JONES: DAWN OVER ESPARGAL
This has been an exceptionally busy week. I am trying to recall why it feels that way. I have hardly sat down to a Netflix movie. Can you imagine? While I think about it, I shall fall back on our picture diary.
Saturday two of Idalecio's guests, Ray and Ella, joined us for drinks. They are a mid-England couple with whom Barbara had struck up conversations while passing their cottage en route to the waifs. They confessed to having planned a huge pre-Covid international trip before finding themselves stranded in Bratislava as the virus struck. Meanwhile, they are making the best of things.
After a quiet spring, EU flights into Faro have resumed, possibly a dozen a day. Tourist-dependent Spain has joined Portugal in vigorous protests at being red-lined by the UK, especially as the Spanish holiday islands are little-affected by the virus. One has to sympathise, given that England heads Europe's virus death-list, with Scotland not far behind.
Summer continues apace. All that varies is the temperature and not very much. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were torrid. Come to think of it, so were Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. August may bring some relief.
Mello finds post-walkies relief in her pool. Barbara has been trying for days to video the dog's plunge but either her mobile phone hasn't played along - or Mello has decided to give the pool a miss.
Pally just makes the most of the damp cobbles. In our pool - as opposed to Mello's - the surface water gets so hot under the new cover that we have to stir it up before getting in. Dipping a forgetful late-afternoon foot into the water prompts a rapid withdrawal. It helps if we remember to turn the pump on half an hour beforehand.
To our distress, a neighbour's grieving dog continues his daily howls of misery at the death of his partner. They are hard to bear. It doesn't help that the dog is confined during the day to an enclosure although he has the freedom of the yard at night. Barbara has been investing in large bones in a bid to alleviate his sorrows.
Each day I put in an hour or two on the shed. The exterior woodwork has had a second protective coating; solar lights have been installed and several shelving units have been erected. Undoubtedly, it is going to be a splendid shed, a worthy workman's retreat. I even had a registered letter from Leroy Merlin apologising for the confusion over the delivery and hoping that the hefty discount had assuaged my feelings. It certainly had. My feelings have never been better assuaged.
MOBILE COVID TESTING STATION: CABANAS
Wednesday we visited Cabanas to entertain Liz to lunch and then to bring her and Sam (her dog) back to Espargal, where she has been catching up with friends. She and Sam are based for three days in a guest cottage.
Slavic, pictured busy with angle-grinder and pneumatic hammer on our driveway, has been carving out a narrow trench to take a second water-supply pipe. It's proved to be a really big job - and a very dusty one. We hope to get the pipe in next week - although I'm still waiting for the council bill that must be paid before they will install the meter.
Thursday we drove to Faro to renew our residence permits. Entry to the city's one-stop shop these days is by appointment only. Ours was for 12.30. After being ticked off the security guard's check list, we waited "safe-distanced" outside the office with other visitors.
The renewal process itself is now largely computerised and relatively quick - although one has to wait months for an appointment. I'd spent hours filling in the forms available online and collecting copies of all the necessary documents - only to find both the forms and advice out of date. Still, the t-shirted official concerned was cheery and helpful, as well as very pleased to find that we spoke Portuguese.
BARBARA DAWN AGAIN
