19-06-29 Saturday I - Friends of Brian

This week I have mostly been in Barcelona. It is a lovely city, and we had a great time. It was another part of my Christmas present from TW; she had calculated that since our older two girls were away on school trips, we could take the youngest one out of school for a few days and have her with us.

We flew easyJet, which was fair enough, although we did pack our passports in our luggage before boarding, and our baggage was stowed in the hold. As a result we got to passport check in Barcelona without any documentation. The police there didn’t seem too bothered and once the queue had been dealt with one of them accompanied us to the baggage reclaim and spot-checked our passports there. It probably won’t be as relaxed after Brexit...

We stayed in an Airbnb within walking distance of La Rambla. It was easy to get to the flat from the airport; we jumped on a bus and disembarked at Place Espanya and then walked up towards Montjuic. The flat was basic, and could have benefitted from a makeover, but it was a good base of operations. We found Carrer Blai on the first evening, and came back each night we were there. We discovered pinchos, which were delicious. TY was a bit fussy and wouldn’t try any dishes, so she ended up with a slice of pizza - which suited her fine.

On the Tuesday we hit La Rambla and took a couple of bus tours to see as much of Barca as possible. Our only fixed appointment was a seven o’clock visit to the Sagrada Familia, which was very much worth the entrance fee. Lots of folk go to see the outside and don’t bother going in, but the interior is just as if not more interesting than the outside. We were tired but got dinner at Carrer Blai again, and then went to bed.

Wednesday morning we slept in and then hit the beach, and then mooched purposelessly around the town centre. It was a nice afternoon, we ate at La Boqueria Market - TY actually had some calamari, which was brave. I had a meat empanada, which was very much like a Cornish pasty - delicious! Late afternoon, we bought some beers and went back to the flat and had booze on the balcony in the sun, which was a great way to spend a late afternoon / early evening. Then we hit Blai again, and then retired to the flat. 

Thursday morning we packed and walked back to Place Espanya, where we had our first Spanish coffee (TY had a donut), before catching the bus back to the airport. And then it was time to come home, with some amazing memories and pictures of the lovely city of Barcelona. 

The flat we stayed in was incredibly hot at night, and I didn’t sleep particularly well, but that was a minor inconvenience. It was brilliantly situated and well-stocked with margarine and milk etc., which had been left by other guests. There were some other Airbnbers there when we arrived, and then they left and were replaced by others on the Wednesday. So there was quite the footfall through the flat.

I’d certainly go to Barcelona again, although the ease of booking rooms and flights has opened our eyes to the possibility of visiting other European destinations; currently there is a sale on Eurostar tickets, for instance, so we could visit Paris or Brussels next. Who knows? We probably need to make the most of our European Union membership before it is taken away from us at the end of October.

TTFN.

19-06-15 Sunday I - Internal Soundtrack

We were walking the dog at Cissbury when TW said to the children that they should be “dancing to your own internal music.” TMO replied, “my internal soundtrack is the theme to Thomas the Tank Engine, but with a really loud bass”.

No, I don’t know either.

TTFN.

19-06-11 Tuesday - Tory Leadership Race

Oh, God. The Tory leadership race is on, and it is not going well. There are no candidates I would like to see ascend to the throne of Tory leader and Prime Minister. It is existentially depressing; possibly moreso than Brexit itself.

There are ten people willing to step into Theresa May’s shoes, seemingly unaware that the situation and the maths hasn’t changed. There is no way to bend the EU to the will of the UK; the EU will protect the single market and the customs union before giving any ground to the UK. So the only avenue open to us, if we still want to leave, is to agree to the Withdrawal Agreement which has been negotiated under the reign of one T. May. The question is:- will a change of leader persuade any MPs who haven’t yet voted for the WA to change their mind? I think it unlikely.

I was happy to see Cameron take over leadership of the Tory party back when he did, he looked like a breath of fresh air. And, for a time, I think he was. So I am not against the Tory party in toto. But to be frank, I think at the moment they are a busted flush; they are in a minority, they are trying to push Brexit through an unwilling House of Commons, and the new leadership candidates are making promises they won’t be able to keep in the divided situation they will find themselves in, once they are installed in No. 10.

I for one am disappointed that the new PM will be appointed by 160,000 or so Tory voters. I know that those are the party rules, but I don’t see that the new PM will be able to go on for any time without provoking a vote of No Confidence, which will trigger a General Election. And, as the candidates themselves have mostly acknowledged, if they go to the country before completing Brexit, they will be annihilated. Voters on the right who think they are not enacting Brexit correctly will drift to the Brexit Party, and voters in the centre who are anti-Brexit will vote Lib Dem, leaving the Tory party with only a thin slice of the electorate thinking that they are doing the right thing. Not that the Labour party will do any better. A recent poll shows that Theresa May, even though she is leaving in disgrace (pretty much) is still seen as a better PM than Jeremy Corbyn.

Anyway, there aren’t any rays of light among the leadership runners and riders. The only possible reason to be optimistic is that we might see some infighting among them. And if they tear strips off each other, then they can only damage themselves and harm their credibility in the eyes of the public. So there is that.

Anyway, I don’t know if this competition will go the distance, but it’s gripping, and I’ll be watching til the end.

TTFN.

19-06-08 Saturday - Lou Sanders @ Komedia Brighton, Wednesday 5th June

Another date, another night out. TW and I had arranged to see Lou Sanders as one of my Christmas presents, so off to Brighton we went. I had originally booked to see Angela Barnes, but she changed her date to later in the year, and I had heard good things about Lou. She had been an interviewee on RHLSTP, and I think I’d also heard her on Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown, so when I saw that she was playing the Komedia, I was keen to get tickets.

I met TW in Brighton, and we had a pre-show dinner at Bill’s. Because her birthday is imminent she had an offer of a free bottle of prosecco with dinner, which was nice, so we took advantage of that. I had a burger, of course (how very unadventurous of me) and TW had a Glow Bowl, which was basically a posh salad, but a healthy option. We shared some calamari to start. It was nice, it was a good way to relax after work, and it was great to spend time together out of the house.

When we’d finished, we still had some time before the show started so we adjourned to the Heart and Hand, where TW had a gin and I had a pint of Toast, which grew on me. At first I didn’t like the aftertaste, but by the time I made my way to the bottom of the glass, I quite enjoyed it.

Then we headed into the show, and Adam Hess was the warm up act. I’ve seen him before, he’s very funny and appears to be quite scatterbrained and breathless, like it’s all unplanned. Maybe it is, but whichever, it was enjoyable. Then we had a short break, and Lou was on.

She was very funny, I really enjoyed her show. I think it was the last time she was performing “Shame Pig” - at least, that’s what she said. There were a couple of different stories she told, and she hung them together through the theme of shame. TW and I were both laughing, and it was a good night out. I’d certainly go and see her again, and was glad that I’d taken a punt on going to see her.

We got home relatively early, and hit the hay. Another great time had.

TTFN.