Desert Blooms

 

Our own Desert Blooms

Sitting on Lawrence’s rock ( as in Lawrence of Arabia ) in Wadi Rum , Jordan , I could admire the dramatic sight of acres of desert sand interspersed with rock towers ; similar to Monument  Valley, USA . This was an especially famous rock as it was adjacent to Lawrence’s spring , well more like a dribble ! In his time it was a strategically important site , being a watering point for men and camels whilst outflanking the Turks confined to their railway . Lawrence had to travel light , with small water bag, larger bag of flour ; weight rationed to carry sufficient tools of war. ; all on camels . Heat forces a slower pace of life , giving time to reflect  , and camels did little damage to the deserts fragile ecosystem . 

That was then ;  we arrived in grotesquely large 4X4 ‘s which , whilst providing an exhilarating , and cool, drive across the sand dunes , totally destroyed any nascent  vegetation. With spring rains , undisturbed desert busts into bloom from seemingly nothing . That is where the Bedouin’s goats hadn’t eaten what little exists . To prove a point , and burnish their ‘ green ‘ credentials ; a large tract of the Jordan Valley’s hillside had been fenced off to form a nature reserve ( Dana ) . We had a particular insight as a family member produced a business plan for them ; and we stayed overnight in comfortable accommodation to admire the results . Buzzards circled overhead doing the same , but expecting to eat the by-products . 

Closer to home , in Argeles , large areas of the sand dunes have been fenced off ( to prevent human damage ) ; the result is a wildlife paradise of grasses populated by birds . A marked contrasted to the area inhabited by the tourists . A small part of the beach at Empuriabrava has been similarly demarcated and subsequently nature has returned . Man’ footprint on nature can be catastrophically large.  

Meanwhile our dry garden ‘s cactus’s have produced some spectacular blooms this year . I wonder if that is the result of our near desert climate over the last winter . Is this what the future holds ? 

Wildlife returns

To its reconstructed habitat 

Rain

 

 Nature’s tease, it looks close but actually the rain is falling in the next country.

 

 Rain , or rather the lack of it , is a pressing issue in this corner of France ; as well as other areas of the world ; but they haven't yet impinged on our daily lives.  We are in a RED zone for water restrictions , with no other severity of restriction left …apart from  actually cutting it off. Three local rural villages have recently had to endure that, after their local supplies dried up , and whilst waiting for new pipelines . 

For us it is a bit surreal , as the impact has so far been minor for most ; apart that is for the agriculturers . I know we are not allowed to top up our swimming pools , but the pool police seem to be otherwise engaged . Oh,  and that top up rule only applies to private pools ; the enormous campsite water guzzlers are exempt; you can also FILL a newly constructed pool. It is difficult to take in the seriousness of the drought rules with those sort of exemptions.  

But , we are taking it seriously . Last year two heavily armed cops turned up to inspect that our solar panel installation complied with the rules …it is on the roof ? …; then maybe if their attention turned to drought rules we ought to be seen to comply ; especially as we are part of the non-french community i.e.  immigrants , in a national front stronghold. For the pool , first step is to conserve what we have . So the cover only comes off for a few hours a day to permit swimming . The cover prevents water loss through evaporation . Then we upgraded that cover from transparent to black bubble wrap , to keep out the sun light thus reducing algae growth;  which in turn substantially reduces water loss through frequent backwashing of the sand filters . To provide water for top up, we have fitted water butts piped into the pool . The posh name “ rain water harvesting “ ; but of course this only works if it rains. 

So back to that rare commodity , rain . “ In  detail, only 131 mm of water fell in Perpignan in just over six months against 405 mm on average, the equivalent of the driest year ever recorded in the Catalan city since 1974-75 with 130.7 mm , for this weather station created in 1925.” I suppose that means the equally driest period on record. Now ,the population in the region has over doubled , and I expect with the vibrancy of the holiday trade , summer demand  risen exponentially . So is the drought  taken seriously ? Ah yes those restrictions .

You will see that most bans on the use of water have get outs .It would seem that there is no drought between 20.00hours and midnight . There is going to be a lot of evening water activity . I suppose the drought police will be working nights from now on . Still it shows intent , especially coupled with intensive advertising . Ah well, I visited the local tourist office and a municipal building only to be referred to go to the town hall. There weren’t even any posters inside exhorting conservation , or even on any of the bill boards around the town. Apparently all arriving tourists, who swell the population 10 fold, will some how know .

Perpignan council did announce that they would use recycled water for washing pavements . Nice and Cannes both announced the intention to introduce recycling , of sewage effluent ; but this firstly needed central government approval . Bureaucracy gone mad?  Shouldn’t they by now just have set standards so the locals just get on with it. Nearly 30 years ago ( crikey! really that long ago ),   I obtained Board approval for the urgent installation of treatment and use of sewage effluent to augment supplies to a raw water reservoir in Essex, (in which it would be substantially diluted before abstraction and further water treatment ).  After a dry winter , and faced with the potential of running out of resources , it was quickly voted through , with the enthusiastic support of the Rivers Authority.  There was no public backlash , or comment . 

So just slightly smug , I use our very own personal recycled sewage to keep our plants alive . Treatment of septic tank effluent by reed beds , sand filter and chlorination. Just as well,  as with no mains water we are on our own with well and borehole , the output of which have been steadily declining for the past 10 years plus. For us climate change has a personal dimension . This year it has also meant that the potage has been left largely uncultivated ; I cannot guarantee enough recycled water , preferring to keep expensive plants alive. 

Two weeks ago I was woken by a truly marvellous event , our very own thunderstorm complete with copious rain fall . We , agriculturers  and the firemen breathed sigh of relief . Already this year there have been 6 ( now 7 ) near-by forest fires . It may be spectacular watching the water bombing planes swooping above us ; but all the timing hoping that they will soon contain that fire . I had already brushed off our fire precautions : fire pump to put in the pool , and sprinklers around the house. However these have a fundamental weakness : personal presence to at least get them going . I suppose I will have to consider automatic pop up sprinklers with pumps and valves operated by télécommande . 

Next day , with wet woods , a crispness in the air,  I set off for a walk with little risk of being cut off by a new combustion . What an uplifting pleasure , nature and me both clean and relaxed . However our mountain streams were still dry, emphasising the moisture deficit. I crossed the River Massane which was still flowing , apparently the higher hills on the Spanish border had heavier rain . Spain itself even more , together with a local hail storm that necessitated a JCB to clear the roads. That does seem to be our story : “ the rain in Spain ..” is staying on their plain. Yesterday an enormous thunder cloud built up , but its height deceived its location ; yet again it rained in Spain .  

This evening, again the rain clouds drifted south . So to compensate for yet another rainless disappointment ,  I immersed myself in our own water , the pool temperature, with all that covering,  had reached 30C ; and its only the beginning of June . I  suppose if this drought persists , I can open it up as a communal bath for all those unwashed tourists. ;….or maybe not . I could not bring myself to spoil its’ pristine water. We have to protect our own , which may prove irreplaceable . 

Restrictions, but with get outs!

Getting ahead?

 A 50’s slogan …from the hat industry ..”If you want to get ahead get a hat “ . Well, after waiting a life time the prince became a king and finally got his hat in Westminster Abbey . A spectacle indeed , but which seemed to raise more questions on the monarchy’s future .

But, then again , I’m not a hat person , possessing very few. I suppose childhood was partly a driver for that . On entering my new school in Southport for the first time , half way through a new term, I arrived bedecked in orange and black stripped blazer complete with matching cap  , the prescribed uniform . No need for me to wear hi-viz  . The residents followed the local tradition of only wearing black . This new boy certainly stood out . The cap never saw the light of day again.

Working down sewers it was obligated to wear all the safety gear including harness and helmet.  The harness was to help rescuers in manoeuvring a body up through the tight manhole ;fortunately  an experience I never had to endure. On emerging from a Midland sewer, I found the safety helmet doubled as avoiding head wounds plus catching falling worms, one was hanging off my peak . Yuk !

But seriously , manholes and their access to confined spaces can be dangerous places .  The construction of Carsington Reservoir in the Midlands, in 1983  involved the installation of toe drains and associated access manholes. Unbeknown and unforeseen , carbon dioxide had built up as a result of the interaction of water and limestone . A workman collapsed at the bottom ; three of his mates attempted a rescue , all perished ! This was a shock to all of us at Severn Trent Water. Henceforth all confined access had to be proceeded by lowering a gas monitor.

Twenty five years later and many mile further east , safety standards had degraded. A cultural gap obvious, South Asian workmen were not so valued . Construction of deep sewers in unstable ground can only be described as risky, despite all precautions . Perversely the actual construction passed off safely, the contractor managing the obvious risks well . Gas couldn’t be seen.  It was entry into another manhole that proved fatal to the first entrant and his two rescuers . It was exasperating that, even after that , workmen would enter manholes without gas checks. I should’t have beed surprised . In India it was not unknown for employees to dive to unblock sewers.

Another continent , and a diametrically opposite approach to work place Safety. In Australia , strong sun and the hole in the ozone layer combined as a very real threat of skin cancer . You could sun bathe on Bondi beach , but turn up to work without both sun hat and sunglasses ; it was instant dismissal . The water industry is invariably outdoors, so we had our rather fetching company issued sun hats; although without corks! I left Aussie with my own kangaroo skin hat .

Tilley hats are designed as the ultimate in sun protection , and can even be quite stylish . Most are guaranteed for life; with the initial story that they would even replace one eaten by an elephant ; I assume the owner lived to file the claim . Now they are more circumspect in the terms of their guarantee. Walking in the Pyrenees, in summer, requires serious sun protection , and one that is firmly anchored in place given frequent mountain winds .  A fellow walker introduced me to the benefits of Tilley . I duly  ordered mine only to find that it had to be returned twice , with my request for an ever increasing size ; I have a long ( not big ! ) head . They returned their largest , with a note that it was also their biggest , and if not sufficient then I was on my own ! It successfully accompanies me on all mountain walks ; there are no elephants here , only the occasional bear . The hat and wearer goes on !

Age has reduced cranial coverage , thinning hair and Mediterranean sun requires that hat . Around town Tilley wearers would not be seen by self respecting partners . So I have my version  of a  Peaky Blinders hat , although without razor blades. A Ecuadorian holiday demanded something even more stylish , I couldn’t see “ our man in Havana “ in a cloth cap . The original Panama hat actually comes from Ecuador ; so in good tourist tradition , it was off to the factory . Good marketing ensured that the coffee shop was on the roof in full sun . I resisted the hats confined to a separate locked room , retailing at several thousand dollars ; but left nevertheless , with a jaunty step ; a true man about ( that ) town .   I haven’t summoned up the pizzazz to wear it here.

I was woken in the middle of the night after that coronation by our rescue farm’s very own peacocks . They are truly very noisy birds , and clearly only belong in the biggest stately home with the acres to match . It must have been a passing fox who decided he needed his very own banquet. That got me thinking : did all those guests get fed , it didn’t feature in any of the ubiquitous press coverage. Then again what happened before the event . Some of the lesser congregation must have been in the seats for over five hours . There was no obvious coming and going ; and the Abbey must have had adequate facilities , many of the guests were not in their prime! I drifted off wondering whether all that pomp and ceremony was truly relevant in today’s world and particularly that of the current UK . After all he doesn’t get to wear that hat / crown very often, it returns to the Tower ; and by the way , Modi wants his diamonds back . Perhaps he has a vision of recreating former Indian grandeur.

Look no hat !..or anything else.

Gandhi replied: "Do not worry about my clothes. The king has enough clothes on for both of us.” When he was invited to meet King George V........ nothing much has changed

Around the world in …..148 tea bags

 Around the world in … 148 tea bags ?

You can’t expect the the English man ( and woman, can’t be sexist here, ) abroad not to start the day without a cup on English breakfast tea. So when packing for a world trip , then room has to be made for at least some tea bags . As the trip involved one tea growing country , replenishment would be possible . Image our delight when after only 4 days away we discovered an international branch of our favourite ( food ) store ..Waitrose ; complete with their tea. Required case volume increased; made worse with tea purchases from the Cameron Highlands ( Malaysia ), now deemed necessary for those back home . 

A step back . So this year’s visit to family would include Kuala Lumpur and Quito which invited the exciting possibility of a circumnavigation , taking in friends and family in Australia , then a trip to the West coast of USA. This involved 10 flights with 6 different airlines all with different baggage allowances and seating options . We had tried a multi-trip ticket with one airline ( Emirates ) before  ; but they had proved remarkably inflexible to changes .Passenger stipulation was that trips over eight hours necessitated Business Class comfort . This expense was avoided by careful planning ; except  for Atlantic crossing and the absence of a suitable intermediate stop off . The Pacific distances were substantial reduced by a Honolulu vacation. 

 Packing for a 5 month( 148 days to be exact ) sojourn was not too difficult as our climatic forecasts were generally for warmth, apart from variability in San Francisco and mountain ascents in Ecuador. Then there were plenty of shopping opportunities for filling any unexpected gaps. The only stress ,managed by my packer, was making sure we had enough of our favourite pills and potions ; in the event world pharmacies were well stocked. 

Even long vacations must come to an end ; we need to preserve our post Brexit residency entitlement in France , and the house and garden cannot be left indefinitely to others . We return not only with photographic reminders , but a host of warm memories.

Rescuers 2023

Body retrieval 2022

Cotapaxi as seen from summit of cable car , but year before last . And it is smoking now… too cloudy for us!

Dog trainer par excellence ?

Beware wildlife

Fortunately we never met this one

Paper bark tree

Ah the real thing

Rose sangria in Ecuador, difficult to get in Spain!

Didn’t meet this one either.. before stuffing 

Christian opulence

Too late for this event also

Plenty of raging mountain streams

True Andeans

A posh coffee shop

The only contact with the outside world for these reclusive carmelite nuns , the rotating shelves ensures they are never seen!

This church was built in wood … to look like stone 

Central valley California , after man’s transformation 

The story of our visits , inevitably closed

G&T in Jacuzzi.. at 1500 m 

Not sure I can read too far down the list

Jungle expedition 

Houston hip wine bar … in which we were welcomed

Yep , this was a shop selling coffins

Sydney War memorial to make you think

Tsunami warning tower .  Not heard during our Hawaii visit

Coffee always

Malaysian art

Aussie beach with bathers corralled to avoid dangerous undertows 

Water supply made complicated

Their last resting places

Well there had to be one cheesy photo

A bird park now run by the birds?

Orchids galore 

Sky writer 

Kl skyline 

As if we would

Big guns , without Cher… see her video

Intrepid Amazon explores paving the way , but not for us wimps 

Naturally 

An earlier Indian memory resurrected by renewed contact

An unforgiving landscape ( updated)

 When it’s a near miss , when we had probably seen some of the now missing ; it becomes more than some      Catastrophic event on the TV . 

In thé Andes , there is very little that is flat , and the hills and river valleys are all steep. So life is lived on the slope . Add to that , road construction involves cutting into those hillsides making them even more  unstable. Oh , then there are the earthquakes and active volcanoes. ….and the rain in the wet season . This is literally life on the edge . 

Last year it was a mud slide into Quito itself which killed perhaps 20 , narrowly missing our maid here. This year it was a big landslide which we were diverted around ( see vertiginous descent). A week later it grew into something huge ,  destroying all the roads and part of the town we drove through; plus probably another twenty more Ecuadorians. More cracks have been found in the hillside , 600 families have been evacuated.

…but life goes on , and we keep our eyes on the road , not the cliff  above and the gorge below .

We could have been under that!