It took just two children in Cuba to take me back to a childhood I’d forgotten. So many years ago, when I was younger than these children. I was probably about 4 years old and trying to master the art of spinning a top, something which most people will never even have heard of. In the days when one’s birthday and Christmas were the only times when presents appeared, the spinning-top cost about a penny I suppose, the stick could be anything from a twig to a cane with a piece of thin string wrapped around it. But oh, what joy when the top – which you’d decorated with coloured chalks – spun out and around and around.
Cuban Children playing with spinning tops
Cuba was even poorer than it is now when I visited it last, the blockade was in operation, no paint was allowed into the country as it was all owned by DuPont whose estates the Cuban government had nationalised, and for the children, spinning tops were the most fun to be had. They did however, have an good, free educational system, unlike the rest of the Caribbean.
Maybe I should add “in hope” to the title, as my screen is not showing me what I normally see when I log on to WP. It’s an all-white interface but I’ll continue just for a sentence or two and I will know when I hit publish if it’s working or not.
I made the changeover from one computer to the other with just a little difficulty – like transferring my Sonos system, which I prefer to operate from my desktop as my mobile phone is invariably in another room when I need it. Plus not all of my music made the transfer successfully. The music did but the titles didn’t and it took me some time to fix it.
I took a break from reading blogs and from blogging as I was doing this, as I decided I was spending far too much time online while books piled up on my desk and on the floor and my favourite hobby of reading was somehow being side-lined. Now that bookshops are again open, I can only see the problem increasing as I have a long list of books to check out and buy that I will really need more time for reading.
If this mini-blog works though, I will be back tomorrow, hopefully with a more sensible use of my online time – especially now that I can go out to lunch again!
Hope you’ll all enjoy the fact that lockdown has eased a lot for us, at least here in the UK. Foreign travel may still be a no-no for most of us but there is a glimmer of light at the end of that tunnel.
Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought the new computer (HP All-in-one 27″ dazzler) which, of course, had to have Win 10 and the new MS 365 so I have two new systems to get used to. The computer itself is great and I’m spending hours in the day just looking at my photographs which show up so well – even the bad ones – on this great screen. I bought it direct from HP which turned out to be the cheapest in the end as they gave me a good discount.
I haven’t read or commented on any of the people whose blogs I follow as I just haven’t had the time nor have I posted anything,. It is taking so much longer to transfer everything over than I thought it would, plus there are the everyday problems that life throws at one to contend with as well. This is sort of a round-robin apology to those whose posts I read and comment on but I will be back soon.
At least I hope so, as I haven’t managed to get WP up on the new computer. I can’t log-in because it won’t recognise my email address – which has been the same now for about 8 years – and without access to my blog I can’t do anything. I have put a query on the site but as it isn’t coming from my own blog site I don’t know how long it will take them to sort out the problem. I know it’s probably my fault – most things like this are – but I find that coping with the new machine, the new systems and having to work with the two computer screens on the desk is not helping. I could do a blog on this old computer which is still working but I have to get the other one up and running so feel I must concentrate on that.
Linked to Just One person from around the World at Cady Luck Leedy
I was reminded of this man and his 100-year-old leather glove-making shop when I read a recent post of Cady’s so I dug out my photographs and scanned them in. I have no dates on them, no details, but I know it was a long time ago. I still have the gloves I bought from him and I remember the shop so well because it was a very extravagant purchase: they are in very unserviceable colours but I’m a glove nut and just had to have them.
I can’t remember the address but I could take you there if we were in Madrid. There are a few famous glove shops in this area but this one was just a few steps away from the Puerta del Sol and the 4th generation member of the family who attended to me, told me that it moved to its current location in the early 20th century from its first location in the famous Plaza itself
The proprietor and some of his hand-made stock
See that shocking pink pair on the top shelf, and the blue ones on the right? Well, I bought those two pairs, plus a burnt orange pair and a navy and white pair – my entire spending money gone in one purchase! The orange, pink and blue gloves are still wrapped in tissue paper, still pristine, as they are not the sort of gloves you wear very often but the navy and white ones have seen a lot of service since that spend-up day in Madrid.
Many hundreds of pairs of glove in drawers
Why I bought them I’ll never know. I think it was just the excitement of seeing so much beautiful leather worked into gloves and, as I said, I love gloves – even if I never get to wear them. They are a bit like books to me, to have and to hold is reward enough. And can you imagine the smell of soft leather in that shop? It probably softened my brain a bit!
The working part of the shop, sewing-machine on table
My burnt-orange gloves are in the middle of the bottom shelf and they fit like a dream. Soft, pliable, luxurious leather lined with silk. I like buying gloves in Spain because they stock small sizes and as I take a size 6 I find it nearly impossible to buy them in the UK.
This shop, where time seems to have stood still, retains the mirrors, the counter, the old cash register and the sewing machine – everything is the same as it was in the mid-20th century. Above all, the attention to detail, the understanding of the customer’s needs and the very personal service is what makes this place special.
When this Covid thing is over and I can return to Madrid, I will seek out this shop again and get full particulars, then come back and insert the details in this Post.
Swinburne is not one of the poets one hears much quoted today but in his time he was a force to be reckoned with as he upset the status quo being both a rebel and a radical.
Swinburne’s last resting place, Bonchurch, Isle of Wight
Swinburne was a radical character and an alcoholic, with leanings towards sado-masochism, who incensed many of his fellow Victorians, but the main problem for the Vicrorians was that he was an atheist. The poet’s funeral at Bonchurch on the Isle of Wight was also controversial as he left instructions that there was to be no Christian ceremony. However, against his wishes, some of the normal prayers were read out.
As a poet he was a skilful exponent of French verse forms and obscure poetic metres but he was frequently criticised for his concentration on musicality at the expense of sense. (Similar complaints were later levelled at Dylan Thomas.) Browning famously referred to his work as being: ‘a fuzz of words’.
One of his supporters was Thomas Hardy who was much influenced by Swinburne’s atheism, and who in 1910 wrote A Singer Asleep whilst sitting next to Swinburne’s grave.
A short excerpt from one of Swinburne’s poems.
From too much hope of living, From hope and fear set free, We thank with brief thanksgiving Whatever gods may be That no life lives for ever; That dead men rise up never; That even the weariest river Winds somewhere safe to sea.
My one rhododendron has been magnificent this year but over the last few days I think it’s decided enough is enough. I see a fading beauty now whereas once I looked upon a blowsy pink lady. So I shall sadly say goodbye to her as I welcome the summer shoots that are already in evidence in the borders.
Rhododendron
Also saying goodbye to spring are the early tulips. In the mornings they are stately and closed up, standing erect and proud as tulips do, but by afternoon as they open to the sun I see a deterioration.
It almost looks like a woodland scene (left) but it’s just an untidy border.
And looking towards the summer is my new baby Acer, still in a small pot but due to be transferred when the wind dies down, and the older, lovely red Acer which I’ve had now for 5 years.
Linked to Just One person from around the World at Cady Luck Leedy
Elephans roam the area
We were spending a few days at the Floatel near Hellfire Pass on the River Kwai in Thailand, a peaceful sojourn in a place that was once hell for POWs of the Imperial Japanese Army during WWll. The Floatel was in a Mons village and we arrived there after a drive of about an hour from Kanchanaburi then another hour’s ride in a fast-moving longboat.
Our stay was memorable for many things, the novelty of our accommodation on a boat that swayed throughout the night as water buffaloes and elephants swam past, the noise from the monkeys in the trees around and the cold-water shower that came from a tank perched precariously on a wooden structure in our ‘bathroom’ – a curtained off partition in the bedroom where the outlet for the water was through the floorboards into the river.
Khun Lek Dressed for his Mountain Walk
But my memory of that time is of one person – the greatest football supporter I’ve ever met. It was January 24th, 1999, and Khun Lek, the waiter (who did all meals plus the bar), had to leave early that night because his team, Liverpool FC, was playing Manchester United FC. But this wasn’t just popping home to his house in the village. He was going to walk over two mountains to another valley, a lone walk that would take him approximately 5 hours with only the moon to light his way – and a head torch to help him catch some frogs as he walked! There was a satellite in the valley to which he was heading that was capable of receiving the programme and fans would gather there from miles around. After the game he would walk 5 hours back over the mountains to work
This was when I fully realised what football meant to the fans beyond Europe. The memory came back to me this week as UK fans protested against the hijacking of the game by the current owners of the top teams who are trying to cash in on this international support. These international fans, who don’t even speak the language of their favourite teams, be they Chelsea, Real Madrid, Juventas or Benfica, will do anything to watch a game: they have their favourite teams, they know each player and what position they play in, they know the managers, the coaches and the names of the stadia. (I gained Brownie points because I was able to add something to Khun Lek’s knowledge. I knew what The Kop stood for and the story fascinated him).
When he appeared, ready for his marathon walk, he was a sight to behold. It is cold on the mountains at night so over his clothes he wore a duvet and on his head he had a tightly bound scarf. Strapped around his forehead he had a torch to help guide his way but also, he told me, to catch some of the mountain frogs which were a delicacy in that part of the world. Underneath a striped tee shirt he wore his Liverpool strip and his Liverpool FC hat was in his backpack along with other paraphernalia for the game.
One meets many memorable characters on holiday but I can honestly say that Khun Lek was one of the most memorable – a happy, happy man and Liverpool’s No. 1 Fan – he told me so himself. And what was his hope for the future? To one day stand on The Kop and cheer his team. If I could grant his wish I would.
Photos above are of the Floatel and surroundings, a baby elephant foraging for food behind the kitchens, the accommodation, the bar, the local schoolroom (one room), a place for hanging out, and Mari and Thai friend Suchada at breakfast.
With a friend today to the National Trust’s BorthwoodCopse on the Isle of Wight to search for bluebells. Normally at this time of year the woods are carpeted with bluebells and other shade-loving plants but for some reason this year, a cold spell at the wrong time probably, there were none to be seen apart from the lone clump in the photograph above. Nevertheless, the walk was enjoyable although I missed the picnicking families, the bounding dogs and the sight of squirrels darting up trees to escape their attentions, but we had the pleasure of intense birdsong as they celebrated spring with us.
Borthwood Copse was originally a royal hunting ground and it was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1926 by one, Frank Morey, who had purchased it a few years earlier to preserve it for wildlife. The land has been subsequently added to and it now covers a total of 60 acres.
Below are a few of the pictures I took today.
There are some ancient oaks, a grove of beech trees, coppiced sweet chestnut and some hazel trees: the woodland is one of the very few examples of working coppice on the Isle of Wight. Many small paths lead through the woodland which is particularly popular during the spring for the wild flowers normally found in abundance there and in the autumn for the vivid colours of the foliage: it is also home to large numbers of red squirrels.
Maybe next week the bluebells will be out and maybe next week I’ll manage another trip to Borthwood.
Unable to post at the moment because my computer keeps on crashing and giving me the Big Blue so it’s Write a Cheque Time again as I look around. I’ve been lucky (so I’ve been told) as this one has lasted nine years but I’m loathe to let it go. I have an iPad but I don’t like working on it, especially the fact that they ask you to sign in every time you log off for a minute or two. Also, I can’t make the print large enough to work on comfortably and as I have bad macular degeneration I really need my desktop.
I’m a bit shocked at how the prices have gone up. My current model has almost doubled in price, one now has to pay for Microsoft, which normally came bundled with the computer and All-in-Ones (which I want) no longer come with a CD/DVD slot on the aside – another extra.
I only have the dominant computer superstore in my area (good at selling, bad at giving unbiased advice) as all our small shops have been swallowed up but I want to buy from someone else, or even direct from the makers, but it is proving impossible to compare models as each store seems to have a different number for the models. Deliberate? To confuse the buye? Yes, I think so. In the same price range and same model and make, one offers 1TB (brilliant for photo storage) while another offers 512 MB and one has the new all-singing, all dancing NA instead of SSD – quicker it is said and “if you’re going to buy a new computer make sure it has NA” – according to a recent computer magazine article).
If anyone in the UK has any advice, I’m listening, but meantime, if I’m not around for a while, you know the reason.
