Swimwear and The Economy

Swimwear and The Economy

My previous post mentioned, in passing, the financial difficulties the bikini manufacturers are obviously going through, given the lack of material used. I have received an unprecedented amount of feedback regarding my comments on present day swimwear, or lack of it, and felt that further clarification for the case for woollen, neck to knee, one-piece costumes should be made. Basically the feedback falls into three groups and I will handle them in that way. First, and easily the most proliferate are the licentious requests for photographs of nubile young ladies unknowingly captured on film (digitised images actually) in immodest poses. The gentlemen making these requests should be embarrassed and ashamed of their own behaviour and should consider how they would feel if their identities were published. They should have received their merchandise by the end of the day and I would remind them that payment is required by return, or the afore mentioned publication will appear on Monday. The second group are...
Read More
Winter Quarters

Winter Quarters

Portugal is Bridget’s 52nd country and largely new to me. The drive down to Porto from Vigo was short but interesting. Lots of tree covered mountains, but unfortunately speckled with forest fires. Conditions are seriously dry and there are notices everywhere warning people to take care, but still the fires occur. Arriving in the city of Porto, not Oporto as inaccurately entitled by the British, I was struck by the wide avenues, plentiful statues and unfortunately the disrepair of many buildings. Once again, the financial crisis is evident although some regeneration is under way in Porto. My priorities were set and I visited the Port wine producers as soon as I had checked into a hotel. As the world centre for the production of port all the big names are here and all have visitor centres. I was recommended to choose Sandeman as the first which I did and was fascinated by the production process. However the disposal methods were far more...
Read More
Why Does Anybody Love The English

Why Does Anybody Love The English

San Sebastian is just as good today as I remember it from 2006. I tend to think of it as a small Barcelona, without the football enthusiasts. It has an old town full of small alleys with terrific Tapas bars, historic buildings, albeit many have been rebuilt following a major fire (probably some Nordic holiday makers or it may have had something to do with Portuguese and British troops sacking the town after giving Napoleons men a slap), museums and cultural events. It is very popular and hotel rooms are over-subscribed during August. It is to be the European City of Culture in 2016 and will have to seriously address the shortage of accommodation before then. Overlooking the city is a figure of Christ atop of Mount Urgull on which were the fortified ramparts that Napoleon captured during the Peninsula War of 1808-14. There is even a British cemetery in the grounds for the soldiers that fell during the taking of...
Read More
Back To The Future

Back To The Future

Sorry for my prolonged absence. It has been so long that I couldn’t remember what my last post covered and had to go on site to see. Anyway, we have had an eventful few days in France and another of those “Bridget should never have made it” moments, followed by Moss Europe digging us out of the clag again! They must be fed-up with us by now, but they continue assisting. After the wonderful run through the Selvio Pass and a couple of nights at Terisimo we continued in the general direction of France. My regulars will know the high esteem that I hold France in, and I suddenly had an unaccountable urge (possibly connected to a surfeit of wine) to visit my cousin in Blaymont, Lot and Garonne. Although they had other family already there, they were, of course, delighted to be honoured with a visit. A number of times I was unable to ignore an aweful banging when I started...
Read More
And Then There Were Three

And Then There Were Three

From Pordeone we drove over to Tremisone, on Lake Garda. This area has always been a favourite of mine and very many Brits for many years. For me it’s just about nature, the mountains and inevitable lakes. Unfortunately this particular area is just about saturated from a traffic point of view and it is difficult to know how to resolve it. Widening the roads, apart from being difficult, would spoil many aspects of the area, but it is impossible to restrict the numbers. I had checked into my hotel in Pieve di Tremisone and completed the initial recce of the town and was just about to enter the building when a MGF pulled up in the car park opposite. I walked over and introduced myself to the occupants, a couple from Hebdon Bridge. Unfortunately they are not MGCC members, but still very nice people. First of the family I have seen since leaving the UK. One of the photos I have uploaded...
Read More