There’s a huge window/door in the hotel room that looks out over the street and at what I suppose is a grand catholic church. The window is a contraption that can be either opened at a tilt or it turns into a door and can be opened up onto the little balcony beyond. The problem is that it doesn’t seem to make sense when it’s turning into a door or a window, so the result is random – yesterday it was a window, today it’s a door, tomorrow it could be a ham sandwich.

So today is Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter and as there’s a church outside the window it wasn’t a surprise to see the procession of white-clad priests, one getting down with the swinging incense, the other carrying a rather large silver cross. People were following them carrying little palm branches (not big leaves). This from the internet: “Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm branches waved by the crowd to greet and honor Jesus.” I didn’t know this till today although we probably were taught it in school in R.E. (Religious Education). I remember the teacher Molly Maddox who was an old lady to us (she was probably 50). I remember if you were in trouble she’d hit you with a ruler.

The sky was blue today, a welcome summer’s day, I got up around 10 AM and went to Lidl to get Olivia some brekkie and then went out again to the cafe on the corner for a coffee and a juice. I went in and asked the man, “English or Spanish?”, “Spanish,” he said. It was the same in Lidl on the cash register, “English or Spanish”, “Spanish,” she said but on the shop floor, it was English. Sometimes it’s French, it might be easier if it was just Portuguese but then one has to learn the language from scratch. Lots of similarities to Spanish but still.

At midday, I had a sesh with Arktik Lake Tony in Oz for an hour and after that, the day demanded a walk and another coffee in town. It was 17°C/62°F degrees but it felt a lot hotter, I trapped some way overdue rays. I didn’t last long before moving into the shade. It was nice to just sit and stop and there’s something about being in a city on a quiet Sunday.

I came back home to watch a great Newcastle/Man U game. Olivia found some pasta to microwave for dinner and we watched two episodes of Picard with its mainstream dialogue. I listened to John Pasagiannis’ track before answering some mails and trying to plan some of next week. We need a plumber, doesn’t everybody?

Music today has been Strawbs – Grave New World (1972). What a great band, an odd mixture of catchy folk-pop and progressive sounds and featuring the distinctive voice of Dave Cousins, Strawbs have also boasted many famous names such as Rick Wakeman and Sandy Denny in their past members list.

Music Of The Daze