Sant Jordi

April 23rd - St. Georges Day. Patron saint of my native England and adopted Catalunya. A rather jaded festival in England, George, or Jordi as he is locally known gets rather more attention here in Catalunya with Catalan flags hung from balconies, and the streets alive with book stalls and flower sellers catering for the very well observed tradition of ladies giving their men books and men presenting their ladies with a red rose.

We went for a stroll to enjoy the festivities and queued up to get a balloon for Nora, which we tied to a button hole in her jacket - useful for spotting toddlers at a distance. As the green helium balloon bobbed in the wind some association of ideas snapped the image of Lawn Chair Larry into my mind's eye. Another few hundred balloons, I thought, and one could soar.

Oft mocked, I have the utmost respect for Larry who had a dream and the balls to simply give it a go. The result was one of history's stranger flight experiences and rather dubious fame. Any google search for Lawn Chair Larry will turn him up or try: http://www.lutins.org/walters.html