company.

And ehre we are in Spain.

We are, indeed, on our holibobs.

We lay in to half seven, get up and have showers before putting on our finest summer perambulating dress and then heading down to the first floor for breakfast of fruit and fresh bread rolls and sweet pastries. And lashings of strong coffee.

Many nations represented in the breakfast bar, we ate well, then left for a walk.

It was a glorious day, clear blue skies and already getting warmer that would nudge into hot later. Best get out and enjoy the day before it gets too warm. Or hot.

The city is split by a long, sunken green park which was once the bed of the river, but that has now diverted and now is a great community green space., and our plan was to walk eastwards to the complex of modern buildings, and take lots of photos..

Even once outside the hotel it felt hot, the sun reflecting off the pavement, so we wanted to get to the park ASAP to take shelter under the trees which offered shade.

We found a ramp leading from the streets down to the shaded park, and along paths past people doing early morning yoga and keep fit classes, and birds doing it is what birds do at this time of year.

We stop at regular intervals, making the walk seem longer than it was. There's a children's play area in the shape of Gulliver, so the kids would play on his body turned into an adventure area.

Under two bridges, now over the park, and while there was some street art, mostly it was as intended when built.

It was as warm as a summer's day back home, but still only mid-morning, so we took took time in our ramblings, past faux classical columns and ornamental lakes to the Centre for the Arts, like a giant marrooned Armadillo in the centre of a large lake.

After the classical Spanish design of the houses and hotels, it is quite the shock, but there is a guiding design of that, the sunken Hemesphere cinema, the Natural History museum and other buildings of the zoo beyond. Even the bridges are of a similar design.

It is quite breathtaking.

And big.

It must contain a concert hall, and is as striking as the Sydney Opera House, it looks like a cross between a space ship and a huge egg opening, lines and layers everywhere.

More so that there were so few people about, so we got fine shots of the buildings starkly contrasting against the deep blue sky behind.

The Centre for the Arts is like a space ship, marrooned in a lake, all sweeping lines in a modern off white colour, though it as the Restaurant wasn't yet open for the thirsty photographers.

Over a walkway and through the Hemesphere to the Museum beyond, we find a kiosk selling beers, sodas and snacks. Even though it wasn't quite half ten, a beer was called for, and olive oil flavoured crisps.

Once we had drunk, we walked to the other side of the museum, under the bridge, and round the other side, where the water was filled with the young in rowing boats and on electrical floats, with the males on the electrical floats showing how manly they are by trying to sink the females of the species in the rowing boats. And somehow the species survives.

With the mobile phone, we were able to find a place to eat, at the base of a condo the other side of the main road, and a small bar offered tapas and wines. We ordered "several" tapas and a bottle of rose wine, the food kept coming until it almost became unfunny. All the food was fabulous, and we made the wine vanish.

We could have walked home, but instead found the taxi ranks and so caught a cab for the five minute drive to the hotel, so we could snooze through the siesta.

In the room we slept for a couple of hours, then refreshed, went out to walk around the neighbourhood and end up in the Irish bar where a pint of Budvar and a small bottle of Chimay blue was made to vanish too.

Cheers.

Next to the hotel was a small snack bar that did slices of pizza, so we had one of those each before retiring to the room to follow the football.

Tuesday 18th April 2023

Holiday.

Celebrate.

Yay.

We got up at six, with three hours to fill before the taxi was due. So we had coffee, breakfast, another coffee and then had a shower.

Did some final packing.

Turned off power, emptied the bins, filled the bird feeders.

We got a text to say the cab was on the way, so with one last check of the house, we took the cases and bags out, locked up and waited.

We loaded the stuff in the car, and he took us to the station, making small talk as they do. We had an half hour wait, so we walked and took shots. Its my job.

The train arrived, and we got on, packing the luggage in the racks and settling down for the trip.

At St Pancras, we were called by another passener: Steve, AKA Kingsdowner was off on his own travels, down to the south of France by train. So we swapped stories before we went to the taxi rank to get a cab. We could have gone by tube, but its a job lugging cases up and down steps, easier, but no quicker to get a cab. And with the roadworks, would have been almost as quick to walk along Euston Road.

At Paddington we had two minutes to get onto the next train to the airport, so I had just enough time to take a snap, before we got on and it slipped out. Sadly the new Electorstars are poor replacements for the ole Heathrow Express units, not so much space.

At the airport we walked to Terminal 3, checked our two cases in, then waited 20 minutes at security, and once through there, tried to find somwhere to get lunch. We went to Wagamamas, which was procey, but good, and fairly healthy. And as always there is always people watching to do.

Our gate was announced, and after the short walk we find the tiny-minded already waiting to get on. Desite it being 20 minutes before it opened.

Oh well.

The flight was full, and I was in a middle seat between Jools and a little guy with sharp elbows. But it was only for two hours.

British Airways is cutting back, so no tea or coffee is served, just a 250ml bottle of water and a small bag og chips. The rest you have to pay, but the ladies in the row in front of us were celebrating a major birthday and the crew supplied them with sparkling wine and extra snacks, their smiles were huge by the end of the flight.

Once we had landed and waited to get off, we had the half hour wait at security which we all have to go through now thanks to Brexit. But after that, our cases were waiting, so we went through customs, and on the other side was a tiny guy holding a sign who would drive us to the hotel.

He took us outside, got his car and squeezed us and our cases and bags into his modest car. Then drow us into the city through untidy industrial zones and ugly motorways until warehouses were replaced by neat town houses and wide boulevards lined with trees. Traffic was mad, but he coped and got us to the hotel in one piece.

After dumping our cases we went for a walk, loking for supper, which after the first three places listed were cloed, we stumbled across a small bar in the corner of a blck of flats who did beer and tapas.

I spoke no Spanish, they spoke little English, but they provided us with a fine meal full of mystery. As we ate, dusk fell and the warmth went out of the day, so after eating up and paying, we walked back round to the hotel to get some serious sleep before a busy day on Wednesday.

Monday 17th April 2023

Monday, and the last working day of the week. And indeed, the last working day of the month.

After end of work, I don't go back until May 2nd.

Which is nice.

However, with going away there is the great cat round up, which is as hard as herding cats. But, we think we have cracked it now.

We lay in bed until six, then grab the two tiddlers, Poppy and Cleo, before cornering Mulder and Scully and popping them all in a box. Job done in about ten minutes, with only flesh wounds for me after my battles with Scully.

Jools would go to work, and I would take the cats to the cat prison at, or just before nine. Until then, they would sing to me,

A bright start turned into a cool and grey day, with nothing to tempt me out for a walk. So, work it is.

At quarter to nine, I load the car up with the four bxes and various beds and blankets for the short drive to Whitfield to another new cattery. After checking their vaccinations, we take the cats to their pen, a large family one, with plenty of boxes to hide in. Poor Poppy was shaking with fear, but she did better than Cleo who just refused to come out of the box.

I have to rush back home for my annual assessment, which was mostly good, so I'm not going to complain.

Much.

Two meetings on status updates, and then some loose ends to deal with, travel expenses to complete, working hours for the rest of the month.

And done.

I mow a couple of areas of the lawn meadow, mainly under the bird feeders where its too lush for wild flowers, so try to keep it tamed. I collect the grass as best as I can. But it really was unseasonably cool, too cool to be outside.

Indoors to pack away the office, pop the two spuds in the oven for dinner, and then upstairs to throw my stuff into a suitcase. All tasks done by five.

Jools was to call in at Jen's to drop her car off, I went to meet her there, and catch up with Jen.

But that meant we were both on holiday.

Home for dinner of jacket spuds, cheese, butter and defrosted chilli. A dinner of champions!

Jools goes to pack, there's football to watch.

And we're just about ready.

Sunday 16th April 2023

Second day of the weekend, and last full day with the cats. As much as we love travel, it oes meaning leaving the four Mogs of the Apocalypse in the cat prison, and before then, rounding them up. We will collect them first full day we're back, and joy will be unbound.

With family crisis now over, for now, we had a blank day, which I fill with orchids and walks in the wood.

It had been eight days since I was last at Samphire Hoe, so thought with the warmer weather might have brought the orchids on. A walk is never wasted anyway, so after coffee and croissants we drve to the Hoe, getting there at twenty to eight, with just the eager fishermen already there and dangling worms over the sea wall.

We walk down the sea wall, round the corner to the cliff face, and just when I thought there'd be none, I found for small spikes, with more up the cliff face, well out of reach. I snap those, then go to check the rubble-filled meadow. None there, and again no adders, but the baby slow worms were sheltering under a sheet of iron.

We walk back to the car park, and from there I walk along the track beside the railways looking for rosettes and spike of the main colony. Only there doesn't seem to be one (a colony) this year. Just one rosette found right near to the entrance to Abbottsliffe Tunnel, but that was it. In 2016, I think it was, they had 22,000 spikes here. Not any more.

I walk back to the car to meet up with Jools.

We drove off, but up the tunnel to the A20, then along to the motorway for half an hour, to the bottom of Bluebell Hill, turning up it to drive to Stockbury, and our favourite bluebell wood.

I guessed it wouldn't be the usual sea of blue, it is still early, but I hoped so a hunt of blue. And anyway, then there are the orchids. Friends have been posting shots of spikes of Early Purples in full flower, and Lady Orchids nearly in flower.

I had high hopes.

And yet, microclimates are just that, and at the Stockbury reserve most orchids were still rosettes and spikes only just forming. A little further along spikes were in better shape, but still with just one or two flowers open. But I snap them anyway.

Down the slope to the meadow, and the Lesser Butterfly were already putting up spikes, although it might be four weeks before they flower, but it was striking to see the spike so tall, when the Greater Butterfly seen last week had no spike. The Lady Orchids were just forming spikes too, so none in flower, or close to it.

And that was that.

I walked back up the hill through the woods to take a few shots of the carpet of bluebells, though they were mainly just leaves.

Oh well.

Back to the car for the 45 minute drive back home on the coast, in time for a brew and a bar of chocolate.

It was a glorious afternoon, too nice to sit inside all of it, so I put the moth lure out and read a magazine while I can keep an eye on the birds and the lure. No moths came, certianly not the one the lure was for.

But sitting and soaking up the sun was enough, until the football called at two.

Football doesn't stop, certainly not for good weather, and as always the main task was to stay awake through the games.

And then it was half six, somehow.

The day, the weekend was almost gone. So, we dined on chicken katsu curry, accompanied by the first local asparagus, which was vry sweet indeed.

And that meant it was tie for bed, so that we would be fresh for the last working day.

Saturday 15th April 2023

On this day in 1989, I attend an FA Cup semi-final that did not result in the deaths of 97 fans who attended. The other game, at Hillsborough did result in those deaths, and the dead and other fans we blamed for thier deaths.

Although that lie has been revealled as being that lie, no one has been held accountable for the their deaths and the lies that emerged at the same time.

Never forget, and #JFT97.

We will never rest, until there is justice.

On another downbeat note, crisis have many levels, and family ones effect only those in the family, they they are to be dealt with nonetheless.

Being a Saturday, we went shopping, and for only a three day week, we needed not much, but a box of wine was, apparently, essential for the weekend.

Back home, the phone went at eight, it was Jools's sister saying that her scan results were available and an appointment had been made in Ashford for half ten. When she had the scan earlier in the week, she was told there would be a seven or eight week wait for the results.

This seemed way out of expectations.

Jools was going to take Cath, and I would wait at home. Mainly because we had no other car, but also because the rain was falling, and eneded up falling harder and harder. The forecast of endless sunshine in the afternoon seemed at best to be optomistic.

So, Jools left to pick up Cath, leaving me with the cats, the house and the weather.

I watched the last Stanley Tucci show in the cuisnine of Italy, the lastest Sky at Night. In short, the stuff that whiled away the day when life treads water waiting for news.

So, there is news. Might be bad news, or less bad news than expected, but we shall have to see. Jools was on the way back, but wouldn't be be back until two, by which time the rain had indeed stopped and the sun had come out, but in three hours we were to go to Jen's for supper and cards.

So, I stayed home to listen to the football, have a brew with Jools and listen to the football whilst eating a salted caramel Twix.

Jools came home, we talked of the issues the drama of the day had brought. We are very simple people, tell the truth, and when there is a possibility of that the truth is something other than being simple and obvious, it upsets us.

I listened to the fitba': Everton lost to Fulham, Southampton lost to Palace, Spurs lost to Bournemouth, and Chelsea lost to Brighton. Norwich had already lost for the weekend, of course.

So, off to Jen's.

We talked about the events of the day, then dined on homemade lasangne, and played cards.

We eneded up about evens. neither up or down. But lots to think about.

I drove us home, without accident. For a nightcap of dry crackers and a glass of Vin Santo.

Friday 14th April 2023

Yay, Friday.

Though I did sleep through the alarm, and only woke when Jools came back up to get dressed before leaving for yoga class.

I get up, get dressed and make coffee, and once Jools had left in the hire car, I put the bins and bags out to be collected, you know the usual stuff.

What I can tell you is that next week there will be some changes and different stuff to document in these posts.

I like being away, I like travel, but the thought of travel really fills me with dread: the people, the waits and so on. But once there it'll be fine.

I knows it.

Anyway, to work and the final loose ends before I finish Monday evening, although one person thought such things below her pays station.

Sigh.

So, escalate I must.

It was a fine morning, and I really wanted to go for a walk, but I had to keep walking. Wait until after two I thought.

By the time two came, it had clouded over, and as I walked across the fields, drizzle began to fall. I looked to the west and the sky seemed to be full of weather, so I turned round and headed for home, so was only half wet.

Rain fell steadily outside.

So, I settle down with Scully to watch more Tucci in Italy, eating.

Always eating.

We have carbonara and the remainder of the garlic bread for supper, which went down very well. And then there was football.

Always a disappointing football match, a wise friend once said.

Norwich were on Teesside needing a win to get into the playoffs, and Borough were one of the few teams above them. Their place in the playoffs is pretty much secured.

Norwich started well, and created several chance, then conceded in the 7th minute and fell to pieces. 4-1 down at half time, 5-1 soon after. I went to bed at half time, knowing that the dream of promotion is over for this season.