Interview

Wednesday 9th April 2025

First thing we took our washing round to the laundrette round the corner. Lovely to have everything washed again! Then we took a stroll around Ortigia. It was busy!! An enormous cruise ship had docked overnight and everyone was getting off to go in tours. Plus it is obviously school trip time here as well, loads of teenagers in groups around the island! It is very pretty I will admit, so I can understand it but it must be frustrating to live here! We found another do called beach, again it was very small and surrounded about 10 metres out by large rocks. Not really a place to swim!!

We saw some interesting plants today. On the left is an aloe Vera plant flowering. I have seen lots before but never in flower, really looked like red hot poker flowers. Then we saw these strange orange tipped succulents, they are actually a type of euphorbia, most unusual. And then a row of these beautiful flowering bottle brush trees, they looked beautiful!

Over lunch we stayed in the hotel as I had an interview with the South Downs National Park as an event volunteer. I was asked if it might be a bit of a bus man’s holiday but I love attending events so it’s all good with me! I think I got the role, I hope so anyway, they do a lot of good work and it would be great to contribute. After that we walked north into Syracusa itself. We went to see the Basillica Sancturio Madonna della Lacrime it’s an imposing modern edifice, best way up describe it. We were not overly impressed, inside it is a huge space, but they haven’t worked out how to fill it. I can imagine that any service there would be overshadowed by the enormous space. I am sure it was controversial when it was built because you can see it from everywhere! Also saw another random bit of Roman remains on the way!!

On our way out in the evening we saw these kayakers playing kayak polo. I had not realised the game existed. It seems rather vicious. You can pass the ball by hand or paddle. Their was a lot of paddle fighting going on even when the ball was nowhere near! A delicious fish at Bistrot 18 finished another lovely day!