HOW was your weekend? We
had rain! Wonderful, life-giving, crop-saving rain after a year of drought. I
did spare a thought for the visitors who thought they were escaping bad
weather, but then it didn’t rain everywhere,
or constantly, and it was warm rain.
HAVE you ever wondered
what item is most often left at HOME by HOLIDAY-MAKERS? Passport? Essential
medicines? HAIR-DRYER? Nope – what they usually forget to bring along is HALF
AN OUNCE of common-sense.
I HAVE waited for my
own visitors in Airport Arrivals often enough to be able to distinguish between
the two-week-tourist and the returning resident – the tourists are HAULING the
biggest suitcases. When you see them going home a fortnight later, burnt a
painful red and peeling like gum-trees in autumn, you can tell that the women
spent their entire holiday in bikinis or strappy dresses, and the men never
wore shirts. So why did they HUMP along 20 kilos of luggage each?
HEALTH INSURANCE is
something else they don’t think about. Accidents do HAPPEN, and even if they’re
not fit to fly home, they can’t stay in their HOTEL room – it’s been let to
someone else. HOW will they pay for their extended stay? And who pays the
HOSPITAL bills?
HAZARDOUS sports are
another thing. People who wouldn’t dream of HANG-GLIDING over the gently rolling
HILLS of Sussex leap HEEDLESSLY off the precipitous cliff-faces of Tenerife. I
have watched, HEART in mouth, from a roof-top in Arona while a HELICOPTER
searched for a glider who had misjudged the wind.
Then there were the two
young men who HIRED a HARLEY and rode off on this powerful motorbike to explore
while their girl-friends shopped. When the boys failed to appear that night a
search was started, but it took two days to find them. The bike had left the
road and fallen into a barranco. It ploughed a path through some shrubs which
closed behind it, HIDING the young men. Two days, lying badly injured and
without water, in this climate – they didn’t stand a chance.
And to add to this
warning – the local papers are reporting that such foolhardiness is going to be
costly – anyone who undertakes a dangerous sport without due precautions is
going to have to pay for being rescued.
HALF-ARSED PARENTING
My daughter and
son-in-law both work in the tourist industry. HE is a resort manager, and has
so many HAIR-RAISING tales that they deserve their own book – maybe he’ll write
it after he’s retired! She is a sun-care advisor and visits hotels on a rota,
giving a brief chat by the pools and selling Aloe Vera products. One day the pool
guy brought her a screaming toddler and she used her microphone to ask for its
parents. No response, so Reception checked passports and located the room. The
door was wide open, Security found the child’s dummy which quietened it down,
but no-one was there. TWO HOURS LATER the parents came back. They’d left their
baby asleep in the hotel room and GONE SHOPPING. Beggars belief, doesn’t it?
HURSTPIERPOINT is the
village in West Sussex where we used to live, and where many of my family still
do. When I win the lottery I am going back there to be a round-the-corner Nan!
Ah yes, holiday weather.
ReplyDeleteIn Dorset we've been lucky - only today looks like it will stay wet.
Oh I live in West Sussex in Horsham, not too far from Hurstpierpoint.
ReplyDeleteSussex is a beautiful county.
Hi Liz!
ReplyDeleteI do wonder how much time you spend each day on your cracking A - Z blogs.
Well I regular walk past the take off spot for the men & women who launch them selves into space. For most of them it seems easy but I guess there will always be the foolhardy.
I really do agree that those who require rescue etc after being ill prepared & just plain stupid should contribute to the cost of the service.
We lived in Worthing for a year & had friends in Hurstpierpoint but that was 30 years ago.
It's raining in Devon as well.
*Embarrassed* Ahem. I'm afraid I am the worst at taking HUGE suitcases anywhere. i do have a lot to take apart from clothes, medical stuff etc, but I also always have one thing for warm and one thing for cold weather for every day of the trip. I hate being too hot or too cold! I hate wearing day old clothes. I'm a bit fussy. I'd rather build my muscles up!
ReplyDeleteLiz - except on rainy days, which happen about three times a year, one can rinse out clothes at bedtime and have them dry by morning. Who needs more than two changes? :D
ReplyDeleteraining in Liverpool, but I like the rain and we need it at the moment, so bring it on :)
ReplyDelete"Half an ounce of common sense" that really puts it all together. I haven't done that kind of traveling and would not have considered the types of tales you told. Leaving your child ANYWHERE at that age while you do ANYTHING else requires an additional half ounce of stupidity. (shakes her head)
ReplyDeleteThis was an informative post, thank you!
Half-arsed parenting was my favorite. Seems to be too many parents like that!
ReplyDeleteGreat choices of word, Liz!