Old and New Habits

 Yesterday I went for my Thai massage and was very pleased to find my little Thai lady back to her old self having sorted out her difficulties with family that she has just been through, a kind of hell and back.  Anyway, that all seems to be over and it was good to see her laughing again.  I have not seen her laughing and smiling for several months because of so many problems. 

I avoid the city during half term but arriving early I went for a coffee.  Children, some with parents, some with grandparents, everywhere.  Teenagers walking along in packs but where they went I don't know.  I wondered as they disappeared what they would be doing.  

When I came out from massage the street was blocked off at both ends by blue light flashing police cars.  I was allowed through because I was leaving but was not told what it was, just "there has been an incident".  Police were everywhere as I made my way back to the station. Why do school holidays cause so much rise in crime and incidents when packs of teens are out on the streets?  Are teens in schools the same as when they go out on the streets?   I think the age of good manners and rare incidents has gone.   A knifing was extremely rare once upon a time.  A fist fight would settle an argument quickly without a knife outside a dance hall or something but daytime incidents were not seen when I was growing up.  The most I was frightened of were the packs of dogs that still roamed the streets. 

Last night was another evening of splendid ice skating, this time the girls figure skating short programme.  It was amazing and as the commentator said, they showed up the boys.  The boys, as in Ilia Malinin, were there watching and cheering the girls on along with some stars of the screen and pop who I don't know but they were identified in the audience.   The young Russian skating as an independent led the way for most of the evening until the final two groups but she will be there fighting in the final skate on Thursday night.  Russians appear in many different colour flags because they have gone to other countries for nationality but this young girl doing the Michael Jackson skate of her life skated as a Russian but an independent to satisfy the Olympic committee.  One Russian skated as an Israeli.  Others were all colours of Europe.   The Russians are big in skating.  But also the Japanese and three brilliant Japanese figure skaters hold first, second and fourth so far with American in third splitting them.  It will be a great final night on Thursday.  I can't wait. 

Today I am out for lunch with friends in the riverside apartment where the boats once tied up and the grain lorries came to unload (ours amongst them) but now all warehouses and millers gone, now apartments.  The drug dealers replace the prostitutes and the red light still glimmers.  The posh flats come but the old riverside habits remain.  I will see if I can find a photo of the street when the grain lorries were there and the mills to show my friend.  I believe I have one.  My friend is not local and does not know what the street once looked like.  She moved to the city from far away and bought her apartment off plan.  She did not actually know she had moved into the red light district.