This might give an idea of how hot it is – Stonehenge, England
Today one man and his wife start their walk to raise money for strangers many miles away.
It’s hot and it’s humid in England – the Istanbul side of warm – but that won’t stop them. As the rest of us flop in the shade they are off on their 142 mile walk. The route is from one side of the country to the other, and the aim is to raise money for those upturned by Zimbabwe’s waves of chaos.
Trafalgar Square, London
A week ago the United Kingdom was full of hope and politics. Now, after the general election result, the politics goes on but there’s one big question: how do we get out of this?
We knew there would be a muddle, but I don’t think we ever imagined it would be quite so complicated.
Storms threaten
The United Kingdom is on its way … but where to? The future looks complicated, and the present is far more serious than we would like it to be.
A new neighbourhood –
Cilento, Italy
The next stage of our journey is from Castellabate to Roccagloriosa in the south of Cilento.
We follow an autostrada that dives through the wilderness in long strides, with off-piste loops for roadworks. The further we travel the more unspoilt the valleys to either side. Signs, baked by the summer heat, warn us about ice.
The coastline below Castellabate in Cilento in the south of Italy
A weekend in July, too hot to sit still … but … where to go? The north is too far and the south too scorched, so we settle on next door – Cilento.
Can’t claim brilliant local knowledge for the choice, rather over-indulgence … too many viewings of Benvenuti al Sud.
A well-thumbed copy of In Europe by Geert Mak
Europe is agitated and restless – it always has been.
In Europe, by the Dutch journalist and historian Geert Mak, gives a century of context to today’s anxieties. It looks at the hundred years before the millennium, and through this window reveals the troubled heart of today’s Europe.
Django in Campania (near Naples, Italy)
He romped through our lives for over a decade RIP
Apologies for the silence. It has been a hectic fortnight of family, friends and farewells. I shall be back at my desk tomorrow.
