ROAD RHYME

CERTAINTY.

My skin just doesn’t fit me anymore
The trouble is, I can’t be sure
If it has stretched or I have shrunk
Those anti-aging creams are so much junk.

The truth is somewhere in-between
I’m just too old for certainty.

The world just doesn’t suit me anymore
The trouble is, I can’t be sure
If I’ve journeyed lonely and too far
or if the city’s knocking at my door.

The truth is somewhere in-between
I’m just too old for certainty.

The loves I had are there no more
The trouble is, I’m never sure
If I ever loved them quite enough
Or if loving me was just too tough.

The truth is somewhere in-between
I’m just too old for certainty.

MAP READING

MAP READING.
We’re on the crease
We’re off the page
We’re spiral bound
Without a Tom Tom
Don’t say it loud just whisper it
So we can’t hear - ‘We’re marginalised.’

The print’s too small
The scale’s too big
Both pairs of specs
have been mislaid.
Don’t say it loud - just whisper it
So we can’t hear - ‘We’re too long-sighted.’

At 65 we’re free and gratis
There is no reason
For anyone to bother us
We’re out of season
Do say it loud - please make it clear.
We enjoy ourselves too much to care.

HOUSE HUNTING

Here we are House-Hunting in France and here is John hard at work house-hunting. It is a pity that I can't put these together as a flash animation. The rest I will leave John to describe.

Adding to the joys of House-Hunting we have had a serious revolt by the Wheely Cabin herself. Apart from the internal farting habit she developed everytime we set off on a new journey she suddenly got mean with the water we had loaded her with. First she disgorged all the hot water outside the van when we turned the pump on. Next she simply refuses to let any water in or out either through the taps or the overflows or the dumping system. All of this at a camp site that has a freezing sanitory block and only cold water from push buttons. Then the gas is harder to obtain as we can't use the bottles we have and had to buy a new bottle and regulator so when the gas gave out we gave up and spent a night in a Formule 1 hotel. All the repair places are busy and all the camp sites closed. We drove 50 miles to Perpignan for hotwater and internet, Hopefully the Wheely Cabin will be fixed for Christmas!

COMMUNITY CATS, DOGS AND CREATURES

Well - I must do as I promised and talk of community cats.

In Nice I borrowed this cat to use as a hotwater bottle while ill as John would simply not lie still.

I dislike stray dogs as I am from Africa and always think of Rabies and bites. Community dogs are interesting however though not necessarily any safer. They attach to communities as pack animals just as they attach to individual homes when they belong to you. They don't become wild loners as cats do just a little more like teenage kids attach to family.

In Bulgaria where community dogs wear ear tags (I think )we were surrounded by circling dogs and cats at the camp site. They went round the wheely cabin just outside the circle of light - then gradually came in closer and closer! It was a little unsettling but the dogs were a lot more civil about leaving when asked. Cat simply leapt on the table and made off with the bread!

Both cats and dogs worked the campsites like professional beggars but were only occasionally a nuisance. We think a community cat we met was actually a manipulative stowaway who pretended to be abandoned.

For several weeks we had a community fly as a companion. John subjected a large number of flies to rigorous testing with his electric tennis raquet swatter. This one was outstanding and travelled with us from Turkey to Sicily where it decided to follow Ulysses to see Scylla. I still miss him every morning.

CAT PROTECTION VILLAGE

I never did write that piece about community dogs and cats! Florence cats are fat - at least on the steps down to the city from the camp site. Here we saw this fenced area with cat 'Safe houses' where 4 year jail sentences are given for hurting cats!
Other Florence pictures here too.

FIRENZE - FLORENCE

By the time we got to Florence the weather was really cold but our campsite above the city meant that we had the most magic view of Florence and the snow on the hills behind. We did not spend long in Florence but it is a wonderful city to visit out of season. The Botticellis in the Uffizi are as fantastic as they say - no hype about them at all. There are very beautiful buildings and we even found good food in pleasant eateries that we could afford! Wonderful wonderful Florence Boing! Booiinnng!

POMPEII

We left autumn and the sun behind in Sicily and travelled through fog and rain on high mountain passes while the shore far below was lashed by giant waves and strong winds.
We gave Montecasino a miss because it was shrouded in mist. John's father was taken prisoner there by the retreating Germans in 1944. He didn't get home for nearly a year as they retreated so far..
Actually this bit comes after Pompeii where we fetched up next camping in an orange grove right next to the site but in cold wet weather so our photos look dull. Its a shame as Pompeii was fascinating.
We of course got the photos from the bordello but won't blog them - there is a photo of the gladiators quarters. Our visit to Ephesus gave us an interesting insight into the purpose and function of gladiatoral combat its worth researching.

These pictures were taken showing John at the tavern before the eruption, street signd pointing the way to the brothel and I hope, indicating the depth of the ash - as high as the Roman wall!
Also a view of new Pompeii from old Pompeii and copies of Roman statues with Vesuvius behind.