27th August 2022

 We were talking round teatime the other day about holidays. Andrew and my daughter going off to the island of Mykonos soon.  I've been there said I, a 21st birthday present a long time ago, and my daughter looked a bit shocked.  Well apparently this is one of the 'fun party' islands nowadays, it wasn't in my day by any stretch of the imagination.  I had gone on a boat trip to Mykonos and Delos to see the Greek ruins there.  It had been a rather lonely holiday for none of my friends could afford the trip.  All I can remember that it had been very, very hot in Athens where I was staying.

Holidays are so different today, can you imagine Torremolinos in Italy(or Spain!) as a quiet little fishing village, for it was when as a child we went there.  I remember meeting my first octopus as I swam and flailing wildly for the shore in terror.  The plane was clunky and instead of heading out over the sea on takeoff, went flying high over the mountains, just missing them by feet in my imagination.

John Gray on his trip to Ireland, reminded me of when a friend and I went by car.  They craned my car onto the boat, no slip on and off ramp in the olden days.  We scooted around Ireland, Mary and me, I raced a glass salesman down empty roads, and when we finally stopped and he offered to buy us drinks we said no.  What happened to that old key for the bedroom at a big old house we stopped in.  I had forgotten to give it back in reception, still feel guilty about it.

The world has changed.  I have been watching some Youtube episodes of Nomadic people in Iran.  They live for three months of the year as nomads  but are so resilient and content.  The children scamper round after the adults.  Food preparation takes a long time, there is one incident when the old lady who seems to supervise the cooking, walks about half a mile to crush some large seeds.  It is almost back to the Bronze Age and the querns they used for grinding.  These two stones though have not been shaped and an awful lot of effort goes into the grinding.  Goats wander around and funny skinny hens, one fright for me was when breakfast was served.  As she took the lid of the pot there was the head of a goat.

They are surrounded by cliffs of sandstones, just concentrating on surviving, I am sure there are lots of stories to tell which the  camera man has not caught.  I wanted to know how they paid for their life style.  The men sitting away from the women being served by them made me smile - no feminists there yet!