ARRIVALSaturday: As there was little on TV that appealed to us, I put on the DVD of the movie, Arrival, (I had inadvertently ordered two copies) which had won high praise in places that matter. Although we watched it through, we struggled to make sense of it and had difficulty following the 'prize-winning' audio. Only after subsequently reading up on the plot on Wikipedia did I understand what was supposed to have been going on. I don't recommend the movie to non-alien viewers. Nor do Marie and Olly to whom I donated the second copy and who were relieved to find us as mystified as they had been.
SUNRISESunday: Both the video and audio reception from our UK satellite TV were playing up. Previously, these problems had arisen from foliage that grew up around the antenna. So I took the heavy shears and cut back such branches as I could reach from the septic tank on which the antenna stands. Matters improved but not sufficiently to prevent occasional freezing (generally at critical moments), especially when the wind was up. It was time for more radical steps. Fetching the chain saw from my workshop, I took two metres off the twin trunks of the main suspect, a large tree some distance away. Reception is good once again - for the moment.
GREEN DOT MARKS PEEING COUSIN; YELLOW DOT MARKS LIONSFrom a family Whatsapp conversation, I gathered that a South African cousin had walked away from his vehicle in a private game farm late one afternoon in order to relieve himself discreetly a short distance away. As he did so, his companions noticed two lions lying to one side, between him and the vehicle - animals that were taking a keen interest in his actions. Fearfully, they shouted a warning. The said cousin had the cool to stroll back to the vehicle (unscathed) but no-one was in any doubt about the danger he'd been in. Lions at dusk are not to be messed with, however loudly nature calls.
DUNNOMonday: A great barking in the garden led us to a hedgehog that had attracted the attention of the dogs, the second such incident this week. I released it down the road in an unattended field where, I hoped, it might find a quieter life. We've been hearing reports on the BBC about the threats to the hedgehog population in the UK as the result of garden walls and other development.
BARBARA: SEASCAPEAfter shopping in Loule we headed ten minutes north to a retirement complex that had offered to take May's books, many of them elderly recipe books. It was a public holiday and we found nary a soul in reception. So we planted the boxes of books around the fireplace and crept out again, trusting that they might find a grateful home - or at least safe passage to the paper bins.
Our lunch stop was the snack bar in Funchais, a hamlet midway between Loule and Espargal. Although it caters for local folk, it makes the best sandwiches in Portugal (the bakery is 50 metres away) and has a fine selection of wines. Out front, the patio was already crowded. The conversation was deafening. I was interested to note that coffee and sparkling water were the principal beverages although, like most country people, the visitors did a lot of smoking. I reflected that most of them would probably have voted for Trump rather than Clinton.
That evening, as we sat around the table under the trees, sipping glasses of wine, Pally came along and stood up on my thigh to ask for treats and attention. I was thrilled and gave him all the biscuits, hugs and strokes I had. Whether due to the loss of his leg, his independence or his testicles, the dog is becoming much more affectionate.
SPARKY ON THE RIGHTTo cap things, Sparky followed suit a few minutes later, the first time she's done so. I felt the way proud parents do when their prized offspring comes out with its first words. Like her companions, Pally and Mellow, Sparky came to us from the wilderness with an ingrained suspicion of human kind. For more than a year she wouldn't allow us even to touch her. But gradually, as she learned to trust us, she has come to accept stroking, then to enjoy it and now even to seek it.
I set about reducing the height of a bush-hedge that has soared above the light on the gate post. This exercise involved much stretching to reach the branches of four varieties of thickly tangled shrubs and climbers with the extending shears. The pups were delighted to play-fight on the greenery that came tumbling down on to the cobbles.
Tuesday: Jones had her hair cut and I went to have new tyres put on the car ahead of its annual inspection in June. The tyre man apologised; his assistant was on holiday and he was busy with another vehicle till lunch. No problem; my tyres will last another week.
TERRA NOSTRA HOTEL AND HOT POOLI waited on a chair in Fatima's salon while she finished Jones's hair. Fatima talked about her stay at a hotel beside hot springs in the Azores that we hope to visit ourselves in October. Then we lunched with friends who are about to fly to Madeira, Portugal's other island territory. Funchal, the capital - a lovely old city that sits on a steep hillside (like everything else on the island) - is famous for its spring flower festival.
A NEIGHBOUR CALLSIn the evening, as I continued trimming the hedge, Armenio Palmeira, the farmer neighbour who has grafted our trees, dropped by with some goodies for us - a bag of sun-dried figs, a litre of home-brewed baggy and a bucket of strawberries. The fruit had been damaged by the rains, he advised me, and should be consumed promptly.
There was sufficient to feed half a dozen households. Jonesy promptly shared it out among the neighbours. In return, I was able to give Armenio the final sack of carobs that Jones had collected for him, a handful at a time, on our daily walks.
Wednesday: Neighbours popped round with a print-out of an email that had just arrived from Portugal's toll-road company. Although their registered vehicle had been off the road for six months, it was still being billed for phantom journeys, a situation the couple had previously tried to sort out.
THE BACK GARDENThe email attachment contained a mass of locations, dates and figures which, on close examination, appeared to be related to reimbursements rather than charges. Good news! A most helpful help-line fellow said such mix up occasionally occurred when two vehicles had near-identical registration plates. He advised us that all toll-points were monitored by cameras and that the company would check any further disputed charges to see what vehicle was passing through.
We drove up to Benafim for evening pizzas from Dani's mobile kitchen. Dani was working alone, without his wife/partner beside him in the van. When I wondered about her absence, he said it had been that way for the past month. I didn't ask any more questions. Like so many places, the Algarve can have a bad effect on relationships.
We arrived home to find the contents of yet another ripped cushion scattered across the cobbles. It's no good remonstrating. The only solutions are to lock up the cushions or to stay in at night.
Thursday: Dawns under high cloud. Rain is forecast for tomorrow. We have completed our hour-long morning hike and fed the beasts. Ahead of me I have a session with Jodi, a blog to complete, a great many branches to pick up and a walk with dogs in the park. Enough unto the week!
PYRAMID ORCHIDS IN THE PARK
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