California Wildfires
sometimes all you have left is prayer
Here in England we almost never get wildfires, instead we sometimes have devastating floods, and every few years a hell of a lot of snow. Sadly, my friends out on the USA’s West Coast are in real physical danger from the bush fires burning out of control through California, Oregon, and Washington State.
The fire services are doing the very best they can, and President Trump is due to visit California tomorrow to see for himself the scale of destruction. But when fires even threaten the freeways and interstate highways, things are obviously our of control. Some of the fires may have been caused by arson, or smokers casually discarding their butts, or by electrical faults, or even lightning. But they have spread so far and wide because of a 20 year mega-drought.
The only thing that will end these fires is heavy rain. And all the rest of the world can offer is our thoughts and prayers.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
perhaps now it is time to pray for heavy rain in Southern California
Scenes on Sunday ~ Desert
when you’re in the desert, you look into infinity
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
big wide horizons out there
Scenes on Sunday ~ Oludeniz
some places were made for relaxing vacations
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
a nice pool helps when it’s 100 in the shade
Vacation Thoughts
I’m busy doing nothing, working hard at finding things not to do.
The view from my balcony ~ the water is really warm
A vacation in Turkey has a lot going for it. Nice hotels, brilliant blue skies, great food, not having to do anything I don’t want to do. And it’s really good value for money. Today I had a great lunch in a nice beach restaurant ~ about $7.50 all in.
And last night I slept like a hibernating teddybear.
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Jack Collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
a twin room is fine if you’re travelling alone
Vacation Hiatus
vacations are a break from our usual activities
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As you get to read this I will be preparing to get aboard an aluminium tube that’s going to take me a couple of thousand miles from Newcastle upon Tyne to Dalaman in Turkey.
The chances are I will be too busy doing nothing to write anything on this blog until my return to the garret.
I will be taking some cool photographs I’ll post later.
Have a great time while I’m away.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
in my absence Marmaduke will be looking after the garret
Tunes on Tuesday ~ Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Zulus to the Southwest ~ thousands of ’em
In all the turbulent history of the Natal in Southern Africa, one thing stands out, the respect the British have for the wider Zulu nation. I think this is a fabulous track. Tremendous bass baritones.
The town of Ladysmith on the Klip River in Natal also has a special place in British history.
The Ladysmith Black Mambazo featured prominently on the Paul Simon Album ‘Graceland’.
Please listen with respect.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Zulu singers at Drakensberg Mountains
Monochrome Monday ~ The Beehive State
you go to Utah to get away from people
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Wasatch Mountains
Vacation Travel Chaos
the longest journey starts with the first step
at least we can still do our 10,000 steps a day
There is no quick resolution to the COVID-19 chaos that is affecting airlines, tour operators, hotels, and whole countries around the world. Yesterday the government in England, via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, exempted some countries from its advice that we British should avoid any but essential overseas travel.
There is a list of these exempted countries ~ it’s fairly useless. No matter what the Government says here, these countries all have their own rules, which in some cases prevent people who have recently been to England from entering ~ hopefully pro tempore. In some cases there are no commercial flights anyway.
The full Department of Transport list can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors
But beware, Cyprus, Greece, and Malta will not let UK nationals in without a test, lots of documentation, a 14 day quarantine, (or at all), there are no flights to the Seychelles, Portugal doesn’t seem to exist any more, & etc. & etc.
Places I think I could travel to in the near future are Italy, Spain, Turkey. Not really an extensive list of holiday Destinations is it? France is definitely off the list of places to go, and large parts of Spain are under lockdown again. There’s always Gibralter, and maybe Morocco.
My best advice is to contact a reputable tour company and airline ~ and then do lots of on-line research before booking anything.
Or stay at home for another couple of weeks.
Sadly, if you are in the USA, you can’t go anywhere, and nobody can come to visit you. Perhaps you may be able to travel by Thanksgiving, or Christmas.
Have a nice Independence Day.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Doom and Gloom when it comes to travel to or from the USA, or anywhere within America either
Getting Away From It All
thus the fear of danger is ten thousand times more powerful than the peril itself
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The news here is England is crazy, which is not actually the mood of the country but rather the hysteria of the newsmakers and reporters themselves.
Factories lie idle, stores are closed, the very fabric of England lied rotting in the unseasonal June mist and cold rain.
Meanwhile those supposedly in charge are supine before mob rule by a minority of disaffected youths and opportunists, none of whom deserve the name of Englishman. Their latest target is Sir Winston Churchill, without whose steadfast courage they could well be living in a totalitarian German vassal state. These stupid people make me sick.
I have a friend who is going to live in Missouri. Seems I could by a decent parcel of land there for chump change. All I would need out there is a vehicle, a building supplies store, and some tools.
It’s cool to know that when it comes to self-reliance I am several steps up from Robinson Crusoe.
Some say that Black Lives Rule. And that justifies tearing down and negating statues of everyone who made Great Britain Great. All I know is I’m glad I can live anywhere I want to.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
some may see a ruin
I see a project
Scenes on Sunday ~ Pacific Ocean
out to the west of me the sun is going down
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
shadows on silk as the night rolls in
