Multilingual coffee, sort of

Coffee with V, some of it in Spanish as I took advantage of her patience hearing my laboured account of seeing the kingfisher fly under the railway bridge as I walked to the station. Then I listened, getting the gist, to another of her extraordinary travel tales this one involving a prison in Avila, I think. Learning the past tense has been transformational.

We went our separate and I was delighted to meet a former colleague from the Western Isles, and with massive effort found a few Gaelic words. We have arranged to have lunch next month, I’ll do a bit of revision before. I will always remember her gentle unwavering support.

I wandered down to the river and blipped the ‘La Pasionaria’.She is Dolores Ibárruri, an inspirational orator, and the sculpture is inscribed with her exhortation: “Better to die on your feet than live on your knees”.

Another really chilly day, I appreciated the heating on the train.