At some point last week I threw a short piece of pet-rope high in the air for Jack to fetch. At that moment, a gust of wind carried the rope into the garden. I couldn't see exactly where it had fallen as several bushes obscured my view but I had a pretty good idea. A preliminary search failed to reveal it. So I alerted Jones and we embarked on a meticulous and lengthy search of the agapanthus patch and surrounds. It proved fruitless. The garden had simply swallowed up the rope. Stay tuned.......
PRUNED WILD ROSE
On Saturday Slavic and I set about a number of Barbara's garden projects. The most demanding was cutting back the sprawling wild rose that was pinned to the rear of the shed. The plant had gone berserk and pulled away a light plank supporting the roof. Getting through it's thorny defences took us the best part of a very prickly hour. The bush didn't take prisoners. But the task was well worth the effort.
Sunday morning brought expat brunch at the Hamburgo. It's one of those events that takes place when enough people are around and enthused. I shall not identify those present. Safe to say they are all retired neighbours or ex-neighbours of the same generation as ourselves, who settled in the village at much the same time as we did.
Sunday evening we went along to the Benafim community centre festa. There's lots of food and loud folksy music for those who either just want to enjoy the show or to take to the dance floor themselves. As ever, the ladies were keener dancers than the men and often resorted to dancing with themselves.
We positioned ourselves behind our usual wall overlooking events, Barbara at a table and I on my feet. (There are still few chairs that get along with my bottom.) We paid €5 each for generous helpings of chicken and rice and simply soaked up the scene. I am always struck by the universal sobriety of those present in spite of the inexpensive beer, wine and spirits on offer. There's a real community feel to proceedings.
A NEW TV SET IN THE STUDY
Monday we went to look for a TV set to replace our old upstairs set. In particular I wanted a smart TV with HDMI ports in order to link it to the DVD player that has been plugged into the downstairs TV (where we seldom watch movies). My intention was to move the DVD player upstairs into the study where I tend to recline in front of the TV at night before retiring. Barbara is an early bird, I'm not.
ARTY MIRROR IMAGE
(If you are familiar with RCA, Scart, USB, optical and HDMI fittings, you will know about the complexities of persuading devices to talk to one another.) We found what we wanted at specialist dealers in Almancil who promised to deliver it the following morning - and were as good as their word.
HOYA
Also on Monday we received a message from Natasha to say that she might arrive late for work the following day because she had been involved in an accident. She wasn't injured but for the moment she is without a car unless she can borrow from friends.
Worse news came from Vitor, the village mechanic, who said that he was unable to carry out a car service. He had trapped the forefinger of his left hand in a spring-loaded device that had severely injured it. He was rushed to hospital where the finger was amputated at the first joint. So he's off work and at home on sick leave for the rest of the month. We dropped in to express our sympathies.
Back to the missing piece of rope: It was several days after it went awol that I went out on to the upstairs patio to pin back the shutters. I glanced down at the garden and there it was on top of a topiaried tree, completely invisible from below? I summoned Jones to see where it had got to. (It makes me think of my wife who has the knack of disappearing completely for five minutes in a supermarket before suddenly re-atomising beside one or other shelf.)
Weren't we silly not to think of it?
This scaly memento was left at the foot of a rockery just beyond the formal garden by some serpentine visitor. The wearer must have been quite impressive. We were pleased not to have been around when it was shed.
There's not much to be said about the rest of the week apart perhaps from my continuing search for a better-fitting o-ring to prevent the pool pump filter from leaking. We spend an hour or so a day picking carobs. As usual, Jones continues to walk the dogs - those that will go with her. Russ sometimes ducks out in the mornings. Only Jack and Mini tend to join her in the afternoon. The rest prefer the cool of the house.
I water the garden or continue with our endless repairs of cushions and covers. Note the Gucci stitching on the cushion cover and the green ribbon trim along the rat-nibbled deck-chair canvas. Jack was nearly deprived of upper class rights after a confrontation with Dearheart in the bedroom. As we didn't know who had started it (and the penalty would have been impossible to effect), we let the pair of them off with a warning.
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