Young sailors

We spotted these youngsters on our long walk home from the beach at Santander.

They had been taking part in a sailing class and were returning their dinghies to base. Unfortunately, one or two of them found this task awkward in the strengthening wind and tempers were getting fraught, so we left them to it.

I had been at the beach to photograph an old civil war machine gun nest, which today forms part of an attractive esplanade. I'd wager that hardly anyone at the beach today would have any idea about its former use.

It is interesting how the civil war is hardly ever referred to over here. For example, I was at a railway museum last week, which had a timeline of interesting general facts from the 175 years since the railways were invented. It included events like the Napoleonic wars, Hitler's rise to power, the Second World War, and other far less significant occurrences. But not a mention of the civil war or the dictatorship that followed.

There was also no mention of the civil war at the trenches I visited a few days ago. In fact, the trenches were not marked at all, so not only were visitors to the area left in the dark about the historical significance of the site, the remains were at risk of accidental damage.

I do find it strange to see history being allowed to fade away and end up forgotten, even if some of the wounds are still raw.