ganching

Rain, Mist and Sunshine

Yesterday I walked from Arcade to Ponteverde and today from Ponteverde to Caldes des Reis. Yesterday morning when I left the hotel it was really cold. I had forgotten that early morning northern Spain is often very cold which in no way means that it will still be cold a couple of hours later. 

Yesterday’s walk was lovely and I didn’t mind that it was lightly raining; mizzling rain is much better than blazing sunshine when walking.

All was well until about 25 minutes before I reached my hotel when it started bucketing down. By the time I got to the hotel I was drenched and cold and miserable and I had to wait over an hour before my room was ready. Such are the hardships faced by a modern day pilgrim,

The hotel was fine and I had a big room so plenty of drying space. I enjoyed being in a big town which has a lovely old town and lots of religious buildings as well as a very good art gallery. I had dinner in a hipsterish Italian restaurant and it was the best meal I’ve had since I’ve been here.

Other People

Some people who do the Camiño spend their entire time making new friends. Others trudge along keeping themselves to themselves. If there was a scale I’d certainly be closer to the loner end than the gregarious end. The Camiño attracts all kinds of people and some are not very nice. I’m currently avoiding an Australian couple who appear to be staying in the same hotels as me. They are loud, rude to waiters and fond of red wine.

Yesterday I had an encounter with a German mother and son who took great exception to being charged 5 Euros to visit the cathedral in Tui. The man asked what the concession was for students and was told it was 50 cents. The mother then wanted to know what the concession was for a retired person. She was really aggressive to the man selling the tickets but he was completely nonplussed. She stomped off muttering that it wasn’t worth it. I happily paid my 3 Euros - the pilgrims concession - and for that I got to visit all of the cathedral and the cloisters, a garden with a stunning view of the river and a walk round the roof. Bargain! A few minutes after I left the cathedral I spotted them again coming out of a pharmacist’s carrying a package and seconds later they returned to the shop. The mother came in with her hands folded in a pleading gesture as clearly they had bought something. opened it and now wanted to change it. Her smarminess knew no bounds and the pharmacist allowed the change to happen and was showered with gushing thanks. Evidence that the woman could switch on and off her bad behaviour.

I have taken hundreds of photos but am struggling to upload them.

 

Crossing The Border

I crossed the border between Spain and Portugal four times today, once on a bus, once in a taxi and twice on foot.  I caught the bus from Santiago de Compostela to Valença. I was little confused at the time we were due in as the bus stopped in a city rather than the small town I was going to and then I remembered there is an hour’s time difference between Spain and Portugal.

I’ve taken lots of photos but can’t work out how to insert them when writing a post in my phone! Occasionally in the past when I’ve used my phone to blog it was very easy to add photos but not now.

I’m now in a cafe and have had another go and I think I may have added some photos. I haven’t started my walk yet but  I’ve managed to walk over 16 kilometres both today and yesterday.

Ten Things I Did This Weekend

1. Woke up far too early on both Saturday and Sunday mornings
2. Completed the very satisfying prize crossword in the Guardian
3. Sold several books on Etsy and walked to Post Office in Deptford to post them
4. Said hello to the hardware shop cat
5. Visited Deptford market which largely sells awful junk and found some lovely and collectible 1970s china*
6. Was surprisingly interested in the Oasis ticket sales because my niece Neesh contacted me earlier in the week and asked if I would like to do a house swap with her when Oasis are playing in London**
7. Booked a ticket on a bus from Santiago de Compostela to Valenca and another ticket a week later from Santiago de Compostela to Porto
8. Had a terrible anxiety dream that the bus I needed to catch had arrived but all my possessions were scattered on the ground and I couldn't gather them up
9. Went to Shoreditch on Sunday afternoon to visit the opticians and look at all the young, hip tourists
10. Did laundry, ironed, packed, cleaned,  emptied bins, roasted some tomatoes and put them in the freezer, watered the garden and read a novella***

*I saw someone selling a teacup, saucer and side plate from this range on Etsy for £30

**Neesh got tickets so I'm already planning my holidays for next year when I'll be staying about three miles from Aldergrove airport

*** The book I read was Bitter Herbs by Marga Minco which was published in the 1950s and is the story of a young Jewish Dutch girl during the war.  I loved the really spare way in which it was written. The story is based on her own life although she was older than the narrator of the novel.  I'd highly recommend this.  I'm off to Spain in the morning so blogging may be a little erratic.

 

 

Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of Seamus Heaney's death on the 30th August 2013.

This is what I wrote that day:

"I was looking forward to this talk. When I first heard about it I went on line to find tickets but I thought I was too late as it seemed to be completely sold out.  I went back a couple of days later and managed to get two tickets in the rear stalls. I was really pleased to have something to look forward to in that long, grim stretch between the end of summer and Christmas.  It is always a pleasure to hear Seamus Heaney speak.

I actully gasped today when at lunchtime I went onto the Guardian site to find out if Cameron had resigned and instead read the awful news that Seamus Heaney had died.  As I was reading it my brother texted me to tell me about it.  In Ireland you are never more than two degrees away from anyone else.  My brother's partner is best friends with Heaney's niece and she grew up surrounded by Heaneys.  As my mother would have said there's a big connection of them.

My mother's family and the Heaneys are distantly related although that is not as impressive as it sounds as probably most of the population of Ireland is distantly related to each other.

 I sat in front of my desk at work and wept.   One of my sisters told me she had cried uncontrollably for an hour after she heard the news.

It's hard to explain why the death of a man none of us knew could have such an effect but as I have said before his voice has been in my head almost all my life.  He represented everything I love about the Northern Irish.  His wit and humour, his shyness and self-effacing nature, his intelligence and of course his way with words reminded me of other Northern Irish people I knew who while not quite as brilliant as him shared many of these traits.  My father's family loved word play and the making up of rhymes.  Like Heaney most of them looked kind of craggy and knew what snedding meant.  They were capable of playfulness despite tribulations. Heaney was like the best teacher you could ever have had or a really brilliant uncle who would have stood you a pint and taken an interest in what A levels you were doing.

Like my mother Heaney grew up near Toome and often mentioned it in his poetry.  My parents got married in Creggan and had their reception in Toome, famous for its eels and the execution of Roddy McCorley, a United Irish man and radical Presbyterian.  We went to O'Neill's hotel for dinner after my grandmother's funeral. I'm pretty sure Heaney would have visited O'Neills from time to time.

I'm glad that I did at least get to speak to Seamus Heaney if only for a minute or so at a book signing.  I'm going to Ireland next week and I'll visit Bellaghy and light a candle for Famous Seamus.

I don't know what I'll be doing though on the 28th November. "

Hard to believe that this was thirteen years ago.

 

 

I actully gasped today when at lunchtime I went onto the Guardian site to find out if Cameron had resigned and instead read the awful news that Seamus Heaney had died.  As I was reading it my brother texted me to tell me about it.  In Ireland you are never more than two degrees away from anyone else.  My brother's partner is best friends with Heaney's niece and she grew up surrounded by Heaneys.  As my mother would have said there's a big connection of them.

My mother's family and the Heaneys are distantly related although that is not as impressive as it sounds as probably most of the population of Ireland is distantly related to each other.

 I sat in front of my desk at work and wept.   One of my sisters told me she had cried uncontrollably for an hour after she heard the news.

It's hard to explain why the death of a man none of us knew could have such an effect but as I have said before his voice has been in my head almost all my life.  He represented everything I love about the Northern Irish.  His wit and humour, his shyness and self-effacing nature, his intelligence and of course his way with words reminded me of other Northern Irish people I knew who while not quite as brilliant as him shared many of these traits.  My father's family loved word play and the making up of rhymes.  Like Heaney most of them looked kind of craggy and knew what snedding meant.  They were capable of playfulness despite tribulations. Heaney was like the best teacher you could ever have had or a really brilliant uncle who would have stood you a pint and taken an interest in what A levels you were doing.

Like my mother Heaney grew up near Toome and often mentioned it in his poetry.  My parents got married in Creggan and had their reception in Toome, famous for its eels and the execution of Roddy McCorley, a United Irish man and radical Presbyterian.  We went to O'Neill's hotel for dinner after my grandmother's funeral. I'm pretty sure Heaney would have visited O'Neills from time to time.

I'm glad that I did at least get to speak to Seamus Heaney if only for a minute or so at a book signing.  I'm going to Ireland next week and I'll visit Bellaghy and light a candle for Famous Seamus.

I don't know what I'll be doing though on the 28th November. "

Hard to believe that this was thirteen years ago.

 

Walking In Central London

I went shopping today in central London.   It still feels like a novelty to be able to go into the West End at 11 o'clock on a working day.  I walked from Charing Cross to Marylebone via Soho and I was sensible enough to write a shopping list.

My first purchase was two pairs of walking socks which sadly weren't in a sale and cost a lot more than I expected them to but hopefully they will prove to be an investment.  

Next I went to Muji as I thought I would be able to get a wash bag there but I had no luck.  I noted that there were no infusers pumping out synthetic fumes which made a nice change as normally I can only spend about three minutes in a Muji store before I start wheezing.  This makes me really cross as I really like Muji stores and I imagine that like me a lot of people aren't keen on infusers.  Nothing was purchased in Muji.

I cut through Soho and walked down a street I'd never been on in my life before.  Soho still has a smattering of sex shops and for a second or two I considered going into one but only because I've never crossed the threshold of a sex shop.  I walked on.

I crossed Oxford Street.  While I like going to one or two shops on Oxford Street I loathe walking down the pavement so I usually cut round the back. I passed a Boots so went in and got some Deet and two packets of Ibuprofen.  Better safe than sorry.

I zigzagged through the streets of Marylebone and walked down Harley Street past the grand houses which are now mainly filled with consulting rooms.  I watched a woman lurking in a hallway sucking on a vape.  There were hardly any people around apart from men in hi-vis jackets who were digging up the roads.

On Marylebone Road I went Daunt's bookshop which is much loved by the bookstagram community on Instagram.  I didn't buy anything there but I did buy a book in the Oxfam shop and then in a very expensive deli I bought one nectarine and a muffin and I walked to the Wallace Collection because I knew there were benches there and I sat there and had my lunch.

Next I walked to John Lewis where I bought two more pairs of socks, and a boost charge for my phone. I did not buy a new suitcase even thought I spent ages looking at them.

By the time I got home I'd walked over 13000 steps and I was exhausted

Rubbish and Fading Hydrangeas

After talking about it for several months we finally managed to have our collective rubbish removed.   First thing in the morning TB, SF and I are gathered it all up, broken wicker chairs, a large printer, a broken compost bin, an office chair and all kinds of other detritus and left it in the front of the house.  Two hours later a couple of guys turned up and in less than ten minutes it was all gone.  It cheered me up so much that I celebrated by cleaning  the communal hall.

Early in the evening I went into the garden which is looking very sad but at least there is no longer a broken compost bin and a huge tarpaulin sheet which have been there for several years.  The hydrangea blooms are all fading but they still look rather lovely I think. 

I wish there was a service you could ring up who would come and remove the foxes.  I don't wish them any harm but I do wish they would stop sleeping on the flower beds and using the entire garden as a toilet.

Tomorrow I'm going into town to buy some essential items for my walking holiday.  These include new socks, insect repellant and several over the counter drugs.   This is one of the signs of aging.  In my youth I might have brought a packet of paracetamol when going on holiday in case I had a hangover but now that I am ancient and never have hangovers essential items include two types of sinusitis treatments, IBS tablets, painkillers, antihistamines and prescription drugs for thyroid issue.   

I am beginning to get a little excited about going away.

Bookclubs

These are the books I sold today

One of the things that happens when you stop working is that the time it takes to do small chores  or any type of personal admin expands until it takes up an entire day.  Today due to some extremely bad diary management I had three different appointments and some admin to do.  I found it so stressful I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown.

I made an appointment to have my hair cut in north London this morning and then I remembered that my lunchtime bookclub was also today and my evening bookclub was rescheduled to tonight.  I spent quite a lot of time getting from A to B and I managed to do all of it without being late for any of my appointments.  I did my personal admin on the bus.

Both bookclubs were quite enjoyable although the discussion at the evening one was better.  The bookshop is very small so we had our meeting on the pavement outside  which was fine but it was quite hard to hear what people were saying due to the noise of traffic and loud music being played by couriers who had come to the fish and chip shop next door to pick up deliveries.

The books under discussion were Apeirogon by Colum McCann and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.  I really enjoyed  these books and would recommend both of them.

This day last year I was at my niece's Neesh's wedding and this is the dress I wore.  I wore the same dress  today and when I was walking down the road to the station  I met a woman  and as she passed me she said in as strong west African accent, "Your gown is beautiful".  I was so taken aback it took me a few second to process what she said.

I'm completely exhausted now.

Me in a hotel room this time last year

 

Unproductively

This evening I was feeling a little low as I often do on Bank Holidays.  I'm sure my dislike of Bank Holidays has something to do with growing up in the north of Ireland where Bank Holidays weren't really acknowledged in the same way they are here.  So for example in Northern Ireland people go to work on Good Friday.  The day when everyone is on holiday is the 12th July which is not a day for people who don't like the oppression of one group by another.

Anyway despite feeling that I'd done nothing I did actually achieve one or two things.

I listed quite a few books on Etsy although I didn't sell anything.  My shop is going to be closed for two weeks and I'm having an end of summer sale. Still a few days of it to go.

I also went out to the garden shed and managed to fill a big bag with rubbish which I put in the bin.  I also took photographs of the items that I am getting rid off and I then spent at least an hour sorting out the photographs that TB and SF took of the items they are getting rid of and filling in the forms that you are required to fill in if you want a quote from waste companies.  It was very worthwhile doing this as the price I finally got was £200 less than the original price quoted.   I also put a couple of items on Freecycle, a metal shelf from Ikea and a Christmas tree holder but only one of these has gone off to its new home.  I will let you guess which item it was.

I also went for a short walk and saw lots of signs of the changing seasons.  Rowan berries are out and the chestnut trees are already beginning to lose their leaves.

I read fifty pages of my book and  while I still have another  fifty pages to read by one o'clock tomorrow I'm confident I'll do it.

On balance today was in fact quite a productive day.

 

 

 

Ten Things I Did This Weekend

1. Went to the market and then had coffee with TB and SF
2. Spent quite a lot of time discussing the film we had all seen the previous week
3. Watched two foxes in the garden sunning themselves and then scarpering as soon as it started raining
4. Read very large chunk of Apeirogon which I think is very good
5. Realised I am going to have to spend several hours tomorrow finishing Apeirogon as bookclub is on Tuesday
6. Went to bed very late last night and had a nightmare which was so scary I had to keep the light on for half the night
7. Only took photographs of books
8. Half completed the Guardian Bank Holiday crossword
9. Listed a lot of books on Etsy
10. Had proper dinner two nights in a row