Summertime.....

Another hot - too hot! - day again today. Charlie nudged me awake about 06:20 with an attempt to find an open window/escape route. Needing a Pee anyway, I got up and opened the downstairs windows for him. They have Rejas, metal grilles, so are secure. They give him a safe entry/exit at various levels. He was back by about 08:00 when I got up to make tea for J who was exhausted and fancied a lazy lie-in sort of morning.

I collected her from Malaga airport yesterday, arriving about thirty minutes after she landed, due to getting stuck in a traffic Jam a few miles East of Malaga where a UK white van had toppled over in the carriageway, spilling its booze contents everywhere. The smell of alcohol was pretty strong when I eventually crawled past the site. I then met the inevitable traffic crawl that is Malaga's central autovia  siesta-hour norm! I did however catch the garbled Spanish message to report to the Information desk where J was waiting.

I tried to get a piccy of the Med on my way along the coast road, but the result is less than even my usual best!:

Charlie is getting used to life here but spends much of his time trying to avoid his nemesis, the aggressive Ginger Tom. Now I know that this cat is aggressive because as one of many feral/strays in the village he has had to be forceful to survive. But, he does seem to take it out on Charlie, as the latest incomer and a neutered Tom. I assume the rest of the cats around are Queens and part of his harem, so pose little threat to him:

Charlie's Nemesis

By 09:00 this morning the sun was already surfacing, the temps were about 25 degrees and the ambient heat was draining:

The Morning View

A friend from Romania who lives in the village has offered to set up a Sat dish for us. We have little interest in television but it is the best way to access free UK channels and, most importantly, BBC Radio, which we listen to on a daily basis.  Hopefully, he will be here later today to undertake this task, fingers crossed!

We must also visit friends (Brits) who live in the neighbouring village of Yegen, one-time home to author Gerald Brenan and now - on the back of his time there -  a popular tourist destination for the chattering classes who will walk the hills, take a much welcome/needed drink and tapas and absorb the local culture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Brenan

His magnum opus, South from Granada, is a fair bit boring in reality, full of whimsical ramblings and ropey anthropological observations, in my opinion.  Our Brit buddies who've lived in the village for about eight years or so, now just about outliving his time there  have had enough of the (lack of) culture and John, in particular, as a Jazz lover, is relieved to be heading North to Gascony in France in a few months time.  Unless it's our return to the region that's spurred them to action, of course!

Each morning there is a variety of noisy, hand-on-horn, vans that visit our Barrio. The bread van is usually first at about 09:00 when, hand on horn, he belches to a halt by the fountain. His bread is pretty good but, sadly, he no longer sells/stocks Doughnuts, which used to be one of his definite strengths!  His departure is usually closely followed by the arrival of one or other of the two Fresh Fish vans, which invariably have an excellent range of seafood, shellfish etc., - more than enough to rival your average UK superstore or hard-to-find fishmonger.  Prices are also an eyeopener here. Everything seems to be much cheaper (still) than back in the UK, or France. And as for Sweden.....well, it goes without saying really!

I note they're having a rather wettish summer in Sweden this year. That'll have them all grumbling - sotto voce, of course!  They do live for the outdoor summer dream. And after six months or more of sub zeros and snow, who can blame them?!