The BBC has a fascinating news item about sunken treasure found near Sumatra. (Seehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7675866.stm ) About 1,200 years ago, the Chinese were already mass producing china for export. But the two bits that got me: the blue dye used for blue and white china originally came from Iran, and the dhow was probably headed for the port of Samara, which is called Basra today. So the good Samaritan in the…
A Productive Week
I’ve been doing rather well. On Monday I had some new furniture delivered – cheap, because it was shop soiled. But one part provides enough storage space to tidy up the living room considerably, and the other part goes in the guest room (with the scuff marks hidden against the wall) which frees up a bookshelf, which is just the right size to fit in the gap in the pantry….
Japanese Banks in Trouble
Following the problems in the sub-prime lending market in America and the run on Northern Rock in the UK, uncertainty has now hit Japan. In the last 7 days Origami Bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank announced plans to cut some of its branches. Yesterday, it was announced that Karaoke Bank is up for sale and will likely go for a song while today…
Car rallies
Today the annual car rally is snarling its way past my house. That’s 59 cars, three times over. As usual, the first set of cars was fun, and after thirty attempts I got a nice photo (see 35th Isla Bonita Car Rally And now, of course, I’m sick of the noise. It makes me too tense for yoga and too distracted for writing fiction. I think I’ll just have to…
35th Isla Bonita Car Rally
The annual car rally is today, with 59 cars going along the route three times. This is quite a big event in the national rally calendar, because racing along La Palma’s twisty roads is not at all like racing round a track. Today’s route goes through the Breñas and Mazo. The road will be shut at 11:10, 14:14, and 18:10. It opens again when all the cars have gone…
De-cluttering
The clutter doesn’t half collect around here. This year I’ve made an effort to throw stuff out, a little at a time. Today, instead, I went and bought a couple of new sideboards in a sale, which will be delivered on Monday. One will go in the living room, to hold the overflow of my son’s toys. The other will go in the guest room. This frees up a bookshelf…