You know what it’s like: you go out to the kitchen to make yourself a cup of tea to take onto the balcony after a hard afternoon sun bathing, when suddenly you think to yourself, why not a glass of wine instead.
Its half past six in the evening and the sun is still above that bloody tree next door whose obstinately living branches bring sunset a little sooner than I would like. And it gives me the opportunity to use one of my ridiculously expensive Edinburgh Crystal ‘Edge’ wine goblets because cut glass does catch the sun nicely, doesn’t it?
If you hold this art object up to the sunlight the facets on the cut stem are reflected as little red stars on the underside of the curved Rioja filled space behind the glass. A magpie has suddenly appeared and is cackling at me from the hedge by the side of the pool, presumably attracted by the elegant glints from my enticing cup! I shall move it into the shade to removed temptation!
The worst part of today has been waiting in a ridiculously long queue in Lidel. The Spanish share with the British the belief that the immanence of a Bank Holiday is a sure portent of famine. It is as if the young Joseph (he of the multi-coloured clothing rather than he of the unconvincingly engendered child) has spoken to the Pharaoh and everyone has to scurry around and garner all foodstuffs for the lean years. Anyway the world and his wife were in the store (into which, incidentally, I had only casually popped to see what odd things they were selling in the middle bit) and when I finally entered and saw the press of people I decided that I ‘had to make a shop of it’ in a phrasal verb that would have most of my students weeping copiously at yet another example of the idiocy of English!
As one of the eggs that I had bought cracked in transport, my lunch comprised the simplicity of scrambled egg and slivers of cheese with fresh bread. Delicious!
On the beach our prefabricated chiringuito has finally opened (indicating that this is officially the first day of the summer season) and been doing roaring trade. People are parading up and down our newly almost completed paseo as if they are attempting to establish their professional status. And I have been for my first swim in the pool.
The water, it has to be said, was not welcoming and constant swimming was essential otherwise I feared that the blood in my limbs would congeal.
As I was doing my solitary lengths a small humanoid appeared from one of the lower flats and watched me with interest. He had a small cup on a string with which he vainly hoped to gain my attention. His lack of success was obviously a new and most unpleasant experience for him. You have to understand that children in Spain are absolute tyrants and are used to adults who fawn at every fart so my resilient indifference to his imperial presence was a threat to his nascent world view in which he was the centre of existence.
His manipulation of the stringed cup became more intense with water directed towards my enigmatic wake. Siren-like I swam in parts of the pool furthest away from him and he duly trotted along, sometimes trying to anticipate my eventual touch on the side.
I have to admit that my actions were performed without real hope as the goggles that I had chosen to wear were actually adjusted for my level of short sightedness and so even if I had enticed him into the cold waters of the pool I would really have been duty bound to rescue him. Still, he can’t always expect me to be so keen sighted!
The weather has been delightful and I am praying that the next two days will be the same. If we have a similar day tomorrow then I might be tempted into the sea.
I have discovered that, although I love looking at the beach and the sea, I rarely go onto or into either. I much prefer sitting on the balcony and watching the world go by and having instant access to a decent cup of tea and reasonably priced food!
Tonight is the long awaited clash between Barça and Real Madrid, the result of which could well settle the league championship.
The things one has to worry about!
Its half past six in the evening and the sun is still above that bloody tree next door whose obstinately living branches bring sunset a little sooner than I would like. And it gives me the opportunity to use one of my ridiculously expensive Edinburgh Crystal ‘Edge’ wine goblets because cut glass does catch the sun nicely, doesn’t it?
If you hold this art object up to the sunlight the facets on the cut stem are reflected as little red stars on the underside of the curved Rioja filled space behind the glass. A magpie has suddenly appeared and is cackling at me from the hedge by the side of the pool, presumably attracted by the elegant glints from my enticing cup! I shall move it into the shade to removed temptation!
The worst part of today has been waiting in a ridiculously long queue in Lidel. The Spanish share with the British the belief that the immanence of a Bank Holiday is a sure portent of famine. It is as if the young Joseph (he of the multi-coloured clothing rather than he of the unconvincingly engendered child) has spoken to the Pharaoh and everyone has to scurry around and garner all foodstuffs for the lean years. Anyway the world and his wife were in the store (into which, incidentally, I had only casually popped to see what odd things they were selling in the middle bit) and when I finally entered and saw the press of people I decided that I ‘had to make a shop of it’ in a phrasal verb that would have most of my students weeping copiously at yet another example of the idiocy of English!
As one of the eggs that I had bought cracked in transport, my lunch comprised the simplicity of scrambled egg and slivers of cheese with fresh bread. Delicious!
On the beach our prefabricated chiringuito has finally opened (indicating that this is officially the first day of the summer season) and been doing roaring trade. People are parading up and down our newly almost completed paseo as if they are attempting to establish their professional status. And I have been for my first swim in the pool.
The water, it has to be said, was not welcoming and constant swimming was essential otherwise I feared that the blood in my limbs would congeal.
As I was doing my solitary lengths a small humanoid appeared from one of the lower flats and watched me with interest. He had a small cup on a string with which he vainly hoped to gain my attention. His lack of success was obviously a new and most unpleasant experience for him. You have to understand that children in Spain are absolute tyrants and are used to adults who fawn at every fart so my resilient indifference to his imperial presence was a threat to his nascent world view in which he was the centre of existence.
His manipulation of the stringed cup became more intense with water directed towards my enigmatic wake. Siren-like I swam in parts of the pool furthest away from him and he duly trotted along, sometimes trying to anticipate my eventual touch on the side.
I have to admit that my actions were performed without real hope as the goggles that I had chosen to wear were actually adjusted for my level of short sightedness and so even if I had enticed him into the cold waters of the pool I would really have been duty bound to rescue him. Still, he can’t always expect me to be so keen sighted!
The weather has been delightful and I am praying that the next two days will be the same. If we have a similar day tomorrow then I might be tempted into the sea.
I have discovered that, although I love looking at the beach and the sea, I rarely go onto or into either. I much prefer sitting on the balcony and watching the world go by and having instant access to a decent cup of tea and reasonably priced food!
Tonight is the long awaited clash between Barça and Real Madrid, the result of which could well settle the league championship.
The things one has to worry about!
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