Bourton-on-the-Water

Since we live quite close to the Cotswolds, occasionally we go for long walks in some of the most beautiful villages in England. Our friends visiting us from abroad are always impressed by the serene towns and villages scattered along quiet water streams, by the beautiful stone houses and the green valleys and fields. And so are we.

Last weekend we went to Bourton-on-the-Water, probably one of the most attractive Cotswolds destination judging by the number of tourists on the streets. The River Windrush with its crystal clear water (to be honest the water was quite cloudy because of all the snow melting upstream) runs through the village and it’s spanned by quite a few small bridges. I think this is the reason Bourton-on-the-Water is sometimes called the “Venice of the Cotswolds”.
We’ve visited a few antique shops, and a remarkable model railway. I’ve spent about half an hour playing with the trains and decided I want my own train too. Luckily Georgi was there to bring me back to Earth. I was quite impressed with the trains so I went to talk to the owners. To my disappointment they didn’t know much about the history of their shop and small museum. To them it was just a business they bought a few years ago.
For the determined tourist there are some other things around. There is a 1:10 replica of the actual village (the model village) that features the model of the model itself… I wonder if the model of the model also includes the model of the model of the model… We’ve also noticed a small motoring museum, a fragrance factory offering guided tours and a bird theme park. A lot of attractions for such a small place.

In the evening, somehow all the tourists have vanished. The village became quiet and empty, and a bizarre serenity filled the empty streets. And on one of the small alleys on the banks of the Windrush, Georgi decided to teach me my first waltz steps. Just the two of us beneath the glow of the street lamps. One two three, one two three…
More pictures here.

How to steal your own bike

I left my bike at one of my friends’ about a month ago and I went to pick it up on Sunday night. My friend however, had absolutely no clue what I was talking about. It took me a good few minutes and a lot of persuasion before I got him to reluctantly agree that my bike was behind his house. His memory was slowly coming back to him, so we went outside to prove my point. But, guess what? There was no bike. For a second he thought this was one of my silly jokes again, but by now he was getting more and more flashbacks. Or maybe “flashbikes”.
Suddenly he remembered how a mysterious bicycle appeared behind their house and after “careful consideration”, him and his house mates decided to put the “troublemaking bike” in their neighbour’s garden. We had a quick glance over the fence, and my bike was there. I told them I could go and explain the situation to their neighbour, but since they’ve dumped the new bike in his backyard without his knowledge, they’ve decided it would be better if we… stole it! And that’s what we did. In that dark drizzly night, three silhouettes quietly sneaked in the neighbour’s garden and nicked the bike. My own bike.
That reminded me that about a year ago, my bike was stolen for real. The police didn’t do anything, but wrote me a nice letter offering counselling and support should I need it. Hopefully my friend’s neighbour didn’t become too fond of his new, out of nowhere pink bike, or he’ll be needing many counselling sessions.

Smile, you'll live longer!

I went to my college the other day, to pick up my mail. The porter was there, quite cheerful, watching his computer screen. So I started to talk to him.
- “Why are you smiling?”, I said.
- “Well, this computer’s crashed again”, he replied.
- “To be honest that happens to me all the time, and when it does I don’t really feel like smiling”.
- “You see, that’s what most people do, but for some reason I have a tendency to smile no matter what happens”, he continued.
I thought that was quite interesting so I carried on:
- “You know, that’s actually very good. I personally have a hotter temper, but they say that people who smile a lot, live longer.”
He started to laugh, then looked me in the eyes and said:
- “Funny you should say that, because I’ve got cancer. And it's not going very well.”
The time stopped for a few moments and then I wished the guy behind me was a big dragon just about to swallow me. I felt dreadful, I apologised for bringing this up and didn’t know what else to say. The man seeing my noticeable distress thought he could cheer me up, by giving me a free life lesson. His life lesson.
- “I was diagnosed four years ago, had a surgery, chemotherapy and all the rest. After the initial shock, I’ve realised one thing. Life is indeed short, and precious. A gift. And I wasn’t really enjoying it before, because I never thought about the end. But when you realise that quite soon you have to go, you sit down and ask yourself one question: What is actually important for me? What do I want to do with the time that I’ve got? And for me, the answer was simple. I want to smile and enjoy every second of it. All those problems most people worry about, are meaningless. But, by the time they figure this out, it’s a bit too late. I don’t know how much longer this story will go on for me, but smiling certainly helps.”
And then he started to laugh again. The computer was back to life.
I’m going to see him again on Sunday.