The volcanic cloud passed over Belgium yesterday. Today all is blue overhead but still delightfully clear of aircraft for the time being. Everyone is grounded - Gonzo was doing my head in yesterday, trying to get to Barcelona but any means possible. Escape by train through France was impossible due to the French train strike. Every hire car in Brussels was taken, except one solitary Polo for which Avis wanted 1,400 euros for 24 hours with a dropoff in Barcelona.
"Un taxi! Cuanto cuesta un taxi por Barcelona?" he shouted, panicking. I did a quick calculation on a piece of paper and held it up to him. His face crumpled, and he held his head in his hands. "Senora Gonzo no will be feliz."
"Oh I wouldn't bet on that," I replied airily. I think the problem was more likely that Senora Gonzo would not be available to provide a clean set of clothes. As a fully paid up member of the hair-tossing, foot-stamping flamenco posse, I couldn't quite remember which handbag I'd left my compassion in. I wrote the address of C&A on a piece of paper and wished him a bon weekend as I slammed the door shut.
A volcano! Who'd have thought it, here in Europe. But there are many volcanoes here, mostly extinct, but some dormant and occasionally active - Southern Italy has its fair share - Etna, Stromboli and Vesuvius to name but three - the Canary Islands is made of volcanic rock, as are most of the Greek islands, and then of course there's Iceland. The Auvergne is a totally volcanic region, and the home of Vulcania, a permanent exhibition on volcanoes and vulcanology. Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh is an extinct volcano. My friend, Belgian Baroness Ermintrude de Pétasse de Médeux (Belgian aristos always like to have two 'particules' to remind the French that they, at least, still have a monarchy), is a keen amateur vulcanologist, and returned from Hawaii last year, where she had walked on the crust of molten magma on the slopes of Kilauea, gleefully waving her blackened shoes which were still smoking. Vulcanologist Haroun Tazieff often figures in the growing list of famous Belgians, although he was Polish born and had French nationality, on the grounds that he lived in Belgium for a number of years. On that basis, I should also be considered a famous Belgian.
Famous but not really Belgian Haroun Tazieff
When I was a child I had a book by an American writer called Laura Lee Hope who wrote a series of adventures featuring four siblings, comprising two sets of twins. A sort of famous four with a twist. This one was "The Bobbsey Twins in Volcano Land" and as a result I knew about Kilauea when I was 7 or 8, as well as about Mauna Loa, the other major volcano on the Hawaiian islands, and learned a few other Hawaiian words such as a luau (a pit barbecue), a muu-muu (kind of a loose dress), and a lei (flower garland). Even at 8 I was a polyglot!
There has been much worrying of late about the number of earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, and Christian fundamentalists are muttering about the end of days and preparing for the Rapture. But there are thousands of earthquakes every day of the year. This clever website shows you where the latest ones are, how strong they were and how deep down they occurred. You can even see if there's been one in the past 24 hours. Some are so small they can't even be felt. The earth is constantly fidgeting, scratching herself, burping and farting. Every now and again she feels the need to dribble or even throw up. She's an old lady, we must forgive her her filthy habits.
"Un taxi! Cuanto cuesta un taxi por Barcelona?" he shouted, panicking. I did a quick calculation on a piece of paper and held it up to him. His face crumpled, and he held his head in his hands. "Senora Gonzo no will be feliz."
"Oh I wouldn't bet on that," I replied airily. I think the problem was more likely that Senora Gonzo would not be available to provide a clean set of clothes. As a fully paid up member of the hair-tossing, foot-stamping flamenco posse, I couldn't quite remember which handbag I'd left my compassion in. I wrote the address of C&A on a piece of paper and wished him a bon weekend as I slammed the door shut.
A volcano! Who'd have thought it, here in Europe. But there are many volcanoes here, mostly extinct, but some dormant and occasionally active - Southern Italy has its fair share - Etna, Stromboli and Vesuvius to name but three - the Canary Islands is made of volcanic rock, as are most of the Greek islands, and then of course there's Iceland. The Auvergne is a totally volcanic region, and the home of Vulcania, a permanent exhibition on volcanoes and vulcanology. Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh is an extinct volcano. My friend, Belgian Baroness Ermintrude de Pétasse de Médeux (Belgian aristos always like to have two 'particules' to remind the French that they, at least, still have a monarchy), is a keen amateur vulcanologist, and returned from Hawaii last year, where she had walked on the crust of molten magma on the slopes of Kilauea, gleefully waving her blackened shoes which were still smoking. Vulcanologist Haroun Tazieff often figures in the growing list of famous Belgians, although he was Polish born and had French nationality, on the grounds that he lived in Belgium for a number of years. On that basis, I should also be considered a famous Belgian.
Famous but not really Belgian Haroun TazieffWhen I was a child I had a book by an American writer called Laura Lee Hope who wrote a series of adventures featuring four siblings, comprising two sets of twins. A sort of famous four with a twist. This one was "The Bobbsey Twins in Volcano Land" and as a result I knew about Kilauea when I was 7 or 8, as well as about Mauna Loa, the other major volcano on the Hawaiian islands, and learned a few other Hawaiian words such as a luau (a pit barbecue), a muu-muu (kind of a loose dress), and a lei (flower garland). Even at 8 I was a polyglot!
There has been much worrying of late about the number of earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, and Christian fundamentalists are muttering about the end of days and preparing for the Rapture. But there are thousands of earthquakes every day of the year. This clever website shows you where the latest ones are, how strong they were and how deep down they occurred. You can even see if there's been one in the past 24 hours. Some are so small they can't even be felt. The earth is constantly fidgeting, scratching herself, burping and farting. Every now and again she feels the need to dribble or even throw up. She's an old lady, we must forgive her her filthy habits.
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