*picture by Svetlana Tikhonova*
Another Random Memory, this one sparked by a comment from Odessa Sherreard asking about things to do around Naples.
I was reminded of the mad period when I had a loyalty card from the Heathrow Airport car park, jetting off all over the place (Hong Kong for the day, anyone?): but this was extreme even for me.
4pm in the office “Can you go to a planning meeting for a Peugeot event tomorrow morning – in Positano? You’ll need to fly to Naples tonight.”
So I woke up the next day in a room overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, did the meeting and was on my way back to Naples (in a chauffeur driven Peugeot) by 11am, wondering what to do with a seven hour wait for my plane back.
Along the Autostrada I spotted a turning to ‘Pompei’, the driver was happy to wait so I had a magical couple of hours exploring.
There’s so much of Pompeii that it’s easy to get off the beaten track away from the chattering school trips, and sit in a Roman living room.
I could imagine the people living their lives there, and inevitably the day they heard the rumble from up the mountain. It’s easy to hear the ghosts. Or that may have been a school trip…
By teatime I was sitting at my dining table at home, thinking “I had lunch in Pompeii…”
What a strange and memorable life we lead sometimes.