Not long now before we head to South Africa. Time to take stock of what's going into my suitcase!
Recently, I have a bit of a problem finding enough clothes to take along. I've lost quite some bit of weight and am now somewhere between UK size 14 and 12 (coming from 16). Ladies: I don't advice you to follow my 'diet' - I takes having cancer and swallowing poisoned pills every day, but it is guaranteed to make you lose enough kilo's.
My problem is, that what I bought last season is often already too big now. I have to buy skinny jeans, they fit best on my now form. The last one is still ok, but the one I got last year is already a bit wide on the legs. Same goes for skirts. I've donated most of them to my sister already. She has also lost some weight and can now wear what I wore two years ago. But that leaves me with practically nothing. I have two summer skirts that are my size (and now's not the right time to buy summer clothing). They'll have to do. Luckily I also have two pairs of linen trousers which still fit (after some small alterations) and the jeans I mentioned. Plus a bermuda and a pair of shorts.
Tops and t-shirts are more or less ok. It doesn't matter that they are a bit wide, you can wear them that way. And I have heaps of these.
Luckily both my sister and I don't pack too much when travelling. We only take the necessary. Our dad always used to say: when you pack a suitcase, see that you can carry it. A good advice. My biggest suitcase is not even that big - middle-sized I should say. Even when filled I can easily pick it up and carry it for some time when the wheels are of no use (the steps up and down in the railway station, for instance).
What I also should not forget is a hat or a cap. Still deciding whether to take the one from Mexico or the one from Nice. We'll see.
Hello everyone! I'm a writer of historical fiction next to being a pensioned teacher. I like to share my views on life and actuality, along with bringing you interviews with bestselling authors and guest blogs.
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
One more royal child
Big news yesterday evening. King Albert (the previous monarch of Belgium) finally recognizes Delphine Boël as his daughter.
Not that everyone didn't know it, but it took ages before Albert finally admitted he has an illegitimate daughter. About twenty years, for that matter. In 1999, a book was published in which the author suggested Albert had a love child with his then mistress. Not very long afterward, this Delphine started her crusade to be recognized by the king.
She always claimed she didn't do it for the money. The man who gave her a name is one of the richest in Belgium, and as sole daughter of him she'd inherit a whole lot of money. Now she gets only 1/8 of Albert's inheritance (in Belgium, half of the inheritance goes to the widow/widower, and the other half needs to be shared by the children of the couple). Albert has 3 legitimate children: Filip (the recent king), Astrid and Laurent. And now comes Delphine.
I'm curious to find out how Filip is going to react. He doesn't get along very well with his father (Albert and his wife Paola neglected their children) and I suppose it's his influence that has persuaded Albert to recognize Delphine. It's likely he'll give Delphine a title (not that of princess, as only the children of the king or heir to the throne can have that title). Countess or duchess, whatever. And she probably can change her surname to Saksen-Coburg (the old family name of the Belgium monarchy).
We'll see what happens nexts...
Not that everyone didn't know it, but it took ages before Albert finally admitted he has an illegitimate daughter. About twenty years, for that matter. In 1999, a book was published in which the author suggested Albert had a love child with his then mistress. Not very long afterward, this Delphine started her crusade to be recognized by the king.
She always claimed she didn't do it for the money. The man who gave her a name is one of the richest in Belgium, and as sole daughter of him she'd inherit a whole lot of money. Now she gets only 1/8 of Albert's inheritance (in Belgium, half of the inheritance goes to the widow/widower, and the other half needs to be shared by the children of the couple). Albert has 3 legitimate children: Filip (the recent king), Astrid and Laurent. And now comes Delphine.
I'm curious to find out how Filip is going to react. He doesn't get along very well with his father (Albert and his wife Paola neglected their children) and I suppose it's his influence that has persuaded Albert to recognize Delphine. It's likely he'll give Delphine a title (not that of princess, as only the children of the king or heir to the throne can have that title). Countess or duchess, whatever. And she probably can change her surname to Saksen-Coburg (the old family name of the Belgium monarchy).
We'll see what happens nexts...
Friday, January 24, 2020
Do you find it difficult to find a travel destination?
I must confess that sometimes we do. This leads to changing plans - and the last few years it happens more often than before.
.
Last year, we had planned a trip to Vienna and Bratislave around Christmas. Somewhere in summer we were noticed by the airline that our flight was cancelled. They offered different options, but none pleased us. Either we had to leave a day later, or get to the airport early in the morning (and there are not trains that early). So we opted for payback and changed our plans. We ended up in Cairo (and did not regret it).
For this year, we had thought of going to Doha (Qatar) in December. There is a direct flight from Brussels to Doha with Qatar Airways, but it is very expensive (would be around 2600,00 € for two people, which I think is a bit steep). So we abandoned these plans and set out to finding something different. A plan came up to go to the Baltic states. Unfortunately, two of the flights would be with Air Baltic, and when looking at the conditions to buy a ticket we noticed you can't be sure of the price you pay. You can go for the cheapest price, but somewhere in the small print is that the airline can put you in a higher class without notice - and you'd pay up a nice sum. Don't want to do that either.
Already two weekends we've been thinking of where to go. Iceland would be nice as well, but there were no free rooms over Christmas in the hotels we checked. Besides, my sister wants to feel some sun on her skin during those dark days we get here.
So right now we're looking at the Far East. Found out that a direct flight to Singapore costs less than the tickets for Qatar. Singapore Airlines begins to fly direct from Brussels in October of this year. And the hotel has availability. Plus there is enough to see and do there. Or perhaps Thailand? That is also nice during the Christmas break.
.
Last year, we had planned a trip to Vienna and Bratislave around Christmas. Somewhere in summer we were noticed by the airline that our flight was cancelled. They offered different options, but none pleased us. Either we had to leave a day later, or get to the airport early in the morning (and there are not trains that early). So we opted for payback and changed our plans. We ended up in Cairo (and did not regret it).
For this year, we had thought of going to Doha (Qatar) in December. There is a direct flight from Brussels to Doha with Qatar Airways, but it is very expensive (would be around 2600,00 € for two people, which I think is a bit steep). So we abandoned these plans and set out to finding something different. A plan came up to go to the Baltic states. Unfortunately, two of the flights would be with Air Baltic, and when looking at the conditions to buy a ticket we noticed you can't be sure of the price you pay. You can go for the cheapest price, but somewhere in the small print is that the airline can put you in a higher class without notice - and you'd pay up a nice sum. Don't want to do that either.
Already two weekends we've been thinking of where to go. Iceland would be nice as well, but there were no free rooms over Christmas in the hotels we checked. Besides, my sister wants to feel some sun on her skin during those dark days we get here.
So right now we're looking at the Far East. Found out that a direct flight to Singapore costs less than the tickets for Qatar. Singapore Airlines begins to fly direct from Brussels in October of this year. And the hotel has availability. Plus there is enough to see and do there. Or perhaps Thailand? That is also nice during the Christmas break.
Monday, January 20, 2020
Death in the Family
Please welcome author Lanny Larcinese today. Lanny is doing a virtual book tour for Death in the Family, a crime thriller available since January 1st from Intrigue Publishing. This book tour will run from December 30th 2019 to January 24th 2020.
Lanny will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes&Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the following link to share your comments:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3241/
Blurb
Excerpt
I asked Lanny about his views on writing. This is what he answers:
You’d have thought I’d have known all along, being Italian and all.
Author bio and links
Lanny will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes&Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the following link to share your comments:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3241/
Blurb
Donny
Lentini is a talented young man hungry for his mother's love. To please her, he
becomes guardian angel to his mob-wannabe father. When the father is murdered
and found with his hands hacked off, Donny is dealt a set of cards in a game
called vengeance. The pot is stacked high with chips; the ante, his soul and
the lives of loved-ones. With the help of friends—ex-con, defrocked Jesuit Bill
Conlon along with former high-school nemesis, Antwyne Claxton—he digs for
whether the murder had anything to do with the mob's lust for a real estate
parcel owned by the family of Donny's lover. He's new at this game. He doesn't
cheat, but plays his cards well. And he gets what he wants.
Excerpt
My foot slid over to touch Dad’s.
“Is this about the money you lost at
the table?” I said. “Should we play a few more hands?” I kept my eyes fixed on
his.
Dad reached over and put his hand on
mine.
“I didn’t lose the office cleaners,”
he said. A bead of sweat meandered toward his jaw. “The union was working on
’em going back three years now. It was a done deal by the time I got there.
Don’t I otherwise do good?”
“Whatever,” German said. “Just don’t
let it happen again. And tell Donny here to mind his manners or you’ll be back
driving a truck.”
The baseball bat leaning in a corner
was an exclamation point punctuating German’s directive. If it came down to
that I’d slash his throat with a rusty knife. Yet I had to walk a tightrope.
Dad would have preferred the bat to the demotion. He was a climber and German
his future.
German picked up a couple of coded
folders and put them into a filing cabinet, slamming the drawer down its rails
like a runaway train.
“Oh, and Joojy wants to see you. I
don’t know about what.”
“What about?” Dad said.
“You don’t hear? I said I don’t know!
Maybe that thing. Now get outta here, both yiz. I got to take my daughter to
ballet.”
I asked Lanny about his views on writing. This is what he answers:
I have never known artists who could
constrain themselves from doing art.
My particular art form is language and
story, and no more could Picasso forebear from scrawling shapes on napkins
could I avoid having a pen nearby or hovering over my keyboard focused like a
gamma ray for just the right adjective, image, scene, or conflict.
One legacy of my Italian heritage is to be
naturally expressive, usually as dramatically as possible. It’s why we need our
hands and body language to give mere words a supercharge. After all, we
invented opera. So this proclivity long predates any inclination to write
fiction.
Yet, most of my adult life was as a businessman—various
iterations of it. Throughout that time, chasing the buck may have occupied my
attention but did not subsume my tendency to express myself. So I wrote
letters. Not newsy letters, but inner landscape letters—my thoughts and
feelings about people and events, my desire being to resonate with the person
to whom I wrote. My discussions with friends and colleagues were the same; it
took a long time to notice their eyes glaze over, most wanting a simple answer
in a world which to them was simple. But not to me.
Then, after I became financially
independent with no inclination for golf and not dealing well with leisure
time, I was relaxing and an image popped into my head. To this day, I have no
idea as to its provenance, but it was so vivid I was compelled to write it out.
It was of two high school boys, one a bully, having it out behind the gym.
After I wrote it, I asked, what brought them there? So I wrote that out.
It just kept going and I kept writing, writing. It emerged as such a pleasure
and challenge that eight years later it was as if I had been John D.
Rockefeller and found my first oil well.
Throughout my getting-to-be-long life, I
have been a man of serial obsessions, all of them gratifying and fulfilling,
but in becoming a writer—even before I was published or won contests—none can
match the creative life, the artistic life. I literally go to sleep nights
saying thank-you prayers to have stumbled upon something that consumes me so
passionately and spiritually and emotionally rewarding.
Author bio and links
Lanny
Larcinese ‘s short work has appeared in magazines and has won a handful of
local prizes. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He’s a native
mid-westerner transplanted to the City of Brotherly Love where he has been
writing fiction for seven years. When not writing, he lets his daughter,
Amanda, charm him out of his socks, and works at impressing Jackie, his
long-time companion who keeps him honest and laughing—in addition to being his
first-line writing critic. He also spends more time than he should on Facebook
but feels suitably guilty for it.
Links:
Friday, January 17, 2020
Nothing to worry about
I had my first scan of this year yesterday morning (stayed in the day hospital for nearly a day, as they also checked my blood values and you always have to wait a while for the results). Once more, a good result! My condition remains stable and nothing bad is happening to my body. I suppose a lot of other cancer patients would wish for that.
It helps, of course, that I live in Belgium. Here, the study of cancer and how it can be treated is very much advanced and about the best in the world. Moreover, if you take an extra insurance above the amount everyone pays automatically with the wages or pension, you don't have to pay a dime - unless you go for treatment that is not yet recognized. In my case, my oncologist told me there are three ways of treating me. They have to start with the first one, which is medication (pills that are a sort of chemo). Next would be immunology. But the longer I can do with the pills, the better. Perhaps by that time there will be other ways of treatment already.
Our scientists claim that in ten years' time cancer will be some sort of chronic disease, easily treatable. That's great news and I hope it become reality. Now, even with all the advanced treatment methods, people still die of cancer. When I got my diagnosis, four other in my circle of acquqintances got the same news. By now, two and a half year later, I'm the only one around.
So, I do realize that a good health is the highest value in the world. What can money do, when you're terminally ill? Just look at the former sultan of Oman. All the riches in the world, but he died anyway. They couldn't even help him in Leuven.
It helps, of course, that I live in Belgium. Here, the study of cancer and how it can be treated is very much advanced and about the best in the world. Moreover, if you take an extra insurance above the amount everyone pays automatically with the wages or pension, you don't have to pay a dime - unless you go for treatment that is not yet recognized. In my case, my oncologist told me there are three ways of treating me. They have to start with the first one, which is medication (pills that are a sort of chemo). Next would be immunology. But the longer I can do with the pills, the better. Perhaps by that time there will be other ways of treatment already.
Our scientists claim that in ten years' time cancer will be some sort of chronic disease, easily treatable. That's great news and I hope it become reality. Now, even with all the advanced treatment methods, people still die of cancer. When I got my diagnosis, four other in my circle of acquqintances got the same news. By now, two and a half year later, I'm the only one around.
So, I do realize that a good health is the highest value in the world. What can money do, when you're terminally ill? Just look at the former sultan of Oman. All the riches in the world, but he died anyway. They couldn't even help him in Leuven.
Monday, January 13, 2020
Heroes in Love
Today we also welcome David C. Dawson in our midst. David's doing a virtual book blast tour for Heroes in Love, a contemporary romance (LGBT) available soon from Boroughs Publishing Group. This book blast tour will take place January 13 - 17, 2020.
Blurb
Excerpt
Author bio and links
David C. Dawson will be awarding
$10 Boroughs Bucks to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the following link to place your comment:
Blurb
NOT EVERY HERO WEARS A UNIFORM
Can love last a lifetime? Billy Walsh and
Daniel Richards never intended to be matchmakers. After all, they're only at
the start of their own love story. When Billy uncovers a failed love affair, he
learns it lasted more than fifty years until it fell apart. He and Daniel see
their own fledgling relationship through the lens of the now estranged couple,
and they vow to reunite the elderly lovers. But as they set about their task,
the pressure of modern life threatens to tear them apart.
Excerpt
Billy was nearly an hour late when
he finally rushed down Fulham Road and into the entrance of the Royal Marsden
hospital where he ran into a black haired, brown-eyed vision of masculinity.
Literally ran into. Publicly crashed into a stunning man wearing a white fitted
t-shirt, a linen suit, tan loafers, and stood tall like a catwalk model. Too
late Billy skidded to a halt, and into the arms of the handsome stranger.
“I’m so sorry,” Billy blurted out.
The vision of masculinity reached
forward and grabbed his shoulders to stop him from falling.
“No problem.” The man looked
directly at Billy and held on to his shoulders for a moment or so longer than
was probably necessary.
Billy wanted to crawl away and hide
in a corner. He had never considered himself a cool guy. The roles he played in
soap operas as a sensitive-looking young man with an apologetic, hesitant
manner were in truth no more than an extension of his own personality. He was
uncomfortable in large social gatherings, and preferred his own company.
But this man with wavy black hair,
deep brown eyes, and strong arms was someone he would dearly like to spend more
time with. Billy struggled to find a witty phrase, a bright piece of banter to
rescue the moment.
“Sure.”
Sure? Billy shook his head at the
crassness of his response. The man smiled, dropped his arms, and strode off.
Shit.
Author bio and links
David
C Dawson writes contemporary thrillers featuring gay men in love. He’s an award
winning author, journalist and documentary maker. His debut novel won Bronze
for Best Mystery and Suspense in the FAPA awards, and he has published two
books since.
David
lives in London with his boyfriend and two cats. In his spare time, he tours
Europe and sings with the London Gay Men’s Chorus.
Social Media:
website: www.davidcdawson.co.uk
instagram:
@davidcdawsonwriter
facebook:
david.c.dawson.5
twitter:
@david_c_dawson
Buy
Links:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B083QRQ319
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083QRQ319
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B083QRQ319
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B083QRQ319
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083QRQ319
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B083QRQ319
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B083QRQ319
Spring at the Little Duck Pond Cafe
Please welcome author Rosie Green today. Rosie's doing a virtual book blast tour for Spring at the Little Duck Cafe, a contemporary romance available now. The book blast tour will
take place January 13 - 17, 2020.
Blurb
Excerpt
Author bio and links
Rosie Green will be awarding a $25
Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the following link to place your comment:
Blurb
Fleeing
from a romance gone wrong, Ellie Farmer arrives in the pretty village of
Sunnybrook, hoping for a brand new start that most definitely does not include
love!
Following
an unscheduled soak in the village duck pond, she meets Sylvia, who runs the
Little Duck Pond Cafe. Renting the flat above the cafe seems like the answer to
Ellie's prayers. It's only for six months, which will give her time to sort out
her life, far away from cheating boyfriend Richard.
But
is running away from your past ever really the answer?
Clashing
with the mysterious and brooding Zak Chamberlain, an author with a bad case of
writer's block, is definitely not what Ellie needs right now. And then there's
Sylvia, who's clinging so hard to her past, she's in danger of losing the
quaint but run-down cafe altogether.
Can
Ellie find the answers she desperately needs in Sunnybrook? And will she be
able to help save Sylvia's Little Duck Pond Cafe from closure?
Excerpt
I have never climbed a tree in my
life.
But I suppose there’s a first time
for everything.
It’s a gaspingly cold mid-January
morning with an ice-blue sky overhead – not exactly the ideal conditions in
which to be lurking on the pavement outside a stranger’s house, nervously
eyeing up the oak tree in their garden.
Camera gripped in my freezing hands,
I stamp my feet and blow out misty breath as I psyche myself up to be bold.
I’ve driven sixty miles from Newtown, where I live, to the pretty,
chocolate-box village of Sunnybrook in Surrey – with the ultimate goal of
climbing this very tree and taking photos of the view from up there.
The tree is almost exactly how I
pictured it in my imagination – old and gnarled with broad, evenly-spaced
branches. My eye homes in on one branch in particular. It reaches out to the
left, a little over six feet from the ground; the perfect place to sit and gaze
out over the village green and the duck pond. (As I knew it would be.)
Tears fill my eyes. But I’m smiling,
too.
It’s all in a good cause.
Stop dithering and just do it!
When I push it open, the garden gate
swings inwards without creaking and the windows remain blank. I drop my bag by
the gate and head for the tree.
It’s amazing how fear can give you
almost super-human powers. Under normal circumstances, I’d need someone to give
me a bunk-up into this tree. But today, with adrenalin pumping through my
system, I manage to swing myself up there with no problems at all . . .
Author bio and links
Rosie
has been scribbling stories ever since she was little.
Back
then, they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a young heroine in perilous
danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by ‘the baddies’.
Thankfully,
Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much prefers to write romantic comedies
that melt your heart and make you smile, with really not much perilous danger
at all – unless you count the heroine losing her heart in love.
Spring at the
Little Duck Pond Café is the first in Rosie’s brand new
series of novellas centred around life in a village café. Each novella is a
‘stand-alone’ read.
You
can connect with Rosie Green on Twitter: @Rosie_Green1988
Amazon
purchase link: https://amzn.to/2W8uXF7
NOTE:
Book is free
Amazon
Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Rosie-Green/e/B07CZYV7DW%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Weekend Antwerp
Once more, we'll be spending a weekend in Antwerp - the town in the north of Belgium where our grandmother was born.
When my sister and I grew up, were kids in the 1960's, there was nothing of any importance in Dendermonde where we lived. So when we needed something (clothes, for instance) for a special occasion, our grandma took us to Antwerp to shop. She bought us clothes in 't Moleken - a shop especially for children's clothing. Little did we realize then it was the most expensive shop for kids in Antwerp and even in the rest of our country. Our grandparents were rather well off, granddad having fought in two world wars. He got a regular pension as an officer, plus an extra one for several deeds of bravery, and a third one for having suffered major wounds.
So we got the know the town pretty well, and continue to go to Antwerp when we need something. Also, there are many theatres and an opera, plus arena's where well-known artists perform. Plus thousand of restaurants and café's and lots of historical buildings. And a zoo.
We have our favorite restaurant there. Well, more of a bistro. They have a small menu card, but what they cook tastes like heaven! We've eaten the best beef stew there. Simple food, but oh so good.
Lately we have got to know Brussels as well. For a long time we never went there, but last year we began our discovery. Not so long ago, just before Christmas, we also spend a weekend there. Another interesting town is Hasselt in the province of Limburg, near the German border. Actually, there is plenty to see in Belgium as a whole. But you never know your own country as well as places in other countries, right?
When my sister and I grew up, were kids in the 1960's, there was nothing of any importance in Dendermonde where we lived. So when we needed something (clothes, for instance) for a special occasion, our grandma took us to Antwerp to shop. She bought us clothes in 't Moleken - a shop especially for children's clothing. Little did we realize then it was the most expensive shop for kids in Antwerp and even in the rest of our country. Our grandparents were rather well off, granddad having fought in two world wars. He got a regular pension as an officer, plus an extra one for several deeds of bravery, and a third one for having suffered major wounds.
So we got the know the town pretty well, and continue to go to Antwerp when we need something. Also, there are many theatres and an opera, plus arena's where well-known artists perform. Plus thousand of restaurants and café's and lots of historical buildings. And a zoo.
We have our favorite restaurant there. Well, more of a bistro. They have a small menu card, but what they cook tastes like heaven! We've eaten the best beef stew there. Simple food, but oh so good.
Lately we have got to know Brussels as well. For a long time we never went there, but last year we began our discovery. Not so long ago, just before Christmas, we also spend a weekend there. Another interesting town is Hasselt in the province of Limburg, near the German border. Actually, there is plenty to see in Belgium as a whole. But you never know your own country as well as places in other countries, right?
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
The effects of global warming
Winters aren't what they used to be. Up to now, we haven't had any temperatures below zero degrees Celsius, which is quite unusual for the time of year.
For tomorrow and the day after, the weather forecast is that it will be around 13°. Normally we should get around 5°. And it doesn't look like it there will be any cold forthcoming later this month. Winter?
Well, I won't complain. I like warm weather. And hopefully we don't get any snow later this winter season. Because snow becomes a dirty mash in our parts. You wake up in the morning and have to clear a path on the pavement (city rulings). Now that our neighbor Willy is no more, that would mean I'll have to do it because Chris is off to her job around 7.30 am. And not only clean the part before my own house, but also that before Willy's as nobody lives there for the moment. So please, snow, stay away!!!
On the other hand, what's happening in Australia is bad. The whole country seems to be on fire. We see the images every day on the telly. Thousands of homes demolished, people on the run to save their lives, ... I have no words for it. Also can't imagine what it must be like because here in Flanders we don't get such extreme draughts and there are no forests to burn.
The only thing we are suffering from is a lack of enough water in the ground. Due to a couple of warmer summers and period with practically no rainfall, the reserves were almost all used up and haven't been restored yet, although we've had enough rain in fall and winter already. When it keeps on raining until summer, we might get back to normal.
Do you suffer any effects of global warming?
For tomorrow and the day after, the weather forecast is that it will be around 13°. Normally we should get around 5°. And it doesn't look like it there will be any cold forthcoming later this month. Winter?
Well, I won't complain. I like warm weather. And hopefully we don't get any snow later this winter season. Because snow becomes a dirty mash in our parts. You wake up in the morning and have to clear a path on the pavement (city rulings). Now that our neighbor Willy is no more, that would mean I'll have to do it because Chris is off to her job around 7.30 am. And not only clean the part before my own house, but also that before Willy's as nobody lives there for the moment. So please, snow, stay away!!!
On the other hand, what's happening in Australia is bad. The whole country seems to be on fire. We see the images every day on the telly. Thousands of homes demolished, people on the run to save their lives, ... I have no words for it. Also can't imagine what it must be like because here in Flanders we don't get such extreme draughts and there are no forests to burn.
The only thing we are suffering from is a lack of enough water in the ground. Due to a couple of warmer summers and period with practically no rainfall, the reserves were almost all used up and haven't been restored yet, although we've had enough rain in fall and winter already. When it keeps on raining until summer, we might get back to normal.
Do you suffer any effects of global warming?
Friday, January 3, 2020
Almost back to everyday life
These are the last days of the two weeks of Chrismas holidays. Well, at least for my sister (I have eternal holiday as I'm into my pension). But for the coming four years we still have to deal with the school holidays.
After our trip to Egypt we decided to stay at home - and we could well use it because the trip was rather tiring. We made excursions every day from early morning to evening. That's when you start to realize you aren't 20 anymore! And most strangely, I feel less tired than my sister, who is nearly five years younger...
It's rather quiet here in town. Not much going on. With our neighbor Willy dead (he died in October last year) the house on the right side of ours is empty and only the Polish neighbors on the left side remain. They are our age.
Everything will go back to normal when the schools open on Monday. Then our street is busy with kids riding their bikes to school, or just walking to it. And also there are more customers in the shops, especially now that the sales period has started.
Before we know it, we'll be leaving for South Africa!
After our trip to Egypt we decided to stay at home - and we could well use it because the trip was rather tiring. We made excursions every day from early morning to evening. That's when you start to realize you aren't 20 anymore! And most strangely, I feel less tired than my sister, who is nearly five years younger...
It's rather quiet here in town. Not much going on. With our neighbor Willy dead (he died in October last year) the house on the right side of ours is empty and only the Polish neighbors on the left side remain. They are our age.
Everything will go back to normal when the schools open on Monday. Then our street is busy with kids riding their bikes to school, or just walking to it. And also there are more customers in the shops, especially now that the sales period has started.
Before we know it, we'll be leaving for South Africa!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)