Travel problems.

We fly home on Sunday. Friends on Facebook are posting complaints about more snow. I’ve just Googled the weather in our home area and it looks like temperatures of -1°. How nice! 

Meanwhile here in Spain there are yellow alerts for storms on coasts all over the place. I found a picture of what they call a “megayacht” which has taken refuge in La Coruña, not wanting to face the bad weather out at sea. Has no-one told them abut the huge waves that can assault La Coruña when the weather really gets going? The yacht can be hired for a mere one million dollars – that’s for a week. As it can sleep 12 passengers, that should divide up nicely for an economical holiday, don’t you think? 

 In Athens they have been having floods. As if the poor Greeks didn’t have enough to cope with in this time of crisis. 

 I’ve also seen pictures of a rather frozen Venice. 

The weather alerts here include snow for Barcelona this weekend. Now, we are flying Vigo to Barcelona and then Barcelona to Manchester. Maybe we won’t get home to those -1° temperatures after all. We had better make sure the kindles are fully charged in case we have a long wait in Barcelona airport. 

Mind you, I could have been stuck in a lift. The other day, returning from buying bread, I got in the lift and pressed the button for the seventh floor. On floor 4, the lift stopped and the light display indicating the floor turned into a straight line. The doors failed to open. Just as I was beginning to wonder about pressing the panic button, it started to move again, downwards. Down, all the way to floor -2, the lowest level of garages. The doors still remained closed but the lift started to rise. On the fourth floor it stopped again, the doors opened and I got out. The lift stayed there so I got back in, somewhat hesitantly, and once more pressed button 7. Up it went, no problem, and I got home safely to tell my tale. 

The thing is that I recently read a book called “The Fear Index” in which a computer programmed to become an independent thinker (mostly so it can make millions for its programmer and his associates on the stock exchange) becomes a little too independent. The computer controls everything in the office block, including the lift. When one character becomes too vociferously critical of the system and fails to look before stepping through the open lift doors, he plummets 10 floors to his death. Coincidence or computer revenge? You can’t be too careful with artificial intelligence. 

I’ll let you all know if I get home safely.