I write this at the end of another warm and sunny day. The small boy and I went adventuring to his favourite sandy park, where we built mounds of sand and shaped them into turtles and spiky dinosaurs before he leapt onto them in glee. In the process I managed to get showered in sand. I feel as though I have spent the day at the seaside. All in a good cause! Now that everyone has gone home and Phil has gone to chess club, I have walked round the village in the evening sunshine and finally have time for me.
Some reports say that rescuers are still hopeful of finding the submersible that went down to the wreck of the Titanic and got lost. For the sake of the families of those rich people I hope the optimists might be right. But really I’m not expecting to hear good news. If I had that sort of money to spend on a voyage to the bottom of the sea and if I were inclined to go on such an adventure, which I am definitely not, I think I would wait until the vessel had been more thoroughly tried and tested.
Here’s another lost at sea story I came across yesterday:
“At least 35 people on a dinghy en route to Spain’s Canary Islands have drowned, the migration-focused NGO Walking Borders said.
A source in Spanish maritime rescue service said a child had died and 24 people were rescued on Wednesday from the sinking dinghy in a Moroccan-led operation carried out about 88 miles to the south-east of Gran Canaria.
Two organisations focusing on migration, Walking Borders and Alarm Phone, said the dinghy originally had 59 people onboard.”
Those people had probably also paid rather a lot of money to travel in cramped and unsafe conditions but not as much money as the rich tourists and for different reasons. More desperate than adventurous!
Meanwhile the UK’s biggest festival officially began with the founder greeting attendees at the gates amid a burst of torrential rain. I think it’s been fine today. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend. “Welcome to Glastonbury,” the co-organiserEmily Eavis is reported to have said, addressing thousands of queuing festivalgoers.
Speaking to the PA Media news agency, Eavis said it felt good to greet the crowd. “I love welcoming people in – it’s always my favourite moment.”
Michael Eavis, the co-founder of the festival, was seen in a red Land Rover near to where his daughter officially opened the gates.”
That’s another bunch of people who have spent quite large amounts of money to spend time in uncomfortable conditions. Some of them, of course, will not mind as they will be drunk or stoned. And at least this year there won’t be vast amounts of mud, despite a wet start to the festivities. Indeed, I hear that wellie sales are down! Hunter Wellies are apparently having some financial difficulties! No doubt they’ll get over it!
I’ve enjoyed big concerts out of doors, notably in Hyde Park, but never in quite such crowded conditions as I have seen on photos of Glastonbury or of the current Bruce Springsteen tour. (My Facebook by the way is awash with posts about The Boss - fan’s art work depicting their idol, selfies at concerts, questions about favourite or unfavourite songs, reminiscences of Springsteen concerts over the decades. I must have accidentally clicked on a fan-group or maybe just “liked” a couple of posts. That’s usually enough to start a deluge of similar posts.) But I must say I have never fancied staying overnight at such events. At the big open air concert venues it’s hard enough to find the loo and then make your way back to your group of friends, without having to do so in the middle of the night as well.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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