Another view, another window...

This is the view from another window in my apartment, on the other side of the building. We often have lovely sunsets although I´d rather see the horizon without obstacles in the way. Out of curiosity I checked the view I posted recently from another window on my faithful Silva walking compass and it reads West, and this window with the sunset reads Northwest...I´ve always understood the sun rises in the East and sets in the West! Summat´s wrong!

Another little adventure

Before I retired I worked at a certain consulate in the visa section where I dealt with the applicants and their paperwork before passing it on to an officer for analysis and a decision. One of the people I handled was a hot air balloon pilot who traveled to competitions all over the world. He was so delighted when his visa was granted that he offered me and my family a free balloon flight. It was an offer I couldn´t refuse!

We set off one Saturday to a nearby town called Pindamonhangaba (yes, that really is the name of a town!), myself, daughter and son in law and toddler and one of my sons. It was really interesting seeing the balloons laid out and filling with hot air from roaring gas burners. The baskets were quite small so I went in one balloon with my daughter and my son flew in another. Son in law and toddler stayed behind as we took off and my little granddaughter wailed as she saw her mother slowly disappearing into the sky. 

Both my daughter and I have a fear of heights so it was a white knuckle ascent as we rose, each clutching the basket with a death grip. As we started to drift across the landscape things got easier but I must confess I never felt entirely comfortable. I had imagined it might be windy up there, but of course since you are floating at the same speed as the wind the air felt completely still, and so silent you could clearly hear dogs barking and people going about their business.

 

At one point we drifted over a cluster of buildings and the pilot explained he was taking us higher as the buildings were a prison and people (prisoners or guards?) had been known to take potshots at the balloons! After about half an hour we landed safely and were picked up and taken back to base. All in all it was an enjoyable experience and a most unusual way to spend a Saturday.

A view from my window

 

A beautiful crisp sunny day here, and this is what the view from one of my windows looks like. I´m on the eighth floor and luckily not really overlooked. Not the peaceful green rolling hills I´d prefer to see, unfortunately. In the bottom right corner is the edge of a five-a-side football field . There are three fields altogether and they are in constant use. What with games and championships going on until midnight or later, it gets a bit noisy with the excited fans cheering their teams on. 

The bottom left corner shows the roof and upper windows of a popular restaurant and bar where the weekend overflow crowds stand drinking on the pavement until the early hours. There´s another bar on the opposite corner where the same thing happens, right under my bedroom window. So, it is not exactly peaceful round here. Luckily I´ve found over the years that I have become so used to the noise that it doesn´t bother me too much, unless there is a drunken argument or fight.

This was where I lived in Marsden, Yorkshire. A bit of a contrast! From my bedroom window there wasn´t a building in sight, just hills.

Lovely Sunday

Yesterday I had my second Mothers Day lunch. My daughter was away for the first one a couple of weeks ago which I celebrated with my son and his family and some of my grandchildren, so she made up for it by taking me to lunch at an Indian restaurant with my son in law. I love Indian food but it is not very well known here and there are very few places which serve it. It was absolutely delicious and I had a lovely afternoon, she had also brought me a basket of edible gifts so I have a good excuse to indulge myself. A little spoiling never hurt anyone.

Short straw

Well, it looks like I have drawn the short straw vaccine-wise. According to the news neither the EU nor the UK will accept my Coronavac vaccine for entry into Europe or England. The Camino de Santiago in Spain which I had to cancel a year ago and hoped to do next spring and my plans to spend this Christmas in England with family have all gone up in smoke.

Why on earth the government here gave most of us a vaccine which has yet to be approved by the WHO instead of using the proper ones I have no idea, although it wouldn´t surprise me if price hadn´t something to do with it.

So, what now? I don´t know if at some point it would be possible to get re-vaccinated, maybe when vaccines become available privately here and you can actually choose which one to have. The other option is quarantine in the UK which costs nearly 2000 pounds, way too much for me. 

I´m feeling pretty cross to put it mildly.

Court again

 I had another virtual court appearance today although thank goodness I didn´t have to speak, the opposition lawyer is rather intimidating. We heard the two last witnesses and as far as I know my presence is not required for the next stage. The lawyers will present their arguments to the judge and she will make a decision. If it goes in my favour, which it has every time so far, the other party will then appeal...and the whole merry go round will start again. A touch of Groundhog Day.

Cold feet

We are getting into autumn here now and thank goodness the temperature has finally dropped, it is around the low twenties during the day now. There is nothing cosier than being able to snuggle under a duvet instead of lying on top of the covers perspiring while a ceiling fan blows hot air on you.

After lunch if I´m not busy I like to lie down with a book and then have a snooze. Since it is cooler now I usually cover myself with the duvet even though I am dressed. What I cannot understand is the following...my feet are bare but covered while I am reading, as I doze off they get colder and colder until they feel like a couple of blocks of ice, even to touch...yet at night when I go to bed in pj's and bare feet, when the ambient temperature is lower, my feet are fine, not cold at all. I know the solution is to wear socks in the afternoon, but I can´t help wondering why this happens. One of life´s little mysteries, I guess.