Betwixt goes Barmy in Barça!
Travelling all by train this trip (for some late summer sun and visits in France natch, Dear Reader), St Pancras at 5.30 am has a lot of grumpy staff. “Take it out”. What, sorry? “Your passport.” I don’t understand. “It’s in a holder” (a sliver of a sleeve actually). Oh, ok. (Sighs ensue and she examines my face at great length as I’m clearly wanted by Interpol in 74 countries for Hermesetas Trafficking).
STAMP. “Next!!”. At least at security they lured me into removing my belt. Oh well.
It’s 6.25 am and my train is about to board. I must say, I’m glad I restarted flying….
Still it’s Standard Premier all the way so I get a free bun…..
MEGALOMANIACAL TAPE PHENOMENON (MTP)
Yup….Stations now employ MTP dictators who can change the queuing route of passengers with a single whoosh.. scary this is but nothing compared with the St Pancras Travelator Operatives who can switch off yer journey to platform with the push of a large red button. They did. I walked.
Still three trains later I arrive in my holiday destination part one Sitges a small fishing village south of Barcelona which I have been visiting since 1985. Only now, it’s 92.4% British and overwhelmed or “Homogenised” by Brit Gay Folk of a certain age (clue: the young’uns are mid 40s)….
Today it stopped raining (yesterday my balcony was awash with puddle)…. I’ve always retreated here for calm and peaceful beach days and gentle bar patter. That’s now replaced by hordes of tattle and bitchery….the occasional Brit Drag Artiste and bar staff who scarcely remember the nearly 40 yrs I’ve popped down here….even leaving the beach today for a poo pint and pintxo, I find my favourite mini tapas (pintxo) location is “closed for the holidays”.
Ah well, it’s Santa Tecla (the patron saint of keyboard players) festa menor closing tonight so it’s fun fireworks and four thousand young Catalonians throwing fireworks at you in the street. Hopefully I’ll wake up tomorrow morning not deafer than I currently am and staring at a half eaten empañada (mini Cornish Pasty) and untouched San Miguel beer as I did today.
Still my friends are all having a ball and I’ll try to keep up (though I’m sure they’d rather I holidayed in Skegness).
More soon then it’s Deux Visites En France avant de Mon retour à Sarf Lunnen.