29th of July 2018
Good morning.
Here in Penela its 13 degrees at the moment but will go up to 24 later today. On Wednesday we are going to peak into summer heat. It is even supposed to go up to 43 degrees on Thursday. So the summer is finally arriving
This time of the year is a terrible time for me. I don´t like the stress and the excitement that is over the moon. Everyone is going on holiday!
I saw my neighbour and her 3 children plus the husband leave yesterday. They will be away for 2 weeks. The bicycles on top of one of the cars and taking 5 people on holiday demands a lot of all kinds of stuff. They were looking forward to the holiday, which is good. I just hope they will be arriving safe home after 2 weeks.
Everyday there are deaths on the roads here in Portugal. Just like all the other summers July and August are the months who claim so many people from the traffic.
Why is this?
I read yesterday that people were testifying about drivers sending messages and writing while driving.
Seriously!
Can this be true?
The speed is also a factor.
Why do we make cars that can go so fast? asked someone.
Yes, why do we?
How is it possible that a car is a total wreck just few meters from the tollgate? The tollgate where we need to stop and get a ticket? How is this possible?
Young people lose their lives almost outside their homes.
This weekend has been very bad. Several deaths in the traffic and a 5 year old drowned in a swimming pool in Algarve. This is just what I have seen in the news and I am sure there are even more.
20 thousand cars expected to come into the country this weekend. The tourists have arrived.
I went to Coimbra on Friday. A lot of tourists strolling about in the shopping mall. A lot of them and it was not even August.
In a situation like this it is difficult to be optimistic and write something inspired. I can’t do it.
The summer has been cold and that is good because there have not been as many fires as if the heat was in town.
August will be about 30 degrees according to the forecast.
Not too hot, but still enough for the arsenics to have a blast.
We have been reading and seen the pictures and videos from Greece. Horrible and the loss of lives just devastating. Heavy winds are not helping. This is a reminder of last year and many years before here in Portugal. Last year was the worst I have experienced during my 7 years living here. This year the summer has not arrived yet on the mainland. It is still spring but everything will change during the days ahead.
I hate this time of the year. I hate the stress and the speed.
I will though think about the time ahead, the winter and the autumn, when everything is back to normal. I really hope people will think before they look at their phones while driving. Please if you don´t care about your own life think about the others. It is not just you who suffer if there is a crash. Think about the others.
Remember that rules about the beach and cliffs are there to protect you and your life.
It might be a good idea to follow the rules, just for once and return to your country safe and sound but not in a coffin.
I hope my friends in California are safe.
I hope my friends in China are safe.
I hope my friends in India are safe.
I just hope all my friends around the world and their families are safe and will have a winter to look forward to.
This morning I look out and see grey clouds. That is good. The air is fresh and the birds are singing. The insects are playing around my balcony and tasting the beautiful flowers. Next week might be different. It might be cloudy and smelling of smoke, the summer will have arrived with the devastation.
You should not expect the worst, you could say.
When I drove to Semide the other day and saw the gaping holes where the trees have been cut down, the burnet ones, I got a chill running down my back. This is what it looks like when the madness takes over and the greed is in charge.
In a situation like that it is good for the soul to see an old house being renovated and becoming a testimony of beauty.
Hulda Björnsdóttir
My thoughts shared with you 