Month: April 2020 (Page 2 of 2)

I am still up and awake at the normal time and as if by default check my work emails. It doesn’t take long, it’s all gone very quiet. The normal banter emails have gone, no new updates or enquiries. Nothing. Lola is going to get a longer walk today.

To brighten my day I am back thinking about my travels again. When I left you last time we were just heading back into the south of Spain.
We bumble along the coast for a while, even stopping for another unsuccessful fish attempt. Now I never report to being a great fisherman and don’t really know what I am up to, but I have always managed to pull in at least one mackerel off Budleigh Beach. I travel for about three months around the coast of Europe and catch absolutely nothing.

J. R. Hartley I am not

My wife has just peaked a look at this picture over my shoulder to expel the words; “you’ve still got that bloody shirt!” And it’s true I have and I like it very much. If I still had the shorts and my fishing rod I could re-enact the photo for a modern day interpretation. Where do I find a lighthouse?

Next on the route is Seville. Seville is the capital of southern Spain’s Andalusia region. It’s famous for flamenco dancing. Major landmarks include the ornate Alcázar castle complex, built during the Moorish Almohad dynasty, and the 18th-century Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza bullring. The Gothic Seville Cathedral is the site of Christopher Columbus’s tomb and a minaret turned bell tower, the Giralda.
It’s hot, like 40 degrees C hot. The van needs a drink and so do we, so we leave the van steaming away and head out to explore. First up we quite literally stumble upon, the Plaza de Espana. I am always of a mind to follow the masses, if you see a big group or sometimes just an individual walking with purpose they are more often than not off to see or do something interesting. So there is a throng of people heading through this doorway and now us, tagging along. Worried for a moment that we may have just walked into a university we continue our path through this building out into the most amazing square I have ever seen. My picture doesn’t really do it justice, the fountains and tall columns are exquisite. The tiles on the floor mesmerise the eye. What you can’t quite see in this picture is the colours. Not just the reds and yellows you can pick out but the blues too, particularly on the bridge.

Plaza de Espana

From here we head across the city to look at the Seville Cathedral. Neither of us are particularly religious but we do like to look at bit of architecture. Another bonus of these old places is they are generally quite cool on the inside, have I mentioned it’s hot? Seville Cathedral is absolutely massive, I learn that it’s the largest cathedral in the world and I believe them. It also has the most spectacular tower. The minaret turned bell tower, the Giralda. What I really remember is the series of ramps winding around the perimeter of several vaulted chambers at the tower’s core. These ramps were designed with enough width and height to accommodate animals I guess to carry more building equipment to the top. Even as a ramp it’s quite a climb and as you near the top it does appear to get stepper and narrower. The view is worth the effort.

View from Seville Cathedral

We mill around Seville waiting for the heat and the traffic to die down, the van is drinking more water than diesel in this heat, so I want as clear a run out of the city as possible before I have to break out my spanners again.

We’re back on the coast for a few days and I re-enact the famous Daniel Craig swimming trunk picture, as you can see the results are uncanny. For all those unsure, I am the one on the left.

Me and Daniel

By now we have heard from our CEO and senior management team. There are going to be some tough decisions to be made and like I have said before I am realistic enough to know I’m not immune from this. My manager is quick to organise a team meeting for later today and I dare say individual meetings will follow; difficult times.

Not feeling like work, Lola gets a surprise late morning walk. I’ve said before, she’s not normally right keen at this time of day. She’s an early morning or late evening walker; thank you very much. Today; perhaps she senses something is different, but off we trot without even the slightest objection.
It’s surprisingly quiet about. A young family trying to teach kids to ride bikes, whom the sight of a small dog bobbling about causes a small accident. But it’s all good they are on the grass and tears are soon washed away. Lola couldn’t be less interested in all the commotion and I have the perfect two meter excuse for not getting involved in the crying child. The rest of the walk passes without incident. It’s been a great opportunity to clear my headspace and just what I needed at this time. I even feel like a little work now.

And so with as much dignity, comfort and support that can be afforded in these situations. All but a few essential staffs are on twelve weeks leave. No work, nothing to fill my days with…..
It’s an odd situation, because I saw it coming. I had only been talking about it this morning with my wife. I had laid out exactly how Thl would act, but now it’s here and I am looking at their actions straight in the face, I still can’t believe it. Not so much the business decisions, I get that. But how in just such a short space of time the world has changed. How a relevantly simple thing as a flu has sent the world into this perpetual spiral of despair. Borders closed, countries on lockdown. Who in their right mind would have thought we would be living through a plague of such biblical proportions.