Car update.
The car is seriously ill and needs an engine transplant. This is going to be slow and expensive. Thank goodness we’ve got the van! It’s a bit slower, noisier and smellier, but it goes, and that’s the main thing.
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I’m a star of the silver screen!
Making me look glamorous My next day’s work didn’t quite go to plan either. I’d agreed to be interviewed at the Roque. I wasn’t sure what they were filming, but I had a book to promote, and if I couldn’t promote the book, maybe I could promote the island. At worst, I’d get some practice in at being a media whore. So I dutifully set off with a selection of my working…
I don’t like Mondays
Here’s what was supposed to happen this morning:I was going to sleep until about 8, have a leisurely breakfast, and leave for the Roque at about 9 to show a group of students from Suffolk university around the observatory until about 4pm. I’ve enjoyed the group in previous years, and since it’s all day the money’s nice too. Besides, this year I was rather hoping to sell them some books….
My books missed the boat
Literally. The lorry with 300 copies of my guide book in Spanish “Una espectacular ventana al universo: guía del observatorio astrofisico del Roque de los Muchachos” arrived at Cadiz docks on Saturday 9th March, shortly after the boat to Tenerife left. And they sat on the docks waiting for the next boat until Thursday. So they didn’t make it in time for comet watching on the night of Saturday 16th,…
Pope Francisco
Update: This quote is a hoax. I apologise for spreading it. There’s an interesting quote from Jorge Bergoglio (yup, the new pope) published in the newspaper Telam Argentina on June 4, 2007 flying around the internet in Spanish. “Las mujers son naturalmente ineptas para ejercer cargos politicos.” “El Orden natural y los hechos nos enseñan que el hombre es el ser politico por excelencia; las estricturas nos demuestran que la…
A weekend break – part 2
Whenever I’m in El Hierro I tend to wake up early and go for a walk before breakfast, then meet up with my friend later. This time, I was tired enough to wake up late and stagger to meet her at 10 am, although my hip had improved enough that I could walk along the flat at almost normal speed. My friend knew a couple of teenagers who are interested…