Julia and Julie were visiting Barcelona for the first time
Their flight was delayed so they checked in late at their hotel and although they were both itching to explore the great city they restricted themselves to a drink at a nearby bar
After sleeping soundly both women made an early start the following day and within the first fifteen minutes found a small flea market
Julia purchased two metal dishes with old English pennies attached to them
Julie purchased a first edition of Evelyn Waugh’s Men at Arms
The trapped coins dated from 1926 and 1962
Whereas the first edition had been published in 1952
26 62 2x 26 = 52
Pedro the stallholder thought about the mathematics of Julia and Julie’s purchases but was not surprised when the women failed to notice the symmetry
What they did comment on was how surprising it was to find two items so English in their character in a market in Barcelona
Pedro noted that he had once been in Ludlow and had found a book of poetry by Lorca in the towns market
The book had been published in 1962
36 years after the poet died
Lorca = Ludlow
Waugh = Barcelona
Anthony Beavis
Pedro who was born in 1962 thought that Julia looked like Salvador Dali’s wife Gala although less severe
He produced a white shirt from a pink box and asked Julia to put it on but to bare her left breast
Her salary for this theatre would be a loaf of pink bread and a bracelet in the shape of a snake
As she was posing Julia noticed a man with short dark hair looking at the reflection of the back of his head in a large mirror
She looked for her own reflection in the self-same mirror but could not see her likeness
Julie said that only vampires lacked reflections and was assured by her friend that she not a vampire
There are no vampires in Barcelona
Julia and Julie were wandering slowly through the Park Guell in the strong July sunshine
The park had been built between 1900 and 1914
1+9+1+4 =15
It had been opened in 1926
1+9=10
Julie was wearing a white tee shirt with a pink photograph of Antoni Gaudi printed on it
Julia was wearing the shirt that Pedro had given her although her left breast was now covered
Evelyn Waugh was wearing a sober dark suit which was not suitable for the heat of the city
Pedro’s daughter Ana had given Julie a film poster
It was for a 1970s movie called Vampiri a Venezia
In common with Julia
Ana did not exhibit a reflection within any of the mirrors that could be found in the market
Pedro blamed the mirrors which he said were cheap imports
There are no vampires in Barcelona
But then again not all vampires are Spanish
Evelyn Waugh considered this as he walked with Julia and Julie
But did not share his thoughts with either of the women
He knew that Ana had been bitten when taking a bath
In Venice
Her Italian sister had bitten her
She had given Julie the gift as a warning
Do not bathe with your friend
Always shower
I trusted my Italian sister
And I became infected
Bathe alone
Lock the door
Take all precautions
Julie was oblivious to Ana’s warning and planned to share a bath with Julia when they returned to the hotel
There are no vampires in Barcelona
Evelyn Waugh was aware of Ana’s warning but ghosts have no voice
After lunch Julia and Julie visited the Sagrada Familia
Both women were worried that the AVE high speed trains that passed through a nearby tunnel were having a detrimental effect on the stability of the Sagrada Familia
But they were reassured by a pink engineer who noted that all precautions had been considered
Evelyn Waugh had never travelled on a high speed train so he was unable comment
At the time of his death in 1966 the conception of high speed trains such as AVE TGV and ICEs were still on the drawing board
Antoni Gaudi died in 1926
Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926
Marilyn Monroe died in 1962
Antoni Gaudi never met Marilyn Monroe
26 62 2x 26 = 52
Antoni Gaudi was born on the 25th of June 1852
Evelyn Waugh was 62 when he died from heart failure
Evelyn Waugh’s first wife was also called Evelyn and for a while the couple were known as He Evelyn and She Evelyn
People often confused Julia and Julie
Who had been born on the same day twenty-six miles apart
To the same mother
Complications had set in after the first baby arrived and the women’s mother had been driven twenty-six miles to another more specialised hospital
This had never happened before
But both babies survived although Julia required a number of blood tranfusions
A paper was later written by Doctor Richard Lower who delivered both girls
As the circumstances of their birth had gathered a great deal of attention in medical circles
Julia and Julie spent longer in the Sagrada Familia than they had planned to do
The cathedral took their breath away as it had done when they first visited Barcelona on a school trip
Whilst exploring they met a young man called Anthony Beavis who gave them a first edition of Aldous Huxley’s novel Eyeless in Gaza and urged them to read it
Aldous Huxley’s final novel was called Island and was published in 1962
On the 22nd of November 1963 three famous men died
Aldous Huxley
C S Lewis
And JFK
22+11+63 = 96 /2 = 48/2 =24 (2+4 =6)
It was a perfect day
6=1×6
6=2×3
6=3×2
6=6×1
1+2+3=6
Anthony said that these figures laid waste to the conspiracy theories that had followed the death of JFK
He kept Julia and kept Julie company as they explored the Sagrada Familia
Evelyn Waugh was glad of the young man’s company as his heavy clothing had caused him to become exhausted in the hot Barcelona sun
He wished that he had worn a lighter suit when attending church on that fateful Easter Sunday in 1966
It was a well-known fact in Heaven that you travelled into eternity wearing your final set of clothes
And because of this Evelyn Waugh felt a little sorry for Joan of Arc who was often to be seen in her decaying clothes
Both Julia and Julie had planned to go to the beach that evening but before they knew it the afternoon was fading
They arranged to meet Anthony at eight and returned to their hotel to freshen up
Evelyn Waugh decided to partake of immediate refreshment and retired to a nearby resturant
Julie decided to shower instead of bathing with Julia as she liked the soft pink tiles
So Julia took her bath alone
It was then that Julie noticed how pale her friend was looking which was surprising given the disposition of the sun
She suggested a drink or two before meeting Anthony
But Julia was aware of the protocols and had arranged to meet Ana at a quarter past seven
She suggested that her friend take a short nap whilst she popped out to purchase some postcards
Julie did not hear her friend leave and when she awoke Julia had already returned
She had purchased six postcards which they shared
2×3=6
At the same time Ana lay slumped in a public toilet
She looked at her bloodied blouse which was hanging from the door
Ana was wondering how she would get past Pedro
Who as normal would be sitting under the pink trees
Waiting for his evening meal
To be continued