“I have spread my dreams under your feet; tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”

The Clothes of Heaven – W B Yeats 1899

Barcelona. 8th March 2020

I should have been out there with my camera. I should be covering this. BUT, all I can think about is Ricki. Did he get his test? Yes, he did. At about 10:00am. What will it show?………………………………

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Zaragoza. 7th March 2020

Just as there were no Coronavirus measures for my journey from Barcelona Sants to Zaragoza Delicias, there were none on the return journey either.

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Zaragoza. 6th March 2020

“Because his symptoms are Coronavirus-like and because he’s been to Singapore recently, the GP won’t see us……………”

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Zaragoza. 3rd March 2020

The apartment is in the old part of the city and is literally at the back of what, to me, is one of the most striking, and slightly perplexing, churches in Zaragoza.

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Barcelona. 2nd March 2020

Experience the vibrant streets of Barcelona through the lens of Ziggy Photography. Capturing the essence of the city on 2nd March 2020. Don’t miss this captivating visual journey.

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Barcelona. 18th February 2020

Today, Florian has set a meeting with one of his employees, Pol Vidal. Florian also emailed me, via Marga, a list of planned demonstrations (aka la manifestacion).

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Barcelona. 9th February 2020

Florian and Marga are having Sunday lunch with her parents. Isa is going too because she is considered to be part of the family. Marga has, very kindly, invited me to join them.

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Toulouse. 5th February 2020

Today, I felt a bit claustrophobic so, in the late afternoon, I went into town. I had nothing specific in mind, I even left my camera behind, I just needed to get out and see people.

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Toulouse. 1st February 2020

I continued with my exploration of Toulouse………….and stumbled into yet another demo. Which seemed intent on following me wherever I went.

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Toulouse. 31st January 2020

About half way through the three hour plus journey, four cops (or was it five, I can’t be sure because, even though I only saw them in groups of four, I’m sure that it wasn’t the same four guys) boarded……..

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Neuilly-sur-Marne. 24th January 2020

It’s my last day with Denis and the girls and I must say, I’m going to miss them and this place. I’ve tried my best to get them to socialise a bit and I think that it may have worked.

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Neuilly-sur-Marne. 21st January 2020

My time in Neuilly-sur-Marne is nearly over and I still want to get a photo of the café that I went to on my first day here. There’s something decidedly aggressive about that place,

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Paris. 18th January 2020

Went into Paris again today. This time I wanted to see the Latin Quarter, Montparnase, the Left Bank and, the Jewish Memorial behind Notre Dame. So, instead of going to my usual stop of Auber, I got off at Chatelet-les-Halles.

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Neuilly-sur-Marne. 16th January 2020

We are all human. We all deserve respect and civility. Be polite. Be friendly. Be genuine. Be human. That’s all that is required of any of us. Just be a real human being, just like everybody else is a real human being.

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Paris. 14th January 2020

Went to a Pension Protest in Paris. Again, getting there was easy. Walked to Neuilly Plaisance train station, caught the train to Auber, crossed the River Seine at Pont de la Concorde……

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Paris. 11th January 2020

Getting into Paris was as easy as I’d hoped it would be. There is a bus stop right outside the house and busses from this stop go straight to Neuilly Plaisance, which is where the train station is.

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Calais. 2nd January 2020

I’m leaving Calais tomorrow and I still haven’t done my laundry. Not sure if Geoff will call today but, either way, I need to get this done.

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Calais. 1st January 2020

Spent New Year’s Day in my crappy little hotel room. Apart from a quick trip to Artisan Boulanger. On the way back, I bumped into Verniece outside Ibis Style hotel.

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Calais. 31st December 2019

New Year’s Eve and everything is closed by 05:00pm. Rue Royale is like a ghost town. Even the Family Pub closed at about 02:00pm. I go out searching for something to eat. Of course, Artisan Boulanger doesn’t let me down.

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Calais. 30th December 2019

Ever since I arrived in Calais, I’ve seen the same old woman, up and down Rue Royale, begging and generally scavenging. The other day, I saw her with a wooden tray of fruit and veg that a local shop was probably going to throw away.

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Calais. 28th December 2019

I was in the Family Pub a couple of days ago and saw a young couple having a dish that looked very interesting and yummy. So, I asked the waitress what it was. Not Andrea, there are three waitresses at the Family Pub. All really nice.

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Calais. 27th December 2019

Sitting outside the Family Pub having my morning coffee and cigarette when I see Nick rushing past, heading towards Calais town centre. Thought about calling out to him but, no sooner had the thought registered…

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Calais. 25th December 2019

Back in the early 1980’s, I used to come to France fairly regularly. At least once every two or three months. There were three things that I noticed from my first trip and that have stayed with me ever since.

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Calais. 22nd December 2019

Yesterday had been a steel grey day but the weather forecast had told me that it wasn’t going to rain so, I had gone out with my camera to capture some moody shots of Calais.

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Calais. 19th December 2019

It’s afternoon and, as usual, I’m sitting outside at the Family Pub. I’m having a coffee and a fag and reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman (awesome book – way better that I expected).

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Calais. 16th December 2019

Andrea works at the Family Pub. She’s in her early 20’s, quite pretty, friendly and – most importantly – speaks English……ish.

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Calais. 15th December 2019

I’ve discovered something rather strange in the last few months. The idea first came to me when I was in Cyprus. At the time, I thought that it was because I was IN Cyprus.

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Dover. 13th December 2019

Ten years ago, I came up with a somewhat dubious plan. I had just lost my beloved mother so, perhaps, formulating any strategies about my long-term future wasn’t the best thing for me to be doing at the time.

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