Georgia on my mind

I thought I might have used this headline as far back as 2007, because 15 years ago I was also in Bordeaux to watch Georgia play in a Rugby World Cup final. On that occasion they played against Ireland, and really should have won...... check out the entry here

This time they were playing Fiji, and once again they gave a good account of themselves  and very nearly fashioned a win with the last move of the match. At the final whistle both teams were collapsed across the length of the pitch as they had given their all in oppressive heat, as has been the case over Southern Europe for some time.

The match was played at the new football stadium which we travelled to by tram. I must say if I was building a new city somewhere, I would definitely model the tram system on the one in use in Bordeaux. From the airport it is about 35 minutes into the town centre. All the lights give priority to the tram over the cars, and there really are not too many of those compared with other major cities. On exiting the ground after the match, we were on a tram within 20 minutes with another 30 minutes until we arrived back in the city centre.

We went to the seaside on Sunday, Acheron, about 45 minutes on the train, where they have the largest sand dune in Europe. We did not scale it although there were maintained pathways to the top, but on our return to Bordeaux, there were two large cruise ships in port, mirroring once again our experiences all those years ago.

So after three days of good food, company and alcohol, we are back in Blighty where it is wet and windy. Plus ca change!! 

Smoking can damage your health

Hmmm, cut off from the rest of the world as we seem to be at the moment, I can't help but imagine the disruption it is causing further down the supply chain.

My brother-in-law was due to fly to Delhi yesterday, en route to the Himalayas to climb K2 or some similar high peak. He was unable to go and at this stage is unsure whether a reschedule will be possible. He is frustrated, but think of the Sherpa's who are on standby to help, and the whole infrastructure over there that is dependent on mountaineers coming from Europe. They are their lifeline to a reasonable standard of living, and they are losing out.

Maxines parents nearly booked a last minute cruise last week. They would not have been able to make the flight to Athens to pick up the ship. What happens in that situation, does the ship sail half full, or less? Do they lay off half the staff for the duration of the cruise? Imagine the effect of a half full cruise liner arriving at various ports where the people survive on the back of t-shirt and souvenir sales. It could last a couple more months.

The flip side of the coin sees members of the 1st Rifle brigade stranded in Lisbon on their way back from Afghanistan. They are no doubt glad to be safe, but separated once more from their family and friends, just when they anticipated some R & R. (none of that in Lisbon then eh?....ed)

Airlines face crippling losses particularly when they need to accommodate their clients for extra days, and hoteliers will struggle to account for the lost revenue from tourists unable to travel to their destination of choice.

And what of my GPS system which I sent back to the States to get repairs.....will it be coming by sea or do UPS have contingency plans for such events....it will be interesting to see. We are away ourselves in a couple of weeks, hopefully Eyjafjallajokull has run its course now and not woken up its big sister Katla. If she gets grumpy we could be stranded for weeks.