Bordersnakes, waves and autumnal planting

I’ve just finished reading the late James Crumley’s novel Bordersnakes. If you don’t like reading hardboiled novels, where the “heroes” are  just a bit less mean and violent than the baddies, then you won’t like this. Given to me by my brother-in-law Tom, an eclectic reader and a  Crumley aficionado, Bordersnakes is a rollercoaster ride set in Texas and Mexico. Milo and Sughrue are the good guys. However, as the  review notes “Of course, “good guys” is a relative term. A scuzzier pair of hard-drinking, dope-smoking, trash-talking testosterone-overdose cases than Sughrue and Milo would be hard to imagine”. The dialogue is what makes this book. It is often laden with expletives and very funny e.g. Milo threatens a baddie, saying that if he ever threatens MIlo or Sughrue again, “I will kill you, your family, and everyone you ever said hello to”. OK – not everyone’s sense of humour but if like me, you haven’t come across Crumley before, and like this style, he’s a very entertaining read. The plot is fairly straightforward but new characters appear constantly and there are some unlikely coincidences, but it’s very well written and a sheer pleasure.

This week, the tides have been high at the back of our house, with lines of waves relentlessly streaming towards the shore. Waves are  fascinating to look at e.g. you stand on the small promenade and try to pick the big wave, which will hit the sea wall hardest, or you watch the waves ripple along the wall until they exhaust themselves, and fall flat. There’s also a fascination of watching the waves retreating after hitting the promenade and often depositing stones and/or seaweed there. That you wave you picked as the big one, is whacked by the outgoing wave and produces a huge, airborne mass of water (see Photo 1). Then there’s the wave that you underestimate and hits the wall with a huge slap and turns itself into a whirligig of water (see Photo 2). Lastly, there’s the noise of the waves when you are close to them. Thomas Hardy wrote that the waves were “engrossed in saying their ceaseless babbling say”, and the sound of the waves can seem to be a thousand voices all talking at once.

It’s changeover time in my garden. Out go the withering summer flowers and, from under the table in my garage, out come the daffodil, tulip and crocus bulbs which have, unlike animals in this country, been hibernating all summer. In addition, I’ve bought pansies and violas, which both provide an extravagant show of colour for this time of year (see Photos 3 and 4 for close-up shots). One aspect which is fascinating about these winter plants is that, when the hard frosts arrive (later rather than sooner I hope), the pansies and violas curl up into themselves and wait for warmth to return.

s Two waves crashing

Launching wave

Vibrant violas

Multi coloured pansy head

 

 

Barcelona: Football, Gaudi, Maritime Museum; and October poem

I had a great trip to Barcelona, that fine European city, with its long straight main streets set out in a grid, and its myriad back streets, with the buildings so close together that people could almost shake hands with their neighbours across their balconies. These balconies are a ubiquitous feature of the city (see Photos 1 and 2 – taken with a small camera, so not the usual quality) and there are many different shapes and designs. It’s a city for walking around and taking a turn off the main streets as often as you can. How else will you find a hammock shop?

The main purpose of the visit was for my pal Roger and me to see the famous FC Barcelona play football (aka soccer) in the amazing Nou Camp Stadium. This is a once in a lifetime experience for most people, so it is worth spending a fair bit of money to get a good seat. When you first go into the stadium – which holds 95,000 people when full – you are amazed by its size and brightness. The game we saw did not start until 10pm, and this is another new experience, certainly for people in the UK and many other countries. We were not disappointed as we saw some of the best players in the world now – Neymar, Fabregas, Pedro and Tello – and some of the best players of all time – Xavi and Iniesta. Unfortunately, the world’s best and best known footballer, Lionel Messi, was injured, and did not play.The level of skill and the movement of the players was way beyond the level which Roger and I see when watching our own team Hibernian FC, aka The HIbs or The Hibees but it was also much better than any football to be witnessed in the UK or in most of Europe. All in all, a unique and unforgettable experience, especially as we had seats very close to the pitch.

I’m sure that for many, many people, the main reason for visiting Barcelona is to see the various buildings and structures designed by Antoni Gaudi. The first visit was to the Palau Guell (see Photo 3 for the exterior) which is a good introduction to Gaudi’s extravagant designs and it has a magnificent interior. The largest and most famous of Gaudi’s work is the still to be completed Sagrida Familia. This amazingly complex building was started in 1882 and is expected to be finished in the next 20 years. It is like something that you have never seen before. The outside of the building has, in some respects, the shapes and structures of other cathedrals but when you look at some of the spires, you see Gaudi’s unusual designs. (See photos 4-6). It is a very good idea to book online if you are visiting as there are extremely long queues throughout the year. Gaudi’s cathedral is not to everyone’s taste and you have to decide for yourself  whether you like aspects of the architecture. Another of Gaudi’s sites which is very worth while visiting is the Cascada situated in the extensive Ciutadella Park. Here you see another example of Gaudi’s extravagant mind with a waterfall running down the front of an ornately decorated building – it’s a stunning sight.

We also visited the Maritime Museum. Unfortunately, my wee camera gave up the ghost at this point, so photos, but the website shows the truly magnificent galley ship which was rowed – mainly by slaves. One interesting feature is that you can see inside the bottom of the ship where sailors worked in very cramped conditions. If you were going back in time to this ship, you’d want to be an officer. It has a very ornate bow and stern. You can also get an excellent 3 course lunch, including a beer or wine, for 10 Euros – great value.

So, back from 23-25 degrees in Barcelona to 10 degrees (feels like 7) and a stiff northerly wind in Dunbar. I turned my poetry calendar to Thursday 10 October and found a poem entitled “October” by X.J. Kennedy. Around here, many of the trees are turning to their autumnal colours. The poem begins “Flat-tired, the years sets out roadside flares” and later “Trees’ signals od distress/Turn more flamboyantly demonstrative”. Impressive imagery.

Barcelona balconies

Barcelona balconies

Palau Güell

La Sagrida Familia

La Sagrida Familia

La Sagrida Familia

 

 

 

 

 

4 Abbeys cycle, Hopes Reservoir and Aberlady Bay

Yesterday, I and 2 of my cycling pals completed the 4 Abbeys Cycle route. This follows a route in the Scottish borders, taking in Melrose Abbey, Dryburgh Abbey, Kelso Abbey and Jedburgh Abbey. Given that this was a 60 mile (97.2K) cycle (official route is 55 miles), we only saw each abbey in passing. There’s an expression “the rolling hills of the borders” to describe this  countryside and I’m sure that we went up and down each hill. There are some big climbs and eye-watering descents en route but of course, it’s the climbs that stick in your memory. This was not the longest cycle that I’ve done, but certainly the toughest. Photo 1 shows Jedburgh Abbey – taken last year – no time for photographs on this cycle.

A recent walk took us to the Hopes Reservoir (Photos 2 and 3) which is about 15 miles (25k) from Dunbar. It’s a very attractive walk, taking in heather covered hillsides and some energetic climbs for those hoping to get views across East Lothian (Photo 4). We walked to the top of Crib Law and enjoyed the views as well as the shadows of the clouds racing across the slopes in the strong wind. We then walked around the reservoir which was a sparkling blue in the sunshine, while the ferns were changing to their autumn colours. Photo 2 includes a heavily berried rowan tree. These trees were locally known as a form of protection against witches and people planted the trees near their homes and often next to churches to ward off the evil spirits. It may have worked here, as we certainly did not encounter any witches or warlocks.

Another recent walk took us to Aberlady Bay (Photo 5). This is a  well-known nature reserve with a range of birds, both residents and visitors. You walk across the bridge towards the beach, passing mainly scrub, so it is not the most attractive walk until you get to the wide sweep of beach. At the moment, thousands of pink footed geese roost on the bay in the evening and there is a constant stream of skeins of geese towards evening. The skein takes the shape of a triangle, and you can usually hear the geese before you see them. We went to  an interesting talk on the  geese at Waterston House.

Hopes Reservoir

Hopes Reservoir

 

Across Eat Lothian from Crib Law

Aberlady Bay bridge