Well, today is the start of the 20th Hay Festival.  I looked on the website as I was thinking of S and suddenly, I really miss the Festival.  We won’t be going at all and this will be the first time in over 10 years that we won’t be there, in any role, punters, debenture holders or box office staff.

I suppose it had to happen sooner or later, but it’s a bit of a shock.  I don’t miss so much from the UK.  I occasionally get ‘homesick’ or something similar to that anyway.  But it doesn’t happen often and, when it does, it seems to happen at unexpected times.

So, yesterday, I’m sitting at work and I just can’t get the Festival out of my head.  There will be so many friends that we won’t see this year, apart from the Festival staff, many of whom are also friends.

It’s not like we actually went to many events over the last few years, but the ‘being there’ counts and, as this year was the 20^th, it would have been nice to have gone.

As it is, I’m hoping S has time to text me so that I know she’s alright, from time to time.’  Of course, people come back to the Festival every year.’  Noot, Penny, Viv and Andy will be in the Box Office.’  Punters include Lyn from Cardiff, the Pearce’s from Hay, maybe Sue and Mike from London, Sarah and Claire from London, etc., etc.

Having said that we won’t be there, I do hope it all goes very well and the events and parties are the best ever.  I guess we badly need to become rich so that we can return next year – to work or play, or maybe a bit of both.

I found that, following my comment about Daniel Chin’s commentson Alitalia, he has some thing that adds my blog to his comments and, as result, I had extra visitors (who didn’t stay long, as it happens).  He took, whilst in Milan, some photographs (for that is what he does, it would seem) of the graffiti in Milan.  It’s something that visitors to Milan notice but, when you live here you don’t.  Some of it is quite artistic whilst most is just graffiti and not very good.  It is, however, endemic in this city and, I am led to believe, in most large cities in Italy.

Nearly every building has graffiti on the bottom 4 or 5 feet.  There are companies that go round and clean the bottom of the buildings regularly.  You would think that, having lived here for a couple of years or so, I would have seen some actually being created, at least once.  But no.  It seems these ‘artists’ only come out between about 3 and 4 a.m. (as that is about the only time I have not been around Milan).  I have never ever seen guys with spray paint, waiting to create their ‘masterpieces’.

I must say that Daniel took some good photographs of some quite good graffiti.  His pictures were good although it’s a shame he didn’t take some of some of the great buildings here but, of course, they tend not to be on the ‘tourist trail’.  I’m afraid my photograpic skills are a long way short of his but, if I remember, I’ll try to take some and put them on this blog.

Finally, on the Hay Festival; as I write this they are about half an hour into the first event.  Ah well, I hope, this year, we shall be at Mantova at the as we have been for the last few years.  It is like Hay in so many ways except that, normally, the weather is a tad better.