Today is a day of multiple birthdays: our son (48), Granddaughter Number One (29), my Italian friend Guido (age not revealed), and the daughter of a friend of our daughter (23 or 24 I think). Tomorrow is Granddaughter Number One’s best friend’s birthday (28). Consequently yesterday we did a big family dinner with presents for the two of them and a shared cake. Fun and games all round! Grandson Number Two (6) got very excited and decided he had to show off, the way small boys do when they realise they are not the centre of attention.
For the first time in weeks we had a visit from Grandson Number One (21), in honour presumably of his older sister’s birthday meal. From being a very quiet person who never seemed to go anywhere apart from to the office when he was obliged to do so, suddenly he has developed a lively social life, out drinking with friends and even staying overnight at his girlfriend’s place! So much for all the theories about the younger generation being sad and lonely!
In the middle of all the fun and games I remembered to set the TV to record the highlights of the Tour de France on Channel 5. There have been some interesting views of Barcelona, some of them repeated as yesterday’s stage finished with the riders doing a number of circuits around Montjuïc. The commentators kept going on about the competition between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard but in the end it was Pogacar’s teammate, the young Mexican isaac del Toro, who won the stage. Pretty good for his first Tour. Did Pogacar let him win the stage as part of team morale-boosting? There”s so much plotting and scheming behind the cycling!
I’m reserving judgement on the commentators involved in this year’s coverage of the Tour. We had grown used to hearing Phil Liggett and Gary Imlach discussing the riders that it seems strange to hear different voices. So far there has been no after-stage discussion between the present commentators. Maybe that will come when they move into France. There have been occasional contributions from the Irish former cyclist Sean Kelly. It took us a while to put a name to the Irish accent.
In the background to some of the views of Barcelona were several cruise ships. These huge floating hotels continue to go around. Not my cup of tea! Here’s a link to something about a protest in Venice against a visit by the billionaire US ambassador to Italy in his 117-metre superyacht, which they fear he plans to dock in the lagoon city. I’m not sure such a boat can really be called a yacht but there it is.
And England’s football team defeated Mexico’s team in the early hours of this morning. i wonder how many people were late for work or school as a result. Now they face Norway in the next stage. That will be interesting: Harry Kane against Erling Haaland.
So much sport this summer!
Life hoes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment