 |
| It is pretty, isn't it! |
 |
| A bird lover on her honeymoon... |
In July I
sold two books; one to my wonderful, very beautiful and lifelong friend Mary
(she’s in the acknowledgments) and one to someone else – possibly my oldest pal
Mart who features in the book three times... and his shop, The Bike Shed
(Wales) gets a gratuitous mention too. Why wouldn’t it, its demonstrably the
best bike shop in Cardiff, in Wales and quite possibly the universe!
 |
| One of these men knows about I.T. and one...doesn't! |
Now I’ve
sold two more... One to Javi, who had a hand in getting the bugger published
(he’s mentioned in the ackies too – Super Techie!) but being a monoglot Spanish speaker, won’t be able to read
it. He just felt it would be a good thing to have, an investment, and he says
it looks really cool. He should know, he’s seen it – you and I haven’t.
Then the
Belgian wanted one but couldn’t download it onto his non-Kindle i-book. We did
a deal; I’m open to deals. Unlimited use of his washing machine while I’m
living in my van this summer... So then we had some beer to seal the deal! A
proper Belgian amount of beer.
The next
morning he had a proper Belgian beer hangover and I didn’t; as I was leaving
with my washing, I stopped in the doorway to chat some more – this is Spain and
it’s rude to leave when you say you’re going... about twenty minutes later is a
good average. As I stood there the cat ran out, the Belgian chased the cat and
the unattended door slammed shut.
No keys,
No cat,
No shoes,
No mobile,
No nothing.
Thus the
book cost the Belgian the eighty Euros the locksmith charged to open the door.
Expensive reading – and he won’t understand it either!
You, on the other hand, can read the book at these prices...
On Friday the local
committee in charge of the campaign cancelled a march and then
dissolved itself, worried about possible extreme elements and
misbehaviour. A spontaneous and peaceful gathering from the
neighbourhood took place in front of the anti-disturbios,
riot police drafted in from Valladolid. At ten o’clock some stones
were thrown at the police and they responded with a charge. The rest
of the night saw small groups of young people destroy all the fences
and barriers surrounding the area of the road works, rubbish
containers were burnt and the windows of several local banks were
smashed.
Tonight on the street
things were very peaceful although the tension was noticeable; a
march took place around the area and then went to the police station
to demand the release of those young people arrested Friday and
Saturday night. This was el
pueblo,
all the people, old and young, mums with pushchairs; a genuine
demonstration that everyone has had enough. Humour was everywhere;
social networks are bursting with gags and jokes. Many people around
me tonight were joking that it’s a great fiesta;
a way to meet all your friends and what’s more it’s free, no need
to even buy a beer.
Returning to Gamonal
from the police station, there was a large crowd on both sides of the
street, surrounding the anti-disturbios,
who were guarding what remains of the road works. The crowd were
vociferous, demanding that the police leave; serious chants of, “You
are the disturbance here!” mixed with, “While you’re
patrolling, your wife is f******”. All the political issues were
aired too. Although the noise was pretty scary and augmented by
frequent and very loud explosions of fireworks, there was no
violence. Everyone I spoke to agreed the presence of so many press
and television cameras was responsible; without them another police
charge would have occurred and people would have been hurt.
