The horrible events that unfolded in London on Thursday 7 July make the day-to-day events of life seem trivial. At first I wanted a break from recording entries in the my diary, as glimpsing the news made me feel uncomfortable talking about mundane life. But everyone in London is clearly determined to carry on. Thoughts are obviously with those families directly affected.
This Sunday Rafa and I went to his family’s country house, deep in rural Andalucia, west of Ronda. I managed to get a Sunday Times, printed here in Spain and the El Pais newspaper to get an update on what was happening in London.
It is powerful to see the empathy shown by the Spanish here towards Britain and Londoners. The Madrid 11-M bombings were horrific and have had an immense impact on Spanish society. I recall my diary entry on March 12, earlier this year (see archives) and I found a web site compiled by one of the newspapers here that listed every Madrid victim of 11-M and told something of their life. I think this is really important. The 7-7 London victims that were killed or injured in London must be personally recognised – not simply be a statistic. The impact of these bombers must be seen on a truly human scale.
Things could not have been more different in day-to-day rural Spain. My sunday away from it all was a luxury that I am sure many in London would have wished for. It was a typical Spanish family day, with plenty of home cooked food, with tasty salads, BBQ’ed meats and plenty of fresh fruit from the family’s land. Plums, cherries and peaches.
The photo below I took from the Ronda road, driving back in the evening. Despite everything, the world is still a beautiful place.
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