Searching for other things the other day.. just thought I'd remember back in March this near and happy days in NYC.

The Vessel..

Me in Central Park, Strawberry Fields area.. John Lennon's apartment beyond me..

Just abstract colors above.. taken from my aunt's house..

This amazing old store between the high rises..

And home in February before.. deep cloud cover.. 

A huge area of Andalucia went into lockdown as of midnight last night.. Jaen, Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz, Jerez, many of the smaller towns and villages encompassed in these areas..  

Not sure why not Málaga.. it's like we're being kept out.. locked out.. not locked in.. although of course we can't get into these areas..

Maybe they want us to thin out and reclaim the beaches!!

Very strange..

This morning my alarm woke me for the first time in five weeks here in the UK..

Sounds good eh! But really probably because I was awake for a good or not so good.. three hours or so in the night..

You know, the thoughts start up, I am worried sick about moving around here in the UK, and even worse the worry again, of not being able to get home.. 

It's awful, just want this to pass.. like we all do. It'll be here next year, maybe the next? 

Children whose first years only have this? And people whose last.. what a world.

Then that set me to thinking about a lady I supported a few years ago now.. 

About how she said I was her keeper of her memories..

Until we came to support her she had not lived with anyone since her parents passing.. her fiancé having died in WW 2.. and I was her first live-in support..

So over time, I learnt and remembered her life.. 

A sick cousin whose sheep Norman, would bang on the farm door, come in and go upstairs, onto her bed, shifting her dogs off .. and lay there with her.. almost like he knew she was ill.

A day in Aldershot when the King and his young daughter, princess Elizabeth.. were being shown the hospital there, and the lady's father being the most important person there normally and his young daughter with her dog.. the young Princess noticed the childs corgi and commented on it to her father the King.

The memory of her fiancé dying and how she learned of his death; all her recent letters to him, returned unopened and left on the mantel of the Hotel the Pumphouse  in Llandrindod, being used as a war hospital.. the matron hadn't even bothered to tell her they were there, or why.

How she went into London, lost and broken hearted and visited an art gallery.. she saw a painting, a Stubs.. Whistlejacket.. and somehow she gained a strength, found in herself a reason to go on, to carry on living even though she felt her life too had ended.

How, in the hospital, a cousin, a different one, was asked to clean all the men's false teeth.. (the men were very young and dying of their wounds and missing limbs.. so many false teeth?) She gathered them all up and washed them all in a bucket! Matron was like.. " whose teeth are whose?? Stupid girl." Needless to say the cousin left shortly afterwards. 

Of how also in the hospital.. these young men, always teasing and wanting kisses.. not been near a female while fighting, and probably would never live to have a girl again.. 

Wounds these days that can be healed, or prosthetics to bring a full life back to injuries, which in the past would have lead to only death.

She told of being in church where a minister, very ungodlike, told her she could not join the mother's union as she had no child, or ever would, because her young man had died.

I have since checked, well, then and there, actually.. no one is not allowed to join now, male female any age race creed or color.

I remember for her, the awful day of Aberfan when 116 children and 28 adults died, a colliery tip buried and killed them, and she amongst others went to help, to save, to dig, to give grace and support to those who they could, and those they couldn't.

And above all that she was born in Nepal in the town of Nainital, her first sight each morning the Himalayas from her bedroom window.

Her and her brother being cared for by an ayah.. It was the time of the British Raj.. 

The now famous artists she met; a writer called Bruce Chatwin. I'd never heard of him but his info is well worth reading.. I think she held a candle to him, as the old phrase goes.

And he knew Gerald Brennan.. who of course, those of us in Alhaurín El Grande.. know of, and many other people too I'm sure.

So many memories, so much history.. I'm sure if I live long enough to start to forget.. it's her memories I will remember by mistake.. and that will confuse people! For sure! 

TTFN

Marian

Beautiful walk today, of course, anywhere here is!

Lols anyone would think I'm on a bonus from the Bewdley tourist board!

This is the Ribblesford walk again I did today, more steady pace, not that mile a minute from the other day!

These photographs are in reverse order to my walk for some reason..

And this ancient tree drew me back.. I walked here before my placement started, and wanted to go back..

It has a mystical feeling about it, I didn't really want to leave this place..


Just feels so ancient, so... Full of something...

The church near the forest, St Leonards, is dated back to 1150...

Very old, it's cemetery rises up the hillside behind..

I feel very attached to Bewdley, it's pulled me in..

I've booked a third flight to attempt to get home to Malaga; still owed for the first two cancelled flights.. come on Ryanair!! Please!!

Contacted the airport car park who are looking after my car.. updated the new info, again, and asked if possible, if maybe, I could have a little compensation.. it's not actually my fault I can't get home after all...

TTFN
Marian

New year new road...

We have a lot of snow on the surrounding mountains this morning, all across the tops of the Sierra de las Nieves, of course, but also on the ones right ahead... up above Alonzaina.

I was late getting up this morning, after an initial 7am alarm, I had a headache just as I have had for the past four mornings, so I got up fed Pippa but knew I couldn't get out for a walk or eat so took one of strong migraine meds and went back to bed.  Before I knew it it was 11:45am... I got up had my breakfast and have taken the Pipster out... I think it could be a cold my body is fighting, the pain is sort of down my neck and inside my right ear... maybe a bit of a sore throat also, but only now and then...

As you know I don't get colds that often, very rare, my body has so much to fight all the time it keeps the mere cold at bay!

My fur-baby.... Is this the face of love or what! Bless my little girl!

I took this the day before yesterday, are we approached I could hear them first! The camels preparing for the Three Kings parade through our town!

There are some sheep there too!  A strange view to come across in Alhaurín El Grande, three camels and some sheep!  Even Pippa was happy to stop and stare for a while while her very confused brain must have thought WTF!! Oh, well maybe not!!

Lol... can you imagine me using these expletives when I first began Blogging... how many years ago... nearly fifteen years now!

I just switched on TV to watch a movie and a different one came on its called The Call.... it is excellent... BRB... Well, I wasn't right back, it was a long movie and an absolutely excellent movie! 2013, so I am guessing most people have seen it already! Unexpected and excellent!

Feeling quite ready for action now after this! And I can't remember yet what movie I was expecting!  This happened the other day clicked on one movie and another I had never even heard of came of which was excellent! Its like someone else is choosing them for me! Weird eh!?!

So... can't think what else I was writing now!

Opened the back door to let Pippa out and banged my shin against the bed, done that a few times in the last few days! Can go for months without doing that then bam bam bam!!

This morning had I not been sleeping! Was going to go down to Miramar the sales begin today! Still, probably done me a favour eh... I was going to buy something that I can do without!

And in this time of mixed emotions where my passport[s], are ready for action I should keep every cent ready also!

Arh yes! Yesterday I had a great hour and half with a friend on video calling... was really great, almost like we were in the same room! Both having a sip of wine... It was the evening and I had reached my second glass of Cava which I had opened at 3pm ish!  I had posted about it on my Facebook page and was surprised, or not! At the huge response to drink drink drink!! Lol...

And so I am a slow drinker and a not a not very much of a drinker!  Still over half a bottle left, which I will probably add to chicken tomorrow instead of drinking neat!!

So, great chat with friend, and then later another half hour video call with another friend... thank the lord for the internet! Or for the assistance from the inventor!

Mmmmm okay! Ciao amigos!

Need a little something here to follow.... let me look!

Melin Court Falls, Banwen

Above Melin Court Falls, my friend and I met up just after 12 noon, we had a meeting place planned, I couldn't find it, and after driving far to far on a wrong road, I stopped in a lay by, saw a text from her and she had actually changed our rendezvous place and time!!  So I had plenty of time to drive a good way back to near where I had actually started!!! lol...  Never mind!  We went to the falls above first, bit of a muddy pathway, but well worth the short trek and obligatory photo shoot!  These will be my last photos!!  No more, there are only so many angles I can actually take of these falls and where you stand is very limited!

We had our picnic at the tables near the parking area for Melin Court Falls, near the Marion Hall, incorrectly spelt! ha!!

Then we went onto Banwen, a small village, a huge nature reserve and a community area for courses, its called D.O.V.E. They do workshops on loads of various subjects....

Also, Banwen is where St Patrick was born!

We left the car parked there at D.O.V.E. after having a coffee in their lovely café... and we walked! We walked, and walked!!  Took far too many photos... most of which are just the same, lots of green, lots of pine, and lots of nothing really!

Although I quite like the fir cones above, the old and the new....

And the pine trees old branches new cones or branches?

Strange neither of us had ever seen so many different pines in one place, or the way they are growing, so many different buds, green and red...

I got walloped by a huge dog... I was trying to ignore him, out of fear really!  My friend spoke to it/him, I turned and he lolloped over to me and jumped! Would have been okay but he was as tall as me and his face in mine, his paws nearly on my shoulders... and mud all over me! He's been in one of the many lakes!

We reached a certain point, where the wind turbines reached the tracks and we thought we better turn about, only we turned about a bit too far, more because we wanted a different route back to the car, it took us further up the mountain and deeper into the forest, which is so beautiful, almost mystical, we expected trolls or pixies and fairies...

This bower beneath not man made, the mosses and tendrils of ground plants pulling the branches down, I actually got in this and did a selfie!!!  Of course you can't actually see where I am, so pointless to post it!

This 'below' in the bower and all about the forest floor... We hadn't a clue as to what it is?  Its a type of fungus we thought, its hard'ish, sticky'ish... very strange, neither of us ever having seen it before... Any ideas amigos??

We walked a fair way up this forest path [mud road], and reached a junction of other forest paths [mud roads!], I turned on my GPS and we followed a road back down at an angle to that which we had come up!  Or we would have been going nowhere fast!  Except further up the mountain and of course we knew we had to go down and left... We criss-crossed a fire break, which helped us keep track of where we were, and I told my friend we had missed our last cup of coffee, seeing as it was well gone 4:30pm... although she didn't believe me, for some reason!  As if I would joke about the time!

Then she wanted to see a lake we could see from the road, we did, and we saw some strange fish in it!  Dark with red fins above and below?? We continued out the other side of that field, passing through sheep, not keen on us doing so, the little lambs looking very nervous, just of me though, friend is vegetarian, me most definitely not and talking about mint sauce probably not helping!!

We came out on a road, and then after five minutes found it to be the wrong one and had to do a reverse turn, quite a long way back, we did find the car again, 5:30pm and eight miles since we left it! Not bad going, considering Tuesday was the day I was going to rest after so much toing and froing! for the last couple of weeks and back to work on Wednesday.... still long time dead eh!

And after days work Wednesday, sore throat Thursday, now I seem to have a cold... good going really, I don't remember having had a cold this year... although I am not happy to have one now of course!

TTFN

Marian

Rhosilli beach today, weather wasn't especially sunny, but the day was bright, and mild, first we walked down along the beach, quite a walk down, then watched the surfers at play!  Back up was harder, made worse by an incoming phone call, I was already breathing hard as it was!  I had to say 'goodbye' and speak to you later.... it was either walk up the mountain, or talk, couldn't do both, yes yes yes, unusual for me I hear you say!!

As we reached where the causeway should have been, had the tide been out, I looked around the corner and spied these sheep hanging on by their hooves! is it hooves?? Yes it is! And as Pippa saw them she went on tippy toe, to have a better look!

 

 

The rock formation here is amazing, it looks like it has been built by a giant child out of building blocks!

These sheep who look they are Baa Baa'ing our way... were actually coming up behind us, an escort of sheep!  They wouldn't come past, because of Pip, and were there because the sign on the gate saying All dogs to be kept on leads was not being adhered to, by people who think its one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us!  So everywhere they and they're jack russel and oddly, sheep dog, went, the sheep ran away from!  And I must now get off my soap box about it!!! Drives me crazy!

And on this note, I will be bid you adieu!

Old walls, secrets and moss, in moonlight bathe.
Leaves blanket the ground and whisper softly in the night breeze.
Columns of branchless trees, cut on an ancient lathe.
A Sanctuary in my mind, to return to whenever I please. 

Old Walls
by Robert Stagemyer

TTFN
Marian