Author: sheona

I’ve just read in Le Figaro that a lady from Antibes  won over four and a half million euros on a slot-machine in the casino La Sieste at Antibes yesterday afternoon.  Apparently there is a system now linking the slot machines of various casinos in the same group and this is not the first multi-million euro jackpot.  I presume it didn’t cascade all over the lady’s feet.

I’ve never been into that casino.  In fact the only time we have ventured into such a place was at San Remo.  We wanted to see the James Bond type glamour.  The only part of the casino open at that time was the slot-machine room, a dark, dingy, stuffy place, decorated in shades of brown.  Husband got out his camera to record the total lack of glamour and immediately a couple of heavies appeared and requested that he desist.  They then escorted us off the premises. The children think it highly amusing that Mum and Dad got thrown out of a casino, as if we were about to break the bank or something. I found out later that there was an underworld dispute over control of various casinos along the Italian Riviera, so perhaps we were thought to be spies for the opposition.

Perhaps next time we’re in Monaco I’ll fight my way through the Ferraris and Lamborghinis in Casino Square to see if the atmosphere in that casino is any pleasanter.

I was quite upset yesterday to read about the devastation cause by heavy rain and mudslides in the World Heritage site of the Cinque Terre in Italy.  Just two years ago we spent a very pleasant week there staying in the village of Manarola.  Our hotel was situated just 400 metres from the station, but those metres were almost vertical. Getting to what became our favourite restaurant, Da Billy, provided good cardiovascular exercise.

Four of the five villages are tucked into coves along a short stretch of coastline.  Each has made its living from fishing and from cultivating the very steep slopes behind.  The fifth village, Coneglia, is perched on a clifftop, two hundred and something steps up from the coastal footpath and its railway station.

Continue reading “The Cinque Terre”

I did say to Christina some time ago that I would think of her when in the Tatras mountains this summer.  The High Tatras are a relatively small part of the Carpathian Mountains and form the border between Slovakia and Poland.  There are several small resorts along the slopes, some of which used to be very fashionable in the days of the Austro-Hungarian empire with wide pavements and shops with elegant verandas.  Now it is a ski region in winter and a walkers’ paradise when the snow disappears.  Her Majesty visited this area a few years ago on her state visit to Slovakia and Slovenia.

Our first outing started with the funicular, inaugurated by HM,  from Stary Smokovec to Hriebinoc at about 1300 metres.  Lots of trails cross there and it is pleasant walking country, though mist and cloud can descend very quickly and you have to be vigilant.

Continue reading “Some mountains for Christina”

Today’s Le Figaro had a link to this website:

http://www.slaveryfootprint.org/

You are supposed to answer questions to find out how many “slaves” you have working for you.  Apart from all the complaints that this does not work on many browsers and that you have to insert an American zip code before you can answer the  questions,  my complaint is that the politically-correct Yanks who dreamed this up cannot differentiate between slaves and poorly paid workers.  We know that slavery is still widespread in the Arab world and parts of Africa. But those who work in sweatshops, often in insalubrious conditions, usually get paid some sort of pittance.

I got onto the survey using Google Chrome, but the whole thing was so badly laid out that I gave up.  But in trying to make consumers feel bad, these Americans are going about  things the wrong way.  Workers may be earning very little, but would they prefer to be unemployed and earning nothing?  I doubt it. Why not attack the real slave trade instead of the soft target of western consumers?

I’ve just been reading an e-mail from an old friend who is going to a wedding this weekend.

It’s an eco-wedding to be held in the open air in Scotland. But the accommodation available at this eco-hostel is either an eight-bed bunkhouse,  which might be fine if everyone is very friendly, or some sort of Swedish tent with a sleeping platform and cooking space.

It got me wondering just what my response would be if invited to such an event.  To what extent should the bride and groom impose their ideas on their guests, especially in my native land with its variable weather?  We are now accustomed to bridal parties forking out to attend ceremonies on Caribbean beaches, but at least there is generally a hotel involved.

Both our nieces in America had different weddings:  one in Tudor costume with Apache prayers, which don’t seem to have worked since they’re now divorced, and the other on the top of a hill in Colorado, which involved a fairly stiff climb.  Thankfully both were in termtime, so we had a readymade excuse.

But I think if we were invited to such an eco-friendly do, I would follow my friend’s example.  She’s insisted on staying in the nearest four-star hotel, at the risk of being considered antisocial.

Reading Janus’s post mentioning the African Queen reminded me of our two visits to the Neusiedlersee in Austria this summer. This lake is the only steppe lake in Europe outside of Russia. It is fed by rainfall and some springs, but has no river or streams running into it and only one small stream running out of it at the Hungarian end. So it is in fact a very large puddle, sometimes known as Austria’s seaside, with massive reed beds.

Our first visit was to Podersdorf, a pretty little resort on the eastern shore. It is the only settlement that has direct access to the lake with no reed beds and has beaches, a little pier and lots of cafes and restaurants, where you can try the lake fish, char, pike, carp and smoked eel.

Continue reading “A big puddle”

I note that there is currently a scramble for university places following the A level results yesterday. I was reading the dead-tree version of DT yesterday while on the ferry back to Dover and there was an entire supplement devoted to places still available, though most of them were at the third-rate former polys. To begin with I found it quite amusing to think some students waste time and money on Accommodation Management. Then I discovered that you could do a degree in Embroidery at Nottingham Trent – a skill I learned at my mother’s knee, along with Knitting. It reminded me of the rude slogans shouted by the students of the University of Nottingham whenever they had a match against Trent, according to my son.

After a short while the entertainment value wore off – round about Greenkeeping, I think – and I was simply sad to see what Blair had reduced our education system to. An absolute travesty!

I’m quite tempted to phone up Trent to ask at what stage of the course they introduce the hard bits like chain stitch or french knots.

Another beautiful waterside village recently visited is Hallstatt in Austria.  There are traces of human habitation there dating back 7000 years.  Hallstatt is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and because it is situated on a very narrow piece of land between the lake and the mountains, acess is restricted.  Vehicular access is through a tunnel which brings you into Hallstatt Lahn and you then need a sworn affidavit that you have hotel accommodation booked to be given access to Hallstatt Markt, via a very narrow little street.

 

Continue reading “Hallstatt”

I  don’t understand this item:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14245568

Why would Australia want to accept 4,000 uninvited guests in exchange for getting rid of 800?  And why would such a deal give Gilliard a “boost”?

Bewildered of Bratislava.