I can think of few better ways of introducing a blog than with a picture of Marvels of Peru, flowers that are flaunting their exuberant colours around the garden at present.
Here is Slavic seated beside Mini and relaxing (over an invisible beer) after a hard Saturday morning's work. I was on the other side of the table, having waved a grateful goodbye to Brian and Nancy who were setting off for a well-earned break in Lisbon.
Behind them they left a pair of undies and a bluetooth speaker that I mailed to Lisbon by express post on Monday. Impressively, the items were delivered the following day as Brian proved in this picture. (Brian spent much of his cameraman's life shooting video of correspondents clutching microphones in similar pose - minus the headgear.)
Also in the Lisbon area, Llewellyn and Lucia and their dogs are settling into life in Portugal. Their rented cottage on the fringes of the Sintra Cascais reserve is close to the beach, much to the approval of all concerned.
WATER BOMBER APPROACHES
They had a dreadful scare last weekend, waking in the early hours to warnings of an approaching wild fire. The blaze came too close to their cottage for comfort in spite of the efforts of hundreds of fire fighters and a number of water-bombing aircraft.
AMARYLLIS BELLADONNA
Right across the country the heat has finally eased off (after the hottest Portuguese September on record). The garden is showing its gratitude for our house-sitters' hard work in our absence.
On Tuesday we supped with Mike and Lyn, long-standing UK friends and frequent visitors to Portugal. Over dinner Mike and I compared car-door-bruised thumbs. Daniella the waitress, whom we called to judge the comparative gravity of our injuries, pronounced his the more impressive (although I'm not convinced).
Prickles is proving as prickly on our return as he was when we left. He calls loudly and repetitively for food that he promptly turns his nose up (at), rejecting dismissively today what he condescended to eat yesterday. We still love him although I couldn't say why.
At the end of a hard carob-picking day we sit down to sun-downer baggies (in this instance a whisky) and the distribution of treats to the eager beasts. Care is required to avoid generous deposits of slobber over one's pants.
Wednesday I visited the council to discover why it wasn't sending the sewage removal tanker to an increasingly desperate and imploring expat neighbour. Turns out that the August visitor influx had left the council facing a huge honey-sucking backlog; meanwhile grimacing residents just have to cross their legs or resort to buckets.
Thursday - that's now - dawned wonderfully drizzly, our first rains of the autumn. The downside is the mud that accumulates under the dogs' paws on our walks and the consequent imprints all over the floor tiles. Pally likes to make the most of the conditions.
Autumn crocuses springing up in the park signalled an approaching and very welcome change in the weather. As I write, Barbara is attending a ladies' lunch at the Alte hotel to mark the umpteenth anniversary of the foundation of a local ladies' group.
THE GALS
She has gone with another member of the group who lives just down the road, leaving the dogs to keep an eye on me. Barbara became a founder member while we were still at the Quintassential although she has long since retired from active duty.
After my customary muesli, fruit and yoghurt and lunch, I plan a refreshing siesta and a cup of tea before a gentle stroll along the concrete paths in the park. Life's tough but there's no point in complaining!
THAT'S ALL FOLKS
No comments:
Post a Comment