Gran Canaria – 3rd Update

On the 16^th of this month it will be the 10th anniversary of my being Bridget’s legal keeper. I thought it might be the right time to do a review of our time together, but then realised that not a lot has happened. Bridget still looks pristine and I am still blissfully unappreciative of her other attributes.

I believe I can say in all modesty that I have looked after her as well as anybody could be expected too. In return she has contributed, in a small way, to my travel experience.

Seriously, as the pages of this blog witness, we have had a ball. Our appreciation goes out to all the people around the world that were so helpful and hospitable, and our prayers are that the politicians around the world start to work for the betterment of their country folk and put aside their own desires for power and international status. Perhaps they should consider that leaders such as Gandhi and Mandela will be remembered long after their respective countries have healed their wounds and prospered, and that despots, such as Mugabe, Kim, Amin and Gaddafi will have been forgotten long before their countries have recovered from their misfortunes.

The type of challenging tours that Bridget and I have shared over these ten years are becoming increasingly mundane with the creation of new asphalt highways being constructed in even the most remote areas. I am seriously considering retiring from this particular pastime, although I will continue to travel, perhaps in a more conventional way. I have purchased a ‘big brother’ for Bridget in the shape of a 1968 MGB and perhaps will find a new outlet for the adventurist spirit; not long ago I was toying with the idea of entering the Dakar Rally in a MGB, so who knows?

Wherever you may be, please raise a glass to ‘the next ten years’.