Indian Odyssey #dreamdiary 210

I’m in an Indian city. There’s much to explore. We’ve just had our breakfast and we’re exploring an old library. There’s a vertical concrete cone that just goes down below, at the bottom is a giant ceramic vase. It looks as if it’s a set-up for a video game and that I should attempt to slide down the cone to see what’s inside. Adjacent to this is a staircase for an ancient library. Inside, we buy souvenir mugs which aren’t wrapped but placed into a plastic bag. We ascend the stairs to see a balcony of colour. It’s the rooftops of a modern marketplace, of which there are beautiful decorations adorned and painted with idols of the Hindu gods. I drop my carrier bag in amazement. I peer inside and one of the mugs is smashed into pieces. There’s not much I can do about that other than purchase another one on the way back. We spend the rest of the afternoon browsing souvenir shops and restaurant menus.

Floresta Apartments

A nice but busy place to stay, but at times it was a bit of a battery farm. Reception was clean but we could have been aided by a second receptionist to check us in. Our room was surprisingly spacious and comfortable, but it took us a while to open the prison-style steel door. We were lucky enough to have a sea view, but our ground floor patio didn’t seem to be fenced off. The wi-fi was also limited during busy periods. We had just enough time to take dinner on arrival where protective staff patrol the area and are more concerned with guarding tableware and cleaning rather than welcoming newcomers and explaining how everything works. It’s touch and go on how hot the food is depending on when they brought out the trough, but there’s a microwave at the end to reheat your mound if desired. There’s also restaurant theme nights with cuisine from aro7nd the world as well as regular staples to cater for everyone. The pool was beautiful but it’s a shame that people reserve their sunbeds before breakfast, and as we didn’t do this on the first day we missed out. The bar is small but service is quick and most of the cocktails are pre-prepared in large plastic bottles. The pool bar food, although limited, is cooked fresh to order. There’s a great variety of evening entertainment which we tried to keep our younger party members awake so that we could see it. And there’s also a daytime activity programme for both adults and kids, though the mini golf seems to be a rushed addition. We’d probably stay again for the peaceful convenient location and amenities but might go half board instead to enjoy more of the island.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

This was an interesting film, but I can’t help but think that it was based on  a book owing to a decision to Americanise the protagonist. It’s got a good gothic style, but a bit more thought is required for plot development. Each of the characters had a hidden past and it would have been interesting to learn a bit more about how Miss Peregrine came to be. There’s no shortage on special effects though, and there’s good involvement in the real world. The list of powers suddenly seems endless, and it’s a shame that Jake’s power is a bit dull and nothing else develops, though it probably explains how he’s kept in human society. It’s enjoyable, but it’s hard to keep track of what’s what. It’s a shame that more time wasn’t spent investigating the lops since these featured heavily in the conclusion, and that Jake’s father is suddenly abandoned and forgotten about.

The Truth about Loss

There’s lots of different types of loss. The more significant it is, the harder it is to cope. It all depends on how much you rely upon the item or person that’s lost. And the effort required to replace it or them and if that’s possible. It might be a handy item or tool that you’ve misplaced in the house. You might not need it at this particular moment but you’d like to find it or know where it is for next time. In the meantime, you can put the task off completely, use a different tool or borrow or purchase another one. Then there’s important things like keys, phones and wallets. Again, there are ways around these and they can also be replaced but you really want to find them for your piece of mind. Panic can set in if you don’t know where they are as they could have been taken from you. And you’ll have to undertake a series of tasks to secure or replace them.

Backend of a Heist #dreamdiary 209

I’m at a social club on a motorbike. I’ve had to buy tickets for my mother who wants to attend a charity quiz night. On the way home, I notice two teenagers on the dual carriageway who are also on motorbikes racing each other. I decide to catch up with them to see if I can beat them. There’s something happening as a lorry has pulled onto the hard shoulder and two cars are coming at me on the wrong side of the road. Once I’ve got around the hazards, I accelerate where the wind somehow catches up with me and lifts me up, and I manage to land in an adjacent field. My belongings are scattered about a bit, and I notice that the police have arrived to pick up bits of paper. Upon examining them, I realise that they’re £20 notes. I try and cram some into my wallet, then when I’m spotted gathering them up, I bring the ones that I’m holding in sight over to the police officer. 

A Warming Return

Here, we followed a footpath north-east alongside the river Arrow where it began to get a bit muddy. The path carried along the banks before reaching a mill pond. We continued until we reached the main road marked by a tile, then turned left. We continued along the road until we reached the roundabout, then took the first eft which took us straight back into the village. This wasn’t the most imaginative way to get back, but it was the driest. Fortunately, we had dry clothes back at the car. Heading south, we passed back underneath the motorway until we entered an area of modern built-up detached housing. Some of it was separated by hedgerows. We passed the school then arrived back outside the pub. We were shown inside to the lounge where two tables had been set aside for us to be socially distant while remaining in the same room.

Is life in the UK as bad as people are saying? I've heard of so much negativity about it, and I don't know why. Some people make it sound like hell and keep claiming that the UK has become just like a third-world country.

It depends upon who you talk to. Inflation is never-ending which makes it hard for independent businesses to thrive. We’re on an island which relies on a lot of imports including food because the global market is cheaper than the cost of creating our products. People who have seen all of these problems evolve over the years are naturally going to compare it to how things were. There’s a lot more people and there’s the same number of resources. Too many different people are trying to make changes and it’s not working out. There’s a lot of people struggling to cope with rates rising. But it’s not exactly a war-torn country. Some people are still able to do very well out of it. People can get stuff paid by the taxpayer, especially if they’ve made it across by boat and have a family. But there’s still some beautiful and unique places to see.