Letter from Espargal: 26 June 2015

On Satuday Slavic rolled up with three fellow workers to continue the concrete underpinning of the fence - part of our mission to stop the orphans escaping and irritating the neighbours. This is a big job as we have some 400 metres of fencing around the house and the park. Building merchants had dumped a pile of sand and 10 bags of cement at the bottom of the driveway, as requested.

I ferried loads of sand up to the cement mixer while the team divided themselves up into mixers, carriers and cementers.

EXOTIC FLOWER

It was hot. Even so we got lots done. At the end of the day, the boys were grateful to sit around the patio table and down a few beers. So was I.

On Sundays I irrigate my fruit trees, a dozen of them on the adjacent field. Most of the fruit has been grafted on to almond trunks over the past few years. The trees are just starting to bear.

Jones has long been a picker of fruit from the many trees that line the roads. The road surface is often yellow or pink with fallen fruit.

Sunday evening we joined the locals at the Hamburgo. Our numbers were swollen by the arrival of some of Fintan and Pauline's (extensive) family from Dublin.

Also there were Neil and Francesca, the son/girlfriend of other Irish neighbours, Tony and Annette. The latter had been mightily surprised when the pair, who'd spent a year travelling down the Americas on a motorbike, turned up at the door. They were thought to be still in Argentina.

BELOW: NEIL AND FRANCESCA FACING

One way and another it was quite a riot. Manuel and his new assistant, Marisa, had their hands full. Apart from ourselves and other customers inside the restaurant, they had to service the patio tables - hugely popular in summer - which call for much running back and forth.
.
That night I dreamed that I had been sent to prison for five days, I think for being cheeky to the judge. I met a man who said he was in for 30 days, I'm not sure what for. It was quite a nice, orderly prison and the warder, who was Afrikaans, was very polite to me after he discovered that I could speak Portuguese.

Lots of prisoners lined up for various duties. From the roof of the prison we could see people exercising on the roof of a building below. I was quite surprised, when I woke up, to find that I was not imprisoned after all. It was such a realistic dream.

Monday morning we went first to May in order to open her front door for Christine, a woman who is joining the team of May supporters. Having let her in, we went on to Loule to get new keys to her front door for the support team. Previously May used to let occasional visitors in herself. Now, unless they have keys, they stay outside - as one or two have had to do.

That evening we joined neighbours, Sarah and David, to watch the longest day sun go down from the telef that looms above our hill. The ladies had prepared snacks that we washed down as appropriate. Bobby, who had somehow got out of the garden, joined us. From the telef one gets to see some of the world's finest sunsets. Jonesy always looks out for a green ray.

Monday night I dreamed that I had died - not the first time that I've had such a dream. What I discovered is that when you are dead, you are still aware of other people but they are not aware of you. It's a bit disconcerting.

On Tuesday Luis the electrician rolled up early with his assistant as requested. Jones had heard an ominous crackling coming from a socket in the kitchen when she plugged a device into a neighbouring socket. It wasn't the sort of problem that I wanted to leave her with while I'm away in South Africa next week.

Luis replaced the socket, pointing to the black marks on the old unit where it had been sparking out. Fifteen minutes after his arrival, he was on his way. If only all our problems could be so quickly resolved. Next job is to install a new thermostat to regulate the water temperature. Taking a shower is a challenging experience. For weeks I've been chasing Paulo the plumber.

To our great pleasure, we see that both our bird table and bird bath are now in demand - having been deserted for the best part of a week, presumably while the avian population kept them under scrutiny.

I've been putting out a bird food mixture obtained from the local supermarket.

The pigeons arrived at the table first - no surprises there - followed by a host of sparrows and then an azure-winged magpie. That was special; the magpies are ever so shy. Talking of birds, we had to brake sharply the other night for a nightjar that was sitting in the road - not for the first time.

The bird bath was claimed by the tits which splashed joyfully around. It's lovely to have birds so close by. Portuguese birds tend to be rather shy, which is sensible given the hunting instincts of the locals.

On Tuesday I awoke from my siesta to realise that I'd forgotten about my weekly physio session with Jodi. This was very embarrassing. Most of my appointments I diarise on my phone, which beeps an alert in good time. The local hospitals, aware of patient foibles, either ring or message them in advance of appointments, asking them kindly to say if they're unable to attend.

I apologised to Jodi and booked an appointment on Wednesday morning instead. Jones said she'd come along as she needed a few odds and ends. But her watch had stopped and she was still drying her hair when it was time to go.

"Go without me!" she cried. I knew this wouldn't be a good idea. Instead I suggested that she allow the summer airs to dry her hair naturally. (Temps in the high 30s forecast this weekend.)

No, that wouldn't work. It would be a mess.

Put a hat on then!

No, that wouldn't work either.

AT MATO A VISTA RESTAURANT, WED EVENING

She came along, all the same. Her hair looked fine (because she had stuck a couple of mini-rollers in it, she said.) It seems to me that being a girl is unnecessarily complicated.

Maybe that should just be complicated. Having to look good all the time is against nature. We didn't evolve to preen ourselves - or did we? I don't think I did! Better change the subject!

After Natasha arrived, we took ourselves to lunch at JL's. The brothers make the best toasted tuna sandwiches in town.

PRICKLES - NOT TO BE DISTURBED

Thursday: May's maid has found her lying on the floor. It's the third time this week that she has required the assistance of visitors to get up from the floor. She really needs to go into a nursing home. The rest of Thursday and Friday are going to be busy one way and another.

(Post Script: They were: I spent much of the afternoon and the whole evening getting May belatedly admitted to hospital. She was so weak that she couldn't move a limb of her own accord.)

As I'll be heading south next Tuesday, this is likely to be the last blog for a week or two.