Still waiting!

Day 0 + 5

Again alone in the pool.  Well, guards and odds and sods, but no one else parting the waters.  Delightful.  It didn’t last and I soon found myself the slowest of the swimmers – apart that it is from an old duffer who did a version of the vertical dogpaddle that becomes the stroke of choice for those of a certain age.

I remember the times when I set myself a couple of lengths to lap a swimmer to my left or right, and now I fear that I am that lapee rather than a lapper!  Times change and they were both much, much younger than me.  Why weren’t they respectively in school and work!

I am swimming for longer – I think to justify the amount of time I spend afterwards drinking my “tea” and playing Candy Crush on my mobile phone.  I have discovered the way to play the game and that is to play it until the clearances are clearly impossible without resorting to payment and then get rid of the game from the device.  My iPad is now Candy Crush free and my mobile phone is rapidly going that way.

The sun shone again today and it was even warm enough to stretch out on the third floor – which I did.  It is getting cooler though, even I have to admit this - and autumn is in the air!

I will, however deny reality for as long as possible and my wearing of shorts and sandals will continue until the hairs on my legs freeze and my toe nails go blue.  And I will drink café con hielo until summer.

It now turns out that the alcalde (mayor) of Madrid was coached for her embarrassing speech in English to the International Olympic Committee for months before she gave it and the writing and coaching cost nearly a million euros!  I find this almost impossible to believe, except of course, I am in Spain where things like this are absolute normality and are usually lost in the tsunami of corruption which is expected. 

But things are being looked at in a little more detail thanks to the spotlight of the crisis, so the writhing, grasping and blatant theft which is daily highlighted by a growingly exasperated press must lead them to be wondering what more they have to do to get this bunch of self-seekers to pack their bags and go where they belong – behind bars.

The corruption stretches “up” to the royal family which, with the traditional greed of the very rich has show itself to be rooting around in exactly the same way as the lowest forms of political life.

Tomorrow lunch with Irene and more revision and tidying and, who knows, a little bit of sunshine too.