After the garlands, Bible school

I have just arrived, or it feels like it. With the slight delays, mainly in
the Manila traffic, I got to bed at 3am. Still, since that was like 8pm, I
was sleepy mainly due to the travelling. It was clearly worse for the
normal house residents!

We made the effort to go to the annual town celebration that evening. There
were lots of speaches and presentations. In English, but I still had some
trouble understanding. What was clear was that many ordinary people were
singled out and honored for their hard work and service- including
fishermen and nurses. 10 were presented, one from each category.

And those overseas were honoured too. Including an Englishman and his wife.
There were named seats in the front row of our district and we were called
forward to be photographed and presented with garlands.

Perhaps the highlight, or at least it was for me, was the folk dancing
competition. There was a hat dance, with the gentlemen wearing coloured
hats, a light dance, tea-lights in hand, but also later on heads or in red
paper pockets, and a couple of bamboo pole dances. The poles represent a
rickety bridge and the dancers nimbly dance between the polls as they click
together. (Photos)

We did not stop to see the decision on who were winners, I had made up my
mind that the second bamboo pole dancers were best!  As it was already very
late we returned to rest before the Bible school in the morning.

So this morning was up early to go to a village nearby where many children
gathered under the shade of a thatched home (picture). The adults were just
outside too but this was for the children. As well as Bible studies, there
were biscuits and squash, and as a special treat, little chocolates in
honour of the visitor from overseas.

And since the location was right next to the beach, we took a walk along
the deserted sands afterwards. It proved to be just a little too hot to
stay for long.

Terry

terrywestoby@gmail.com

+33 6 75 91 87 71

Sent from Samsung tablet

Animal flying friends

Dubai. I am transferring to my next flight but there is a 4hr gap. It's 11:30pm for me but in Dubai, 2:30am.

At last the gate shows our flight but there is no one there to 'process' us. Then a stewardess arrives and busies herself behind the counter.

The crowd grow restless.

Like animals at feeding time, they approach the keeper. They prowl, they wait. Instinctively they know they cannot hurry her. Like a troop of baboons they mill around together. Slowly a hierarchy emerges with the dominant animals to the front.

Other animals, not of this breed, pass by unconcerned. Then an ambulance vehicle passes with injured animals aboard. One of them, apparently female, is wrapped in black bandages, only her eyes showing.

The keeper brings out the food. She brings order expertly to the baboon troop who queue to receive their ration. The keeper has a uniform, but the rest are just natural.

I join the queue. I am just one of the animals.

The photo, by the way, has nothing to do with this.

I hope you can see a plane, the black shape of which is outlined by the lights as it comes into land. How did I take this picture?

There is a tail camera on my plane into Dubai, an A380, and this is the view on my screen. You can watch yourself land! If you can see the front of the plane, my seat is just a little back on the left. I got a glimpse into the cockpit before we set off, a bewildering array of lights and displays. It was easier to fly using the tail camera.

And now I wait for the second flight. If it too has internet, I will send this off to you today.

Terry


Envoyé de mon iPhone

A very Massy Christmas

Ok, it is not a pine tree, but it does stand out. Someone has spent a lot of time, and used a lot of bulbs, to make every branch shine. 

You can see it for miles (except for the built up area). What you can't see is the constantly changing colours, nor the flashes of the sprinkling of blinking bulbs. 

The picture gives you an idea, but it looks better than that! 

Terence Westoby

terrywestoby@gmail.com

+33 6 75 91 87 71

Sent from Samsung tablet

Revolution in the Square

As you can see, there is still a revolutionary spirit in France. This group were out one Sunday despite the rain to make a statement in the middle of Paris. They posed for pictures.

The Seine is just meters away and the square in the one that depicts the archangel Michel's victory over the "Prince of Persia" (the real one, not the game), but that statue is well over their heads as you can almost see in the third picture.

The banner says "Vivre Libre ou Mourir" - "Live Free or Die"; but I can't say the young soldier's face betrays much conviction in the message, more an interest in the young girl at his side. Perhaps the weather has dampened his spirits. Certainly they did not stay long. Just for a few photos and then they were gone.

And with the damp weather getting damper; so was I.

Martos

These 2 photos are from the same place at different times. Whilst not quite the same angle, they are one of the more elevated views over the town.

The night picture was clearer weather. As you may spot, the daytime view of the hill is obscured by mist.

The spot is near the large church on the hill, and in the evening it is well lit up making a clear landmark over the town. So you would think it should be easy to find. But no. The old town streets and houses below it cause the roads to twist and turn in confusing ways. And the houses themselves are not so much tall, but being close together they obscure any view of the church once you get close.

So you head for the church but the road turns you away. There are no-through roads, by-ways, and nothing straight. So the first time I tried to walk there I failed. These photos are the result of finding a route and the tracing the reverse direction the next day.

It is still not easy, but I am beginning to recognise some landmarks on the way.

Cordialement
Terry

Envoyé de mon iPhone

Wind

It was windy last night. It kept me awake for a while so I looked out of the window to see if it was raining too. But it was just wind, lots if wind!

I don't know when it stopped but this morning it was all gone and the day seemed very still. The clock on the hill across the valley from the hotel played its song to indicate the hour as I went down for breakfast.

Yesterday the breakfast room was full every table was occupied and even my spare chair was borrowed by one group. There had been some sort of event in the afternoon but this morning I was the only one there.

I looked out of the window onto the patio. The devastation reminded me of last night's wind (photo).

The owner came by to make coffee. I commented on the mess. He spoke in Spanish and I understood "photo" so at first I thought he had seen me take a picture, but his shrug of his shoulders led me to believe he was planning, without much hope, to make an insurance claim.

And that would explain why it has not been quickly tidied up.

Cordialement
Terry

Envoyé de mon iPhone

A Castle on the Hill

Saturday, and a chance to visit somewhere. 

Somewhere different. 

But Séville was a long way so I recalled a castle I had seen on the 'alternative' route to Grenada. 

I guessed where it might be on the map and got it wrong, but quite by chance, when I was leaving the small hilly town with tiny streets that my gps thought I could drive down, I found the sought after castle after it came in view. 

After a drive down country roads, I arrived at a fairly substantial town. I parked just after passing a pleasant town center and returned to seek a toilet. There were lots of elderly people around, I felt sure there would be one. There was. I tried the door to find it was locked, but the large building it was attached to proved to be a library with access from the inside. 

So it was that I was able to climb the steep roads to the castle in relative comfort. The photos are from the top. The castle is being hugely restored and you can't get in. There are loads of ruined houses below the walls, and a notice proclaims the restoration progress. You can see some of the view from the new road that skirts the ruins. It's rather industrial in places. 

So where is it? I don't know, I told you I guessed wrong and found it by chance! 

For fun I choose the country road back which made 10km of windy road feel like 30km. But I was not in a hurry and it was much more fun. The car was quite incapable of driving itself down such roads. 

It had to rely on me. 

Terence Westoby

terrywestoby@gmail.com

+33 6 75 91 87 71

Sent from Samsung tablet