The First Goths of the Year

It's almost spring, and the first Goths are emerging from their winter dens, blinking and shivering in the weak sunlight. Soon the light will grow too strong for them, and they will return to their underground lairs.

The Semiotics of Cave Tours

Independent of country, language and location, one can imagine a model of the ideal cave tour.

It starts with a climb (or possibly a descent) through forested (wooded, landscaped) ground to a rustic timber and steel structure at the entrance to the cave.
The entrance to the cave is locked with a steel (cast iron) gate.
You can feel the cool, still air of the cave beyond the grille.
The guide is not present, but a hand-drawn clock (whiteboard, plastic sign) announces the time of the next tour.
As you wait in the clammy dampness (bright sunlight) of the forest (wood, garden), other cave vistors drift in:

• A harried woman, accompanied by 2 (3) children dressed in fluorescent colours. The children are fractious. They are eating icecreams (chips, soft drinks). They scatter litter on the floor and are scolded by the woman.
• A small group of Japanese girls in tartan (flowered) knee socks. They giggle and take photographs of each other.
• Two blond Germans (Danes, Swedes, Austrians) in their 20s. They are wearing all-weather khaki shorts, expensive hiking boots and large backpacks.
• A couple of retirement age - sensible shoes, walking sticks, no-nonsense clothing.
• A suburban couple with their aged mother. She will not go on the tour (the steps are a bit much), but will wait patiently outside.

While we wait, we read the explanatory signs - wildlife in the cave, the geology of the area, how the cave was formed, conservation activity.
The guide arrives. He (she) is a short (tall, medium-sized), cheerful individual, dressed in the uniform of the local parks service. He rounds up the visitors. He warns us that there are many steps, that the cave is cold (9-15 degrees), that he will turn out the lights at some point, and that people should stay together. The tour will take about an hour.
He unlocks the gate and motions the group inside, admonishing us to stop at the first landing.
He describes the lighting system.
He explains the difference between stalactites and stalagmites.
He points to (picks up) the stump of a broken stalagmite (stalactite). He uses this prop to

• explain why you should never touch the stalactites and stalagmites because the oils and acid in your skin will slowly damage the calcite.
• demonstrate the translucency of calcite by shining a torch through it
• give a short homily on cave conservation

One of the children touches a stalactite (stalagmite) and is admonished.
The group walks down the stairs to the next landing. The guide explains the lighting system.
The group proceeds. The guide explains the geology of the cave, and explains the definition of an active cave.
The group proceeds. The path goes through a narrow (low) point. The guide warns people to be careful of their heads (other sticking-out bits).
The group proceeds. The guide explains the action of water in the cave. He explains that the water level in the cave is much lower than it was a few years ago, probably due to global warming.
The group proceeds. The guide points out a calcite shawl with a light behind it. The guide highlights a fossil embedded in the wall. He describes the extent of the cave, only a small part of which has ever been opened to the public, or even explored.
The group reaches the bottom (the widest part) of the cave.
The guide turns the light out. A child exclaims how at dark it is. The guide turns the light back on. People are (secretly) relieved.
As the group gradually winds its way back to the surface, the guide tells stories from when the cave was discovered. He describes the behaviour of the early cave visitors at the beginning of the 20th century, and is critical of their conservation practices.
The group returns to the surface. The guide counts heads, locks the gate and invites people to visit the gift shop. One or two people stay a few minutes longer to share stories with the guide.
We push on, as we have heard all the stories (in some form) before.

On Plagiarism Or, Parallel Discovery

Everything needs to start from somewhere.
The point of origin is just as likely to be random as a careful selection from the well of possibilities.
In a Penguin travel book of the 1950s, "Ten Years Under the Earth", Norbert Casteret shared a description of the mountains and caves of his native France.
The words were curiously familiar, and eventually I realised I had read the same descriptions years earlier in the novel "Shibumi" by Trevanian. Now my question is:
Did he steal, or did he discover for himself?