The Old Man by the Sea

The old man would shuffle down to the seafront most days and sit on a low parapet overlooking the beach, staring out to sea for hours on end, hardly stirring. He was always on his own and it was always in the afternoon, and he would often stay there until the sun began to dip below the horizon and the light to fade. He wore a broad-brimmed panama hat to shade him from the glare of the sun and he had a small bag with him containing food and drink to sustain him during his lonely vigil. He would sit there on the beach, watching the tide slowly coming in, the waves breaking on the shore, and the gulls cart-wheeling over the water.

Today was like any other day. The sun beat down relentlessly and the sea sparkled and heaved, driven by a strong wind. The rush and surge of the sea spoke directly to his inner soul and seemed to promise welcome release from the heavy burden of old age. It beckoned to him and its freshening spray turned to a fine mist on the arms of the breeze. The old man saw and felt all this and let out a deep sigh.

The salty sea breeze reached out to him and suddenly caught the sigh, as though snatching the breath of life from the old man, and blew it over the foamy waters.

The head of the old man slumped onto his chest and he rolled forward, falling on his side onto the sand with a dull thud. He stayed there unmoving and his hat slipped off his head and was propelled by the wind across the hot sand and into the feet of a group of boys playing ball nearby. One of them gathered it up and, recognising it as the old man’s hat, ran towards him, but then suddenly stopped short, and stared. The old man continued lying on his side in the sand, motionless and peaceful as though asleep.

The boy looked round at his playmates who were calling to him to get back to the game and the boy dropped the hat beside the old man and started running back, too afraid to nudge the lying figure. The old man’s hat was caught by the wind again and rolled across the beach and the breeze cast it into the sea where it bobbed about on the waves.

The old man did not stir and did not seem to care about anything. He was past caring now and at peace with the world. This day had brought welcome release and... had not been like any other day.

New Worlds

Planets, stars, galaxies, nebulas and supernovae are some of the bodies that populate the depths of space and that may harbour worlds unseen and unimagined by us with civilisations equal to or greater than our own. Perhaps we will find out one day and perhaps, more likely, we never will.

The likelihood is that we shall already have destroyed ourselves, if not the planet, with our constant depredations and rapacious exploitation of the Earth, and with sheer overpopulation by the human species and its consequent demands for resources that the planet will no longer be able to provide to the teeming billions of humans.

Perhaps our salvation lies in space travel, which might enable the human race to spread out across space, populating other planets and easing the pressure on the Earth, seeing as we are not doing very well at limiting the proliferation of humans on a naturally finite planet. But to achieve this, it will probably have to be on a galactic level, since we have already seen that no planet in our solar system other than the Earth can sustain human life. We shall have to journey much further afield than our humble corner of the universe, to distant star systems in search of worlds not inimical to human survival like our group of planets that are as hostile as can be to sentient life.

And talking of the Earth, here it is. The Blue Planet, as we have christened it. Our home in the vastness of Space and most likely the only habitable planet for many light-years' distance. Mostly covered in water, which we cannot drink, but teeming with life forms and which supplies us with seemingly limitless food of one kind or another, it is the only thing we have at present, our only habitat for many years to come. And yet we treat it so harshly and so cavalierly, and now it may have begun to repay us in the currency we richly deserve, with natural phenomena that are capable of sweeping away hundreds or thousands of people at a stroke.

Trees

Tall proud trees reaching up in single-minded pursuit of the light, attaining heights few if any other trees can match and soaking up the precious sunlight. What these giants must survey from their lofty perch can only be imagined and must be another world from the one we humans see at ground level.

A stately tree with branches outspread, imposing in its gold autumnal colours, sedate and tranquil in its solid stance, a reassuring presence. It's the type you might like to seek solace or shelter under, whether it be from emotional turmoil or simply bad weather!

Lofty sentinels standing proud in the tropics as the dawn breaks and the sun's rays spill over the horizon, lighting up the early morning sky. What exotic adventures of exploration might these lanky giants recount if they could only speak?

Trees of all shapes, sizes and shades, in every corner of the world, in such variety as to engross and captivate the curious and the appreciative of Nature's creation. It is hard to think of any other living organism that shapes and influences our environment as much as trees.

Brazilian Carnival

Carnival time in Brazil is a time to really let your hair down and go wild. For days on end there's nothing else but carnival and more carnival and for those few who are not into such revelry and merriment it is sheer hell. But for those who can't get enough of it, it's heaven on earth! For a great many, however, it's the way things are and they go with the flow in a sort of love-hate relationship with carnival capers and high jinks . Carnival during the day is lively enough, but come the night it livens up even more. The less adventurous stay indoors as much as they can while the more daring hit the street to live it up and party late into the night. Alcohol flows freely and makes people want to dance in the street and follow the many processions that parade through the streets.

The streets come to life with music and the noise of carnival in general, and at night some streets are illuminated by lots of overhead decorative lights strung up everywhere to add to the special atmosphere that characterises the carnival season. And by carnival season i mean the pre-carnival lead-up, the official carnival period, and the post-carnival wind-down! The Brazilians certainly know how to keep things going and milk a good thing when they have it.

A whole industry has grown up around the carnival and before the event itself takes place there are months of preparation to organise everything, make up the costumes, banners, giant dolls, floats and whatever else goes into making a carnival worthy of the name. This is especially so in such cities as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro where the art of carnival is second to none and where the main event takes place in a stadium called a 'sambodrome'. The processions that parade through the sambodrome have to be seen to be believed. They are nothing short of magnificent and breath-taking.