Just in the door, my Skype rang. It was Fifi from Ibiza. “Everyone’s gone home” she said, “The whole family. The temperature’s dropped and the campsite’s finally calming down.”
I relayed how I’d just been sitting on a bench in the park with a hot cup of tea for company as the smoky smell of autumn drifted towards me, leaves on the ground around my stillness; serving as a carpet to crunch through on the way home.
“I crave nature these days” I said.
“You’re not the only one. Practically every guest I’ve had a conversation with this season has told me of their yearning for countryside, greenness and simplicity in life” Fifi replied.
Later that evening I bounded up the steps of my choir’s rehearsal venue, literally grinning with glee in anticipation.
“It’s gives you a break, that’s the most important thing” Kamila told me as she explained the Jean d’Estrées Vitamin C Facial. “And, that’s what we’re about too, we like people to come here – men, women, couples, groups of friends, basically everyone can be together and get everything done. We’re like a one stop shop for relaxation through treatments.”
What do the Olympics and Pokemon have in common? Well, not much really except that they’re both topical and highly competitive. So, when my suggestion to join my ‘nephew’ and his Mum at the Olympic park to hunt Pokemon was met by a youthful ‘Yeah okay’ that was enough encouragement.
J came running towards me: “You need a name! Have you got one yet?”
I’ve long been fascinated by graffiti and street art – from days of New York living where the subways trains rattled past spray-painted with a thousand colours. By whom, I used to wonder, and when and how? The mystery of incognito people decorating vehicles and walls in the dead of night or when no one was looking intrigued me.
I picked up my means of transport. It was hot, a damned hot Ibiza day, but I was on a mission to discover all there was to discover on the 
Conversations with Strangers 