I spent the day in a drowsy dream today. Nothing got done. However in the afternoon I went to the 'Tea & Talks' at the museum and listened to a chap discuss ancient places. Greece, Herculaneum, Rome, Crete and the like. It was an enjoyable way to spend an hour.
The picture from Herculaneum revealing the old buildings and the height of the ash that had covered them for hundreds of years was worth seeing alone. These buildings were at least two if not three stories tall and the ash had covered them by almost two stories on top of them. Thousands died because of the volcano and they remained in the town believing they were safe. Interestingly Naples, which stands underneath the same smoking volcano, contains two million people. The centre is full of tourists and the locals live all around the city. Guess who gets away first when she blows next time? Italians are not daft!
I would have liked to visit Crete also, the pictures from there are interesting. Why I am not made able to live in the sun, surrounded by blue sea, is a mystery to me. As long as a Tesco is nearby and football on the telly I think I could cope. The large expanse of the ancient cities surprise some folks. I canny see why these guys could build better than us. Some places the chaps showed featured tunnels, either rough cut, twenty feet wide, or as in Egypt similarly wide by plastered and lavishly painted so you could identify the one buried there.
So, making my way home through the mire, I considered the bright blue sea, the dazzling sun and the dim lights from the rear of the Town Hall. It doesn't seem fair does it......?
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