I’m sitting here waiting for the plumber to phone me to say he is en route. After all my difficulty getting through to him yesterday, he finally returned my call in the late afternoon. I explained our bathroom problem. He told me he had a job in nearby Dobcross this morning - five minutes up the road from here by car - and would call me when he had finished. So I got up and got organised. I didn’t go for a run. Mind you, it’s been raining steadily all morning so I might not have gone anyway. He’s not called yet!
Over breakfast I skimmed the newspapers online. In an article about places to go for late summer-sun holidays, less crowded now that schools have absorbed all those noisy kids on family holidays, the town of Arcachon on France’s Atlantic coast was featured.
“As well as sandy beaches, delicious seafood and beautiful Belle Epoque architecture, Arcachon is the perfect jumping off point for bike rides into the Landes forest or along the bay to see the 110m high Dune du Pilat. In July and August, Europe’s tallest sand dune is crawling with tourists, but in September and October you can soak up the stunning views and sunsets without the crowds.”
I was plunged back in time to a summer in the 1970s, travelling around France with a friend. We had taken him to various places we knew well and he in turn wanted to show off his knowledge and was quite excited to show us this place by the sea. As we drove into Arcachon and saw it’s fabulous beaches, I spoilt his sparkle by declaring, without thinking, “It’s just like Southport”. Well, I grew up in Southport when it was quite a posh seaside place and when Lord Street really was a fine place to walk up and down window shopping. It’s all a bit shabbier nowadays.
That’s the dose of nostalgia for today!
Recently I’ve come across stories about bears. Here’s another. It seems that if you live in Alaska you can observe bears without putting yourself at risk of being chased or eaten. Wildlife enthusiasts can log onto the camera filming what goes on in Katmai national park in a remote part of the state. And this practice may have saved the life of a hiker who had got lost in the park. It seems he saw the webcam and looked up at it asking for someone to please help him. And by the wonders of modern communications people watching online managed to contact the relevant authorities and they went and rescued him. A happy ending!
On the subject of wildlife, there’s this bit of info I found somewhere:
“Blood may be thicker than water when it comes to humans relationships – and it appears that the same is true of jackdaws after scientists found they readily switch friends to gain food but stick with family even at the risk of going hungry.
A study of jackdaw colonies in west Cornwall established that the small crows ditch old friends and make new ones if it helps them get rewards but stick with family through thick and thin.
The scientists presented wild jackdaws – highly gregarious birds – with a task in which access to tasty mealworms depended on which individuals visited together.
Though the birds soon switched friends to get the best rewards, they stuck with their offspring, siblings and mating partners (jackdaws pair for life) no matter the outcome.”
So birds “ghost” their fellows too. “Ghosting” is apparently the term used when someone just stops talking to a friend or acquaintance (or a boyfriend / girlfriend), not answering texts or emails, just dropping out of their lives. And here’s an article about ghosting.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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