Bonnie

Bonnie takes the train to Barcelona

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Bonnie and I travelled down to Barcelona yesterday to stay with our friend Cristina.
We took the train from Granollers Canovelles station which is the third railway station in the Granollers area and is on a different line – the one that goes from Vic to Hospitalet.

As far as I know you can’t take dogs on the metro or the buses so if I travel with Bonnie I need to aim for somewhere on the railway line. Cristina lives in Nou Barris so we were trying out the route  to Sant Andreu Arenal which is only 30 minutes walk from her flat

I like the station at Canovelles – it feels like a country station – out in the open air and you even have to cross the railway tracks to get to the right platform which they only announce a few minutes before the train arrives.
(By the way. another person asked me for directions as we walked to the station. It is one of my callings – being a town guide either in Barcelona or Granollers! I don’t feel like a local but obviously something in my manner gives confidence to strangers!)

Bonnie has to wear the muzzle on the train. We don’t mind as it stops stray children from trying to touch her – they actually give her a wide berth ‘Mira mama! Un perro malo!’
She was really good on the train and all the way through Nou Barris to Cristina’s house. I used to think it incredible that she would go to Barcelona. What a grown up dog! But it’s no different from any other collection of shopping streets. She doesn’t seem fazed at all by the thought of Gaudi or the Sagrada Familia!

We went for a walk later up the Turó de la Peira which is a rare public green space in this very built up district. It used to be larger but pre-democracy there was a lot of building in this area which ate into the park. Many of those flats later had to be pulled down due to their poor construction which made them unsafe.  The park is a much needed breathing space in the city and all the better for being on a hill.

there are wonderful views from the top over Barcelona to the sea

and in the other direction, the Collserola Natural Park. We sat together on a bench and took photos of ourselves! She is such a great companion.

Starting the New Year!

~ Kate Wilson ~ 5 Comments

I am adrift with the blog – not from lack of ideas or energy but somehow I feel I’ve lost direction.
Sin rumbo!
‘What’s it all about, Alfie? ‘
So here are some photos from my week with just a few words….

Reading too many books
But enjoying them all!

‘How to speak so your children listen and how to listen so they speak’ is wonderful!’
My hairdresser recommended it  one day when he noticed how sad and tired I was. Nice man!
Ken Follett. No words can describe how much I enjoyed this book. Finished it this morning.

In the Garlic is written by two women who live in Spain/Catalunya. Written in dictionary form it is funny and informative. E.g. about the endless bureaucracy here, there is the law of Falta Uno. This means whatever papers you bring there is always one missing!
On the Kindle I am reading Caroline Myss – Sacred Contracts. Fantastic!

I really enjoyed the first essay in Matthew Trees book about how to explain this country to foreigners. He is dedicated to spreading the word about Catalunya and writes very well. I find it good to read Catalan written by a British writer. He thinks in a familiar way which makes it easier for me.
I’ve had this Derek Jarman diary for years and never picked it up. Now I am dipping in every day and loving it. The sort of person it would be great to know. The diary is a mix of gardening and poetry, poems, landscape and practicalities.
How does he know so much about plants and herbs and history in those days before the internet?
I’ve known people like that and envied them. He was alone in Prospect Cottage, writing and gardening and looking out over his life.  At times he seems to be grieving, at others, deeply content and at peace.

Looking out over life!!!
I am making roses from the ribbon reels that fill the shelves in the backroom. It’s easy and very satisfying but I have no idea what to do with them!

Catching water in Santa Fe – No! No! that is a reverse translation from Catalan – Going to get water from the fountain in the woods. Now we have a full cellar.

Starting my new vegetarian life – just like the old one that I strayed from 10 or so years ago but in a more challenging environment and with more flexibility when necessary. One of my goals is to be visible in restaurants and not just eat the bits I can, timidly accepting the meaty menus that dominate in Catalunya. In a typically traditional Catalan country restaurant I ordered the side dishes and it made a lovely lunch. Chips, white beans and samfaina!

The Kings are coming!  Tomorrow I am going to see them in Barcelona when they arrive by boat.

And all through the week and the weeks before – my lovely dog – Bonnie. What a friend!

Politics Shmolitics what about collies?

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Today in the park we were trudging round the same old same old when suddenly….. over on the other side…… a border collie!
Bonnie stopped in her tracks, tail went up, nose sniffed the air.
Everything froze in time and space.
The other collie – black and white –  was doing exactly the same.
Border collies know each other – there is no doubt in my mind.
They both started to run and met in the middle of the path.
Bonnie went down into play-with-me position. He bounced at her. She bounced back.
It was magical because I knew that since her bad experience with Duna she has not felt confident to play with other dogs.  She has been avoiding any approaches and feeling nervous if another dog comes close.

But this was not just another dog, it was a border collie.
Collies know each other for sure

They played ball for as long as I could stand still without freezing (there is snow on Montseny)

He had a friend with him who was very nice too but Bonnie didn’t give her a glance

She only had eyes for Azlan – her first Granollers friend!

Driftwood

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

There is a beach near Sant Pere Pescador which I have been trying to find for a while.
This time armed with a detailed map and accompanied by man and dog to help me stay focussed, I finally found it.  Actually I have been very close once before but in the summer you can’t go hereas it is part of the protection area for breeding birds.
Bleached driftwood is lying everywhere.
It is a beachcombers paradise. Something I only dreamed of in Cornwall

The wood is almost all branches from trees so there are not the kind of planks you sometimes find brought in on Atlantic waves, but still it is very impressive for a bay on the Mediterranean, surrounded as it is by towns and villages and within a gentle stroll from a man-made monstrosity called Empuriabrava.
I brought back some pieces to carve

and had to leave some that were too heavy to move

And there was a dog wondering ‘with all this wood around why don’t you throw a stick for me?’

Border collie on the train to Barcelona

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

Yesterday I finally made it up to Barcelona to meet a friend in Ciutadella Park.  I even managed to fit in a tango or 6 in the open air La Glorietta. I haven’t danced for months – it was lovely!
Bonnie came too and we travelled from Granollers Nord Canovelles to Arc de Triumf. It still surprises me that Granollers has three railway stations. From Canovelles you can go in the other direction to the mountains, to Vic and Puigcerda, something we’re planning to do soon.

This was Bonnies second time in Barcelona and only her third and forth journeys on a train. She wears the muzzle only when we are sitting in the carriage, to protect her really as most people don’t try to pat or touch dogs wearing restraints. She doesn’t like to be bothered by strangers.
As before, she was very good, very patient, very quiet and even snuggled up to a man on the next seat, letting him pat her and stroke her ears.
Here she is trying to get comfy and find the best position on a very wobbly and slow train to Barcelona