tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73630705431294276632024-03-17T00:53:20.727+00:00Confessions of a displaced hedgehogA displaced hedgehog is a figure - or rather an image - from Tove Jansson's Moomin books. This is how I can best describe myself. This blog is mostly about being displaced.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger867125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-3352266144328470302022-12-23T19:15:00.006+00:002022-12-28T10:39:01.592+00:00Annual report 2022<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fcKKO2CR0dSKl7b3KS__phmZnS33F8HGMtsTfxldB6XwEswQp1RZ9JuF0xdfBkXiJXm3lVNdQtDsQOk2HweXRZHvHsHoAONou-aJdEXBUZgwKDCV8vHchqdg48YNIW3qMpUvbdJJLRjehN2FZRotwdyPheVY97qy4V_c0Bpom1dNDIcZkQ16CX8/s4608/2022-09-28%2009.22.30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fcKKO2CR0dSKl7b3KS__phmZnS33F8HGMtsTfxldB6XwEswQp1RZ9JuF0xdfBkXiJXm3lVNdQtDsQOk2HweXRZHvHsHoAONou-aJdEXBUZgwKDCV8vHchqdg48YNIW3qMpUvbdJJLRjehN2FZRotwdyPheVY97qy4V_c0Bpom1dNDIcZkQ16CX8/w211-h281/2022-09-28%2009.22.30.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s time for the annual report, and I don’t know where to start
or how to start. Last year, as the world was slowly emerging from the
horrors of covid, we thought that things would get better because
they couldn’t possibly get worse. It turned out, they could. I
won’t dwell on it too long because there are really no words to
describe the pain and the sorrow. My heart is with Ukraine, as well
as with my friends in Russia who have lost their jobs and are branded as
foreign agents with a real risk of getting arrested any day. My best
friend says I will never understand because I am too far away. I am
trying. What is inconceivable for me is that so many people who I
believed shared my values have chosen the other side. I guess this is
how Americans feel about Trump or the British about Brexit. Families
are divided, and you lose friends.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
have done my humble share in supporting Ukrainian refugees in Sweden,
but of course I could have done more.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">The
big question when the war broke out was whether to cancel every plan
for indefinite future: everything felt pointless, almost
sacrilegious. Yet most of us eventually decided that refraining from
fun wasn’t the best coping strategy. After all, to be cynical,
cancelling a party will not stop the war, and maybe we all needed
some fun in the middle of general misery. So my oldest son’s
girlfriend celebrated her 50</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">th</span></span></span></sup></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">,
and to her – and everybody’s - surprise he proposed to her in
front of all the guests. (They married in a quiet ceremony a few
months later). My daughter celebrated her 40</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">th</span></span></span></sup></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
with a fancy-dress party. And I celebrated my three-score and ten
with a luxury weekend at a countryside manor for family and closest
friends. During this memorable event I was introduced to disc golf,
which hasn’t become my new favourite pastime, but was a joy to try
as an extra entertainment.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTWxPmNV9QZzdLF2vYLDtX8_dAfo4pmFWmTWE3iZn-U-s5BjWCJgFVrAQ5pYaxHNaFKGaGJkwUMZwEmTJkZHMsvPMlsHrYO-S0RJZ6NdKSh0pQJ4Qy8Pxaq5nVIMbDttX_e2bUNMzB0e4-OU06g-weVmy8ghQBDlG5qsPnh8Gz2xDIFaiud-xljuo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTWxPmNV9QZzdLF2vYLDtX8_dAfo4pmFWmTWE3iZn-U-s5BjWCJgFVrAQ5pYaxHNaFKGaGJkwUMZwEmTJkZHMsvPMlsHrYO-S0RJZ6NdKSh0pQJ4Qy8Pxaq5nVIMbDttX_e2bUNMzB0e4-OU06g-weVmy8ghQBDlG5qsPnh8Gz2xDIFaiud-xljuo=w277-h368" width="277" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Similarly,
I saw no reason to cancel travel. It so happened that I made two
trips to Denmark, the first to a miniature fair, the second to a
miniature summer school. The fair was disappointing, and I am not
going there again, but I went with my daughter so we had a nice
mother-daughter bonding trip. The summer school was amazing, and I am
definitely going again. Excellent instructors, friendly atmosphere
and good food. I was very pleased with the two miniatures I made: a
17th-century map book and a Louis XVII desk. I realised how much
there is for me to learn.</span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGOCDvCwHWVTtsuCGCCM6RsxFSIfv4K7hZD5w_h2IPpyHmdEiRszcU-lx_7GQ3sVf-nfN5Chte_MWnAiC6MWI-EgnwZy6n-exGkllK6e5mM2erxxiHghrH1oSOEf3bseW7hkVtiMKH8nPcF-66lN-PdvysCc3WUP2TTwOJrl6hsI9WqZ0j8GKl40Q/s2960/2022-07-13%2017.05.41.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2185" data-original-width="2960" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGOCDvCwHWVTtsuCGCCM6RsxFSIfv4K7hZD5w_h2IPpyHmdEiRszcU-lx_7GQ3sVf-nfN5Chte_MWnAiC6MWI-EgnwZy6n-exGkllK6e5mM2erxxiHghrH1oSOEf3bseW7hkVtiMKH8nPcF-66lN-PdvysCc3WUP2TTwOJrl6hsI9WqZ0j8GKl40Q/w259-h191/2022-07-13%2017.05.41.jpg" width="259" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnq9iuQF3pD5-alEuzHBt2pnrUAP__iEWjVvFs-KT0NIg5h6tmkwhRtPCSsMBcK7_KUmJAUXhzEIryquOgmOLF9x_xbqQLK_HzT-y-p8YXLFoZgTm2jqS8CBAPO-sMkJPrxunF_S8ibAxJFaSHJWfiy6vjMplxHdnoxp29214_ORr7HuWjeQpemY/s4608/2022-07-17%2020.21.19.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnq9iuQF3pD5-alEuzHBt2pnrUAP__iEWjVvFs-KT0NIg5h6tmkwhRtPCSsMBcK7_KUmJAUXhzEIryquOgmOLF9x_xbqQLK_HzT-y-p8YXLFoZgTm2jqS8CBAPO-sMkJPrxunF_S8ibAxJFaSHJWfiy6vjMplxHdnoxp29214_ORr7HuWjeQpemY/s320/2022-07-17%2020.21.19.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Obviously,
I continued making miniatures and participated in several shows,
although I could not attend the main autumn show because I got ill –
not covid. </span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhD03y24AJkq2w2davbUbfq9jyMyKGbWfEjt9trbnqOOhBQBMYoOK_nSA2aykm03dtNZ6Lco4yr_M9b0quxkajyVlNzwd3yWgXsXeuFJzdK5tKFbgMY7ehkFpzsY9Etf36-1LOVlK7p1Xasx6jNpm9r83jb0i2ZmuTYfpul4uZ0F80ktVAqljpbl6E" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1834" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhD03y24AJkq2w2davbUbfq9jyMyKGbWfEjt9trbnqOOhBQBMYoOK_nSA2aykm03dtNZ6Lco4yr_M9b0quxkajyVlNzwd3yWgXsXeuFJzdK5tKFbgMY7ehkFpzsY9Etf36-1LOVlK7p1Xasx6jNpm9r83jb0i2ZmuTYfpul4uZ0F80ktVAqljpbl6E=w306-h342" width="306" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">My probably best experience in miniature-making was a
commission to make a set of Ukrainian food for a lovely bilingual
picturebook. It was quite a challenge. </span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj16atU1G-TR2iLFe9LnVODjPDUZ0LOmpFNzSrFu6ak2krsAsAm9_wsrIoW7ZVmXbdfETxuCITI5MBCrElUQEOTdVYSM4ebJV1ZHSkOAxevQhUMqhZuN62YRCFM2iqttQLzhPoxqSzj3Ankc930njB7qNU1naxJFtJ4-WwUlgIY7-92n4rIp13C8w8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="843" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj16atU1G-TR2iLFe9LnVODjPDUZ0LOmpFNzSrFu6ak2krsAsAm9_wsrIoW7ZVmXbdfETxuCITI5MBCrElUQEOTdVYSM4ebJV1ZHSkOAxevQhUMqhZuN62YRCFM2iqttQLzhPoxqSzj3Ankc930njB7qNU1naxJFtJ4-WwUlgIY7-92n4rIp13C8w8" width="255" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Another related achievement
was an article published in a dollhouse magazine. It wasn’t the
first time, but I felt more proud of it than of my academic
publications.</span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz9VwoKMg_hileH9EjD8R3MgJJZUB2aZwISZ0v5GdqR8R1w1jqfmd0uFr8iMxbDukl0Ox-rfHfSAhxVsrAZhTddw1PNnXVgoBWbc6TndiWpY2z68PJQ8u6Aapu72eOXs-CSIbEUIT9_OOiEd-Ixdo8YcBMJMm7EioO21W_W79_CIl8Il3BNxopmO4/s859/Miniatyrv%C3%A4rlden.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="859" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz9VwoKMg_hileH9EjD8R3MgJJZUB2aZwISZ0v5GdqR8R1w1jqfmd0uFr8iMxbDukl0Ox-rfHfSAhxVsrAZhTddw1PNnXVgoBWbc6TndiWpY2z68PJQ8u6Aapu72eOXs-CSIbEUIT9_OOiEd-Ixdo8YcBMJMm7EioO21W_W79_CIl8Il3BNxopmO4/s320/Miniatyrv%C3%A4rlden.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Going
back to travel, I fulfilled my grand dream of returning to Camino de
Santiago de Compostela, completing the final stretch of 120 km and
receiving a pilgrim certificate. Read a full account </span><a href="https://nikolajeva.blogspot.com/2022/10/on-way-part-3-how-it-felt.html" style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">. I got to know my fellow pilgrims
well, and we are already planning another pilgrimage in the coming
year.</span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-M2mgwX6Jp36AdT_zRDRLU03mBUHbVuHVLPFOoQuYY1LqSWKr25LRXcWjmJ4R9CgOU22__IRaP5HvwIUY5YG6KhJVjhXkymtfc4jw95CkPk-ldtCoqoxtOHGzR0Z5IiSNgCKURMV3zdlgV6hKYuI-K-C82QdaYnw6OGdkJ0lBcqrxl5hOawjqHMA/s4608/2022-10-04%2009.55.40.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-M2mgwX6Jp36AdT_zRDRLU03mBUHbVuHVLPFOoQuYY1LqSWKr25LRXcWjmJ4R9CgOU22__IRaP5HvwIUY5YG6KhJVjhXkymtfc4jw95CkPk-ldtCoqoxtOHGzR0Z5IiSNgCKURMV3zdlgV6hKYuI-K-C82QdaYnw6OGdkJ0lBcqrxl5hOawjqHMA/w558-h419/2022-10-04%2009.55.40.jpg" width="558" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
also made a short trip to Gdansk which is a truly amazing city.</span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhso-VF8ZJD0-x8VASTd4DCc9N6maSqRFNkwoJ1cwWXEvyCTBGST_UxApYN7n9V5oANnHM8WvisAV6Xq2yW4AhQyYMzWMQGjNPxxhGG3yMYAv31GDL4DPWQLVMLQGYvVqqjE0IU7U6S9FZ5YPxaXlpgFaS_1cGqkNjl0FjG8ltYd9Voz18sqZ7XNzs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhso-VF8ZJD0-x8VASTd4DCc9N6maSqRFNkwoJ1cwWXEvyCTBGST_UxApYN7n9V5oANnHM8WvisAV6Xq2yW4AhQyYMzWMQGjNPxxhGG3yMYAv31GDL4DPWQLVMLQGYvVqqjE0IU7U6S9FZ5YPxaXlpgFaS_1cGqkNjl0FjG8ltYd9Voz18sqZ7XNzs=w210-h280" width="210" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
continued leading nature walks during spring, but had to temporarily
quit in the autumn because of a foot injury. </span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqpl2jrts2VObeDYWktuXmRN1BcPJ5k39wPHyT0cNsBatxGs2z0wVrWMzTVlHxZxxX08OI665p5kVi68I9QM1HV8bHiXZHkSx_BZ9am0Me54jTinjLzOLujAMwPEQzUajZRouJ5Lg7te4ISDS142pjFF8FbzfhIeAxBPzfisNd9wB8ix20JB3RIeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="843" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqpl2jrts2VObeDYWktuXmRN1BcPJ5k39wPHyT0cNsBatxGs2z0wVrWMzTVlHxZxxX08OI665p5kVi68I9QM1HV8bHiXZHkSx_BZ9am0Me54jTinjLzOLujAMwPEQzUajZRouJ5Lg7te4ISDS142pjFF8FbzfhIeAxBPzfisNd9wB8ix20JB3RIeg=w273-h364" width="273" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I also continued with my
urban walks, based on children’s books, and guess what? I was
awarded a very prestigious prize for them! I had thought I was beyond
all awards, and it was particularly gratifying to receive
acknowledgement for something I was doing right now. The activity is
growing, and more and more funding bodies are deciding it’s worth
supporting so I am suddenly more involved than I had imagined, for
better and for worse. It’s something I strongly believe in.</span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLMWfohr8ZZD35IE5ts_zZJurkdkiGM43vuU20m0gbBI-KGn31Co7jeAnQx04pky3XDGRa9wHsYEPs4O81Fi2oSMx1xFskFGRQtWy0bhQnwTp1sVKnRnZ65VSiS82Oobgh0PHZiD7Or_Al72TUIIrqVCiHaX9MXH-qnXgBYQL1ZDLwRzT10BibN9Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLMWfohr8ZZD35IE5ts_zZJurkdkiGM43vuU20m0gbBI-KGn31Co7jeAnQx04pky3XDGRa9wHsYEPs4O81Fi2oSMx1xFskFGRQtWy0bhQnwTp1sVKnRnZ65VSiS82Oobgh0PHZiD7Or_Al72TUIIrqVCiHaX9MXH-qnXgBYQL1ZDLwRzT10BibN9Q" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbjBjtMsAta4eUK9nfF_EEz9cO-vsyG5y2avpb62_j89mv1Maw6Ri2T2Ro6TcVVLWL6msj--XgvF94MILwphaK65MZmxGkGci-WquoaSaoYZZ8V2ry0t9mJ9-d0AbEWStebEjjwC7m4IpOA95DnebGKjhwKdSFJUUgN41Q__oeC7ELw2OBujaJKJQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbjBjtMsAta4eUK9nfF_EEz9cO-vsyG5y2avpb62_j89mv1Maw6Ri2T2Ro6TcVVLWL6msj--XgvF94MILwphaK65MZmxGkGci-WquoaSaoYZZ8V2ry0t9mJ9-d0AbEWStebEjjwC7m4IpOA95DnebGKjhwKdSFJUUgN41Q__oeC7ELw2OBujaJKJQ" width="180" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
also received my second diploma in ikebana, now working on the third
and participating in some events apart from my formal lessons.</span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvqZdgZuCdomk9iML1sHZR9WsVTr3jxicvkoJ32KZIiYFvANKPGgQFZjgVeRUcGhT_Z1vwB5TYgGlAzYMwhUh9ntAhAGKL3VXEP9eLeeOKX58qTBJiRqJ6OMsSmhToQ8DhbVNsj9_aOcPY-cP776p0jcuFW92AkiMKJw5T8rC5k6JPT-VlzizaADw/s949/andra%20diplom2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="949" data-original-width="859" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvqZdgZuCdomk9iML1sHZR9WsVTr3jxicvkoJ32KZIiYFvANKPGgQFZjgVeRUcGhT_Z1vwB5TYgGlAzYMwhUh9ntAhAGKL3VXEP9eLeeOKX58qTBJiRqJ6OMsSmhToQ8DhbVNsj9_aOcPY-cP776p0jcuFW92AkiMKJw5T8rC5k6JPT-VlzizaADw/w289-h318/andra%20diplom2.jpg" width="289" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwQmyVGtAETWdItnq54Dlyb9PvJahyygYRDispyuOkVB8hvOKaj0fsS4rh92wJCyHU45A874QtCfX5EyuOHjnn9lFH0bqqNPsTkbtX-ulUc2zdcQmWU7S9NGM7dbnB1FkAJ21ufG7up84CVnLHgLsC2uLCQPYAZTo31XdMukIyfswtxlV51Dy5TE/s4608/20221215_180421.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3187" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwQmyVGtAETWdItnq54Dlyb9PvJahyygYRDispyuOkVB8hvOKaj0fsS4rh92wJCyHU45A874QtCfX5EyuOHjnn9lFH0bqqNPsTkbtX-ulUc2zdcQmWU7S9NGM7dbnB1FkAJ21ufG7up84CVnLHgLsC2uLCQPYAZTo31XdMukIyfswtxlV51Dy5TE/s320/20221215_180421.jpg" width="221" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">As
I was unable to walk any long distance in summer, I compensated by
going wild swimming every morning. </span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZMx7UoE91MchLNJ2esvpwcw08HO6JbD0IICKaNlT9BtTqLhhZTQ-Q7IrZeSoJ8INbgSlOOy0psYqKJoMGN585ntMAIpHavL9S9OHYItC4sMlr2t5RoAESx_2EUdsAoEezEUzLue01d3uR5hPpowjx_qMYcXRH7OMWxIYsPUi3JaVonstUvbpDo-Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZMx7UoE91MchLNJ2esvpwcw08HO6JbD0IICKaNlT9BtTqLhhZTQ-Q7IrZeSoJ8INbgSlOOy0psYqKJoMGN585ntMAIpHavL9S9OHYItC4sMlr2t5RoAESx_2EUdsAoEezEUzLue01d3uR5hPpowjx_qMYcXRH7OMWxIYsPUi3JaVonstUvbpDo-Q=w291-h386" width="291" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I also did some climbing, not as
much as I would have liked to, but my instructor, who happens to be
my grandson, is impressed.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3rCaw5tbFf4c9zVE8pvCQB0y2w0c6V3c6zfaJF3NQEd2oDqjFh6r7ptMp_dBybpRTihLFENTQwvOTbHiG6C7Msl8t8KRdh0A9RKvZAiLaXmuSd6cO7aTxJlqKeXBKmYkIBdR8qnJCnTW_rqLmAwxWVRYxQT0jk5tGnT5AHTHZOf7drNWgwo2njk/s1920/received_892093245506054.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3rCaw5tbFf4c9zVE8pvCQB0y2w0c6V3c6zfaJF3NQEd2oDqjFh6r7ptMp_dBybpRTihLFENTQwvOTbHiG6C7Msl8t8KRdh0A9RKvZAiLaXmuSd6cO7aTxJlqKeXBKmYkIBdR8qnJCnTW_rqLmAwxWVRYxQT0jk5tGnT5AHTHZOf7drNWgwo2njk/s320/received_892093245506054.jpeg" width="180" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
continued cook-alongs with my Cambridge friend, and in summer we
went on a virtual trip with Orient Express, stopping in Paris,
Venice, Sofia and Istanbul. We read books, watched movies, listened
to music and of course cooked food. Believe me, it’s a great way to
stay in touch when you cannot visit in real life. We planned to go to
Paris for real, but again I got very ill so sadly it didn’t happen.
Maybe next year.</span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBZC29hAS1jcSRffwB_adTbI7N415EPq6KoWzv2zYvh8Ezj-jIvhs2egu5sQCjbIBSO97TuscmgE7QGiE1mhFgGwbv4rqyCWRd2JWPSas4H849aYYXrw1z0U_Y0rwMD1KD0BI3755CbgsVYxV1FEDjAzD-ZfxB5evpj6P6qUwLhbpU6yGr6Ba8Tgs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1529" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBZC29hAS1jcSRffwB_adTbI7N415EPq6KoWzv2zYvh8Ezj-jIvhs2egu5sQCjbIBSO97TuscmgE7QGiE1mhFgGwbv4rqyCWRd2JWPSas4H849aYYXrw1z0U_Y0rwMD1KD0BI3755CbgsVYxV1FEDjAzD-ZfxB5evpj6P6qUwLhbpU6yGr6Ba8Tgs" width="179" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqxVDuH-7ImUcq5BQ1CDEhuyg-SMXb28UWNa6g4lWjbPBy9l_QVkIIVs0q78BDk8OIMqzpP9oFoilmNM9FSFN84Gxf9wTziffNjtfP4LUnhgWS_llcAT1swuBt-jCSvFpWg6mTQCQJsenonmzYXNJYrJ1L7_kfwldAgyf_9ebbRrJtqit-0fDAPp8" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1384" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqxVDuH-7ImUcq5BQ1CDEhuyg-SMXb28UWNa6g4lWjbPBy9l_QVkIIVs0q78BDk8OIMqzpP9oFoilmNM9FSFN84Gxf9wTziffNjtfP4LUnhgWS_llcAT1swuBt-jCSvFpWg6mTQCQJsenonmzYXNJYrJ1L7_kfwldAgyf_9ebbRrJtqit-0fDAPp8=w204-h235" width="204" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">There
wasn’t much to do in terms of home improvement, but my wonderful
grandsons helped me remove the horrible carpet on the balcony and
replace it with a lovely wooden deck. The balcony was once again a
source of much joy.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKAmoN-KnzMEZt7WW-z3HnJG6HYmqBc5oxNUe75QwOJpj-ilf2JyZhU7NjJoAMRpIVUic112Ov0INn4Tm_DE8EnZZM1I14DJCW5NHV5dzGkFylFor_BP4A5PvHddEzi53tZYs-eX0Wg9WiLGozv60CctXGHZdOSDO33Ca8EAFlu-2XIAEdVBB7s8U" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKAmoN-KnzMEZt7WW-z3HnJG6HYmqBc5oxNUe75QwOJpj-ilf2JyZhU7NjJoAMRpIVUic112Ov0INn4Tm_DE8EnZZM1I14DJCW5NHV5dzGkFylFor_BP4A5PvHddEzi53tZYs-eX0Wg9WiLGozv60CctXGHZdOSDO33Ca8EAFlu-2XIAEdVBB7s8U=w262-h347" width="262" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
made substantial progress with Welsh, and I am now halfway through
the course. In summer, however, I took a break and learned some
Spanish in preparation for my trip to Spain. I actually could say
quite a few phrases when I was there.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">Like
last year, I set a <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2022/8028015" target="_blank">goal of reading thirty books</a>, but I didn’t have
any theme so it was a mix of contemporary Swedish and contemporary
British, of the latter Ian McEwan’s new novel, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Lessons</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">,
was probably the strongest impression, alongside French Murial
Barbery’s </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>The
Elegance of the Hedgehog</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">I
have been a</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">n
ardent </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">moviegoer,
thanks to my grandson who works in a cinema, but I have also watched
numerous films and tv series at home, thanks to all great streaming
platforms. The same grandson made sure I didn’t miss any important
theatre, opera and ballet performances. Two highlights: Strindberg’s
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Miss
Julie</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
and Brecht’s </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Life
of Galileo</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">.
Not to mention all concerts, both my subscription concerts and
several on top of those. Occasionally I attended 2-3 events in a
week. Quite recently I made a big musical discovery: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Smyth" target="_blank">Ethel Smyth</a>. A
good example of the benefits of subscription: I would probably never
chosen this concert on my own.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
could go on, but I think I have made my point. It has been a very
dark year, and no light any time near. And yet life goes on, and it’s
a wonderful life that I wish everyone could enjoy in their
retirement, although I am well aware of how privileged I am. Not least thanks to these lovely friends: </span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoVLxGF5dYyXuWl6AXmjAvBh9G3fiS5547KkvWSnT8RP2TiGGba96oXrhf-i7LbW9IVevd7U3nSM_p3TYQ4A4XGEJguHXhJPalvVKIp4jwx9lsv_RM_To1wspUST3gcyYD7-88RI8xe1evdGQuBx6lAgDxyeBjNvSIaDpQuUnc9bvTsRh4b7b0no/s2303/IMG-20221115-WA0001.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2303" data-original-width="2129" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoVLxGF5dYyXuWl6AXmjAvBh9G3fiS5547KkvWSnT8RP2TiGGba96oXrhf-i7LbW9IVevd7U3nSM_p3TYQ4A4XGEJguHXhJPalvVKIp4jwx9lsv_RM_To1wspUST3gcyYD7-88RI8xe1evdGQuBx6lAgDxyeBjNvSIaDpQuUnc9bvTsRh4b7b0no/s320/IMG-20221115-WA0001.jpeg" width="296" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Let's not lose hope! Happy 2023!</span></span></span></span></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-70455338281352053432022-10-23T13:06:00.000+01:002022-10-23T13:06:00.471+01:00On The Way, Part 3: How it Felt<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Read the <a href="https://nikolajeva.blogspot.com/2022/10/on-way.html" target="_blank">first</a> and <a href="https://nikolajeva.blogspot.com/2022/10/on-way-part-2-how-it-worked.html" target="_blank">second</a> part of this story. </span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfN-b4MEB3TH4Q6rhrscCqHFEI03yfEtdG6ujAES1Pj0pUTVrblNxUTue742ymymK8vul1nw5Abz7alwE6TNuSIUD3dV9dkY_Jsy_FQdBbBC6LgpP1SVyr4Jo6L7vKX5ldiPvvML68EuX5UYNNPrs8HwAlRE79cf_3xHxjO0lf4S5vXE-KmXOCnik/s4608/2022-10-04%2009.07.49.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfN-b4MEB3TH4Q6rhrscCqHFEI03yfEtdG6ujAES1Pj0pUTVrblNxUTue742ymymK8vul1nw5Abz7alwE6TNuSIUD3dV9dkY_Jsy_FQdBbBC6LgpP1SVyr4Jo6L7vKX5ldiPvvML68EuX5UYNNPrs8HwAlRE79cf_3xHxjO0lf4S5vXE-KmXOCnik/s320/2022-10-04%2009.07.49.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As
already mentioned, I kept asking myself what I was expecting, what I
was seeking. In the film, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Way,</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
as the four pilgrims receive their Compostela, they are asked why
they did the pilgrimage, and they all have various reasons. The main
character does it for his son who died in an accident on Camino.
Sa</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rah</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
pledged to give up smoking. Joost wants to lose weight because his
wife won’t sleep with him. And Jack is struggling with writer’s
block. Both before and during the walk I was considering what my
answer would be. I did it because I like walking – no, not strong
enough; I can walk around Stockholm or anyway in Sweden. Because this
walk has a special status, whether you have a faith or not; because
thousands upon thousands of people have done it for a thousand years,
and I wanted to sense their spirit lingering in the stones. Because I
am a pathetically goal-oriented person and want another certificate
of achievement to frame and put up on my wall. Or actually because I
had just gone through a traumatic period in my life, losing my
partner of forty years; because I needed to figure out, far away from
everything, what was important in the remaining years, months or
weeks, what mattered, what made life worth living. In short, I was
seeking some kind of epiphany, not a religious awakening</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">not
a voice from above, but some clarity of thought.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
don’t know what my companions were seeking. I saw Annika in deep
prayer a few times, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which
made me a bit envious, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
I happen to know Christina ha</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
a mission, but we didn’t discuss our purpose or our expectations.
We met many people on the road, and although I am always shy to
strike up a conversation, occasionally I said: Do you mind my asking,
please don’t feel obliged to reply: why are you doing this? Some
people simply said it was a fantastic experience, which is a good
reason. We met an Irish Catholic priest, and there seemed no need to
ask what he was doing the</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">r</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e.
We met a Frenchman who had done it many times, along different
trails. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
met some Swedes. We met Canadians. Quite a few people we kept meeting
day after day. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Most
people who have walked Camino say meeting other pilgrims was half the
pleasure. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDecOW4wMnEkZCcpcMgGw1uInnKuXMAkYqAlO6L9xheUm1xrUVvEIvkqGZsDhjOvWvuZtNKZrIX-vjAqD6PLFeHP8cP0UgPtcOhr-J_DegYh9q8IfhyzQdr3-0EbqYlNuQmw1J1sZz3ii-nRf_GNu6Ihc93gOB_uIIbftRr8nngvEqcFNgv2hF6eY/s3735/2022-10-02%2010.13.16.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3735" data-original-width="3418" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDecOW4wMnEkZCcpcMgGw1uInnKuXMAkYqAlO6L9xheUm1xrUVvEIvkqGZsDhjOvWvuZtNKZrIX-vjAqD6PLFeHP8cP0UgPtcOhr-J_DegYh9q8IfhyzQdr3-0EbqYlNuQmw1J1sZz3ii-nRf_GNu6Ihc93gOB_uIIbftRr8nngvEqcFNgv2hF6eY/s320/2022-10-02%2010.13.16.jpg" width="293" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">At
one point when a couple passed by us I heard them speak Russian so I
said </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="ru-RU"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Счастливого
пути! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
of course they stopped, and we walked together for a while. The woman confided in me; she didn't want her partner to hear. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">They were very fast walkers, doing
30-40 km a day, so they left us quickly after.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>My
companions and I had agreed from start, all the way back when were
arranging the trip, that we would each walk at our pace, that we
didn’t have to stay together, and that we didn’t want to chat. As
it happened, we did stay together most of the time, and we had brief
chats when any two of us walked side by side, and of course we
chatted during our coffee and lunch breaks, but otherwise we walked
silently, each immersed in our own thoughts. </span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Actually,
at least for me, on a long-distance walk there is little room for
thoughts. Partly because you need to watch where you are going, and
particularly by the end of an arduous day you are simply preoccupied
with putting one foot in front of the other. Partly because walking
is the most perfect way to clean your mind, to get rid of everything
that bothers you, until your only thought, like a mantra, is: I am
here. Being in nature, walking slowly and paying attention is the
attraction for me. We stopped often to take pictures, and while we
stood in the same spot our pictures were probably quite different. We
would point out some interesting feature for each other, but
otherwise let the others make their own discoveries. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGmRPztU3majj8tPJpLeQZY8rt_J1jRqzsY6S8OpK9GGYjWHp74mqvm7txgHawkn662WXKn8Hno_KqMJtQqizywUHBziV4_19H0jgxefci_RWwAeII4y7Rlm0sz4Rf5OyLmsn-O0tcDCfLOgxjYo0m5_yTvr5GGWaje5JxBnh7KT7o7vlqm6G8fj4/s4608/2022-09-30%2013.35.55.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGmRPztU3majj8tPJpLeQZY8rt_J1jRqzsY6S8OpK9GGYjWHp74mqvm7txgHawkn662WXKn8Hno_KqMJtQqizywUHBziV4_19H0jgxefci_RWwAeII4y7Rlm0sz4Rf5OyLmsn-O0tcDCfLOgxjYo0m5_yTvr5GGWaje5JxBnh7KT7o7vlqm6G8fj4/w326-h435/2022-09-30%2013.35.55.jpg" width="326" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As
I walked there, hour after hour of uninterrupted silence, except for
bird song and wind in the eucalyptus trees, I continued asking myself
what I was doing there and whether it was enough to say I was doing
it for great experience, but it didn’t feel enough. Every now and
then I recited <a href="https://ruverses.com/joseph-brodsky/pilgrims/7591/" target="_blank">Joseph Brodsky’s poem ”Pilgrims”</a> for myself, as
a kind of secular prayer, trying to invoke something both hazy and
powerful, something that all those tho</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">u</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">sands
upon thousands of people who had walked and were walking felt,
something that I was guessing my companions felt. In the evenings we
agreed that the day was wonderful, but didn’t go into detail. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">While
the awaited epiphany didn’t arrive, I clearly felt a change in my
perception of the world and of my life. Somehow everything beyond
Camino, everything back home felt petty, insignificant. It is quite
common that as you travel your ordinary life fades away, and
conversely, after you get home your travel experience, no matter how
overwhelming, is eventually stored away in your emotional memory. I
knew it would happen when I got home, and it did. Yet when I was
there, nothing was more important than being there, and after a
couple of days I stopped asking myself what I was doing. As we
started walking at the crack of dawn on the final morning I stated calmly that it was my
last chance to get the Answer.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQv3wgrY-ksg6xj40RQFzuoRbHOmOho7Gzr-lo1COHeY-KS3B9Cmbwi-R1K4t4SN-c-rWbndNxZB5XfoJ-knH-OVqsO0Kg-81DDiQl5J6_9zvvR-h1MjxjO-nNowYQnKBTfuDbRc9Ef0HY2OdOOxff4eHTjJ7gqPO8dOhY0Wa76upztzj3ObMkF0/s4608/2022-10-03%2008.14.07.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQv3wgrY-ksg6xj40RQFzuoRbHOmOho7Gzr-lo1COHeY-KS3B9Cmbwi-R1K4t4SN-c-rWbndNxZB5XfoJ-knH-OVqsO0Kg-81DDiQl5J6_9zvvR-h1MjxjO-nNowYQnKBTfuDbRc9Ef0HY2OdOOxff4eHTjJ7gqPO8dOhY0Wa76upztzj3ObMkF0/w179-h239/2022-10-03%2008.14.07.jpg" width="179" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
we were, on the square in front of the cathedral, together with
hundreds of other pilgrims, and I felt absolutely nothing, apart from
being exhausted and hungry. I could sense similar vibes from my
companions. We went to our hotel which turned out to be an old
monastery or seminary, with cloisters and long stone-clad corridors,
and we got our rooms that looked like premium monk cells with iron
beds. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGOX2J_VOVT5EV35THLWhtXNog31H7ttSK2XW8U1MxanL6d4k7qPCXuisZ1vl9gZd84W4s3MY_UE861d-n-Pjo2Us5FvZ2xOs0FAfEeNn4dyAmQnL3Be5WKLSiWaXnYEzj06wO5G3XCV8D1eNBPYJeAmW7ozwruOr0eDVkl4DUvNFglJcXRmaj2o/s4608/2022-10-04%2011.11.28.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGOX2J_VOVT5EV35THLWhtXNog31H7ttSK2XW8U1MxanL6d4k7qPCXuisZ1vl9gZd84W4s3MY_UE861d-n-Pjo2Us5FvZ2xOs0FAfEeNn4dyAmQnL3Be5WKLSiWaXnYEzj06wO5G3XCV8D1eNBPYJeAmW7ozwruOr0eDVkl4DUvNFglJcXRmaj2o/w232-h309/2022-10-04%2011.11.28.jpg" width="232" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDUyyP1SH4DgvxioTK2o7CisoghLzFWtpFn4ghE3XoSph_JxZGKDbvTaXNYgQ1ftHkSj_xnQjWudBD8RYLA4i5WdZaHsm7b_2M_-pREAmCswwG3pkGXB-YX04PxRt7QNU_rP8PWx_0xBJrP49kIgVx0wcv3EK9XduSfFClgRDPSzOVM6LJX6U2rw/s4608/2022-10-03%2021.59.29.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDUyyP1SH4DgvxioTK2o7CisoghLzFWtpFn4ghE3XoSph_JxZGKDbvTaXNYgQ1ftHkSj_xnQjWudBD8RYLA4i5WdZaHsm7b_2M_-pREAmCswwG3pkGXB-YX04PxRt7QNU_rP8PWx_0xBJrP49kIgVx0wcv3EK9XduSfFClgRDPSzOVM6LJX6U2rw/w229-h306/2022-10-03%2021.59.29.jpg" width="229" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">After a short rest we went out to celebrate. On the way back we
stayed a while on the square, admiring the cathedral bathing in
light, under a full moon (there is always a full moon in movies to
emphasise dramatic moments; I swear there was a full moon). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxuR0PXjBQcSCq35SSWfuScMC0LbQerRlBxf3DRLkh1deDsE7wM5ZVSLgQ7K2QKkmt5AG23anZ_GLDG-271HrRkNgSgl5kB48ggWm9mGQVyduAdtidnR3tuBp8HSiuVX75gtNCPWrLG1K4tb8_CN8yI4XVqTpyIpWkcpfBGaOQB67EdQAIimoyCs/s4608/2022-10-03%2021.43.16.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxuR0PXjBQcSCq35SSWfuScMC0LbQerRlBxf3DRLkh1deDsE7wM5ZVSLgQ7K2QKkmt5AG23anZ_GLDG-271HrRkNgSgl5kB48ggWm9mGQVyduAdtidnR3tuBp8HSiuVX75gtNCPWrLG1K4tb8_CN8yI4XVqTpyIpWkcpfBGaOQB67EdQAIimoyCs/w568-h426/2022-10-03%2021.43.16.jpg" width="568" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
the morning we had breakfast in the refectory with valved ceiling,
among dozens of other pilgrims, and you could just about imagine that
there was a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">monk</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
in the pulpet in the middle, reading suitable texts to keep us
focused. It was a good start of our final day. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-pm_Y1mlQ9LnIIjcXOS-COr2jUIB3QL5h0tZwA138wAErsux9iIcIADo7Ae_eQXTHpCelkK4YkRgAxJtlQbMzT2xbF40-ojKFek7vmB4kETrXy1NHcX7fQErYgN_bkd4-8Zprp10T-UdAZzkqPPqXhTPVL6bR24Nc_QAZ7E5UKd6ITW_-Q3uFnQM/s4608/2022-10-04%2008.26.24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-pm_Y1mlQ9LnIIjcXOS-COr2jUIB3QL5h0tZwA138wAErsux9iIcIADo7Ae_eQXTHpCelkK4YkRgAxJtlQbMzT2xbF40-ojKFek7vmB4kETrXy1NHcX7fQErYgN_bkd4-8Zprp10T-UdAZzkqPPqXhTPVL6bR24Nc_QAZ7E5UKd6ITW_-Q3uFnQM/w437-h328/2022-10-04%2008.26.24.jpg" width="437" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Our first mission was
to get our Compostelas, and we went to the pilgrim office, which was
a disappointment. We were not asked why we had done the walk. We
filled an online questionnaire, submitted our pilgrim passes full of
stamps, paid three euros and received a beautiful document with our
name on it. The moment lacked solemnity. I guess it’s inevitable
given the scale. We learned that on that weekend 8,000 p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lgrims
arrived in Santiago. Issuing Compostelas was computerised and
efficient. Of course we were still happy and proud and took pictures. (The second document, by the way, is the certificate of distance, stating that I have walked 120 km from Vilalba to Santiago. Unlike the Compostela, it is written in Spanish).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlIqPy-F_rZZKschyiWmcX0sL_chnPx6tcjqgTWSZwcoNgYr41MgRSKG2dsMQj6nwBHIvKTj7q-5rdRfy24u-ywO-DMVChwhLByuSlbplQcXVGXKcxUQap8d8HqX1Km-L_6vfn5EF5d-rJYsopz8VYdl_ZnXcQzbkYeWwmfcyz5vbxNRGW6oZzZA/s3927/2022-10-04%2009.48.12.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3927" data-original-width="2666" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlIqPy-F_rZZKschyiWmcX0sL_chnPx6tcjqgTWSZwcoNgYr41MgRSKG2dsMQj6nwBHIvKTj7q-5rdRfy24u-ywO-DMVChwhLByuSlbplQcXVGXKcxUQap8d8HqX1Km-L_6vfn5EF5d-rJYsopz8VYdl_ZnXcQzbkYeWwmfcyz5vbxNRGW6oZzZA/w304-h448/2022-10-04%2009.48.12.jpg" width="304" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Our
second task was to get tickets for the Holy Door. Again, in the movie
the pilgrims arrive and approach the cathedral door – you are
encouraged to do it on your knees, but that’s not mandatory –
walk in, put their palm into the palm imprint on the pillar and
supposedly feel something tremendous. The door was closed, and we
were told we needed tickets for particular slots, but we couldn’t
get any sensible information about where to buy those tickets. We
were going to midday pilgrims’ Mass, and before that we had to
check out, and Christina was the only one who persisted – and
succeeded! We split, and I went early, but at half past eleven the
cathedral was already full – what had I expected? I managed to find
a narrow </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">stone
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">step
by a pillar and texted my companions where I was; they found me and
sat on the floor. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
am well familiar with Catholic mass so it was easy to follow, but the
sermon was </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">in
Spanish, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">far
too long and tied to some local event, and I was getting bored and
disappointed. Then came a very efficient eucharist, given the huge
crowds in the cathedral, and that immediately felt better as a
confirmation of togetherness (well, that’s what communion </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">means</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
Note that I don’t believe in transubstantiation). And then! Then I
realised that the best part was still coming, the part I had been
waiting for and thought wasn’t coming at all, the part I saw in the
movie and wasn’t sure really existed. There were eight men in
purple cloaks.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-Zm0OTdIreTpzeHqoNQv9MDdrPLLlfFQLl5XdIT-9GoyUUfYe5--5fMTK5CXfjJlISqRtGCusfaDdsaEbq2o4IPBoRAd4Q3pU67AaGcDDc_uX1l49aZXJnBgbyW1qwsCbbxKNg85pf4lAl-duRtxC5Ec_E4km0KJU3cBNHaQtwz-oMRq2hmn5D0/s4530/2022-10-04%2013.05.38.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4530" data-original-width="3039" height="670" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-Zm0OTdIreTpzeHqoNQv9MDdrPLLlfFQLl5XdIT-9GoyUUfYe5--5fMTK5CXfjJlISqRtGCusfaDdsaEbq2o4IPBoRAd4Q3pU67AaGcDDc_uX1l49aZXJnBgbyW1qwsCbbxKNg85pf4lAl-duRtxC5Ec_E4km0KJU3cBNHaQtwz-oMRq2hmn5D0/w449-h670/2022-10-04%2013.05.38.jpg" width="449" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><br /></span></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">The </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">botafumeiro</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
the gigantic incense vessel, started swaying, pulled by the eight
men, and where we were sitting it rose just over our heads, higher
and higher, up to the ceiling, and that was the moment when I felt I
was in the right place, that was what I had come for. No epiphany, no
religious awakening, but a deep spiritual experience that I shared
with three people who had become close friends, as well as all the
people I didn’t know at all but who were there for whatever
purpose; and thousands upon thousands of pilgrims in the past
thousand years. It was truly sublime. Many people took pictures and videos, but I just wanted to be in the middle of it. As we rose to go, I got us four
together in a big hug. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>After
that, going to see the Portico was an anticlimax, and when we finally
found the palm imprint we were not allowed to touch it. </span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Following late lunch we decided to separate and stroll around on our own. I think we
all needed some private time after the experience. I didn’t have
any particular wishes, and unfortunately I discovered too late that
there was a guided cathedral roof tour: all slots were booked. I went around
inside the cathedral looking and taking pictures of less prominent
features. Some side chapels were even more beautiful than the main
altar. I went to the cathedral museum which wasn’t very
interesting. I bought a bar of local chocolate. I sat on the square
watching people. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>Then
it was time to get back to the hotel from where a limo would take us
to the airport hotel we were staying at for the night. Brief exchange
of experience, nothing profound. </span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
trip home was uneventful for some of us and dramatic for others. But
that’s another story. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
know it will take me a long time to fully understand what I have
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lived
through</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and what the consequences might be. Just as home felt remote from
Camino so does Camino feel far, far away in both space and time.
While there, I was in an emotional bubble, cozy and protected, free
of responsibilities other than walking on. Right now my feelings
oscillate between: I want to do it again and walk the whole way, and:
I have done it, I don’t have to do it ever again. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Would
I recommend it to a friend? (A TripAdvisor kind of question). It’s
certainly not for everyone. The movie is based on poetic licence: no
one can walk Camino without proper training. The protagonist would
have got bleeding blisters on the first day and would have been
unable to walk at all for the next week or two. That is, unless he
had a heart attack at the first steep ascent and dropped dead. So if
you intend to do the walk, make sure you are physically fit. Travel
agents offer excellent free self-taught training programmes. But even
if you are well trained and walk 15-20 km a week, as I do, it doesn’t
mean Camino is for you. It is a very special kind of pursuit. I have
in my account mentioned some reasons people do it, and I have shared
my own thoughts. One thing I can definitely advise. Don’t say: ”I
have always dreamed of doing it, one day maybe…” If you want to
do it, do it now!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DVgLvhjTKrjLrGjl4HOta1XzGTdmSzFwDfwLnVwCOB8hOUuZIJHZEkiHsdEsFSFRDX4yHVHwco-JgayAsvRV4ydBxN-tYuCIVr46oOIHf9cdwr_dldX4tVsLoM0kLDsXu4erlWXH6_5gg5oGGV4Sw04akO0vcaAVrEqQ1BSaWTZZQc1fpTqyND8/s4608/2022-10-05%2017.53.49.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="669" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DVgLvhjTKrjLrGjl4HOta1XzGTdmSzFwDfwLnVwCOB8hOUuZIJHZEkiHsdEsFSFRDX4yHVHwco-JgayAsvRV4ydBxN-tYuCIVr46oOIHf9cdwr_dldX4tVsLoM0kLDsXu4erlWXH6_5gg5oGGV4Sw04akO0vcaAVrEqQ1BSaWTZZQc1fpTqyND8/w503-h669/2022-10-05%2017.53.49.jpg" width="503" /></a></div><br /><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><br /></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The End</span></div>
<br />
<p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<br />
<br />
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-17786709654335308832022-10-20T13:57:00.000+01:002022-10-20T13:57:54.408+01:00On The Way, Part 2: How it Worked <p><span style="font-size: medium;">Read the <a href="https://nikolajeva.blogspot.com/2022/10/on-way.html" target="_blank">first part</a> of this story. </span></p><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBOBURlkghppU_RpOY0B2GjqsmY9ml93PNuhhYmN2ROPVL-yrHlJaghYzlaps1wqg-fu8NWPTIrYObAWo1-qiMEOC3vqmwEVLMik2Wwtm4XGBc6S7Uz6REVHU2HsB5aD2jmB44ctUj-aekIwRr6f10l-NF0VJkNyOGGL-Ih20BSn6_do9T7jxyQ2s/s4608/2022-09-28%2008.54.46.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBOBURlkghppU_RpOY0B2GjqsmY9ml93PNuhhYmN2ROPVL-yrHlJaghYzlaps1wqg-fu8NWPTIrYObAWo1-qiMEOC3vqmwEVLMik2Wwtm4XGBc6S7Uz6REVHU2HsB5aD2jmB44ctUj-aekIwRr6f10l-NF0VJkNyOGGL-Ih20BSn6_do9T7jxyQ2s/s320/2022-09-28%2008.54.46.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><br /></span></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
did our pilgrimage with comfort. It had been tempting to do it
properly, carrying all belongings and sleeping in pilgrim </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lodges</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
but eventually I decided I was too ol</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">d</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
and my companions never questioned the decision. The walk was
sufficiently strenuous as it was, and comfortable pilgrimage</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
are</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
apparently legitimate. After the first day we were collected at </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">the
specified</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
time in a bar in Baamonde and taken to a wonderful place where we
were to stay for three nights. I must admit that I hadn’t bothered
to look up our accommodation and had no idea what to expect. The very
brief instructions we had received said something to the effect of:
“Due to lack of accommodation in Baamonde/Miraz/Sobrado you will
stay in a rural </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">hotel”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
We would be taken back to where we ended the previous day. I don’t
know what the unavailable accommodation would have been like, but we won a golden ticket with <a href="https://biterra.es/web/" target="_blank">Bi Terra</a>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1XLKbtF_Za8Utg80kCEc9jIPd9ygtv1bgNqbaj9lJ_3JomFuxZPbWQc997CykonkNKZjRc5Cg_p6B-G5P-vvxbeHIOGlvSRZXh0XjcuWdZPupDgZ08eX2hh8TTnz_5kj8LOORqJYtUNDJC0G9ybF7dLC4qXjUNwjoePAfXeFmhIzOaKLG19b5Lo/s4608/2022-09-29%2008.56.02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1XLKbtF_Za8Utg80kCEc9jIPd9ygtv1bgNqbaj9lJ_3JomFuxZPbWQc997CykonkNKZjRc5Cg_p6B-G5P-vvxbeHIOGlvSRZXh0XjcuWdZPupDgZ08eX2hh8TTnz_5kj8LOORqJYtUNDJC0G9ybF7dLC4qXjUNwjoePAfXeFmhIzOaKLG19b5Lo/s320/2022-09-29%2008.56.02.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB"><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span></span></p>A charming farm far away from
everything in the deep Galician countryside; lovely rooms with </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">high
ceiling and </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">huge
dark roof beams; inviting lounge with a fireplace we were allowed to
light; and then dinner! I had persuaded my companions that after a
long walk we wouldn’t want to think about </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="sv-SE">where
to obtain </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">nutrition,
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">and
the travel agent offered ”traditional pilgrim dinner made with
local produce”</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">.
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">N</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">one
of us expected a four-course gourmet meal. Yes, it was local produce,
and it was exquisite, and it was served with grace.</span></span></span></span><div><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHSwXm0mqPxCcMS_KlytiGIkThiXbaOKnyDKn6k7CiIiVS0tjeLFo4NmDZfYhk3ZwIeLiH8Oy2ANF-1tijAozYnP3hrzIJRJLEHoycd9LCzrE4ljXeGEW1I3WqwgXJ9mhdGk7aDPQEs_MWFosQ6KAqkdnsNcMm6iET_iFVa29pD0QlbQr0sBv3pmE/s4151/2022-09-28%2020.24.25.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4151" data-original-width="3418" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHSwXm0mqPxCcMS_KlytiGIkThiXbaOKnyDKn6k7CiIiVS0tjeLFo4NmDZfYhk3ZwIeLiH8Oy2ANF-1tijAozYnP3hrzIJRJLEHoycd9LCzrE4ljXeGEW1I3WqwgXJ9mhdGk7aDPQEs_MWFosQ6KAqkdnsNcMm6iET_iFVa29pD0QlbQr0sBv3pmE/w93-h113/2022-09-28%2020.24.25.jpg" width="93" /></a></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndoYHIkbPGypV8l5ds8KNH94QfVHa2XlLGALXGvDyyyoe-pY8eG13rFhdyP_Jx-vmxYQNlKavMRhWgVIUYxuKIVPn5xblUNedo9vCNoTe4NmOXpNo7a4NmCND5sso_vOG5viATO9FJpzeeNuN4XIX4Jh3ox8ND1I68iMMyEh9AZY0D5g29aiyKvU/s3982/2022-09-28%2020.46.23.jpg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3982" data-original-width="3456" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndoYHIkbPGypV8l5ds8KNH94QfVHa2XlLGALXGvDyyyoe-pY8eG13rFhdyP_Jx-vmxYQNlKavMRhWgVIUYxuKIVPn5xblUNedo9vCNoTe4NmOXpNo7a4NmCND5sso_vOG5viATO9FJpzeeNuN4XIX4Jh3ox8ND1I68iMMyEh9AZY0D5g29aiyKvU/w95-h109/2022-09-28%2020.46.23.jpg" width="95" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08qR0wFY__XHb69Fa7Fw7SmYeuQ_kNLZdqRqLY05BOc7C3G3zYwn1UbvsLOa99uG2AFpZExrmpDSjaYWP9q4eGYJ88I1cA1CjIwxv70EY3L9mhXCoU1EqB6jjdmGytOs7udUkaAj5AqXWlc67t017_07mhQrdumhH2ylNq0j11UVD92ZPZjy8XXY/s3370/2022-09-28%2021.02.02.jpg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3315" data-original-width="3370" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08qR0wFY__XHb69Fa7Fw7SmYeuQ_kNLZdqRqLY05BOc7C3G3zYwn1UbvsLOa99uG2AFpZExrmpDSjaYWP9q4eGYJ88I1cA1CjIwxv70EY3L9mhXCoU1EqB6jjdmGytOs7udUkaAj5AqXWlc67t017_07mhQrdumhH2ylNq0j11UVD92ZPZjy8XXY/w107-h105/2022-09-28%2021.02.02.jpg" width="107" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmwcIynSBsWdHhJEOE4FkBpgtQRyDZYNjLrJe8WTn0VEqzJUAAFPRs6CP-Hl9flgVZH2KhKFq2IuMKh7MRcJPP9twAXtDoZDEpvd9WXjTJRaQIP7MBirGbxVaYY_VekjJLJ_brFJLRXBsftdUdOO0F168dg28WmIZ9EyR3rDk1nLS6edkaouycZ04/s3861/2022-09-28%2021.36.53.jpg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3861" data-original-width="3456" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmwcIynSBsWdHhJEOE4FkBpgtQRyDZYNjLrJe8WTn0VEqzJUAAFPRs6CP-Hl9flgVZH2KhKFq2IuMKh7MRcJPP9twAXtDoZDEpvd9WXjTJRaQIP7MBirGbxVaYY_VekjJLJ_brFJLRXBsftdUdOO0F168dg28WmIZ9EyR3rDk1nLS6edkaouycZ04/w93-h104/2022-09-28%2021.36.53.jpg" width="93" /></a></div><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB"> Obviously, we had
three dinners </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="sv-SE">on
the three nights</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">,
all different and all delicious. We only had light lunches during the
day, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">so</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">
a hearty evening meal, even though it was, according to Spanish ways,
very late, was welcome. Between our arrival, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">after</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">
we were picked up at destination, and dinner, we showered, rested
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="sv-SE">with
our feet up the wall</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">,
checked email, shared our photos on facebook, then met in the lounge
over a glass of wine. Breakfasts were excellent too, and after
breakfast, around 9 am, we were taken back on trail. We cheated
twice. Actually, the first time we didn’t cheat, just took a
shortcut, suggested by our hosts, which turned out not much of a
shortcut, rather an alternative route. On the final</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="sv-SE">
morning at Bi Terra</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">,
however, we were supposed to do 25 km and asked our hosts to drop us
off 5 km down the road, which they were hugely understanding about. We were
really sorry to take leave of Bi Terra and our wonderful hosts, but
we had to move on. The two subsequent accommodations were quite
ordinary,</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="sv-SE">
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="sv-SE">but</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="sv-SE">
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">nice,
although the second didn’t have a restaurant so we got vouchers to
a nearby pizzeria which was all-time low in terms of treats for the
palate. Bu</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="sv-SE">t</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">
hunger was stilled. </span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0G-gyq2RIeEbIhV992nAZZL1eR4S7JRhfoaUMmcou3PAj3meEfgSL6FT7lYTrsNxlhkMEEKOUtYa2EVhCCT7veRnvPknsJkM8n7aoZxH8NauJuaZkXdkc-r5KpqV8dgQKuUCeTUz0jpjHyfv167jxvU2u8Dta_cwMxnxWn6bg3ULf7zLG0gBy2M/s4608/2022-10-02%2008.46.26.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0G-gyq2RIeEbIhV992nAZZL1eR4S7JRhfoaUMmcou3PAj3meEfgSL6FT7lYTrsNxlhkMEEKOUtYa2EVhCCT7veRnvPknsJkM8n7aoZxH8NauJuaZkXdkc-r5KpqV8dgQKuUCeTUz0jpjHyfv167jxvU2u8Dta_cwMxnxWn6bg3ULf7zLG0gBy2M/s320/2022-10-02%2008.46.26.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="sv-SE">The
ultimate accommodation was magnificent, but more on that anon. </span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">The
first four days we were walking the final stages of Camino del Norte
before it joins the main Camino at Arz</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">ú</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="en-GB">a.
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="sv-SE">Camino
del Norte, that follows the northern coast of Spain (part of which I
had walked last year), is less popular and therefore less populated,
and we probably met ten-fifteen other pilgrims a day at the most. The
last two days, Camino was crowded, but fortunately there were more
services, such as bars and restaurants, so we never ran into a
problem getting a cup of coffee or a glass of freshly pressed orange
juice. </span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-N_78k_B82lD-jJqBjavYTNOkqu0qQ6hjV5yX8gYWDqdK_dVH8WbuGOPKAeB6NrMKk74Ma0e2G2wGe3YV_nathj6xKxo8et2FvnPN3OaUE2oOlws7d05GNen8DePbyfBky8jr9cF0994jy7SziVW8h5lxHKgdlmbVdBfu4sHGrjicf14Zzof5miY/s4608/2022-10-03%2010.20.43.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-N_78k_B82lD-jJqBjavYTNOkqu0qQ6hjV5yX8gYWDqdK_dVH8WbuGOPKAeB6NrMKk74Ma0e2G2wGe3YV_nathj6xKxo8et2FvnPN3OaUE2oOlws7d05GNen8DePbyfBky8jr9cF0994jy7SziVW8h5lxHKgdlmbVdBfu4sHGrjicf14Zzof5miY/w207-h276/2022-10-03%2010.20.43.jpg" width="207" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkE6n2y3hoohIwXFZgDAPRLhesbhQmE2ORaepg57wYBH2mIHMiXrgNflYggt-SXe39Fh1ys0xkgjmzzGIKBDKe0aKCGyvWdX7ns5IriMv18MPYBZLl6kWzDaS_ABaGcasbLtYGEht9ApiQiLA8Y-5_8VUn4LYnwT-V586IP95vskM-l9G4PVqxx4k/s4608/2022-10-03%2008.52.41.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkE6n2y3hoohIwXFZgDAPRLhesbhQmE2ORaepg57wYBH2mIHMiXrgNflYggt-SXe39Fh1ys0xkgjmzzGIKBDKe0aKCGyvWdX7ns5IriMv18MPYBZLl6kWzDaS_ABaGcasbLtYGEht9ApiQiLA8Y-5_8VUn4LYnwT-V586IP95vskM-l9G4PVqxx4k/w210-h279/2022-10-03%2008.52.41.jpg" width="210" /></a></div></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On Camino del Norte, bars and cafes were fewer and sometimes
far between so we had to do with whatever we had brought from
breakfast. But at destination, there was always a nice place to have
a beer and some local nibbles. Dinner was, as mentioned, late </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">so
we had time to get hungry again</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Most
of the trail went through lovely forests. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Typically,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">
people, including myself, don’t associate Spain with forests, but
Galicia is special, in the north of the country, close to the
Atlantic and high elevation. The trail went through green corridors
between tall eucalyptus (they are invasive species and destroy the
natural habitat, but they look and smell nice), and there were small
rivers and streams, and at one point we came by what was described as
the largest lake in Galicia.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZNlXIS9TQqMxvwwlJDBpEkRiHlTw2lztipsnmnd5M3KmSIrZCy_vmri-uf7Xf4zQwwSBikCBNwLODO9yBwu_myW09-w9WBmtkcuW6qOY6eFmaBPC8HRHgEvDzWt0YXoiR6OrB-EPg_b6nszWhNHm54TI3uIdvuJPyz-KUN09h2ODS4BfAHZ7MzQ/s4608/2022-10-01%2009.47.59.jpg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZNlXIS9TQqMxvwwlJDBpEkRiHlTw2lztipsnmnd5M3KmSIrZCy_vmri-uf7Xf4zQwwSBikCBNwLODO9yBwu_myW09-w9WBmtkcuW6qOY6eFmaBPC8HRHgEvDzWt0YXoiR6OrB-EPg_b6nszWhNHm54TI3uIdvuJPyz-KUN09h2ODS4BfAHZ7MzQ/w215-h288/2022-10-01%2009.47.59.jpg" width="215" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWbsnRO6cflm7Dd4aDP3-45DbEBwCXOOltvR2zpCH_YmoMmc0do3i5jetoLs4b616s9WaoUxG3DTsag5j_5Ncqm558Y3aWZHsMGh0f0KtAL1adWB0kXHpCZwEAxqU_MGbyw7V9iHEmDO4_6Wz_K2mDXWzI9Wy6iQqw2Lkpq1QQoiNep9A2qjj79Ds/s4608/2022-09-29%2009.46.41.jpg" style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWbsnRO6cflm7Dd4aDP3-45DbEBwCXOOltvR2zpCH_YmoMmc0do3i5jetoLs4b616s9WaoUxG3DTsag5j_5Ncqm558Y3aWZHsMGh0f0KtAL1adWB0kXHpCZwEAxqU_MGbyw7V9iHEmDO4_6Wz_K2mDXWzI9Wy6iQqw2Lkpq1QQoiNep9A2qjj79Ds/w212-h283/2022-09-29%2009.46.41.jpg" width="212" /></a></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span lang="sv-SE"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #1c1e21; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdAKcWAFu0TWmd1_gKdq_cFZcpcYk_8u2046NoDpKfjwFTAtz1jY2E88yn1CFtbnTRNF9xi-rLZ8lHFja3amoOxa0bk5pdRlJvAd1CBzH9mn9vNUbYelVUI30X9Ozo3J5t78qJ0iqGFz5b3qLR8PpB6N9JLe4G3n9Ufe49IYOTMP4YLZTRucvwJ8/s4608/2022-09-29%2010.59.40.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdAKcWAFu0TWmd1_gKdq_cFZcpcYk_8u2046NoDpKfjwFTAtz1jY2E88yn1CFtbnTRNF9xi-rLZ8lHFja3amoOxa0bk5pdRlJvAd1CBzH9mn9vNUbYelVUI30X9Ozo3J5t78qJ0iqGFz5b3qLR8PpB6N9JLe4G3n9Ufe49IYOTMP4YLZTRucvwJ8/w230-h305/2022-09-29%2010.59.40.jpg" width="230" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNg3X2fLDWz0CyydOLfPMwRfTkmRXAK5RjCQhDko1d1PKfXHdJOdw04P4xws6jpYzZyO4EGsigJo-ZZspwtbwn4o5D3XYPd5CqiXCBPkq682YLc7Bf0JzkhX1m5iYqMoR28DlkwHmn_QR5MMi0KnMfR3g5ZY7ZYb1nuYoEoqQ0YltGFGpzWdeAK5I/s4608/2022-09-30%2014.54.56.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNg3X2fLDWz0CyydOLfPMwRfTkmRXAK5RjCQhDko1d1PKfXHdJOdw04P4xws6jpYzZyO4EGsigJo-ZZspwtbwn4o5D3XYPd5CqiXCBPkq682YLc7Bf0JzkhX1m5iYqMoR28DlkwHmn_QR5MMi0KnMfR3g5ZY7ZYb1nuYoEoqQ0YltGFGpzWdeAK5I/w218-h290/2022-09-30%2014.54.56.jpg" width="218" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #1c1e21; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Otherwise there wasn’t much to see.
There were some churches and chapels, invariably locked. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsqGIFC9HUo_eZ2SaNDvLDCiTCnbOrFndPu296S9Wo6oyF7lER7stYyzcEX43Vu92vu_e-6wvsWuJQxRu11WsZ1qUWOoWJvQ8Ylk32oXe-sJ1fySxihJuXigyBKPn9P36GJI4n9eE1rjaVNhUh40iN9QFSdoEOdUC6wHOZhJAOGOcdj816b6MNQs/s4608/2022-09-28%2015.00.48.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsqGIFC9HUo_eZ2SaNDvLDCiTCnbOrFndPu296S9Wo6oyF7lER7stYyzcEX43Vu92vu_e-6wvsWuJQxRu11WsZ1qUWOoWJvQ8Ylk32oXe-sJ1fySxihJuXigyBKPn9P36GJI4n9eE1rjaVNhUh40iN9QFSdoEOdUC6wHOZhJAOGOcdj816b6MNQs/w203-h271/2022-09-28%2015.00.48.jpg" width="203" /></a></span></span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQozvAnRtPfPfItO9V_EW-W5DNXwmYL8MowCvDueBnqmuON1ULDaPurAC2BFoz-dxvtceM7LOJJoWRKVdhTykq-wokXjIr5-SnDHn_kfWfostlr4ExFKOBjutfq3vFb7SfwmUvfUhwXH1h9Xppvyezahm0ykLYM_wepRvwuPVKF9rb_CEp25ZpSqk/s4608/2022-09-28%2015.27.35.jpg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQozvAnRtPfPfItO9V_EW-W5DNXwmYL8MowCvDueBnqmuON1ULDaPurAC2BFoz-dxvtceM7LOJJoWRKVdhTykq-wokXjIr5-SnDHn_kfWfostlr4ExFKOBjutfq3vFb7SfwmUvfUhwXH1h9Xppvyezahm0ykLYM_wepRvwuPVKF9rb_CEp25ZpSqk/w201-h268/2022-09-28%2015.27.35.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0odCGEeXaN_nmgMfYri5M4shX541ailrahaKsHmjoqrWGpYEDCCTB8dcJQUsK-P652y2PhUMBa6HB40R4wf9MWKJRdtyK7fUWf5Vm-wsC3CtlOxFOl-44JjbHENsdQ3ACh_upFubA9aO-VMbJBHNYXgQy2zBpu5DjjNPKtbegplTJD618-NVW97Q/s4608/2022-09-29%2011.04.57.jpg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0odCGEeXaN_nmgMfYri5M4shX541ailrahaKsHmjoqrWGpYEDCCTB8dcJQUsK-P652y2PhUMBa6HB40R4wf9MWKJRdtyK7fUWf5Vm-wsC3CtlOxFOl-44JjbHENsdQ3ACh_upFubA9aO-VMbJBHNYXgQy2zBpu5DjjNPKtbegplTJD618-NVW97Q/w167-h222/2022-09-29%2011.04.57.jpg" width="167" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2WNtopa_uzEvPgFnhWF6N9Ym18Apey3X3rWPcJjsguEAHFp2VKbP8luTejdQu8d06rABVbYLFPVqoI5wmWdtEVmhisP_jketuSLMqVIJt5--aSZ5AuMGuql3dCg-KkVOiLW8x5iw7Wl4Om8i7bHSo6BHTqRAOG9d8b7bOowaoQx3n0PvoBd9DsQ/s4608/2022-10-01%2012.03.37.jpg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2WNtopa_uzEvPgFnhWF6N9Ym18Apey3X3rWPcJjsguEAHFp2VKbP8luTejdQu8d06rABVbYLFPVqoI5wmWdtEVmhisP_jketuSLMqVIJt5--aSZ5AuMGuql3dCg-KkVOiLW8x5iw7Wl4Om8i7bHSo6BHTqRAOG9d8b7bOowaoQx3n0PvoBd9DsQ/w164-h220/2022-10-01%2012.03.37.jpg" width="164" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxP_cSO4aICl6n7_59dVVW6NQV7Oo3VzJMMdFAwjKm169BEJrfMTiqZMTJ5hhfRtmEb-eJjX4lW-fEJRL0TKjR3ozqjSZW00w_BZ3i0S9Pyx25zjhxVmlLrKVDcTwwtiwNIKm1m5f_BNgbpUvAxD6E11KgePqrIOoRocr0QuFhNoJsRDKkaTK47Uw/s4608/2022-10-01%2014.36.01.jpg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxP_cSO4aICl6n7_59dVVW6NQV7Oo3VzJMMdFAwjKm169BEJrfMTiqZMTJ5hhfRtmEb-eJjX4lW-fEJRL0TKjR3ozqjSZW00w_BZ3i0S9Pyx25zjhxVmlLrKVDcTwwtiwNIKm1m5f_BNgbpUvAxD6E11KgePqrIOoRocr0QuFhNoJsRDKkaTK47Uw/w165-h220/2022-10-01%2014.36.01.jpg" width="165" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><br /></span></span></span></span><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The many
villages we passed were idyllic, but not in any way remarkable, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">or
as our guidebook says: ”small hamlets of little note”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
only important sight </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">was
Sobrado with its magnificent monastery </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">built
in 952</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
was particularly struck by a chapel with amazing stone carvings, but
no other ornaments, not even an altarpiece. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRNTv7AJg0UzcNZ-jhbCWAGelQjrb8ocrsvCwddM3oUsF-SpCssL-3d3Qx5xQisRJvTAwTGPIRIOOx-YxSGYkEtx2-vlOE_Gizv4mZEcQMjih3usPEaSBlr5l__z8i97D7Qdovd8YK0PWKrt51wsrtdTXkJtS48iaFL0XjaRC-P4UBGH1RQ8EL9tY/s4608/2022-09-30%2016.31.53.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRNTv7AJg0UzcNZ-jhbCWAGelQjrb8ocrsvCwddM3oUsF-SpCssL-3d3Qx5xQisRJvTAwTGPIRIOOx-YxSGYkEtx2-vlOE_Gizv4mZEcQMjih3usPEaSBlr5l__z8i97D7Qdovd8YK0PWKrt51wsrtdTXkJtS48iaFL0XjaRC-P4UBGH1RQ8EL9tY/s320/2022-09-30%2016.31.53.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmZdNuJY05D4wYeKJVWmwmgzYscTRY1ZDHGRI20_qw0hHIicBCyGTtov7TsWPJ9CIoX6_XgfZIvBPSS8aDYMSS5LWKeahk2k_J7yxrOsaHAVbEKLTpf92KIhJiSs_DfysZ2J_PZ2_xtB3It36UaFYiJYrVAbvXnWi3GK6jivf7Leg8bdgVXcmDzY/s4608/2022-09-30%2016.48.07.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlmZdNuJY05D4wYeKJVWmwmgzYscTRY1ZDHGRI20_qw0hHIicBCyGTtov7TsWPJ9CIoX6_XgfZIvBPSS8aDYMSS5LWKeahk2k_J7yxrOsaHAVbEKLTpf92KIhJiSs_DfysZ2J_PZ2_xtB3It36UaFYiJYrVAbvXnWi3GK6jivf7Leg8bdgVXcmDzY/s320/2022-09-30%2016.48.07.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><br /></span></span></span></span><p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
weather was perfect for hiking. The first couple of days it drizzled
on and off, so we put on our raincoats and waterproof trousers, then
took them off, then put them on again. But it didn’t pour, and it
was much better than unbearable heat. On the very last day it was
promised 28 degrees, but never went over 24 which was hot enough. Our
daypacks were crammed with clothes for all kinds of weather, and
everything proved useful. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
was one day none of us enjoyed. It was the fourth day when we
probably started geting tired, but in the first place we decided it
was because most of the trail was on paved roads which is not
friendly to your feet and knees. It wasn’t the longest stage, but
it felt the least pleasurable. Just a few kilometres before the
destination, as we were longing for showers and bed, we saw a sign
promising a bar</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxv5R1L5xtsS7bKmfKOfybhCZ-QT16HZuz7ccu0BC2A1L3FRf3QFdP3OvEjkoEQGON9K3PJHGWxHqe9sdYaJ59GAXYUg5vV_wBkqxoh97Uc01xD35F8cI5wUZGB0c4TDfCAeSInQ7NXyap7iEY3vMZOTUlmo1gSD5uwBgi2kS0FsgZT0hH8W8o78/s4608/2022-10-01%2017.25.07.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxv5R1L5xtsS7bKmfKOfybhCZ-QT16HZuz7ccu0BC2A1L3FRf3QFdP3OvEjkoEQGON9K3PJHGWxHqe9sdYaJ59GAXYUg5vV_wBkqxoh97Uc01xD35F8cI5wUZGB0c4TDfCAeSInQ7NXyap7iEY3vMZOTUlmo1gSD5uwBgi2kS0FsgZT0hH8W8o78/s320/2022-10-01%2017.25.07.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><br /></span></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We looked at each other. Extra </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">270</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
metres and then back again? But the temptation was too strong, and we
succumbed. The bar was lovely, and the break well-deserved. This was
just another moment when we felt we </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">got
on</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
well together. Interestingly, the morning after we were all fresh and
fit for fight. I remembered it from previous hikes. In the evening
you wonder whether you would be able to walk another step next day,
and in the morning you are absolutely fine. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>Once
we reached Arz<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">ú</span>a you
could tell the difference: there were pilgrim shops selling
souvenirs, and even along the trail there were makeshift stalls with
all kinds of merchandise and of course stamps! </span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Now,
stamps are a prominent and indispensable feature of Camino walking.
In order to receive your certificate of completed pilgrimage, the
Compostela, you need to provide proof that you have actually been
there, and for that you have a pilgrim passport, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Credential
del peregrino,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
where you collect your stamps. You need at least two stamps a day.
When I read about it I thought the stamps would be mainly available
in churches and pilgrim </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lodges</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
but it turned out you got them almost anywhere, in hotels and bars,
and collecting them became an exciting game. Sometimes we would have
lunch in one bar and coffee in another next door, just to get another
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">sello</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">One day, our host at Bi Terra, giving us daily instructions, strongly
recommended a particular place we shouldn’t miss, which we of
course had totally forgotten until I saw St James’ cross on a stone
wall and a wrought-iron gate leading to a small front garden. It was
empty, and the door of the house was closed, but there was a doorbell
that we pulled, without much hope. We had almost turned to go when
the door opened, and a old man came out, saying something encouraging
in broad Galician, went over the garden to what looked like a shed,
and was a shed, where he used a gas torch to melt wax and give us
most </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">beautiful
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">sellos</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
He was a retired sculptor, and although we had interruped his siesta
he was obviously pleased to have visitors. He even treated us to
grapes direct from the vine. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7BPA3JJnRCKnblDmaz9EI8opi4I-Y4pxif4Rq1Wpb3epSTjbI8pjNsaaH7_GKsNLZYRucK3CLnSy_wVphQKIo3IYw9VrTPZPDkVDV0l8yymK3E_DzKoyq2UXDpVSaWlZcVj2wqryhMj2RFcbWofFiGaEf1IKaunqRTLHtto7s_k6zYEwcs24ZgCk/s4608/2022-09-29%2014.42.24.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7BPA3JJnRCKnblDmaz9EI8opi4I-Y4pxif4Rq1Wpb3epSTjbI8pjNsaaH7_GKsNLZYRucK3CLnSy_wVphQKIo3IYw9VrTPZPDkVDV0l8yymK3E_DzKoyq2UXDpVSaWlZcVj2wqryhMj2RFcbWofFiGaEf1IKaunqRTLHtto7s_k6zYEwcs24ZgCk/w190-h254/2022-09-29%2014.42.24.jpg" width="190" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjheHX2JBRtIEt-WcRyloMtX8aaithaq3yu33CJchAJY7MzVgJIJm0TchOSRViJxsbUXFspJZpMlUfzrwMOVGNLYvyf2p1WMhP_warVJEe2JKcoHBYS_BrO013D0Cy4uPw-c-5_vQIvWnKl5EUmIuhZSp-PjjgPiqLWM9mpGVgUjy7ZSMEpylqod_w/s4608/2022-09-29%2014.44.26.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjheHX2JBRtIEt-WcRyloMtX8aaithaq3yu33CJchAJY7MzVgJIJm0TchOSRViJxsbUXFspJZpMlUfzrwMOVGNLYvyf2p1WMhP_warVJEe2JKcoHBYS_BrO013D0Cy4uPw-c-5_vQIvWnKl5EUmIuhZSp-PjjgPiqLWM9mpGVgUjy7ZSMEpylqod_w/w192-h256/2022-09-29%2014.44.26.jpg" width="192" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5_ihqSPJM4wY9nn95arZbL4qb64sN3WdlDiYTg8ANRc0OrmYNgDm2yrqcL7juUELuMckQffn2i_F6Ocv8QQTYUbxXe4bXlYszm5KAvR1kqkxQVexy61jNYN5RYzRFafnedA7TONF-6pCUM2p1Y9KtIx-U_DZ3cRsW-qHCnXmaXVVAtJuEHaT_gc/s4608/2022-09-29%2014.47.53.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5_ihqSPJM4wY9nn95arZbL4qb64sN3WdlDiYTg8ANRc0OrmYNgDm2yrqcL7juUELuMckQffn2i_F6Ocv8QQTYUbxXe4bXlYszm5KAvR1kqkxQVexy61jNYN5RYzRFafnedA7TONF-6pCUM2p1Y9KtIx-U_DZ3cRsW-qHCnXmaXVVAtJuEHaT_gc/w161-h215/2022-09-29%2014.47.53.jpg" width="161" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnvEIrlFsoR4-OQIlkwZQ7zIOVF0uzKoRsKH9-LrtEz0eidcFEpOa53aj-SadMIk14imN01fIscd5sK20gndaBgPJlLL9-a8pvMiRUnchq1JZ8JMQ6qZw1nLoRqHIGW2Rc1hobbG7vusDgbjCj7-EzISwUmRixzOLUo2Ruiaa9mhGaRGQcmdwzKs/s2921/2022-09-29%2017.48.41.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2267" data-original-width="2921" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnvEIrlFsoR4-OQIlkwZQ7zIOVF0uzKoRsKH9-LrtEz0eidcFEpOa53aj-SadMIk14imN01fIscd5sK20gndaBgPJlLL9-a8pvMiRUnchq1JZ8JMQ6qZw1nLoRqHIGW2Rc1hobbG7vusDgbjCj7-EzISwUmRixzOLUo2Ruiaa9mhGaRGQcmdwzKs/w266-h206/2022-09-29%2017.48.41.jpg" width="266" /></a></div></span></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On
the main Camino there were so many people that stamps were obtained
by self-service on the counter. Whatever you think, your pilgrim
passport was a great souvenir from your walk. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On
the last day we were supposed to walk 19 km, and although my feet
hurt terribly (somehow I managed to get blisters, despite my
wonderfully comfortable boots) I felt I wanted to walk this final
stage, while Annika gave up and took a taxi halfway. We started
early, while it was still dark, and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">had
the pleasure of</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
the mist and the sunrise on the go. The first 15 km were highly
enjoyable – again, lush forests and lovely views, and finally we
came to the hilltop from which olden-day pilgrims first saw cathedral
spires, but today you cannot see them because of vegetation and
high-rise buildings in the city. From there, it was downhill in more
than one sense. You would imagine the approach to the goal of your in
some cases weeks-long walk to be grand, but in</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">stead</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
it was a t</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">o</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rture:
paved sidewalks among heavy </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">noisy
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="sv-SE"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">traffic,
and it just went on forever. The last kilometres of the day are
always the longest, but these were excruciating. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Yet
finally we were there, on the square featured in all guidebooks and
videos, among crowds of people exhausted like us or already fresh
after showers and beers. We had made it. We were there.</span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<br />
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcqgLwqjQBN_nKAvuwqNbclYf3hXDqPWuMWwN6Rm7NeuTK9_Umw1XNxrXfJILiuhbt4NXU4QerDHM3hJv_CcZYxLFA-ehThetdOK1FkAiB3EGnMMMnMlRdMiGlOWqGCnhuLR83SB9Gax41FzIDC_uOPDPZNkBkKVjhd_5nTJfFIdT49Tc2_jCqKw/s3593/2022-10-03%2015.23.37.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3593" data-original-width="3007" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcqgLwqjQBN_nKAvuwqNbclYf3hXDqPWuMWwN6Rm7NeuTK9_Umw1XNxrXfJILiuhbt4NXU4QerDHM3hJv_CcZYxLFA-ehThetdOK1FkAiB3EGnMMMnMlRdMiGlOWqGCnhuLR83SB9Gax41FzIDC_uOPDPZNkBkKVjhd_5nTJfFIdT49Tc2_jCqKw/s320/2022-10-03%2015.23.37.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><br /><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><br /></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To be continued. </span></p><br /><p></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-15338382732101699702022-10-18T16:20:00.000+01:002022-10-18T16:20:22.105+01:00On The Way <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHiRyOfl25caPNdCh92PM4AIQtJ_1-nT8cJuT_xDEEKg6EsfY8iGPzvUI0owVBiQbOYdg25vzF6xT--RToE0mUVqnXUbNYQsgohb7MAcEEEnuN4x1FA6Os_BtBR6v7zrwqr906xLFifGhbD9d48F1X_pn9QDbKT4dR4KvDRK36z8p1G81K58mrGos/s960/Camino11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHiRyOfl25caPNdCh92PM4AIQtJ_1-nT8cJuT_xDEEKg6EsfY8iGPzvUI0owVBiQbOYdg25vzF6xT--RToE0mUVqnXUbNYQsgohb7MAcEEEnuN4x1FA6Os_BtBR6v7zrwqr906xLFifGhbD9d48F1X_pn9QDbKT4dR4KvDRK36z8p1G81K58mrGos/s320/Camino11.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
have realised that I never wrote any blog posts from my hike on
Camino de Santiago de Compostela last year. I certainly posted
pictures and comments on Facebook, but I didn’t write a journal and
neither did I write any reflections afterwards. Having now done
another, and more significant segment, I inevitably look back at last
year’s trip for reference and comparison.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">Let
me go all the way back to the sources. I heard friends over the years
mention Camino de Santiago that in my mind was something devout
Catholics did, like devout Muslims go to Mecca, or actually other
devout Catholics go to Czestochowa. In other words, something </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>other</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
people did. This was probably even before I became a wanderer. And
then one day I heard the story of my cousin Misha. He has three
children and a homemaker wife, both rather unusual in Russia, and he
had always worked hard to support the family, but one day he just
left and went to Spain and walked the whole Camino in six weeks, all
on his own. Now, Misha is the last person in the world to embark on a
religious pilgrimage. Whatever he actually found on the Camino, his
original plan was just to escape from his everyday burdens. Yet he
obviously found something because since then he has done it several
times, each time on his own. My son who told me this remarkable story
added that the impulse for Misha was the feature film </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441912/?ref_=ttfc_ql" target="_blank">TheWay</a></i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">.
This was before streaming, but I found the film on DVD because I was
curious about a film that inspired my baby cousin to abandon his
family, his work and his friends and spend six weeks walking on his
own toward a goal that, in my view, had no significance for him.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">After
I watched the film (several times by now) and after I did a lot of
reading, I understood that people had dozens of reasons to do this
walk, and far from all viewed it as a pilgrimage. And interestingly,
whenever I mentioned Camino to someone, as often as not either they
had done it or wanted to do it so I realised it wasn’t as
outlandish as I once had thought. Still, I had it as a far-fetched
dream rather than a concrete plan. I knew I didn’t want to carry a
heavy backpack and sleep in dorms, so I was happy to discover that
there was a luggage transfer service for comfort-loving pilgrims. I
also knew I didn’t want to do it on my own. The Big Question: Why I
wanted to do it? - was vague, maybe along the lines of: Because I
can, because I am now a passionate wanderer, and this is probably the
most famous walk in the world… well, the Western world. Yet it was
still something hazy, something in the distant future.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Three
years ago, when I repatriated to Sweden and joined a walking club, I
saw that the club was organising a hike on Camino del Norte,
precisely in this leisurely mode with luggage transfer and decent
hotels, and I signed up at once. It was supposed to happen in May
2020, and of course it didn’t happen. We didn’t know much about
covid then. I remember in the beginning of March I still thought it
would be over by May. But it didn’t, and the travel agent moved the
trip first to autumn, then to spring 2021 and finally to October.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">When
it didn’t happen in May 2020, I consoled myself by <a href="https://nikolajeva.blogspot.com/2020/05/reflections-on-virtual-travel.html" target="_blank">making the trip virtually</a>. Every day I walked in my nearby nature reserve the
distance we were supposed to cover. I cooked Basque and Cantabrian
food. I watched films, not just </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>The
Way</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
again, but YouTube videos and travel agents’ advertisements, so by
the time we actually boarded the plane to Bilbao via Frankfurt I knew
what was in store. No, of course I didn’t, because neither photos
nor videos can fully convey the sense of being there, and walking 20
km with high elevation was not the same as walking in a Swedish
nature reserve. I very deliberately set my expectations low. I didn’t
know what I was looking for or what answers I hoped to receive for
what questions. It was just a hike through glorious landscape.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But
that’s not quite true. The month before the trip, there occurred
two deaths in the family, and one was my stepson Jakob. Now, Santiago
is St James, and in Swedish it is Jakob, and I felt I was walking
Jakob’s Way, for my Jakob. In the churches that were open – far
from all – I would light a candle: it was quite funny, because the
candles were electrical, you put a coin in a slot, and a candle lit
up. Jakob was definitely not a believer, and I don’t believe in
afterlife either, but it did make sense to think of him on this walk.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
only walked from San Sebastian to Santander, but I knew then that I
wanted to come back and maybe try to find some Answers because I felt
the mission, if there was a mission, was not completed. Many friends
who had read my Facebook posts and seen my pictures said how
wonderful it was and how envious they were and one day they would…
but only one friend responded to my comment: Why one day? Why not
now? I want to go back, would you like to join? And this is how the
next trip started. After we agreed on dates and managed to put
together all complicated puzzle bits, I posted on Facebook: We are
going, anyone wants to join? Two more friends responded.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now,
last year we were a group of sixteen that quickly split into smaller
groups some of which walked quickly and reached the day’s
destination early, to sit and enjoy beers for the rest of the
afternoon. I found soulmates who wanted to walk slowly, stop at
points of beauty as well as coffee shops; who didn’t want to chat
all the time. I presented this walking mode to my new companions.
They were delighted.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">The
plans were made in February-March, and as usual it felt very far away
in the future. As time got closer we created a chat on WhatsApp and
started exchanging useful tips on books and blogs, and of course I
recommended my companions to watch </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>The
Way</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
which wasn’t available for streaming in our region, but I found a
weird platform where it was texted in a totally unfamiliar language.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
didn’t ask my companions The Question. We all had a reason, or maybe several reasons, and one thing we
had in common was that we had all lost our husbands within the last
three years. Eventually we called ourselves Camino Widows.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">All
of a sudden, the departure day was tomorrow, and it was getting real,
and then it was today, and Annika and I met at the airport, and we
were allowed to carry our walking poles on board, and the first leg,
to Madrid, went smoothly, but our other two companions were
connecting from Copenhagen, and their flight was delayed, and they
barely made it. Christina’s bag got lost, and it took some time to
sort it out at the airport, but our driver was very nice, and
finally, by 11 pm, we were in our hotel in Vilalba, tired and hungry.
There was an open bar across the street, and we had tortilla at a
ridiculous price of 4 euro</span><span lang="sv-SE" style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">s</span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Everything
felt weird. There we were, far away from everything, and we were
going on a strange, unfamiliar adventure, and we were supposed to
spend a week together at close quarters. Inexplicably, it felt good.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">To be continued. </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-56443203816833992612022-07-31T09:28:00.002+01:002022-07-31T09:30:23.926+01:00Key to a harmonious retirement<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_gQY8hJPbCASVQrbd6uOmFOBnX2dRIWJDEy5hCNTi4hND7BIK-_6fQBIaCJEsse1oZK1U2oPfngbif-1akNLeZoQfSghuk07XUfB_mAXtRToDiomodCpu3rsiPpPO4cr6P_dS0NXWViwU71kTKlMiZptH1Qu5LeToAx_8SYDZ-ifvyutzLqtGaw/s781/old%20age.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="624" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_gQY8hJPbCASVQrbd6uOmFOBnX2dRIWJDEy5hCNTi4hND7BIK-_6fQBIaCJEsse1oZK1U2oPfngbif-1akNLeZoQfSghuk07XUfB_mAXtRToDiomodCpu3rsiPpPO4cr6P_dS0NXWViwU71kTKlMiZptH1Qu5LeToAx_8SYDZ-ifvyutzLqtGaw/w193-h241/old%20age.jpg" width="193" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Three
years ago </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">on
this day </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
repatriated, and in a couple of months, I will have been retired for
three years which feels an ample time to summarise and share some
insights. I believe I can claim with confidence that I have made the
most of these three years even given all the external horrors we have
been through. So here </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">are</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
some </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">reflections</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
– for those who want to hear it. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>1).
Embrace it. Getting old is not a given, it’s a privilege not
everyone can enjoy. Be grateful for every day you are alive and,
hopefully, in good health. Think of friends who sadly did not live
long enough to experience the pleasure of retirement. </span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2)
If viable economically, retire as early as you can. There is so much
to do after retirement that you need as much time as you can get
while you are able to fulfil your dreams.</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>3)
Make retirement definite. Cut off all ties to your professional
career. I know it may be hard, but think: you have probably worked in
more or less the same area for at least forty years. Can you make any
further contribution to your field? If you are an academic, do you
really want to produce another book, another article, another
conference paper? At this point in your career you probably have
scores of former students who can carry on and do it as efficiently
as you, if not much better. After all, at least theoretically, every
next generation of scholars should be better than the previous one.
If you are a teacher you have younger colleagues who will hopefully
continue to foster new generations of young people. If you are a
writer, artist, performer – make room for new talents. If you are
in business, surely some younger companion can make it thrive. If you
are in public service… and so on. Be honest with yourself: Will the
world go on without you? Let me tell you for sure: it will. And as
they say: leave when you are on top. </span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>4)
What, then, can you ask, should you do with all your spare time?
Think of all things you wanted to try and never had time. Maybe you
wanted to be a gardener, but your family insisted that you go to
university. Maybe you wanted to be an archaeologist, but you had to
support your family and got into business instead. Maybe you have
always secretly wanted to build model railways. Maybe you wanted to
play an instrument or learn a language. Pursue your dreams.
Preferably, start, or at least start looking around, before
retirement so that on Day 1 you are already enrolled in a class or
have a volunteer job waiting. And remember: this time, you don’t
have to compete, you can quit if you get bored and want to try
something else, and you will never get orders from anyone. Whatever
you do, you do it entirely for your own pleasure. If in the process
you contribute to saving the world, that’s a bonus. A way to reason
with yourself is: by being happy you increase the overall amount of
happiness in the universe, which is a huge deed. </span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">5)
join a community. You are probably used to have people around you:
colleagues, students, people you meet at lunch, your elders and your
peers and your subordinates. Suddenly you are on your own. Even if
you have a partner and a family, you will lack a wider circle of
like-minded, of people who share your interests beyond your
profession. Almost every pastime will have a club, or several,
physical or virtual. Search “Star Wars”, “Balcony gardening”,
“Disc golf”, “Theorbe music”, “Basque cooking”, and you
will find people passionate about the same things as you are. And in
an unlikely case that you don’t find any, create your own club.
It’s enough to be two to start, and you will be amazed how fast it
grows.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">6)
maintain your connections. Stay in touch with your colleagues, on the
understanding that you no longer talk shop – find other common
interests: camel riding, UFO spotting, mushroom picking, collecting
beer-bottle caps. Get in touch with those friends with whom you have
been saying the past five years: “We must meet soon”. Nag them,
invite them to something exciting. Perhaps one out of ten will
respond, and that’s an achievement. Reconnect with your childhood
friends, classmates, distant cousins. You will discover that
fifty-year-old memories you share will bring you together even closer
than you were once. But don’t be afraid to get new acquaintances.
Within your new pastimes you will get to know new people so make sure
you meet even outside clubs and events. Don’t be shy with people
much younger than you. Think: when you were twenty somebody aged
thirty was ancient. When you are 65+, age means significantly less.
You can make new friends within a range of twenty years younger and,
yes, twenty years older. While your recent students may be the same
age as your grandchildren, once you no longer are in a
teacher-student imbalance it does not matter.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>7)
all the above will only make sense if you are in good shape. You will
doubtless have various ailments but as long as you are generally fit,
physically and mentally, your life has a potential to be highly
enjoyable. Of course there are things you cannot secure yourself
against, but making your health a priority is essential. It doesn’t
mean you have to spend three hours a day of your precious time in a
gym (unless you like it). There are plenty of other activities:
walking, running, biking, dance; and there are classes and clubs for
seniors so that you don’t have to feel embarrassed next to
perfectly fit youngsters. (Frankly, some retirees are much better fit
than many youngsters). Try something you have never tried before.
Maybe climbing or paragliding is your favourite, you just don’t
know it yet. Don’t let absence of companions stop you, do it on
your own. I am aware that some sports can be expensive, and you
should not deny yourself anything as long as you can afford it, but
there are plenty of things that are free and that can still make you
fit and happy. </span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">8)
declutter. Whether you downsize or not, there is an enormous sense of
freedom in getting rid of worldly possessions, and there are many
gurus to guide you, but you can just use your common sense. Did you
need dozens of smart outfits during your employment? Will you need
them again? Keep two favourites, sell or give away the rest and free
space in your wardrobe for nice leisure clothes. Do you really need
five sets of dinner plates, seven teapots, ten table cloths and three
dozen wine glasses? Will you ever use that cheese fondue pot that
someone gave you for Christmas twenty years ago and that you only
tried once? Some things will have a sentimental value, but at this
stage in your life there is no point in keeping anything that “might
come handy one day”. Those days will never happen. Keep only things
you know you will use everyday or at least regularly. Ask your
children, if you have children, whether they want anything –
usually they don’t even when they are just about to start a
household of their own. For many of us, the most difficult thing to
get rid of will be books. Yet you are beyond the argument: “I might
need it for work” or even “I will read it when I have time”. If
you bought a book twenty years ago and still haven’t read it you
probably won’t. And if you give it away and then suddenly feel an
urge to read it, there are libraries. Think: how many books a year
can you reasonably read? How many years have you theoretically left?
Bookshelves lining every square inch of your walls were once a token
of prestige and learning, even if you knew, and your guests knew,
that you have only actually read a fraction of them. This attitude
goes back all the way to 16</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">th</span></span></span></span></span></span></sup></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
century or even earlier, when books were rare and expensive. Not any
more. So keep only books that you know you will re-read and books
that are dear to you, for whatever reason (signed by the author,
gifted by a dear friend, books your granny read to you when you were
five). Once upon a time first editions could fetch you a fortune, but
today it has to be something really exceptional so I wouldn’t
bother. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">9)
adjust your inner clock. My most unexpected and most welcome
discovery has been that time flows at a different pace when you don’t
have work to go to every day (even if you work from home and just go
to your desk). Everything you do you do slower, and everything takes
longer – and it’s not simply fine, it’s the whole point! It
doesn’t matter if you haven’t finished something you planned in
the morning because you have all the time in the world. Maybe you got
distracted and did something else, just as exciting, instead. Or
maybe you were enjoying whatever you were doing so much that you
didn’t want it to end. Or maybe you just needed to wind down and
look around and have a quiet cup of tea – a luxury you couldn’t
allow yourself before. You can even emphasise this slow pace: walk
deliberately slowly paying attention to the environment, move slowly
around your dwelling. Don’t multitask. We think that by
multitasking we save time, but in fact we waste time because we are
never fully engaged with whatever we are doing. Pay attention, live
here and now. Have you noticed this funny sculpture by your local bus
station that you have passed hundreds of times? Have you observed how
the rose bush under your window has grown since last year? Have you
considered the pattern on your plates and the exact shade of green on
your curtains? Suddenly your life is so much richer in experience
than before. Rather than saying, “Where has this week gone?” you
say, “This has been such a full and exciting week!”</span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">10)
Keep rules and routines you enjoy and ditch those you don’t. If you
have always hated that alarm clock ringing at six, throw it away and
sleep as long as you wish in the morning. Have breakfast in your
dressing gown – or in full makeup if you prefer. Make the bed, cook
meals, wash up – if it mattered to you before. But if it didn’t,
maybe you will discover that it does now because you will spend more
time at home and want it to be neat. Absence of schedule may feel
frustrating so make a schedule for yourself, based on your pastimes:
yoga on Monday morning, baking club on Tuesday afternoon, and so on.
Shop for groceries on the same day of the week. Water your plants at
the same hour. It will bring structure into your life, without
creating pressure. Because you are completely free to break your own
rules. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">11)
Once again – and I know it is pathetically trivial – wake up
every morning grateful that you are alive and in anticipation of
wonderful things that the day has in store. If by the end of the day
nothing spectacular has happened, you should still be grateful and
hopeful about the day to come. </span></span></span>
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-23451855990922932002022-05-07T20:00:00.000+01:002022-05-07T20:00:38.430+01:00That Was Then <p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
other day I was invited to a concert at Berwald Concert Hall. I don’t
know why I had ignored it in favour of Stockholm Concert Hall in the
past three years; I guess it just so happened. Yet being there
brought back an avalanche of memories.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Once
upon a time, five lives ago, I used to work as an interpreter at
Swedish Army Tattoo. It was a huge biennial event, with urban
parades, performances at big arenas and concerts that were usually
held in Berwald Hall. Many international bands attended, and the
foremost guests of honour were the US and the Soviet/Russian bands.
From the USA, it was most often US Army Band “Pershing’s Own”,
and from Russia one of the two top bands, Army or Navy. All were
musicians of highest class. As an interpreter for the Russian band, I
had all kinds of tasks, from small talk at table (when they take away
your plate before you had a chance to eat) to guiding the Russian bus
driver through Stockholm to rendering instructions for marching performances.
One year, and I am not sure exactly which year, possibly 1990 when
the fall of Soviet communism was imminent, I was sitting on the stage
in Berwald Hall, with US Army Band “Pershing’s Own” on my right
and the Exemplary Band of Soviet Navy on the left: for the first time
in history they were to perform together. For me, it was a sublime
moment, and I could not help saying so as we finished the rehearsal.
Friends, I said, I grew up in the Soviet Union, and I could never
imagine I would live to see a Russian and an American band performing
together, in a deeply significant symbolic act of friendship and
solidarity. I broke into tears, and the musicians gave me an applaud.
The concert was a tremendous success. At that time, we were sure that
things were going in the right direction, and that the only way the
two armies should ever meet was in a concert hall.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
story had an amusing ending. Colonel Shelburn, the boss
of Pershing’s Own, asked for my business card, and a few weeks
later there was a l</span></span></span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">etter in my pigeonhole at work, in a fancy
envelope emblazoned with “US Department of Defence Pentagon”. I
wonder what my colleagues thought.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLIvFz_TkLl2IWvOfdA1RjCDt7k412hbAHsWDaoBtnFEe66Fer-h1K6csNK2WRkXlcAcP3txb3omSU-9CAvoK1qxGHLPH2YE9oOApv1u0rMFldHJ8diM4FlxGKEt0TJCR2FI9aAmZtbsIwp3Jm9Nv-PqtAx_LEAHx5DpwYuWIl_KmTbL-CBgTnhw/s1740/US%20Army%20Band2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1740" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLIvFz_TkLl2IWvOfdA1RjCDt7k412hbAHsWDaoBtnFEe66Fer-h1K6csNK2WRkXlcAcP3txb3omSU-9CAvoK1qxGHLPH2YE9oOApv1u0rMFldHJ8diM4FlxGKEt0TJCR2FI9aAmZtbsIwp3Jm9Nv-PqtAx_LEAHx5DpwYuWIl_KmTbL-CBgTnhw/s320/US%20Army%20Band2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: usarmyband.com</span></div></span></span><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-22272113974103158742022-01-01T13:26:00.000+00:002022-01-01T13:26:18.793+00:00A lonely woman’s New Year Eve <p> <span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Forty
two years ago I went to the Library of Foreign Literature in Moscow
to read Swedish newspapers. In those dark and evil days, foreign
newspapers, unless published by approved Communist parties, were only
accessible in special reading rooms that required a permit. Permits
were issued if for whatever reason you needed this dangerous reading
matter for work. I had a permit, renewable every year, because I had
to read Swedish film reviews for work. In the largest Swedish morning
daily, film reviews appeared on the page facing columns, so when I
opened the paper on that January day I saw a column titled “A
lonely man’s New Year Eve”. I had just had a brief and stormy
affair with a married Swedish journalist, and I was really sad to
read his column describing his lonely celebration. Why on Earth was
he alone on New Year Eve? Where was his family? Didn’t he have
friends? I was used to wild New Year parties or at least quiet New
Year parties in the company of close friends, and I felt so
profoundly sorry for the lonely man that I had no mental energy to
read any film reviews that day. </span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Eventually
the brief and stormy affair developed into a long and stormy
marriage, and during those years I would occasionally go back to
Moscow for New Year and leave my husband to spend it on his own, but
more often we had wild parties and quiet family evenings, and every
year we would listen to New Year Eve bells from Sweden’s thirteen
cathedrals on the radio, followed by La Jouissance.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
last two years, I spent the New Year Eve on my own. I considered
feeling sorry for myself. I considered ignoring it altogether and
going to bed as usual (a bit difficult with loud firework displays
outside). Then I decided that dignity demanded I celebrate no matter
what. This year in particular I had learned that several of my close
friends were also spending New Year Eve on their own. There was
nothing extraordinary about it. (I guess during years with wild
parties and quiet family evenings I never gave a thought to people
mentioned by the radio host: “If you are lonely this night…”).</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
prepared an elegant four-course dinner for myself. I bought a piccolo
bottle of sparkling (I don’t drink alcohol otherwise, but I can
make an exception for New Year Eve). I set the table nicely. I lit
candles. I dressed up. I gave the cats some extra delicious food I
had saved for the occasion. During my meal, I listened to Baroque
Tafelmusik on Spotify. Between the meal and midnight, I watched a
movie and did a jigsaw puzzle. I sent good vibes and WhatsApp
messages to my lonely friends. At midnight, I opened the bottle and
listened to cathedral bells, ignoring the loud fireworks outside. I
cried floods, remembering all those previous New Years and realising
how much I valued them, although sometimes I got irritated: “Can’t
we listen to something else for a change?” It turns out, I cannot.
And the radio host’s words resonated deeply: “If you are lonely
this night...”</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0BWeoUK3TZq2Skmqtio4dKiAXe94Viswi-VjQl2JytaGWNKYNmghyM2oLe-xKhQ3bJMWKkEaTW1f78Lpvrgbyzn8ntSkv4dwo9ce0VNR95ezajkWOw9KeNGn1lAjkpz11zhtHUO4-XnkNW4iOert1pjYougMhnunw9vKXzxZBunVMXZoY0PQK9WU=s3520" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3520" data-original-width="3373" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0BWeoUK3TZq2Skmqtio4dKiAXe94Viswi-VjQl2JytaGWNKYNmghyM2oLe-xKhQ3bJMWKkEaTW1f78Lpvrgbyzn8ntSkv4dwo9ce0VNR95ezajkWOw9KeNGn1lAjkpz11zhtHUO4-XnkNW4iOert1pjYougMhnunw9vKXzxZBunVMXZoY0PQK9WU=w179-h187" width="179" /></a></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-19396784062953276692021-12-27T10:31:00.000+00:002021-12-27T10:31:55.762+00:00Annual report 2021<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZCdk_TtACST9VV8nrt6uUd44hMcFnt8SCpeVQ9_JRSgtmGL-9arRkfrRkXOrYLVuLUzIbdiLyNzm-VExQ-J-TMsACaayj7B4y-dyMiPtvSp85q3EaKSs1d8PdQ9CQ-qHZ6_bIdvyUE0Q6XT6LGosqc2jqaKHsOyQObRXP23fYK-NH4F1-dYVI3N0=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZCdk_TtACST9VV8nrt6uUd44hMcFnt8SCpeVQ9_JRSgtmGL-9arRkfrRkXOrYLVuLUzIbdiLyNzm-VExQ-J-TMsACaayj7B4y-dyMiPtvSp85q3EaKSs1d8PdQ9CQ-qHZ6_bIdvyUE0Q6XT6LGosqc2jqaKHsOyQObRXP23fYK-NH4F1-dYVI3N0=w271-h361" width="271" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">At
this time of year I habitually write an annual report. I have just
discovered, to my amazement, that I didn’t last year, and when I
contemplate the reason it’s probably exactly why I am hesitant
about doing it now. While most people I know, and millions that I
don’t know, are experiencing the worst time imaginable, my year has
been exciting and enjoyable.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">True,
there were two losses in the family, one profoundly tragic, the other
perhaps less so, while it hit me more than I had expected. When I
walked off three years ago I thought the hurt was so huge that I
would never care whether my partner of almost forty years was dead or
alive. Yet when he passed away this past autumn, it was as if the
three years apart had been erased, and grief was acute. In a weird
way it felt good since it was a closure much needed, as it turns out.
To my surprise, I miss him terribly and only remember the good things
from our years together. So, paradoxically, even a loss can add depth
and meaning to your life.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Apart
from that, and apart from some worrying health issues in the family,
my life has not been affected by the global disasters. I eventually
got covid last month, but thanks to three vaccine jabs, I had it
mildly and was fully recovered after a week. Sweden has never had a
full lockdown, and even during the tightest restrictions I was able
to meet my grandchildren outdoors. This autumn we went to concerts,
theatre and movies, met for coffee and meals – almost as normal.
(There will never be the former normal again of course). I am blessed
with grandchildren who want to spend some time with their old granny.
I don’t think they do it out of duty. Maybe they find me
interesting in some way. And not to forget – a granddaughter got
married last September!</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
year saw some great accomplishments, some planned, others unexpected.
I took a three-day training to become a certified walking guide, and
since then I have been leading walks both in my own neighbourhood and
further away. I enjoy it a lot – hopefully my co-walkers do too. I
made some new friends that way.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu67R-JQIvcMz8P2hyxDtEoQwbPrjbluWogDWCspLQOUVeicqs-X9BDiFTobG-Hj340aSDWSeD8gLtd_5n2cJ0Qml28Ij_UtrcMwVUsB1Blg8Zk2yoDoxQgHRnGCpS9O541PW7VVVbMoMfbIdg8PCLfO8oxrdE_ELqYVMM-Rhuq3zU7acXGRk-BVI=s1383" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1383" data-original-width="1037" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhu67R-JQIvcMz8P2hyxDtEoQwbPrjbluWogDWCspLQOUVeicqs-X9BDiFTobG-Hj340aSDWSeD8gLtd_5n2cJ0Qml28Ij_UtrcMwVUsB1Blg8Zk2yoDoxQgHRnGCpS9O541PW7VVVbMoMfbIdg8PCLfO8oxrdE_ELqYVMM-Rhuq3zU7acXGRk-BVI=w176-h235" width="176" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I have also continued my urban walks
based on children’s books. I know these have been appreciated.</span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5GaSa04qCFKbazv4_t4lTgWsR6_PbQ7DOlvOJ5riy8v9qdnpOap2xcxcx6_zWZEPZeePL2dI4A8fXmkZz7jZnDiuVjQs9ZzWf3UPUwV8As3MKl2sICZHUf5fI7hxUZocyNSeHpG5Jvsy75Gr5_IQtkYalik6LQ77QQoDjMqhsJvnao01UIeitUSM=s1728" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1296" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5GaSa04qCFKbazv4_t4lTgWsR6_PbQ7DOlvOJ5riy8v9qdnpOap2xcxcx6_zWZEPZeePL2dI4A8fXmkZz7jZnDiuVjQs9ZzWf3UPUwV8As3MKl2sICZHUf5fI7hxUZocyNSeHpG5Jvsy75Gr5_IQtkYalik6LQ77QQoDjMqhsJvnao01UIeitUSM=s320" width="240" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">From
my post-retirement wish list, I started learning Welsh. I had a
choice between Welsh, Japanese and Hebrew, and I was perhaps a bit
reluctant to choose a language with totally unfamiliar script, but
Welsh proved challenging enough. I am learning for fun, as a brain
exercise so I have no aspiration of ever getting fluent (“Bydda i
erioed yn rhugl”). I do half an hour every day, sometimes more. I
have learned just over a thousand words since I started last January.
I don’t know (it has been such a long time since I learned a
foreign language) how it compares to an average pace of learning, but
I can construct simple phrases and even write brief journal entries.
I speak Welsh to myself whenever there is an opportunity, like “Dw
i’n mynd i gwneud coffi nawr”. I have joined a Facebook group of
Welsh learners, for support and for fun.</span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsYdJmQxu51s545SdxTozg_qjTpvvzdVQ3rICyn24-zjuNy2XWtqDjSGQZSJeLxiBxwChAi3cRNPNswFkpu8tmMAXeBWVSpvnzAM9jqw3vbF7cMKc_NWrnWLlDC-6NKITgPCXi8dcDnNIUHYNvsc4ovqdD0wTtTW805S02mRKzFv4TrocGllBplKI=s499" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="363" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsYdJmQxu51s545SdxTozg_qjTpvvzdVQ3rICyn24-zjuNy2XWtqDjSGQZSJeLxiBxwChAi3cRNPNswFkpu8tmMAXeBWVSpvnzAM9jqw3vbF7cMKc_NWrnWLlDC-6NKITgPCXi8dcDnNIUHYNvsc4ovqdD0wTtTW805S02mRKzFv4TrocGllBplKI=w181-h248" width="181" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">An
unexpected new activity has been ikebana, Japanese flower
arrangement. I have always been fascinated, but never considered
pursuing it; a friend invited me to a digital meeting of their
Ikebana International chapter, I contacted my local chapter, they
offered me a free trial class, and I was hooked. I had claimed
repeatedly that I hate cut flowers because I feel upset when they
wither, but ikebana is by definition an ephemeral art form where
flowers are supposed to die so it turned out I could accept it. I
have now received the first certificate and am halfway through the
second one. A certificate is like a completed term in college, with a certain number of assignments to submit, and
there are ten levels so I have yet far to go. I like clear goals, but
the important thing is the joy of creation, as well as the sense of
getting better. When I look at pictures of my first arrangements,
they are pathetic, and I was so proud of them back then.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgADsY7iyBWnrZlrTdKHQYaLye-kZ0Rf0uRVJK1Ycu4s11KBwXnbmARzb4tCyVthyEC7biRZzgtyyNi3lAtNUrOsMbtq52gcRpyCVG02PDoqvwt24il7BjHEa9xd5ee4Hc_SVVNNUGURBOT9rjfhNIvn33B96jmp9pnU4kCY7hhH25JTU_u8PJm7g4=s1021" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1019" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgADsY7iyBWnrZlrTdKHQYaLye-kZ0Rf0uRVJK1Ycu4s11KBwXnbmARzb4tCyVthyEC7biRZzgtyyNi3lAtNUrOsMbtq52gcRpyCVG02PDoqvwt24il7BjHEa9xd5ee4Hc_SVVNNUGURBOT9rjfhNIvn33B96jmp9pnU4kCY7hhH25JTU_u8PJm7g4=w241-h242" width="241" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhcn977N9Is7Yu07i-Mnt-Eh1mU-oJdG8ga12klNoGODqCZGQoUbu0twVAKlRiw2Me7v5P9vx2q8ka8_DB7LRJS_EFMb01NzpxVOhkowM2_ZmZIvkONWW9nzAzHIGqt-T7FEXIdmnjtIIpE1YjOjUM3YidtZ0q_D9q3Q-VK4y9RGRPCAEeshBpGAE=s1214" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="1023" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhcn977N9Is7Yu07i-Mnt-Eh1mU-oJdG8ga12klNoGODqCZGQoUbu0twVAKlRiw2Me7v5P9vx2q8ka8_DB7LRJS_EFMb01NzpxVOhkowM2_ZmZIvkONWW9nzAzHIGqt-T7FEXIdmnjtIIpE1YjOjUM3YidtZ0q_D9q3Q-VK4y9RGRPCAEeshBpGAE=w203-h241" width="203" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiG3Hgldls94EyPAMieiFt7nQH8uNBy4f_MKxxm6jFF4jYHU-ItKb6tm3-rtfkLZeHEcE9xbRUXcOfeUuH9bqooCJ4wepyuvG-TMwX9GlacTl1q_ZBr86DxShj8CS4X1n_y61baJBK1LLBuEB5v4uPZ_5TmtlBFmAi1Y6LWU5aUbLOB28bCYM5cTQ=s1085" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1085" data-original-width="1004" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiG3Hgldls94EyPAMieiFt7nQH8uNBy4f_MKxxm6jFF4jYHU-ItKb6tm3-rtfkLZeHEcE9xbRUXcOfeUuH9bqooCJ4wepyuvG-TMwX9GlacTl1q_ZBr86DxShj8CS4X1n_y61baJBK1LLBuEB5v4uPZ_5TmtlBFmAi1Y6LWU5aUbLOB28bCYM5cTQ=w229-h248" width="229" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjginaU6l19R5RKZBf2OdTYir4jzZEOlglkT2R3WZsUMYh4fWphV49eyf4sImfRi8toC1hpnZ10U5iOT5AlTrwYkdYireGytUP1ClB31gHbHD3FskH6o7Q1ZAc08RhZZt7V_sUqmB416DkrtoMv-fFLWMpz_H4_Xy0vanQo03yv8PRl0WlfbuEjTU0=s1171" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1171" data-original-width="1014" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjginaU6l19R5RKZBf2OdTYir4jzZEOlglkT2R3WZsUMYh4fWphV49eyf4sImfRi8toC1hpnZ10U5iOT5AlTrwYkdYireGytUP1ClB31gHbHD3FskH6o7Q1ZAc08RhZZt7V_sUqmB416DkrtoMv-fFLWMpz_H4_Xy0vanQo03yv8PRl0WlfbuEjTU0=w211-h245" width="211" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">My
miniature-making has also moved on to new heights. My business is
going well with its premises. Since I am not dependent on it for a
living, I feel satisfaction from the simple fact that people like my
stuff and even make special orders. I now feel confident to make
things I never dreamed of making a few years ago so when asked
whether I can make this or that, I say: I have never made it before,
but I can try. I don’t like mass-producing things (although I have
occasionally made fifty tiny pumpkins on request), but rather
inventing new things. I am a recycler and like using rubbish for my
projects. I have the privilege of belonging to a hugely selective
miniature club where I am learning a lot. I have participated in my
first miniature show. I am building up a reputation. Luckily, so much
networking can be done online, even though there is nothing like live
events.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEU4QUuLSqQl_zKP8ful4hy7pfnfxHFcBScK_jqHxrNUKqJy0-RzVhGye0gwJ3dsujtS6woojf7oySL2wzM_iO3BMTehuiuws2W9UpuffDxyufAQIomvSuJ7XIdGk0ISmG9pZwonDdoDPHkxlunWDk4jId33h66vyCfv75J1ejMWqb-NLzZSbKAik=s1009" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1009" data-original-width="917" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEU4QUuLSqQl_zKP8ful4hy7pfnfxHFcBScK_jqHxrNUKqJy0-RzVhGye0gwJ3dsujtS6woojf7oySL2wzM_iO3BMTehuiuws2W9UpuffDxyufAQIomvSuJ7XIdGk0ISmG9pZwonDdoDPHkxlunWDk4jId33h66vyCfv75J1ejMWqb-NLzZSbKAik=w228-h252" width="228" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzqpBna2LMovO9wt5147yn4eMvTWgnRAKfXFEwSrvL5OiHhgcTlSAx1DmTS_0BxIs5cwu9e_SR1pwLm2WBXTqP453qXiap8nPRwsXcOxEnmMbn1Nuh0MJ75eTWqWFIXFBDObZcXU3UXhdzVIzQY2l6BVC3U0CQ1Aij9f_Cq3fL4rf0ylg3XnL6JiY=s1188" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="1029" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzqpBna2LMovO9wt5147yn4eMvTWgnRAKfXFEwSrvL5OiHhgcTlSAx1DmTS_0BxIs5cwu9e_SR1pwLm2WBXTqP453qXiap8nPRwsXcOxEnmMbn1Nuh0MJ75eTWqWFIXFBDObZcXU3UXhdzVIzQY2l6BVC3U0CQ1Aij9f_Cq3fL4rf0ylg3XnL6JiY=w218-h252" width="218" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyu6qocw9_BrS2bKKkdtWwM5dMuqZJhpea0GbcI_Guipz8jLuo6-ccMxjJBz67yzRPpbKO3PvtKiLfVxrMLR834Wf_-NMN0KkYwXYi15PEI0lhTi5XkyPmajCYgbxlQFOjIISruqg2Mw1t9aATRv6M51CvIW23nlTzg0AeW9eXuE7k07RtMi7SltM=s977" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="977" data-original-width="967" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyu6qocw9_BrS2bKKkdtWwM5dMuqZJhpea0GbcI_Guipz8jLuo6-ccMxjJBz67yzRPpbKO3PvtKiLfVxrMLR834Wf_-NMN0KkYwXYi15PEI0lhTi5XkyPmajCYgbxlQFOjIISruqg2Mw1t9aATRv6M51CvIW23nlTzg0AeW9eXuE7k07RtMi7SltM=w226-h228" width="226" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2kQFpsI1IYcIO31nvh69rdXKWr5BHnO9A6uw_n94G8OPs2N3K34xT9SeeH_LwgU6BsoRPVQUeC5k5vLZjGN6VNZraN8QAE0rAHdoNgxyKHO7NAruJvkxbbBBXcZ_AeYISiKjWD4DtZpyZj4eiqn5SyWX_BgUhJHS85FPM6LuB6bEsSMI-60DWlaM=s1038" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="1032" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2kQFpsI1IYcIO31nvh69rdXKWr5BHnO9A6uw_n94G8OPs2N3K34xT9SeeH_LwgU6BsoRPVQUeC5k5vLZjGN6VNZraN8QAE0rAHdoNgxyKHO7NAruJvkxbbBBXcZ_AeYISiKjWD4DtZpyZj4eiqn5SyWX_BgUhJHS85FPM6LuB6bEsSMI-60DWlaM=w226-h227" width="226" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Book-binding
hasn’t been as prominent this year, but I have tried some new
techniques there as well.</span></div></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdzD8qv6ZjrmldQN352S-FXr4sSLFElovFgMqQVmsOpGs7iwSfJXwUkM2PQOOv4G5lVORnCzaWTzh3JZ-gdSV9y8i6lHzfv3fv8k959LMHj21iko79hVgW7yECi-yhe_MyhEnDwEFIVQDmqZcqSypwWI2LXmbG6sJJcQVJMbnqdVFoFXE7MSW9YtY=s1667" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1420" data-original-width="1667" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdzD8qv6ZjrmldQN352S-FXr4sSLFElovFgMqQVmsOpGs7iwSfJXwUkM2PQOOv4G5lVORnCzaWTzh3JZ-gdSV9y8i6lHzfv3fv8k959LMHj21iko79hVgW7yECi-yhe_MyhEnDwEFIVQDmqZcqSypwWI2LXmbG6sJJcQVJMbnqdVFoFXE7MSW9YtY=w272-h232" width="272" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
continue with balcony gardening (although not right now when it’s
minus fifteen), enjoying the colours of my flowers and the taste of
my veggies. I haven’t done as much as I could have, but I have made
several improvements. </span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-_Zx7plkPDQfinhH5OIUl1AUgl2JHtINFCH3iMW_ArBOrzgSahf_7XQPW-QmEoxZCWyHfRbhc4t4ItskdDyIig1v2gOkO0rEqwC31yI060EMTm00qsItqnUA-7SoYt9QFHOyjjYewTHjeNt9im3QoBzRL4dxv-aFxU_mFzZ39OWy0NiDzaKDpqmw=s2015" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2015" data-original-width="1504" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-_Zx7plkPDQfinhH5OIUl1AUgl2JHtINFCH3iMW_ArBOrzgSahf_7XQPW-QmEoxZCWyHfRbhc4t4ItskdDyIig1v2gOkO0rEqwC31yI060EMTm00qsItqnUA-7SoYt9QFHOyjjYewTHjeNt9im3QoBzRL4dxv-aFxU_mFzZ39OWy0NiDzaKDpqmw=s320" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4A5PmxJD3e-zxuJWDzA9GqxjHLgax2FN5oa9vT8SHWCFrW3Ye0ZFkgu_5MvYQcXoa7diw4zaJqH7TX-hcy39X3OGtAk1-ScH80Zy93W0MecJAZFV5ytm7jsNuV3UK6iHoYfpdQ2eEhPdAufytVZOLsBNQ8Ph_kFrAyBDlFvsHqS412rYnRYUWEPY=s2015" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2015" data-original-width="1504" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4A5PmxJD3e-zxuJWDzA9GqxjHLgax2FN5oa9vT8SHWCFrW3Ye0ZFkgu_5MvYQcXoa7diw4zaJqH7TX-hcy39X3OGtAk1-ScH80Zy93W0MecJAZFV5ytm7jsNuV3UK6iHoYfpdQ2eEhPdAufytVZOLsBNQ8Ph_kFrAyBDlFvsHqS412rYnRYUWEPY=s320" width="239" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">In my communal garden, I enjoyed tulips and
daffodils I had planted the year before; I harvested blackcurrants
that I had planted the year before, and our maintenance team have, on
my request, planted lilacs, magnolias and rhododendron we will enjoy
next year.</span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhb7xpVPOLwSpd8vC1x5YR8lTPVUZStFlOogM_AazKae7JbObC5KG36Zp6WA8hHTEirWTcSOwJAc-TGRDCQuFP0cFX7X7nZbvwOVJ5nxj8G1syyVoMSX_G6ro8EQfWbVPbZPxNGcbDOvGOV-Kmc2U6mcQ95LvW4iESoU0ZJqMiMFvYMvT1jg32hyS0=s2015" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2015" data-original-width="1504" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhb7xpVPOLwSpd8vC1x5YR8lTPVUZStFlOogM_AazKae7JbObC5KG36Zp6WA8hHTEirWTcSOwJAc-TGRDCQuFP0cFX7X7nZbvwOVJ5nxj8G1syyVoMSX_G6ro8EQfWbVPbZPxNGcbDOvGOV-Kmc2U6mcQ95LvW4iESoU0ZJqMiMFvYMvT1jg32hyS0=w176-h236" width="176" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
haven’t achieved my walking goal of 1,500 km, being short by 300.
Maybe I set the goal too high, or maybe I was lazy. But how could I
have been lazy when I walked almost 80 km on Camino de Santiago? A
dream come true, after three postponements due to well-known reasons. </span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigaYCNN4pltjYJ16asOnoJZUnoLpmImNuDkNlIiYjbCbcuzz-aKNnDlgsltr1r6fyid4LF0mX-5j5KQTAtwr29YeqvbcgySexO5QSC1keKD1RvYNxTVzLphY_cy4JkdgwvdqYMwnrFmIR7uMIvNf2SXzNt5HawiB5jCd507IuH9KeNxKwmCm7ADjc=s960" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="960" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigaYCNN4pltjYJ16asOnoJZUnoLpmImNuDkNlIiYjbCbcuzz-aKNnDlgsltr1r6fyid4LF0mX-5j5KQTAtwr29YeqvbcgySexO5QSC1keKD1RvYNxTVzLphY_cy4JkdgwvdqYMwnrFmIR7uMIvNf2SXzNt5HawiB5jCd507IuH9KeNxKwmCm7ADjc=w288-h265" width="288" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbtzFOCvq3XzV3xvTjWnVVMBmNL0_szcrylgJ54Te7SBm7Tmujg8zm6PPM6DNdQUoGotbxAYimM5MMbo2Sm7SRwpLIkppiwMX1Ng-G0CMVf_GtlMWv3J46yCf8j5BFz9yrIetsdQCR2oJdzyD3LIy7ZSKmTWTHV5a5TyCvbhKw3CKYM5M5Est1hg8=s960" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbtzFOCvq3XzV3xvTjWnVVMBmNL0_szcrylgJ54Te7SBm7Tmujg8zm6PPM6DNdQUoGotbxAYimM5MMbo2Sm7SRwpLIkppiwMX1Ng-G0CMVf_GtlMWv3J46yCf8j5BFz9yrIetsdQCR2oJdzyD3LIy7ZSKmTWTHV5a5TyCvbhKw3CKYM5M5Est1hg8=w207-h276" width="207" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin9-wlM1yfFRXj2W8rlYYxXcPlCtgZOdXZbbGzgnvYBvYFQ67ITb0n7FsPN5DJgD6bF8xATPJdHL5MVw9MsoUtDJh5t00AZ6zvz1ei1mMNdsXHCI9B-Eh-nbboJyi3P1eCP0VEFRCpTLuCh0wVI-aP6lIkV7ff2tUCzLB0PfCKiwi1EYeDSpnMuFc=s960" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin9-wlM1yfFRXj2W8rlYYxXcPlCtgZOdXZbbGzgnvYBvYFQ67ITb0n7FsPN5DJgD6bF8xATPJdHL5MVw9MsoUtDJh5t00AZ6zvz1ei1mMNdsXHCI9B-Eh-nbboJyi3P1eCP0VEFRCpTLuCh0wVI-aP6lIkV7ff2tUCzLB0PfCKiwi1EYeDSpnMuFc=s320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0RNEyfwic5ZiaEBJSY8NihyqiQ_MnhKrnzMiO0WQiyXrcRZXDgVV2v0PIy0vdVpLUl4KcM5i0zDz-qJwpC8ggJxdw_Rsvufujjtd873K6aXvRzTFST57yEVSKW9cwe_Ek2SaakRXdgwABlxmzHGf5GqYwemen2AHUTWGlCyrT5D2trC9QlJYAivo=s960" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0RNEyfwic5ZiaEBJSY8NihyqiQ_MnhKrnzMiO0WQiyXrcRZXDgVV2v0PIy0vdVpLUl4KcM5i0zDz-qJwpC8ggJxdw_Rsvufujjtd873K6aXvRzTFST57yEVSKW9cwe_Ek2SaakRXdgwABlxmzHGf5GqYwemen2AHUTWGlCyrT5D2trC9QlJYAivo=s320" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Moreover, I went on two more walking holidays within Sweden, one of
which my first mountain hike. Sweden is great for walking, and there
is so much to explore!</span></div></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjD-qiOw_33xGtpe4__Yi8aVCZJUP5O6OK8mxREKN4IS0E0ecQPxPQgqmdpabSfjxdQYIG7p1Cyau53QXu0uvZznRuOgLsetY0W_8OlmjoSLQ_IwfAd7L1Z88oJjn8xx_3ZTsHSh5Mafd9q_wNTZFyNC4fzJFw-BU4M3hB05X8hFzXJEAGGuwwr80I=s960" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjD-qiOw_33xGtpe4__Yi8aVCZJUP5O6OK8mxREKN4IS0E0ecQPxPQgqmdpabSfjxdQYIG7p1Cyau53QXu0uvZznRuOgLsetY0W_8OlmjoSLQ_IwfAd7L1Z88oJjn8xx_3ZTsHSh5Mafd9q_wNTZFyNC4fzJFw-BU4M3hB05X8hFzXJEAGGuwwr80I=s320" width="240" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">With
other exercise, my Pilates gym was closed for a while, but this
autumn classes resumed, which was great. Since the gym is in town I
frequently combined it with meeting a friend for lunch. I have also
tried climbing and loved it. I will certainly do it again.</span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaeSEoffXyOJpAB8-suAujArOKIrdhLY1urVfB5Vx8boa9EJPbG9GIj52m8KvPi1r5JrDj4nH665H8rQ0AcZJi2rYTtoLMZiA8dCnf-cjtBCk-ernnIOrI6fquUrSHqRNT2CSfqmW_nmpXueGR_iufDH94vVPQWyLHBZnEQqjmzgq_AsegTvCpZgc=s2015" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2015" data-original-width="1511" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaeSEoffXyOJpAB8-suAujArOKIrdhLY1urVfB5Vx8boa9EJPbG9GIj52m8KvPi1r5JrDj4nH665H8rQ0AcZJi2rYTtoLMZiA8dCnf-cjtBCk-ernnIOrI6fquUrSHqRNT2CSfqmW_nmpXueGR_iufDH94vVPQWyLHBZnEQqjmzgq_AsegTvCpZgc=s320" width="240" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">In
spring, I took two online classes at Seniors’ University (aka
University of Third Age), one in astronomy, the other on deserts. The
latter proved more interesting. I realised I had been to half of
world’s famous deserts, but I had no idea why they were where they
were. Now I know. Always fun to learn something new.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">My
reading goal this year was 30 books, and my challenge was reading
recent Swedish novels that I had neglected over the last ten years. I
have read 35. Some were great reading experience, and many critically
acclaimed and award-winning books were awful. At least I am now
better informed about what is going on in Swedish literature.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
have enjoyed a lot of music this year. While concert halls were still
closed I listened to free streamed and recorded concerts, but this
autumn I went to a live concert almost every week. I have also been to
opera, ballet and musical. Every morning and every evening I listen
to Spotify. I like its feature Weekly Discovery. The algorithm
alternates my favourites with its own suggestions which are indeed
discoveries I probably wouldn’t have made myself. (By the way,
“concerts” for me is exclusively classic music). Spotify tells me
that my most listened-to artist this year was Alison Balsom, which
was unexpected. My top piece, for second year running, is “Farewell
to Stromness” since it is my bedtime music.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
have become quite fond of TV series – a genre I used to despise,
which is of course a snobbish prejudice. My favourite this year was
“The Good Place”. Occasionally I binge-watch, but mostly I watch
one episode a day, looking forward to the pleasure the day after.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
still enjoy cooking for myself and trying new recipes. A Cambridge
friend and I have had several cook-along days when we choose a
cuisine and exchange our experience, in words and pictures, through
WhatsApp. We have done Greek, Basque, Swedish, Sicilian, and more.
When you cannot meet live, digital sessions are almost as good. </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzHQupw4-tnqRnNcm1hCQU1z5keAKL-FWlwgGVgyJwzyJW3WS_8zDadb5AnimAzQVDiuDXLP0N_vcgqGMFs-pBCITA8R_OCH4NxjQhXUkGv-H9zmMkMJIy5kPrjEL0wJID9prHnDQmQE3APR1OE8G1zJY3ZkOn4ZbL33JpVFxFciWhxr1rYPG-lYs=s2141" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2113" data-original-width="2141" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzHQupw4-tnqRnNcm1hCQU1z5keAKL-FWlwgGVgyJwzyJW3WS_8zDadb5AnimAzQVDiuDXLP0N_vcgqGMFs-pBCITA8R_OCH4NxjQhXUkGv-H9zmMkMJIy5kPrjEL0wJID9prHnDQmQE3APR1OE8G1zJY3ZkOn4ZbL33JpVFxFciWhxr1rYPG-lYs=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
never thought I would bake so much, or bake at all, but here I am,
baking buns, cakes and biscuits and even bread, just for myself.</span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg932NT9LURFyGKrzL06xZpU7FEkUiq2AptCgvfaDOtA2EappqtcXsd_1rS4Exgahw2puWDsq2CGnoxsMLHpKRlrAORirDVYJk1d09nsIW_cLDe2G229hUiGqle9Mhf1UVgjmm7HXw-DHlZXwK-KdW5ZvDtVzhNrkoHg05QPybTAyMV7JXiLrznPe8=s2015" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2015" data-original-width="1971" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg932NT9LURFyGKrzL06xZpU7FEkUiq2AptCgvfaDOtA2EappqtcXsd_1rS4Exgahw2puWDsq2CGnoxsMLHpKRlrAORirDVYJk1d09nsIW_cLDe2G229hUiGqle9Mhf1UVgjmm7HXw-DHlZXwK-KdW5ZvDtVzhNrkoHg05QPybTAyMV7JXiLrznPe8=w244-h249" width="244" /></a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Last
but not least, my feline masters are getting more and more
benevolent. One day they will sit on my lap.</span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibXWEWtAsg3tqjvsNIMa6p257wc22QueF-TqKlGzeyzmA8LVvdpkAP16wrKKDBANOj0kEhm6IHeYVDukwbZh-aqaS9zBhVmNP3P0DdnaKoH5AVqe80Ie6y1BYXBhibD4rAITAUB1kSLeFQW8r9xHH6sysdzvGD7snGpJEmnwwGFDDSKEkDFPTEP9o=s2015" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2015" data-original-width="1504" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibXWEWtAsg3tqjvsNIMa6p257wc22QueF-TqKlGzeyzmA8LVvdpkAP16wrKKDBANOj0kEhm6IHeYVDukwbZh-aqaS9zBhVmNP3P0DdnaKoH5AVqe80Ie6y1BYXBhibD4rAITAUB1kSLeFQW8r9xHH6sysdzvGD7snGpJEmnwwGFDDSKEkDFPTEP9o=s320" width="239" /></a></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Unlike
most previous years, I have no publications nor any other academic
accomplishments. There may have been some, but I have totally ignored
them. I am still getting tons of invitations to give a conference
paper, to contribute to a volume, to examine a thesis or review a
book proposal, to which I reply: “You have received my
auto-response, and I can confirm that…” The only thing that
reminds me of my academic past is regular royalties.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">I
have been consistent in my anti-consumerism, and apart from craft
supplies and a couple of essential kitchen utensils I honestly
haven’t bought anything this year. I haven’t bought a single item
of clothing, except a black skirt I needed for a funeral, and I got
it from a second-hand shop. The only book I bought was a guidebook
for the mountain area where I went hiking. My first-generation iPad
from 2011 still serves me well.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">This
year marked forty years since I left Russia. My son and I celebrated
appropriately, agreeing that it was the right thing to do. I have
never regretted it.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://nikolajeva.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-time-to-every-purpose.html" style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;" target="_blank">As I have stated before</a><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">, perception of time is different when you get old. I feel no stress, no pressing goals; every day is long and full of meaning. The pace is slow, and if at the end of the day I state that I haven't done anything useful, there is no need to be upset. I don't believe in happiness, but this is peace that you could not possibly imagine when you were young. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">At
this point we typically make plans for the coming year. I can hardly
imagine it being better still, but I do have things to look forward
to. To begin with, I will be three-score and ten, and I intend to
celebrate in style. I hope to walk another bit of the Camino. There
may be another interesting travel experience. I have signed up for
more craft shows. There are concert and theatre tickets waiting. Of
course none of this may happen at all, but I have learned to take one
day at a time and be grateful for every day I am alive and able to
enjoy it. I am profoundly grateful for the joys of 2021.</span></span></span></span></div><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-62870377731136927272021-11-23T09:23:00.000+00:002021-11-23T09:23:11.637+00:00Me and my brain<p> </p><p class="western" lang="en-GB">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
haven’t been an active blogger this year, and writing does not come
naturally any more. This is quite remarkable given that I earned my
living throughout my whole career, over fifty years, by writing. Yet
now, anything longer that a photo caption on facebook feels
strenuous, or rather totally unappealing. I was recently asked to
contribute a piece to a Festschrift for a retiring colleague, which
is a pleasurable task as it can be light in tone and devoid of heavy
referencing. Yet as I considered possible topics and browsed through
my files for something to recycle, I realised that there was no way I
could do it. It is as if my brain has simply shut down its areas of
academic thinking. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Reflecting
upon this weird phenomenon, with my patchy knowledge of neuroscience,
I realise that it is not just “as if”. My brain has indeed shut
down the storage of scholarly approaches. When I decided, some time
before my actual retirement, that I didn’t want to continue any
academic pursuits, my brain made a mental note of it – sorry,
unintended pun, but probably suitable. The brain is a very economic
machine. When it knows that some portions of accumulated knowledge
will not be used ever again, it seals off those storage rooms. Anyone
who has tried knows how hard it is to come back to academic studies
after a long break. The brain needs to re-learn to receive, process
and store information. I not only find it next to impossible to
write, but also extremely hard to read anything work-related.
Former-work related. I have no problems reading instructions for
assembling a miniature four-poster bed or for arranging a Basic
Slanting-Style Moribana in Reverse. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Being
a good housekeeper, the brain knows that there is new and radically
different information coming in these days. Information more
connected to the right hemisphere, to hand-eye coordination for
crafts, to concrete orientation in space when I lead walks. This
information needs new neuronal paths to be created, which in turn
needs energy. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
brain is energy-hungry; it uses 20% of all energy we receive from
nutrition, more than any organ in our body. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">There
is no point maintaining paths between sealed storage rooms. It’s a
waste of energy. The brain hates waste. It is now busy making new
connections, supporting new paths, making room for visual and haptic
skills I didn’t need before. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When
friends and colleagues tell me that I will one day want to write
another scholarly book, I know for sure it won’t happen because I
would then need to persuade the brain to reopen the sealed rooms and
rebuild the dismantled pathways. It would take years. I don’t have
these years, and it’s not worth while. Once again, to allow the
brain to shut down significant bits of the left hemisphere was a
deliberate and well thought-through decision that I don’t regret.
Moreover, if I had known fifty years ago, when I was choosing my
career, what I know now I probably wouldn’t have chosen to become
an academic. I would have trained to become a garden architect or a
cabinet-maker or a desert explorer. I have no time to pursue any of
these careers other than on a small, even a miniature scale. But
that’s enough for me, and my brain supports my new endeavours.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There
is one area that the brain has kept open, and it belongs to both left
and right hemisphere. I am still able to learn a new language. </span></span></span>
</p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUyQdX3HrVi9BkTpbAivQRqsHJVh4dKyaVJAn8k2riZG-j_5xIxglN7pSNnluxXfcVJjXD2ilnKz5mB8seSU79XAyAR54UliUuOro6t9kqtL41AxiTlGS-iEW58or0OIXW5Cq6VcYN6U/s1236/moribana+1-11-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="1025" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUyQdX3HrVi9BkTpbAivQRqsHJVh4dKyaVJAn8k2riZG-j_5xIxglN7pSNnluxXfcVJjXD2ilnKz5mB8seSU79XAyAR54UliUuOro6t9kqtL41AxiTlGS-iEW58or0OIXW5Cq6VcYN6U/w179-h216/moribana+1-11-2.jpg" width="179" /></a></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-23223727771993836412021-07-30T18:13:00.000+01:002021-07-30T18:13:11.433+01:00Looking back<p>It is two years since I left Cambridge. At the time, it wasn't meant to be a definitive farewell. I planned to return to Cambridge in December for Guest Night at college and for my swearing-in as an Emeritus Fellow, and when that didn't happen for a number of reasons, I planned to go to Cambridge in March (2020) for the Charter Dinner, and we know why that didn't happen. Here I am, two years later, and no prospect of going to Cambridge in a foreseeable future. </p><p>Do I miss Cambridge? Yes and no. I miss the community, my friends and colleagues, my students, seminars, college lunches and dinners... and I have to remind myself that none of this has happened in the past year and a half. So what I miss is in the past, not what I am missing now by not being in Cambridge. I know it sounds awful, but, to put it cynically, I haven't missed much. What I valued most in Cambridge has been severely reduced. To put it even more cynically, I am glad I left Cambridge when I did. </p><p>In the first year, I still had some ties with Cambridge, supervising a few PhDs for a miserable remuneration. Online supervisions that were extraordinary in the beginning soon became routine for everyone so I didn't even feel I was particularly isolated. I stayed in touch with some colleagues, but eventually what is going on in my precious baby, my Research Centre, is no longer my concern. I don't know the new cohorts of graduate students, and they don't know me. They are likely to know <i>of</i> me and are probably assigned some of my work, but I am not a person anymore, just a name. And my former students have moved on, have jobs and families, and I see them occasionally on Facebook. Every now and then, Facebook sends me a "memory" of a doctoral defence or a graduation ceremony.</p><p>I have been allowed to keep my university email address, and I am still getting messages from various committees that have forgotten to take me off records, and I am getting lovely messages from my college supporting its members in these difficult times. I have participated in a couple of zoominars, but that, too, feels less and less relevant. </p><p>The main reason Cambridge has become a ghost is my firm decision to withdraw from academic life altogether. If I had been still active as a researcher I would have participated in more events, made myself available for supervisions and assessments and at the very least kept track of what is going on in my field in general and in my former research environment in particular. As it is, I have moved on so far away that sometimes I am not even sure that Cambridge has really happened to me, because the person I have become in these two years wouldn't find academic life attractive. I do remember of course that the person I used to be valued her academic career and enjoyed academic life with all its horrors and rewards. But that person is no more. </p><p>Therefore I don't miss Cambridge. </p><p>A Russian emigree was once asked whether they were planning to visit Moscow. The answer was: "I have already been to Moscow". I have already been to Cambridge. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoCf1bOtrnjFkg1uF7Rl_S-dZxXbirAOynR21t5IZYq3Eq4bnY5Ml3DI-wQgNyIRg_zy-2DyP0DRCfJQLHq4d7TPoFeKNhPpLoTQfOnQXiDC7-ILt7zz7CjpSXZfdnnrPXN9cYR6YGgI/s992/Hom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="992" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoCf1bOtrnjFkg1uF7Rl_S-dZxXbirAOynR21t5IZYq3Eq4bnY5Ml3DI-wQgNyIRg_zy-2DyP0DRCfJQLHq4d7TPoFeKNhPpLoTQfOnQXiDC7-ILt7zz7CjpSXZfdnnrPXN9cYR6YGgI/s320/Hom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Homerton college on a rare occasion of snow</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-33636980229430921582021-01-30T14:23:00.000+00:002021-01-30T14:23:46.398+00:00Reflections on learning a language<p> <span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">If
you have followed my blog you know that one of my post-retirement
projects was to learn a new language. Believe me or not, I have been
so busy in my first eighteen months of retirement that I never got
round to language learning and hadn’t even decided which language
to learn. I wanted a language that was different from all languages I
know so it would be a real challenge, but still manageable. I didn’t
want to learn a language to be able to travel and speak it – I just
wanted brain gymnastics. The languages I considered were Hebrew,
Japanese and Welsh, each with a challenge of its own and each with a
special significance and attraction.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
won’t claim that embarking on language studies was a new year
resolution, but it felt a good starting point. After further
deliberations I chose Welsh, which was perhaps too convenient a
choice since at least it uses Latin alphabet (although with several
weird digraphs to convey weird sounds). I had previously looked at
various learning platforms, assessing their suitability for my
purposes. I don’t want live online sessions in a group, and I want
to practice when and where I please. I want to keep my own pace. I
don’t want to compete with fellow learners, and I don’t want
tests and assessments. Somehow, Duolingo popped up in my searches,
and I decided to give it a go. After four weeks I am still happy with
it. I have read reviews describing Duolingo as a gaming platform, and
it is true that you get jewels, crowns and other rewards, and that
after each completed lesson a green owl gives you praise for your
progress. I ignore these aspects, and they don’t bother me. I have
even got used to comments such as “Awesome!” and “Amazing!”
after every correct answer.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">On
the other hand, I have read complaints that the neverending practice
of “I don’t want to buy the seven goats and the five ducks”
wasn’t useful for an everyday conversation, which is only partially
true, because through such practice you will eventually be able to
say whatever you want or don’t want to buy, in whatever quantities,
at your travel destination. I guess it all depends on your
expectations. I don’t intend to become a fluent speaker; as I said,
all I want it keep my brain in trim. For this objective, counting
goats and ducks is perfect.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">What
does bother me about my fellow learners, on the rare occasions I
visit the discussion forum, is their casual attitude. You can see
from forum participants’ profiles what languages they are learning
and how far they have proceeded, and I am puzzled to see that lots of
people are learning fifteen languages. I know there are linguistic
geniuses, but is it indeed just a game: they sign up for a language,
do ten lessons and claim that they have mastered another language?
Well, it’s their problem.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">My
problem is not to be tempted by Duolingo’s rewards and stay on the
same lesson and practice, practice, practice, until I feel confident
and the exercise begins to feel repetitive. Of course as my
vocabulary grows and grammar becomes more complicated, I need more
and more practice. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">The
algorithm works fine, making me go back and repeat and revise. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="sv-SE">It
keeps track of my previous mistakes and makes me practice correct
answers. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">I</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
am loving it.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So
what have I learned in four weeks?</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
think the course design is great. It has been a long time since I
learned a language from scratch, but I don’t think I had to
memorise so many words in each lesson. Yet memorising words isn’t
enough, you need to practice using them in grammatically and
syntactically correct phrases, and Welsh grammar and syntax is
mind-boggling. And the words are mostly unrecognisable, except for
obvious borrowings. Eliffant or dolffin or even teigr are easy, but
what about buwch, blaidd, cwningen, hwyaden and llygoden? None of the
languages I know are of any help. Similarly, while you probably are
safe with Ionawr, Ebrill and even Awst, you get lost with Gorffenna</span><span lang="sv-SE" style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">f</span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
or Rhagfyr.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pronunciation
is deceptive because many letters are pronounced in unpredictable
ways, and yes, those digraphs! Although I have realised that the
sound learners find the most difficult is similar to my native
Russian’s </span><span lang="ru-RU" style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">щ, </span><span lang="sv-SE" style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">which
English and Swedish speakers find completely impossible. And I have
no problems rolling my rs.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">And
yet I probably could make a simple conversation now, introducing
myself by saying that I am not a farmer or an electrician, but a
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">female
(!) </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">teacher;
that I </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">don’t
wear </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">winter
clothes </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">in
summer; that I don’t like ironing</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">,
but enjoy walking; that I want carrot/potato/</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">leek/pea</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
soup for lunch, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>but</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
I don’t eat meat, and I don’t eat sausage </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>either</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
(those small words!); that I like cats and I like dogs </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>too</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">;
that I like learning Welsh; that I am tired, good night.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">Duolingo
uses a computer-generated voice which is wise, but I also listen to
other recorded voices to get used to the sounds. I have found a site
with children’s audio-books to which I listen, and every now and
then I recognise a word. I have learned to sing Old Macdonald had a
farm in Welsh. Very good when you are practising animals. I have
bought a book titled </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Teach
Your Cat Welsh</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">.
How could I resist it? It offers a slightly different vocabulary
from Duolingo. I don’t think I would have reached “Don’t
scratch” in the near future. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">I
have tried to read a real picturebook, but it felt a bit too advanced
so far. But I understand sentence structure and basic grammar even
when I don’t know the words. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="sv-SE">Sometimes
it is hard to find a word in a dictionary because consonants mutate
in certain positions: un ci, dau gi, tri chi.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">Again,
I have no memory of when a language I was learning started making
sense. One strategy that my Swedish teacher insisted on is starting
writing from start. Even if it is just a very short text, like: “Good
morning, I am making breakfast, I want bread and cheese and honey,
orange juice, coffee and milk. I enjoy walking, and I am wearing a
coat, a hat, a scarf and gloves”. I write such silly journal
entries every day, trying to use as many words and phrases as
possible. I writ</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="sv-SE">e</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
with ink in a pretty notebook, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="sv-SE">creating
links between brain, eye and hand</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">.
Likewise, I talk to myself in Welsh, name objects around me, make
small reflections. “I like chocolate, I am eating chocolate”. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">I
have learned 230 words most of which I actually remember and can use.
I spend about an hour a day practising, including weekends, although
I only signed up for 15 minutes. I have no idea how far it will take
me. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">When
I one day get to the end of Duolingo’s course I will consider what
I want next. Maybe I can sign up for an advanced course. Or maybe I
can switch to learning Hebrew.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vOLSspZ9bep6sZBszFsUWe2mGl0Xae8eLjHGMeNGIy1SILmx6YNdEqtPM3IyoJtCLTtQAqyr0kkOJpJylRS0y6xQwygXsudXlAd1EErZtQ0WvWN0tp7JIa0FZpiHTMGLmUohzHluWQA/s499/Welsh+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="363" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vOLSspZ9bep6sZBszFsUWe2mGl0Xae8eLjHGMeNGIy1SILmx6YNdEqtPM3IyoJtCLTtQAqyr0kkOJpJylRS0y6xQwygXsudXlAd1EErZtQ0WvWN0tp7JIa0FZpiHTMGLmUohzHluWQA/w154-h212/Welsh+cat.jpg" width="154" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-91329403390733402452020-12-13T09:13:00.002+00:002020-12-13T09:13:42.113+00:00Re-reading Lord of the Flies<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZW5Er4N8j18tI_vuQY7x91V_J2YgR6XdUNdtRcZyV8j4cj2qA_div1SNrUAAB442_GqZnkdOsbCkpeJrXeP6Z_tpAwwzaXaMx-F8JHhMlRgR6SappOQ6xH1dpf5OiDjfsgqK1aK8GYlI/s392/Golding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="253" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZW5Er4N8j18tI_vuQY7x91V_J2YgR6XdUNdtRcZyV8j4cj2qA_div1SNrUAAB442_GqZnkdOsbCkpeJrXeP6Z_tpAwwzaXaMx-F8JHhMlRgR6SappOQ6xH1dpf5OiDjfsgqK1aK8GYlI/w143-h221/Golding.jpg" width="143" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>This
will be the last book in my 2020 re-reading challenge, and I believe
it was the greatest positive surprise. I first read it when I was
20-ish and had never re-read it. A fellow student lent me her
paperback that someone else had probably lent her. Remember that in
Russia of my youth all foreign books that crossed the Iron Curtain
were random. We didn’t know anything about the book or its author.
By that time I had heard of, if not read <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>
and was struck by the similarity of titles. </span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">For
inexplicable reasons this novel has been on school syllabi in many
countries for years and years. Inexplicable because although the
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">existential
message</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is transparent, it is, I would claim, of little relevance for young
readers, now as much as then. The adventurous plot is slow, and a
significant portion of the book is exquisite nature descriptions
that, as research shows, young readers skip. I am sure I did, even if
at that time I regarded myself a sophisticated reader. If the novel
had been subjected to the same kind of adaptation as </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Robinson
Crusoe</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
there wouldn’t be much left. (What most people remember or know by
hearsay in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Robinson</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is his encounter with Friday which is a minor episode toward the very
end of the book). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">I
remembered most of the plot, although misremembered some details. For
instance in my memory (spoiler!) Piggy was brutally murdered, while
it was in fact Simon. I had forgotten the paratrooper. Knowing the
plot, what I enjoyed most was the language, these beautiful, poetic,
vivid descriptions of the island, the sea, the sky. For their sake, I
will probably re-read the book again. And if you decide to re-read it
(or read it for the first time – it’s one of those so called
classics that people have heard of but never actually read unless
they were forced to in school), take your time. You know what
happens, but make sure you notice how it happens, how the tiny change
in tone is rendered, and of course the elaborate setting that brings
you right in the middle of this terrifying paradise. </span></span>
</p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-18281281480990809932020-12-09T09:27:00.000+00:002020-12-09T09:27:16.070+00:00Re-reading The Pickwick Papers<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgp4QKHTSs3cpINDjrfEeBxc_meh-nDtj2S5vylNaNUE-0tiQ3cF44NHXMbFcw7bxU7AgBrY4K_4CoEDkwFfvFs7sTXWDxsEL73xZ6tQov8MGelywmaMBG8aKDrXwAK20G-iStlj-rbo/s499/pickwick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="348" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgp4QKHTSs3cpINDjrfEeBxc_meh-nDtj2S5vylNaNUE-0tiQ3cF44NHXMbFcw7bxU7AgBrY4K_4CoEDkwFfvFs7sTXWDxsEL73xZ6tQov8MGelywmaMBG8aKDrXwAK20G-iStlj-rbo/w144-h206/pickwick.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">I
chose </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>The
Pickwick Papers</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
because I had re-read most other Dickens’s novels in the past fifty
years, some quite recently, and Dickens was an </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">important</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
author back then, one that everybody read, even my snobbish mother.
</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Bleak
House</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
was my favourite when I was twelve. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>The
Pickwick Papers</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
was supposed to be funny, and as I re-read it now, which was painful,
I kept asking myself what we possibly could consider funny. Was it
simply exotic and incomprehensibly British? I am thinking about </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Three
Men in a Boat</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">,
that is very British and hilarious, then as now (I re-read it just a
few years ago with great pleasure). </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB"><i>Pickwick</i></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="en-GB">
has a vague plot, mostly sketches of upper-class life full of ways
and habits totally alien to me – I wonder how today’s British
readers view it. There are no characters to like or dislike, and
their concerns don’t engage me. A few phrases were witty, but
mostly the language was flat. Perhaps when the book was first
published, in instalments as was the practice, readers were kept in
suspense about some minor quirks of the plot. Definitely there was
more for them to recognise, and yes, I understand that it is all
satire. But it was lost on me. I won’t bore you, dear reader,
with more details. </span></span></span></span></span> </p><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-7901028513115714662020-10-20T13:18:00.000+01:002020-10-20T13:18:31.036+01:00Re-reading The Power and the Glory<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUDcLHFQqRRgBpZuJvSF95VDOfRJ1q-FTtmxtLynSLM4vEm560qUNbv4NCD-O5GjUjovJV2eG_-vnaiFV_aMJnfc2ToqwXN2ivuftVYjw-YL9NylteOEAhAXLf1f-gdWZho-OWO4dJFc/s475/greene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUDcLHFQqRRgBpZuJvSF95VDOfRJ1q-FTtmxtLynSLM4vEm560qUNbv4NCD-O5GjUjovJV2eG_-vnaiFV_aMJnfc2ToqwXN2ivuftVYjw-YL9NylteOEAhAXLf1f-gdWZho-OWO4dJFc/w129-h195/greene.jpg" width="129" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Yet
another book that I was sure I had read, but as it turned out didn’t
remember a word of. I think I remember the cover of the paperback I
borrowed from a friend of my mother, but I could not find it on the
web. Could it be that I started reading it, age 16, and gave up?
There isn’t much of interest in the novel for a sixteen-year-old
without any religious background. Extremely dense text, no action,
scarce dialogue, no romance, alien setting, totally incomprehensible
historical circumstances. Of Greene’s novels, two were translated
and published in Russia in the 1960s, <i>Our Man in Havana</i> and
<i>The Quiet American</i>, apparently because they depicted “the
decay of capitalism”, which was the standard wording in Russian
literary criticism of the time. <i>The Power and the Glory</i> could
not be translated because of its theme. Religion was banned in
Russia, and priests had been persecuted and shot, just as in Greene’s
novel, but the author’s sympathy is not on Red Shirts’ side, and
even a skilful foreword writer wouldn’t be able to explain it to
the Soviet reader. </span></span></span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
didn’t know anything about Mexico’s history then, as it wasn’t
part of our history curriculum, and I must admit that I had to look
it up now as well. Parallels to Soviet history are striking. But
there is, as far as I know, no Russian novel portraying a persecuted
Russian priest, at least not in the same poignant way. Greene’s
protagonist is not a helpless and innocent victim; he is not
particularly likable, and yet I kept falling into the unforgivable
reader fallacy of yelling at him: Don’t do this, can’t you see
it’s a trap? Which I think is the intention.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><i style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
Power and the Glory</i><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is perhaps the strongest impression of my
2020 re-reading challenge. Several books proved better on re-reading,
but this is superior by far. I will read it again in a couple of
years or maybe even sooner.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-71513814917830155452020-10-14T15:37:00.000+01:002020-10-14T15:37:01.125+01:00Re-reading Homo Faber<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gvoYMM-1PXbuDXtEOC0bYnlKVNWGzJqOXL6LSvEeUNMG_94oyOt5mik-fdFNZ9DafwmIR7Zplu2Z1JMZWiZLoo35F_khreKu_L40uouKKqgbcwm3QaLIVA9ZGCu6trirG42eUWVgmdM/s499/Faber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="304" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gvoYMM-1PXbuDXtEOC0bYnlKVNWGzJqOXL6LSvEeUNMG_94oyOt5mik-fdFNZ9DafwmIR7Zplu2Z1JMZWiZLoo35F_khreKu_L40uouKKqgbcwm3QaLIVA9ZGCu6trirG42eUWVgmdM/w131-h214/Faber.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Max
Frisch’s novel was not on my re-reading list, and I cannot remember
why and how I decided to re-read it, but I know that it was an
important book when I was young so it should have been on the list.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Once
again, I know it was important, but I had rather vague memories of
it. The strongest memory was of the final call at the airport, which,
in my memory, was the final scene in the novel, while it actually
happens right in the beginning. I remembered it contained incest,
which was disturbing and fascinating. I remembered a particular
reflection on human reproductive act that I could have sworn came
from the girl, while it actually is Faber’s. That’s it. A general
theme and two details, both wrong.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
did not remember at all the Conradesque adventure in the jungle. I
did not remember Faber’s betrayal of his girlfriend, and I didn’t
remember that he meets her again under dramatic circumstances. I
winced at a casual remark by the narrator early in the novel, “if…
then Sabeth would be alive”. I did not remember that she dies,
still less how she dies, which right now strikes me as implausible,
something from a TV thriller rather than a highbrow novel. When I was
young I probably thought it was romantic. I didn’t reflect on why
male authors always need to sacrifice female characters to redeem
their male protagonists.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
don’t think I had read </span><i style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lolita</i><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> before I read </span><i style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Homo Faber</i><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">,
but now I see similarities, although Sabeth is twenty and not a
minor. The similarity is in the narrator who is trying hard to
exculpate himself, repeating again and again that he didn’t know,
that he couldn’t resist, that it was Sabeth who seduced him, that
it wasn’t his fault at all that he abandoned Sabeth’s mother,
that they had agreed that she would get an abortion… and so on,
over and over again. And he is confident that he is objective - the novel's subtitle is "Report". I am sure I didn’t understand this fifty years
ago, any more than I understood that Humbert Humbert was trying to
acquit himself. But today I find such unreliable, self-delusive
narrators one of the most interesting features of contemporary
fiction. (I keep saying “contemporary” about books published
seventy years ago because they were contemporary back then. By now,
they are vintage if not classics).</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Another
thing that I enjoyed about </span><i style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Homo Faber</i><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is that it didn’t feel
as translation. I am sure I could have read it in German, but I
didn’t, and not once did I stop to consider that I was reading a
translated book, which otherwise is for me a good reason to put a
book aside. Fifty years ago I read it in Russian, and apparently that
was a good translation too.</span></p><p><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
strongly recommend this book if you haven’t read it – or if you
have, but like me have forgotten.</span></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-37440010707055466492020-10-02T07:52:00.000+01:002020-10-02T07:52:31.712+01:00Re-reading Margaret Drabble<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXLxb0jZ-Au9SXVDRGQp7vQjX6idIlChx7QPrJU7o0YwQs7PhT8pfkCG36dMCTsGEkCUiMuYNh3J9jZ0um_XgQC6cXYOTKsm0T-4eXepjDKyt4axjiDRZzgokZzGBOKOkc58O7z0v9EHs/s499/Drabble.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="307" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXLxb0jZ-Au9SXVDRGQp7vQjX6idIlChx7QPrJU7o0YwQs7PhT8pfkCG36dMCTsGEkCUiMuYNh3J9jZ0um_XgQC6cXYOTKsm0T-4eXepjDKyt4axjiDRZzgokZzGBOKOkc58O7z0v9EHs/w135-h220/Drabble.jpg" width="135" /></a></div><br />
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Similar
to Muriel Spark, I had a Margaret Drabble period when I read
everything I could get hold of, which wasn’t easy behind the Iron
Curtain – it wasn’t just the matter of popping into the nearest
book shop. I had </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Summer Bird-Cage</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
on my 2020 re-reading list, but it wasn’t available on Kindle, so I
chose </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Millstone</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
instead although I am not sure I read it back then. I know I read </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Garrick Year</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Needle’s
Eye</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter, because </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Summer Bird-Cage </span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Millstone</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
are thematically similar, and since both are Drabble’s early novels
I would guess they are similar in other ways too. And I only have a
vague memory of the former. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
can see what was attractive to me in Drabble’s novels then. They
are set in a time almost contemporary with mine, in a place I was
curious about. They have female characters of a background similar to
mine: educated, intellectual, high aspiring women. At the time I read
them, I was a single mother, but I never experienced the shaming
Rosamund in </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Millstone</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
went through. She and I shared some human – female – experience,
but otherwise lived on different planets. And I think mine was nicer.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
finished the book because it was part of the challenge, but otherwise
I would have stopped early. I guess it wouldn’t be labeled chic lit
because it is Great Literature, but then I am not well read in chic
lit. I found Rosamund repulsive, which perhaps was intentional, but
if so why would the novel be praised as feminist? When she finds
herself pregnant after her first and only casual sexual experience –
isn’t it one of the most banal plots in literature? - she first
tries to get rid of the baby, and failing spectacularly with the
totally inefficient method of hard liquor and a hot bath (another
literary clich</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">é)
decides that she will keep the baby and love it beyond measure. I
think the narrator is trying to convey her emotions, but it is mostly
external events of a most trivial kind. Which in itself can be
interesting as documentation of its time, but I was mainly irritated.
The ending is pathetic, but I believe it is exactly a tear-jerker
that I would have liked fifty years ago. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
will definitely not re-read any of Drabble’s early novels that I
enjoyed then, but I may try one of her latest to see whether she has
become more to my current taste. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
</p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-29701618282577699152020-10-01T08:57:00.000+01:002020-10-01T08:57:18.988+01:00Annual report<p><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Typically,
annual reports are written at the end of a calendar year. I have done
so myself repeatedly in this blog. But today is a year since </span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">I
re</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">tired</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
and I feel it's a good moment to look back at my long and winding
road from there.</span></span></strong></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
came back to Sweden after eleven years in Cambridge without a
permanent home, with unsold property in the UK, not knowing exactly
what my financial situation was, and uncertain about reconnecting
with my old networks. I wasn't even sure I would feel at home in
Sweden. I won't enumerate the </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">various</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
health issues I had, but there were a few. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
yet I was determined not to let any external circumstances interfere
with the new phase of my life in which I had decided, well in
advance, to be contented, physically and mentally active, to pursue
new interests and enjoy the time-left. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
joined a walking club, signed up for Pilates classes, got a
subscription for Stockholm Concert Hall, reached out to old friends
who were remarkably responsive and nice. I started a small business. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By
December, I had a home of my own, the UK property was sold, my
financial situation was stable, and in January I was adopted by two
charming cats. I was invited to a miniature-making club, attended
classes, joined another gym, met more friends, took my grandchildren
to theatre. I did 10-12 km walks several times a week – I firmly
believe I have walked myself back to sanity. </span></span></span></strong>
</p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></strong></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Auv-RDCVx43NtMRkGhooyFAJtZj8g0qLFjJ1ehnhWG5S8iqasZkZxOEkDqWLppID443PEfAe0_jiiGdv4KgH5Pnm7rYIeJN_127Sw8aLc3SC-wzrIZVtyfUuVFhEuZMyumUUg01JRZE/s1253/leker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1253" data-original-width="991" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Auv-RDCVx43NtMRkGhooyFAJtZj8g0qLFjJ1ehnhWG5S8iqasZkZxOEkDqWLppID443PEfAe0_jiiGdv4KgH5Pnm7rYIeJN_127Sw8aLc3SC-wzrIZVtyfUuVFhEuZMyumUUg01JRZE/s320/leker.jpg" /></a></strong></div><strong><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></strong><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
all know what happened next. I am ashamed to admit that I wasn't as
drastically affected as most other people. Unlike many other
countries, Sweden never went into total lockdown, and most
restrictions concerned people over 70, but I decided to play it safe
and self-isolated. Concerts and theatre shows were cancelled, cinemas
were closed. In mid-March I was supposed to participate in a
miniature show. My dream holiday, walking Camino de Santiago de
Compostella, planned for May, was postponed more or less
indefinitely. My Cambridge friends who were supposed to visit in
April… and so on.</span></span></strong></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">But
I am grateful to be alive and in good health, to have a home and not
worry about where my next meal is coming from. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Just
before everything closed, I had a garden designer start my balcony
garden, and every morning I go out into my tiny garden full of
colours and fragrances. </span></span></span></strong>
</p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></strong></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLeecRsPEHr88B06fbvWjKpezwASCKHENHp-X7jUF_OfHv0S_Kc6iCaNUmj4ZtfWfpGe1IoYn0l3qB8As746sWvhcBo3y6fxEBBN-GZcGr6CrFkjub5GQiPwD2KRqCErBvbVlDId8zUw4/s1383/oct1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1383" data-original-width="1037" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLeecRsPEHr88B06fbvWjKpezwASCKHENHp-X7jUF_OfHv0S_Kc6iCaNUmj4ZtfWfpGe1IoYn0l3qB8As746sWvhcBo3y6fxEBBN-GZcGr6CrFkjub5GQiPwD2KRqCErBvbVlDId8zUw4/w317-h422/oct1.jpg" width="317" /></a></strong></div><strong><br /></strong><p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By
mid-May, Swedish grandparents were permitted to meet their
grandchildren outdoors. I am blessed with grandchildren who happily
came over for walks and picnics. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By
mid-June, I started cautiously to use public transport to go and
visit friends and family. I also decided it was safe to let friends
with cars take me for walks and swims. It would have been
practical right now to have a car, but on the other hand I decided a
year ago that I would never drive a car again. </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
became friends with a neighbour, and we have made many pleasurable
excursions together. </span></span></span></strong>
</p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></strong></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9hmohGxdHnBnn2gk9W-vrJmz01KfhACNy3KATpKyb_YWwPliIbxpaSCEtF0DrFLO_A8Htor447epVrnyIU6Vi7Ltbj1mDpM2vW4XWPlgbjI_HuYE7q5sgne0lDOOoKEMEV6gIgTQK2Q/s720/med+Lotta2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9hmohGxdHnBnn2gk9W-vrJmz01KfhACNy3KATpKyb_YWwPliIbxpaSCEtF0DrFLO_A8Htor447epVrnyIU6Vi7Ltbj1mDpM2vW4XWPlgbjI_HuYE7q5sgne0lDOOoKEMEV6gIgTQK2Q/s320/med+Lotta2.jpg" /></a></strong></div><strong><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></strong><p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Summer
is a quiet time in Sweden as most people go away to their summer
cottages. </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By
now, they are back, and it feels</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
safe to start meeting again. Cinemas have reopened, and I have
already been once. There were just seven people in there. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
am not sure about gyms; I am not sure about how the Concert Hall is
going to organise the concerts, but I have renewed my subscription,
</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
I have already attended a concert with fifty people in the audience,
which was weird, especially when it came to clapping</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Fifty
people clapping in a large hall is a strange experience. Otherwise,
there are streamed concerts almost every day. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">My
walking club has resumed the walks twice a week, and although I have
enjoyed walking on my own, the sense of community is great after a
long forced break. </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
have even signed up to become a leader! </span></span></span></strong></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6BfSvpAR_zekmp6VyqW859-qPPAbLINN1mC8gz7YCmA5AP4W5N42QMT-HQkAWtgOidbwf_vhbFCkF7IrzPVPid5Boy0H8Z14qTlpeR6rgEf7E6rzCPSpeL6daYZaSB6loqPAgaD3qrpk/s1383/sj%25C3%25B6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1383" data-original-width="1037" height="525" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6BfSvpAR_zekmp6VyqW859-qPPAbLINN1mC8gz7YCmA5AP4W5N42QMT-HQkAWtgOidbwf_vhbFCkF7IrzPVPid5Boy0H8Z14qTlpeR6rgEf7E6rzCPSpeL6daYZaSB6loqPAgaD3qrpk/w394-h525/sj%25C3%25B6.jpg" width="394" /></a></strong></div><strong><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></strong><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Similarly,
the miniature club is meeting regularly. </span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-weight: normal;">All
miniature shows are cancelled</span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-weight: normal;">until
further notice, but there are some online activities.</span></span></strong></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></strong></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"></span></strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwATSIQ_AdoEH7GYFxDIqYrGe7dgW45G7XQmYNyJ1LgI5xt95x-ZTu4pNmDBQkDrZSTiSfTmR8SLmxrxVYJp1AgLmFVKNHyWnhRx3-SfeyXjqVNIub6foE1nwF5rgrG1k-yK-gO5RBy94/s997/cheese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="997" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwATSIQ_AdoEH7GYFxDIqYrGe7dgW45G7XQmYNyJ1LgI5xt95x-ZTu4pNmDBQkDrZSTiSfTmR8SLmxrxVYJp1AgLmFVKNHyWnhRx3-SfeyXjqVNIub6foE1nwF5rgrG1k-yK-gO5RBy94/s320/cheese.jpg" width="320" /></a></strong></div><strong><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></strong><p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
have organised walking seminars of my own, built around some famous
children’s books set in Stockholm. To my surprise and joy they
proved to be popular. All were booked up within hours of
announcements, and there are long waiting lists. In this way, I
combine my passion for walking with my professional qualifications.
And I am leaning a lot about my home city.</span></span></span></strong></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></strong></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF913Oy6TUs6OBVN3e2ahKN4Yhbh8gj9O1CHQgekD1tkqo1lGFmc3F15WUGcWEqoHlYQDuzvCtw7zEKRWr8XFYLTzVdsRQ1BDl5NFQ6kQP2a9fzsfDZXzNXpLqqaC7ixR-hQGzvixAYDA/s1383/Vasaparken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1383" data-original-width="1037" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF913Oy6TUs6OBVN3e2ahKN4Yhbh8gj9O1CHQgekD1tkqo1lGFmc3F15WUGcWEqoHlYQDuzvCtw7zEKRWr8XFYLTzVdsRQ1BDl5NFQ6kQP2a9fzsfDZXzNXpLqqaC7ixR-hQGzvixAYDA/s320/Vasaparken.jpg" /></a></strong></div><strong><br /></strong><p></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
current situation is not going away any time soon, so everybody will
have to adjust. It is weird that the first year of the new phase of
my life coincided with such a major global change. </span></span></span></strong>
</p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></strong></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpwDMQ5o1bE7a648Yspc4c68mkn6SOcW5v-eWZHMrwiw2zVLx892rfnuy2gL7Xo29Pfx657E2csY-uF0busJqA0MmTbU4RL6Dj58fuQz4FdrjaCC_2K5OIELIcKEqAfgZPOGhTlxHfeI/s787/Solvitur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="711" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpwDMQ5o1bE7a648Yspc4c68mkn6SOcW5v-eWZHMrwiw2zVLx892rfnuy2gL7Xo29Pfx657E2csY-uF0busJqA0MmTbU4RL6Dj58fuQz4FdrjaCC_2K5OIELIcKEqAfgZPOGhTlxHfeI/w196-h217/Solvitur.jpg" width="196" /></a></strong></div><strong><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></strong><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-11815983683777335702020-09-25T17:46:00.000+01:002020-09-25T17:46:39.497+01:00Re-reading The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqxPoWvZlnaeA85cN1JxPwE3NAo1yPqgZ6le4y9YljR8RoteVhuiJVeM9MrxK9nd6fd38zP7JkH4kfHHY21MhpoyBVvz7evpkcDR9LPU42pIDqh2mt7_JMEzM_ed-C5u2suxTMZY3SIE/s499/spark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="326" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFqxPoWvZlnaeA85cN1JxPwE3NAo1yPqgZ6le4y9YljR8RoteVhuiJVeM9MrxK9nd6fd38zP7JkH4kfHHY21MhpoyBVvz7evpkcDR9LPU42pIDqh2mt7_JMEzM_ed-C5u2suxTMZY3SIE/w138-h211/spark.jpg" width="138" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>Curiouser
and curiouser! I will never again claim that I have read a book if I
read it more than three months ago. I know for sure that I had a
Muriel Spark period in my early twenties, meaning that I read as many
of her books as I could get hold of. Looking at the Wikipedia entry,
I recognise the titles <i>The Ballad of Peckham Rye</i> and <i>The
Abbess of Crewe</i>, but couldn’t say what they are about, and I
have a vague memory that <i>The Mandelbaum Gate</i> takes place in
Jerusalem and the main character has doubts about her Jewish
identity. I chose <i>The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie</i> for my
re-reading challenge because I thought I remembered it well, and I
didn’t. I didn’t remember it at all so, as with some other books
on my list, I now wonder whether I had read it back then. Maybe yet
another book I thought I had read because it is one of Spark’s best
known. Sometimes I made a point of not reading an author’s most
famous book that everybody else read. </span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span>Anyway,
I read this novel as if for the first time or perhaps indeed for the
first time, and I enjoyed it very much, certainly much more than I
would have when I was young. If I did read it, it's unlikely I was
familiar with the concept of flashforward, which is its most
prominent narrative trait, alongside omission. I first got a bit
concerned when the narrative was told predominantly through one
schoolgirl’s point of view: I have read far too many girl school
novels. But of course it is not a girl school novel; if anything, it
is a parody on a girl school novel, and fifty years ago I wouldn’t
have recognised it as such. The irony and sarcasm would have been
lost on the young me. </span></span></span>
</span></p>
<p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">
<span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So
if you like stories elegantly told, with all characters equally
horrible, but each in their own way, give this novel a chance. It has
aged well. </span></span></span>
</p><p class="western" lang="en-GB" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-32550370547215165132020-09-19T18:59:00.002+01:002020-09-19T18:59:20.102+01:00Re-reading The Sound and the Fury<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SFsA5IN91CXrwIvTuKPdt6GjsfSwkMg526WvsEVXuVyzQV9qSnCAf4VZJV-zcivlVVn4hAUF2aopDjXseytJFbT8X7ZrgkbDYYy94m4t8DOSPKjMAN_-V9IUubilfjatawXNSCIDn8g/s1175/S%2526F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1175" data-original-width="800" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SFsA5IN91CXrwIvTuKPdt6GjsfSwkMg526WvsEVXuVyzQV9qSnCAf4VZJV-zcivlVVn4hAUF2aopDjXseytJFbT8X7ZrgkbDYYy94m4t8DOSPKjMAN_-V9IUubilfjatawXNSCIDn8g/w149-h218/S%2526F.jpg" width="149" /></a></div><br />
<p class="western" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal;">My
re-reading project is getting more and more revealing. I chose </span><i style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
Sound and the Fury</i><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> of all Faulkner novels we read fifty years ago
because it is perhaps his most famous, and I have referred to it
repeatedly in my research as an example of mission impossible: giving verbal expression to something that a character cannot express by
words. Benjy as this impossible narrator features in every work on
narratology, and I wonder whether I have done the unforgivable: cited
someone else rather than going to the source. For I hadn’t re-read
the source when I was referring to it, and now I wonder whether I
have read it at all. Maybe it is one of those books you believe you
have read, but actually haven’t. I cannot be sure, because this
re-reading exercise has clearly demonstrated that I had no memory
whatsoever of books I had definitely read. So maybe I did read <i>The
Sound and the Fury</i> fifty years ago and not only pretended I
understood it, but pretended I liked it and went on pretending, to
the degree that I gave it five stars on Goodreads when I was building
my shelf about twelve years ago (it was called Shelfari then). Maybe
I did read it, but I am totally confident after re-reading it now,
that I could not have understood much of it. Not just because of
Benjy, since all other narrators are just as incoherent, and although
this time I was reading slowly and carefully, I cannot claim that I
was able to reconstruct the course of events. I didn’t enjoy the
language enough to ignore the plot, and I wasn’t too engaged with
the characters. If I hadn’t been reading for my challenge I think I
would have given up, just as I have repeatedly given up on </span><i><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ulysses</span><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></i></p><p class="western" style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-17753865903804843462020-08-14T14:11:00.000+01:002020-08-14T14:11:32.425+01:00Re-reading A Clockwork Orange<p>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikS1Hj6dj7SFfPk7savfmRekbGrtp6FDU383nFXBIJYnLz_UQfxJxikeeQREUqM7bsMRU8jMN8yYwp_UofR7RkLqaWyXbjrC-5nojQsOjHvHGn2qXejmPYAxHHmKAHnC__rZZzBn9r-PI/s499/Orange.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="375" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikS1Hj6dj7SFfPk7savfmRekbGrtp6FDU383nFXBIJYnLz_UQfxJxikeeQREUqM7bsMRU8jMN8yYwp_UofR7RkLqaWyXbjrC-5nojQsOjHvHGn2qXejmPYAxHHmKAHnC__rZZzBn9r-PI/w192-h255/Orange.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
<p class="western"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
am resuming my re-reading challenge after a long break as I was
reading Hilary Mantel's </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
Mirror and the Light</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
– slow read of many, many pages that took me over two months.
Goodreads points out to me that I am behind schedule.</span></span></span></strong></p><p class="western"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
included </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">A
Clockwork Orange</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
in my list because it seemed an obvious choice, and now I cannot
remember whether I read it before I saw the movie or after. I saw the
movie in 1975 at the very earliest (a pirate black-and-white copy),
and I haven't watched it since so I have just glimpses of episodes
and no memory of whether the movie follows the novel. Not
unexpectedly, what I remember is the worst scenes of violence and the
worst scenes of Alex's therapy. I don't remember how the film ends,
actually don't remember the rest of the plot after therapy. Likewise,
my memory of the novel was extremely vague. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">My
current copy has a foreword, from which I learned that the novel was
published in the USA without the final chapter and that the film was
based on the American version. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Since
I was prepared for the violence, it didn't shock me, and it is
possibly less shocking because it is narrated by Alex
matter-of-factly in his idiosyncratic language. I was much more
disturbed by the moral and political messages which I find far two
explicit and therefore less effective. Maybe it is the spirit of the
early 1960s. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
most fascinating aspect of the novel is the language, much of which
is obviously missing in the film. I haven't counted, but I would
guess at 5 to 10 slang words per sentence, and I wonder how many </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">make
sense </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">unless
you know Russian. You can always figure out the meaning, but for me
part of the joy of reading was recognising the Russian words cleverly
disguised by English spelling and grammar. I am not referring to
“gulliver” and “horrowshow”, but to much more subtle and
imaginative usage. In some cases it took a few instances before I got
it - “</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">oddy
knocky” was one, not straightforward to get from the context</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
</span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">What
Burgess and his critics perhaps didn't know </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">s
</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">that
at the time the novel was written, Russian </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">nadsats</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
or teens, were actively using a similar kind of jargon where you not
only needed the knowledge of English, but also a good deal of
creativity. So you could hear phrases such as: “Я митингую
с герлой в восемь клоков” </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(I
am meeting a girl at 8 o'clock)</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
”У меня трузера штатские” </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(My
trousers are from the USA) </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">or
”Чилдренята, напутонивайте шузы”
</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">(Children,
put on your shoes”)</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">,
which is exactly the way Alex uses language. I have tested these
examples on some Slavic scholars, and they didn't pass the test. </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
wonder whether Burgess would have passed it. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
got curious about how the novel was translated into Russian, and the
translator used this very same kind of slang, spelling – and
misspelling – English words in Cyrillic and inflecting them by
Russian grammar. So Alex's droogy becomes his frendy, mesto becomes
pleis, </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">litso
becomes feis, </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
deng becomes mani. No Russian reader today would have problems </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">with
</span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">this
language, it is common currency. </span></span></span></strong>
</p>
<p class="western"><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
terms of language, </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">A
Clockwork Orange</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
is compared to </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Finnegans
Wake</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
and </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ridley
Walker</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
I never got past the first page of </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ridley
Walker</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
because I am not a native speaker, but in </span></span></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Finnegans
Wake</span></i></span></strong><strong><span lang="en-GB"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
it helps to be multilingual.</span></span></span></strong></p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-49433453573430911072020-05-30T17:34:00.001+01:002020-05-30T17:34:44.545+01:00Memories of Orkney, part 2
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Read
the <a href="https://nikolajeva.blogspot.com/2020/05/memories-of-orkney.html" target="_blank">beginning</a> of this story.
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQc9WUcrrSs-RimpEBnmg_o_BH6DHopyXLePwuZQHBRSRTyFG-SHX0LeB06P_X1736JrRw7-xpDU9GkF-Q2peCwK_CA9IWb96wf3kYl0L2Sb5b9m1DP0nOAc1qiU5333FF24BaiO4ipa4/s1600/Hoy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="714" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQc9WUcrrSs-RimpEBnmg_o_BH6DHopyXLePwuZQHBRSRTyFG-SHX0LeB06P_X1736JrRw7-xpDU9GkF-Q2peCwK_CA9IWb96wf3kYl0L2Sb5b9m1DP0nOAc1qiU5333FF24BaiO4ipa4/s640/Hoy.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I
will not account for the trip day by day because it will be
repetitive, but I will point out some highlights. To begin with, I
was, as mentioned earlier, a bit anxious about sharing a room with a
stranger, but I decided to be positive and proactive, so the moment
my roommate Shelley and I stepped into the room, I offered to make
tea, and while we had tea, we chatted and told each other about what
we did when we didn't go on walking tours. Shelley's luggage got lost
at her connecting airport, which is always a good conversation
starter. It turned out she was a retired lawyer with specialism in
children's rights so we even had some common point of interest. She
was from Arizona and had lived in Canada. At dinner that night we all
introduced ourselves more properly: a couple from Oxford
(non-academic), a father and a pregnant daughter from Denver, a lady
from Texas, another from the UK. All nice, all eager and
experienced travellers. This was what I had hoped for: people my age
or older (except the pregnant daughter) who go on walking holidays
and can afford relatively expensive trips are the kind of people I
can deal with. There are certain unwritten rules for such travel, for
instance, rotating seats in the van. When someone's luggage is lost
everyone supports and shares whatever can be shared. And it was an
interesting and diverse bunch of people so there were no problems
finding subjects to talk about. Shelley had brought her flute! She
and I got along well: we conversed a bit, then opened our iPads and
let each other be; we had no arguments about who would shower first,
and we didn't mind seeing each other walk about the room in pyjamas.
If I ever travel again, I would prefer a single room, but I now know
that I can share with a stranger if necessary. I think it helped that
four of us were elderly single ladies, and three other people were
also at the same stage in life. Everybody hinted at high blood
pressure, and nobody was concerned about other people farting. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQemt-vJy2KGWpz9vyXF3TelfZZ20fc_0MEe8TT2CMDKcd4MNr_CFGtmG49DZA3gBMs6Xo1_EPp55-n52J7481vV3Z1oYCB1tumXjla9-jN7EeZBlfG89B4oVjRBgtbu0-Nh-FoZcHDa0/s1600/Deerness2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="714" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQemt-vJy2KGWpz9vyXF3TelfZZ20fc_0MEe8TT2CMDKcd4MNr_CFGtmG49DZA3gBMs6Xo1_EPp55-n52J7481vV3Z1oYCB1tumXjla9-jN7EeZBlfG89B4oVjRBgtbu0-Nh-FoZcHDa0/s640/Deerness2.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
The
days were intensive. We had early breakfasts and sat in the van by 8,
to drive or to take a ferry to one of the islands. We had packed
lunch: the horrible triangular sandwiches, but I hadn't expected
anything else. At least there was a variety of them, and you could
choose the evening before. Dinners were exquisite, but very late for
me; some were in our hotel, some in local pubs. Maybe other people
stayed up for a while, but I collapsed directly after dinner.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZA65g_7v_L1b7KhoRXbOSh2xSG8IoRaudh-AdmlvfN4xX-awUtV86t8kmVPsBMcsd62QzlL6BFJJF1PqHql1AkVoenAPHmLS9o52TPbz7zWk-0e9MzUCmO0uXQfIA8mTgqPZLmzzQ-c/s1600/Rousay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="714" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZA65g_7v_L1b7KhoRXbOSh2xSG8IoRaudh-AdmlvfN4xX-awUtV86t8kmVPsBMcsd62QzlL6BFJJF1PqHql1AkVoenAPHmLS9o52TPbz7zWk-0e9MzUCmO0uXQfIA8mTgqPZLmzzQ-c/s640/Rousay.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">Most
walks were coastal and highly enjoyable. The trip was ”grade 2”,
or easy, and I had no problems keeping pace. The weather changed
dramatically, but we were all well equipped, and when </span><span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">it</span><span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">
started raining – and on</span><span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">ce
even</span><span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">
hailing – we simply put on our waterproof trousers and walked on. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzbtiPJMoXfMI37_p30oEE8XpntMjafaiPQn8cZkt8QVzytuT2V064M5pRF1zcifNmmv6k7BHUX-4cqaR0biOIIJr_8Nj2pttPSMbKngr51Aa3d4IwNtD-P-Pvs1Dl9mmT53oczQn8a8/s1600/wet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzbtiPJMoXfMI37_p30oEE8XpntMjafaiPQn8cZkt8QVzytuT2V064M5pRF1zcifNmmv6k7BHUX-4cqaR0biOIIJr_8Nj2pttPSMbKngr51Aa3d4IwNtD-P-Pvs1Dl9mmT53oczQn8a8/s400/wet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">Some days, or portions of days, were </span><span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">warm
enough to wear three layers of clothes rather than six</span><span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">.
So you had to carry stuff for all occasions. </span><span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">On
walks like this, you always come to a point, some time in the
afternoon, especially if you are wet and walking uphill for ages,
when you start asking yourself why you are doing this, voluntarily
and at high cost. When you no longer are able to appreciate anything
around you and just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
There isn't much else you can do, because you cannot lie down on wet
ground and have a tantrum, and you are also pressed for time because
you need to catch the last ferry. Then suddenly it goes over, and
life is great again. For me at that time, worrying about where to put
my foot meant I had no time worrying about other things, which was
exactly what I needed. And it was good to know, as we compared notes
during evening meals, that everybody was dead tired – in a good
way. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpukpPMafI5pnwNjKCVaxiWs4e0qESrk4RgDWYYAMcv0jFTO126TbuVf70YEXNim1zFJLiKk1wf0acp1LiqMANFGnmqbLJJmMMJzIVCqhKG9lA-t7WnrBlen9DiK6Hu-c45Bj9ZK8ugIU/s1600/puffins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="714" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpukpPMafI5pnwNjKCVaxiWs4e0qESrk4RgDWYYAMcv0jFTO126TbuVf70YEXNim1zFJLiKk1wf0acp1LiqMANFGnmqbLJJmMMJzIVCqhKG9lA-t7WnrBlen9DiK6Hu-c45Bj9ZK8ugIU/s640/puffins.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
As I
said, I had not done my homework properly, but even if I had, Orkney
is full of surprises. I have travelled a lot, and Orkney is not like
any other place. It was much larger than I had anticipated. All
islands are different, and none is like Mainland – that has a
fresh-water lake and marshes! The scenery is stunning everywhere,
with stone arches and other remarkable stone formations, like the Old
Man of Hoy. Wildlife is abundant. All those thousands of birds on the
cliffs – precisely like an Attenborough film. We did see puffins.
We also saw all kinds of cultural stuff: Neolithic, Iron Age,
Vikings, standing stones, WWII. I didn't know Orkney was so important
strategically.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3z3sLdSc580VtXb2tEfoeggiwaW5EHvU_UFgZPVVFYGEGPsDnea3yLXVBnsqEWvsVV6ZCSyoh19yOvA9NPDL6vQpnpb_NpCPtafJK-KRElQY8h-3QiwIxkwyNKf65Zyy5GQoDVKFLvo/s1600/stones.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="714" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv3z3sLdSc580VtXb2tEfoeggiwaW5EHvU_UFgZPVVFYGEGPsDnea3yLXVBnsqEWvsVV6ZCSyoh19yOvA9NPDL6vQpnpb_NpCPtafJK-KRElQY8h-3QiwIxkwyNKf65Zyy5GQoDVKFLvo/s640/stones.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEPBdrVeSNzNOC8Cz8sz6xbQcCQozAn745E-Uq2EgUOp_0Q4ozQyTmsAv7QdfvBBOpVNSKDIXlsQk75EO6Kuo_KgiXRCWHKhU1_pCj6XKEILzr2vgsvVFqNRQCeGy95Cok3goCrKn_sU/s1600/brogh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="714" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEPBdrVeSNzNOC8Cz8sz6xbQcCQozAn745E-Uq2EgUOp_0Q4ozQyTmsAv7QdfvBBOpVNSKDIXlsQk75EO6Kuo_KgiXRCWHKhU1_pCj6XKEILzr2vgsvVFqNRQCeGy95Cok3goCrKn_sU/s640/brogh.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
Even
in a really tiny area – Orkney has a population of 22,000 – there
is a competition between the capital, Kirkwall, and the next largest
city, Stromness, that boasts of being more cultural. My Orcadian
friend is born in Stromness so when we met in Kirkwall she
immediately drove me
<br />
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
to
Stromness because it was more interesting. It had a book store that
carried local children's authors. I bought a few. And suddenly
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpJB-XXE9Xg" target="_blank"><i>Farewell to Stromness</i></a> made sense.
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
Already
by reading <i>Orkney Tapestry</i> I realised how close it was to
Norse culture, most tangible in place names. Kirk is obviously the
same word as church, but closer to Nordic kirke/kyrka. Ay in many
island names: Rousay, Birsay - is <span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, serif;">Nordic
ö or </span><span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, serif;">ø</span><span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, serif;">y.
</span><span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">Brogh is
borg, castle. </span><span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">And
so on. I was perhaps the only one in our group who appreciated it. On
another matter, my travel companions thought it weird that it was
still full daylight at ten in the evening, while for me it is of
course perfectly natural. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO1HDS3pdfBoH96GRrqfcx8_gLU1ObdPkA4eTPQJ0QcJ92KUHPdEHasCPJcP2lQTJBx99m5jKB9m5aPxdN3VlA_2jNyO-9Gg8R6eT8F-a98ECvJcFXSff4CrDNEbI9b7BsyEUQylgs5go/s1600/Old+Man+of+Hoy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="714" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO1HDS3pdfBoH96GRrqfcx8_gLU1ObdPkA4eTPQJ0QcJ92KUHPdEHasCPJcP2lQTJBx99m5jKB9m5aPxdN3VlA_2jNyO-9Gg8R6eT8F-a98ECvJcFXSff4CrDNEbI9b7BsyEUQylgs5go/s320/Old+Man+of+Hoy.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span>
<br />
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">All
walks were remarkable, although Hoy was probably the highlight for
me. Generally, I felt I got good value for my money, and I also got
precisely what I needed most at that point: total break and peace of
mind. </span><span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">Our
guide was nice and knowledgeable, and he very cleverly planned our
walks and visits to cultural sites to avoid crowds (there were huge
cruise ships coming in every day). And I got role models in single
female travellers! </span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">Whenever
I travel I typically get enthusiastic about the place and determined
to come back. There is a lot more to explore in Orkney, and I even
had an idea for a walking seminar, but I knew even then that I would
probably never go back. Today, as the world has changed, I definitely
know it will never happen. Therefore I am incredibly lucky to have
done this trip, getting everything I had hoped out of it tenfold. </span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;">Travel
home turned out to be a nightmare, but I won't tell you about it. </span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfsAnxzFZHRFGyPk5u1eH3a0XetSfrupE3zw-aDqPMmHWl4GlBu9zKkTW3X-22YtVf7jshKosYvnbgQD0tqbORDW2sBs8-8KM9gHZA2HZBn6OiEKpG6r_mEJJTp2es5KvZB4OTxoLxcC4/s1600/Birsay2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="714" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfsAnxzFZHRFGyPk5u1eH3a0XetSfrupE3zw-aDqPMmHWl4GlBu9zKkTW3X-22YtVf7jshKosYvnbgQD0tqbORDW2sBs8-8KM9gHZA2HZBn6OiEKpG6r_mEJJTp2es5KvZB4OTxoLxcC4/s640/Birsay2.jpg" width="476" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Liberation Serif, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-49626322834840483032020-05-27T09:41:00.000+01:002020-05-30T17:41:41.404+01:00Memories of Orkney<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Facebook has been
reminding me of my trip to Orkney last year, and I have realised that
I never wrote up this story although I shared pictures on the go.
Staying at home with slim chances of travel in the observable future,
it may be a good idea to re-live the experience. I will use my travel
diary, but inevitably add reflections from today's vantage point.
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
It all started five
years ago when I made acquaintance with an Orcadian at a conference.
Of course I knew vaguely about the existence of remote islands off
the northern shores of Scotland, but they hadn't really been on my
list of places to visit. Talking to this colleague got me fascinated,
particularly as she mentioned Island Studies. Imagine, there was a
discipline called Island Studies! I have always been intrigued by
islands of all kinds and sizes, although I don't perceive Great
Britain as an island. Many years ago when I studied Scandinavian
languages I considered specialising in Faeroe Islands and becoming a
unique expert in all things Faeroese: language, history, culture,
even politics. It didn't happen, but some twenty years ago I was
invited to Faeroe Islands to lecture – sadly it clashed with
another commitment. In Sweden, I have been to many islands, large and
small. I went to Iceland twice. I visited Madagascar some years ago.
I wandered on Inis Mor off Ireland's west coast when I was at a
conference in Galway. There is something special about islands – I
have written an academic paper on the topic.
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Listening to my new
colleague triggered my imagination, and of course like you do at
conferences she invited me to come and give a talk. Then we forgot
about it. Or almost. Every now and then I looked up Orkney and
considered a self-guided trip, but it always felt intimidating, and
there was always something in the way. Two years ago there was a
conference in Orkney that I wanted to attend, but it clashed with
another conference I was running. Last spring I realised that I would
be moving away from the UK soon, and it was now or never. Self-guided
still felt daunting, and I checked travel agents for small-group
walking tours with reasonable comfort. All trips were unsurprisingly
fully booked except one space in the end of May and a couple in
September. September seemed too far away, and I am glad I didn't opt
for that since by September I had already moved back to Sweden. End
of May is still term time, and I was not supposed to be away from
Cambridge during term time, but I decided that if I told my students
discreetly that I wouldn't be able to meet them for supervisions for
a week we could keep it between ourselves. I booked the trip, paying
in full since it was less than a month in advance. I wanted a single
room, but it wasn't available, and I had to accept it, booking
last-minute. That last space seemed like destiny.
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
As I have mentioned
some times before, I am not good at preparing for travel when it
comes to reading guidebooks, but this time I wanted to make the most
of it so I started, as you do, by trying amazon and getting 600 hits.
It felt hopeless so I asked my Orcadian friend for recommendations.
The best was <i>The Orkney Tapestry</i>, by George Mackey Brown, a
book worth reading regardless. It provided more or less everything
essential I needed to know about my destination, while also being
deeply personal and engaging.
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
I read the travel
agent's brochure and studied various maps. Orkney consists of seventy
islands, and we were supposed to visit several. It was exciting. It
was right in the middle of a very difficult period in my life, and I
was looking forward to a break far, far away from everything and
offline. I was tremendously anxious about travelling on my own, among
strangers. I had done it dozens of times in the past, but recently I
had preferred company, just to be on the safe side. I do have a
condition, and I am not young anymore. I was, however, confident that
I was in good physical shape after extensive power walking.
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
The trip started in
Inverness, and I first considered taking the night train, but I
didn't want to run a risk of not sleeping properly and be tired in
the morning. So I booked a B&B in Inverness, arriving in the
evening and having a good rest. In the morning I walked to the
station, worrying that I wouldn't find my guide. I always worry about
silly things like that. I was hugely worried about the crossing
because guidebooks said it could be rough, and I have bad experience
of rough seas.
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
I found the guide
and my travel companions, just eight of us. I was going to share a
room with one of them, and while we drove up to John O'Groats, I
looked at them, hoping that my roommate would be nice. People going
on demanding walking holidays are usually nice.
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To be continued. </div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIFjK5pMzD-M8QZLas_72lbqdvcPhRQ_fjdzkq7CFNOxnh5YbAknIpBaC8APuHW-XzTbiyp8SrBlmwft5UJOmTgbfNZSwejEOoZvWZlViFnYvAzkCd3qW5HagDTyxg6aEREn4MTICIXQ/s1600/Orkney2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="714" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIFjK5pMzD-M8QZLas_72lbqdvcPhRQ_fjdzkq7CFNOxnh5YbAknIpBaC8APuHW-XzTbiyp8SrBlmwft5UJOmTgbfNZSwejEOoZvWZlViFnYvAzkCd3qW5HagDTyxg6aEREn4MTICIXQ/s320/Orkney2.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-87212371681251589692020-05-19T16:05:00.001+01:002020-05-19T16:05:21.075+01:00Re-reading Catch 22
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Sl5LkC34cSq-DSiX1CY5TrNRWxW9rWQX39a6xjbFyBYhhw_7b0JrjRAtahGFTbQ1wm7s5P7a9cSLaU5rEtGMgJuOm5qhmOhuhIpGioQe0n1d-U331pBeATsjUi8xBQRis_j8lobh998/s1600/catch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="310" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Sl5LkC34cSq-DSiX1CY5TrNRWxW9rWQX39a6xjbFyBYhhw_7b0JrjRAtahGFTbQ1wm7s5P7a9cSLaU5rEtGMgJuOm5qhmOhuhIpGioQe0n1d-U331pBeATsjUi8xBQRis_j8lobh998/s200/catch.jpg" width="123" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
I
had no memory of this novel at all, although I know I read it all
those years and years ago. Of course I know what “catch 22”
means, and I had some vague memories of pilots having to fly more and
more missions, but I am not sure whether I remembered it from the
book or from the film. I know for sure that I remembered the most
gory detail from the film and was waiting for it to turn up in the
book. It did, at the very end. I don't know whether the knowledge
spoiled my reading experience.
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
I am
confident that I didn't understand anything of the novel when I read
it fifty years ago, and as with most books on my re-reading list, I
wonder how much I bluffed then. The plot is non-existent, and at that
time plot was more important than anything else. The book is
exceptionally repetitive, and an inexperienced reader – as I was
then – would certainly get bored, unaware that repetition is the
most prominent and of course deliberate narrative device. It is used
in conjunction with another powerful device: omission, or paralipsis,
to use a fancy word. The same episode is told over and over again,
each time slightly differently and each time omitting the most
significant detail that would explain everything that is going on.
How clever! It also employs an intricate temporality as events follow
upon each other randomly, as deviations, by association, connected
solely by a reminiscence, or even without any tangible connection at
all. Each chapter seemingly focuses on a secondary or sometimes
completely peripheral character, and only in hindsight do we
understand why the story had to be told at all. If I were still an
active academic I would write an article on this novel and include it
in my courses. Not as a war novel, but as an example of exquisite
storytelling.
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
However,
the greatest surprise to me was that the novel is so wonderfully
hilarious. Of course I remembered, more from criticism than from
actual reading, that it was a satire on war. Yet a satire is not
necessarily funny, and the novel is. I don't often laugh outloud when
I read, but I did. Pity nobody was listening except my cats. I would
almost claim that <i>Catch 22 </i>is the twentieth-century reply to
<i>Alice in Wonderland </i>with its twisted logic and magnificent
wordplay. Maybe this is the only possible way to write about the
horrors of war.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-9892783178889047512020-05-12T17:01:00.000+01:002020-05-12T17:01:07.478+01:00Reflections on virtual travel
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
It
is hard to believe that as recently as ten weeks ago I was still
hoping to be able to travel to Spain and walk Camino del Norte in the
second week of May.
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
The
idea to do the walk virtually was spontaneous, so I hadn't prepared
as thoroughly as I should have. To be fair, I don't always do my
homework before travel which means I probably miss interesting things
to see and do. This time, the focus was on walking the distance I
would have walked on the Camino, even though I could not achieve the
same climbs. But I also wanted some experience of the place, even
though second-hand, so I re-watched <i>The Way</i> and watched some
Youtube videos to get into the mood. <i>The Way</i> was what made me
want to do the walk in the first place, and the reason I watched it
some years ago was that I learned that a cousin of mine, who was the
last person I would expect to go on search for spirituality, walked
the whole of it at one go and has been doing it again and again ever
since. I have no faith, so this aspect of the Camino does not mean
anything to me, and until recently I wasn't a walker at all. I
started walking with the Ramblers in Cambridge after I heard a friend
of mine share her adventures with an international Rambler group
somewhere in France, not the Camino. I discovered that walking was
something that, next to gardening, was the best healing for body and
mind, and since then I cannot imagine my life without regular
walking. These days I am amused thinking back at how proud I was
having walked 3 km in Milton Country Park. I have so far walked 540
km this year.
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
Back
to Camino, the virtual Camino. I explored the route, planned my own
daily walks, read some travel sites, watched videos. Of course, it is
not the same as doing the real thing. But in the current situation,
doing it virtually is still better than not doing it at all. And we
may be doing more virtual travel in the future. I believe VR will be
invaluable. I am surprised that it hasn't become more popular these
days, although I have read some explanations why. But technology is
developing at incredible pace, and I am sure more and more
destinations will be available in satisfactory ways. I have cut down
on travel substantially in the past few years, and I will be happy to
keep it to a minimum if I can get a somewhat adequate experience of
places I want to visit. I may even visit places I have never intended
to visit, such a climbing Kilimanjaro or crossing Antarctica.
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
In
other words, first lesson learned: even though it was not the real
experience, it was interesting, valuable and exciting in itself, not
just as poor compensation.
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
On
my last day, I finally had company. A friend back in Cambridge
suggested we walk-along, and here is how we did it. I knew where she
would be walking, and I sent her a map of my nature reserve with my
route marked. We connected on WhatsApp and started walking,
exchanging photos and observations on the go. What we could have
done, if we were emulating Camino, would be checking where we would
have been up there and looking up facts and pictures, but it would
probably be too much. In the evening, we cooked the same local meal.
Once again, not the real thing, but better than nothing. I will
certainly do it again, with or without a virtual route.
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
Cooking
local food was a huge boost. I always like to try local food when I
travel, even if it is jellied cockroach (in South Korea) so I would
definitely be eating the exciting Basque and Cantabrian dishes.
Learning the difference between tapas and pintxos was illuminating,
and I think I will include pintxos in my habitual cooking. I like
cooking, but I am rather conservative so it was liberating to try
something completely different and find it palatable. It wasn't so
much the ingredients as the methods, and I now want to learn more. So
this was a side effect. Attending a cookery school was a part of my
retirement visions, and now I see that I don't have to travel or even
leave my home. I know this option has been available all along, but
like with so many other things, you need a push.<br />
<br />
Did I find what I was looking for? Since I have no idea what I would have found on the real trip, it's hard to say. If I was looking for a way to make up for the canceled trip, I believe I was highly successful. <br />
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
What
can I recommend to a potential virtual traveler, based on my
experience? Firstly, perhaps, consider what you want to get out of
it. My objective was to emulate demanding and intensive walking,
therefore everything else was a bonus. If your objective is to see a
new city or museum you may do it without leaving your room. Secondly,
don't be too ambitious. I could have enhanced my trip in many
different ways, by reading some fiction and non-fiction, watching
more videos, learning some basic Basque, making a virtual album
of local plants, marking my progress on a map, keeping a journal and
writing poetry. But it would probably have proved too stressful.
Also, I cut the last day's walk because I had got tired. If you feel
you've had enough, stop while you are still enjoying it. Thirdly, I
missed sharing my experience. Next time, I will try to find a
companion for the whole journey. There is an advantage with virtual
travel: you can get offline if you don't want any more company that
day. Like going up to your hotel room while the rest of the group is
having drinks.
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
Anyway,
I have enjoyed it, and maybe some of you will get inspired and go on
a virtual trip of your own.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiD2S2-8NG387eTeBG85Z41M0mlPwI58FSwPpkziZYwxLy6ivRPHEfncDG0dUu7zcziIguopgzf3pLnktRqlSevyrTlU4Phas9bUJsHpV0eAkJMtuFOR3XtiUpF3Ae955EWJNFhYDnx00/s1600/Camino2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiD2S2-8NG387eTeBG85Z41M0mlPwI58FSwPpkziZYwxLy6ivRPHEfncDG0dUu7zcziIguopgzf3pLnktRqlSevyrTlU4Phas9bUJsHpV0eAkJMtuFOR3XtiUpF3Ae955EWJNFhYDnx00/s1600/Camino2.jpeg" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7363070543129427663.post-81318961059057969542020-05-07T13:00:00.000+01:002020-05-07T13:00:32.143+01:00Mock Camino, Day 3Today we deviated from the Camino route and walked along the coast, first to the fishing village of Getaria, then to Zumaja, 10 km. You can see the trail if you zoom <a href="http://santiago-compostela.net/camino-del-norte/3-from-zarautz-to-deba/" target="_blank">on the map</a>. I don't know why the travel agent chose this trail, but my guess is that they had a good deal with a lunch restaurant in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getaria,_Gipuzkoa" target="_blank">Getaria</a>. This is usually the reason for detours, and I don't mind. Also the main route goes a bit inland, and a coastal path is always attractive.<br />
<br />
In real life, I took a 11 km walk with a 167 m climb. I thought I would ache all over after yesterday's walk, but it felt like a leisurely stroll. I climbed hills, walked on lake shores, had my coffee break on a hill top and my lunch by the lake. I saw fields of lillies-of-the-valley, not in bloom yet, but soon. I saw cranes. I felt good.<br />
<br />
For dinner tonight, I am making salmon <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuna_pot" target="_blank">marmitako</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKu0XWttBHaPtXNRn6P0r9M7aqsDz1S7nwd0uHZGT_NZU5yBPaqLZMVrn2S5RrLizBVD7z_gD0qxbg1KB_z28zOtVSXHb8RDRq6sGWr_8Z_XpCGYyBY5RjQtxxmli8p6dSi1T0_eUm68M/s1600/2020-05-07+11.13.41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKu0XWttBHaPtXNRn6P0r9M7aqsDz1S7nwd0uHZGT_NZU5yBPaqLZMVrn2S5RrLizBVD7z_gD0qxbg1KB_z28zOtVSXHb8RDRq6sGWr_8Z_XpCGYyBY5RjQtxxmli8p6dSi1T0_eUm68M/s320/2020-05-07+11.13.41.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">My mock Atlantic</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2