Here and gone!

We enjoyed a lovely week with Jim, Jo and the family. The weather was glorious and they all coped with the heat really well. We managed to get out and about quite a bit, and also had some relaxing times at home while the younger members of the family (all of us sometimes) made the most of our pool. On Sunday they all came to church with me, and Jim shared a bit about his work in Wolverhampton. One of his colleagues in the diocese is a close friend of our pastor and two other families in our congregation, so they had something in common to talk about. We had a particularly interesting day on the Saturday when seven of our members were baptised in the sea near San Juan (just down the road from the flat we lived in when we first came out here). We all went to that. The children had a quick swim and then we all tidied ourselves up for a short service culminating in the baptisms. Afterwards we all had a picnic and then went swimming, and climbed on the rocks. It was a very nice beach (It's the one I tried to send you to Mike, though you actually found a different one). It was really two bays, joined at a point where there was a small chiringuito or 'temporary' beach cafe. One bay, the one we were using, had very shallow water and it was so warm. We stayed in for ages without getting chilled. The other bay was smaller and the water was a bit deeper, but it was teeming with fish, sea anemones, urchins and other interesting things. We also spent a morning on the beach at Mojacar, which is not quite so sandy, but there were some nice waves that we enjoyed playing in. Most evenings we all played board games together. The children were very quick to pick up the rules of a new game I taught them. We did have one evening out at our local bar where there was a live duo singing, and we all had a dance. While we were there Marcus managed to catch a baby gheko which is no mean feat. they are very fast. When Jonathan outgrew his pet ghekos, Marcus took them over until they eventually died. I think he would have taken this one home if he could.

On their last day we went up into Mojacar Pueblo, the little white village up in the hills, overlooking the beach. There are lots of nik-nak shops there and the children enjoyed spending the last of their money. The views are amazing from up there, but we got so hot walking around, and we were glad to go back home for a final dip in the pool. The week just flew past. Having conquered their fear of flying, it was the first time for all of them, they are now saving up to come again.

Not all our visitors are quite so welcome. This intruder for istance, who came to call a week ago on Monday, was one we could have done without. It was the first really hot day we had had, and I was on my way out to my Spanish lesson. Just as I reached the gate, something shot out from under our car, and a little boy walking up the road with his mum, tripped over it. We were all shocked as we realised it was a very big snake! I haven't even seen one anything like that size out on the campo, let alone in the village. It moved like grease lightening across our front garden, zig-zaging about, and then it raised it's head and hissed gently. The boys mum thought it was going to attack me. Fortunately I know that the only dangerous snake out here is the adder, the same as in UK and this definitely wasn't one of them, but I hopped out of the way pretty quick all the same. It went to our fence and shot up the tree in the corner. By this time Chris had heard our shouts and came out to see what was happening. He assumed I was exaggerating and said he would knock it out of the tree so that it couldn't fall on anyone. But when he poked in the tree with a metal pole and the snake fell out just in front of him, he got a bit of a shock too. It was a good four foot long, and at it's thickest, it was as thick as my wrist. I fetched my camera but it was too fast for me to get a good shot, but here is the end of its tail as it re-entered our garden. It then disappeared down the water channel and we haven't seen anything of it since. The other photo I took by moving a branch of the tree and aiming at where I thought it was. I did get a section of it. There were workmen further down the road that afternoon and we think they may have disturbed it. Anyway it is gone now and hopefully it won't be back.

We have a new member in our household today. This is Sombra, which means Shadow. Since we lost Destino, Paco has been lonely, and we miss having her around too, so I had asked several people to keep a look out for a long-haired kitten in need of a good home. And last night, my friend, who works in the cat section of the abandonned animal centre, told me that one had just been brought in. He is about seven weeks old, and has the tiny face and huge ears of a typical Spanish campo cat, but he looks as though he will have a good coat, though he won't, of course, be as fluffy as Destino was. He is very dark grey, with feint siver tabby markings. He should be a lovely cat when he is fully grown. I have had him home for a trial today and he is a real lunatic. He has raced around my craft room all day. He is a bit wild if I pick him up when he is playing, but when he is tired and I have held him for a while, he has a loud purr. He is only a baby and he kept trying to suckle on my neck and arm, but I shall persevere with him, and I am sure he will soon calm down. I have to keep him away from the other animals for a while because he had a parasite in his gut which the others could catch. He is having a course of treatment for five days that will clear it up, so I have to take him to the vet for an injection each day, but by then he should be able to be introduced to Paco, and then to the dogs. That should be fun!

Now I am busy washing sheets and towels ready for my next visitor. Jean is coming out on 23rd and while she is here Chris is taking the opportunity to visit his friends in Oswestry. So Ron will be able to watch the football at home in peace, Chris will watch it at the Punchbowl with Michael, and Jean and I can switch it OFF !! Sounds like a good plan to me.

And finally, here is a link to a video on you tube. Some of you will have already had it by e-mail from me. It is a young 'street dancer' called Tommy, who came second on the TV competition show "So you think you can dance" He is a very talented young man and Ben and I both thought he should have won. Anyway Ben contacted him via Facebook and after chatting about what he likes to dance to, Ben sent him some of his compositions. Tommy liked them, and he has just released this video of his new showreel using Ben's music. Ben wrote it, arranged and played it, and Tommy gave him a bye line at the end of the video, 'Music by Ben Perry'. He is so pleased about it, so I thought I would share it with you here. This is the link,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9XGvuss7Yo

Enjoy!