It has been a week of gay umbrellas. The rain fell and the streets turned into an amazing bubble bath. It does make me wonder what they do to the roads? We sploshed about and felt all the same dizzy excitement as one feels when the first snow of the year falls.

I visited Pam, and prior to our game of mah jong she initiated me into the red hot game of air hockey… She is blessed with a very large house here, a mansion in fact, with five bedrooms where one is given over to Ping Pong and another to the air hockey table. A rescued kitten was holed up in one bathroom, using the facilities to recover from a broken leg, and had to be separated from the King of the House… the large puff ball cat called Tan Tan. Later we sat out, exhausted from flying pucks, and I was all of a tremble and was glad of a quiet sit down… a little more vigorous afternoon than yoga!

John and I drove north on Friday, to the beach that was vast and only held the enthusiastic kite surfers.

 The normal roads and tracks were flooded, and all the wonderful desert plants and mangroves decided to bloom.

Only some mad nutter with a strange Mohican style helmet roared up and down in some buggie,

but apart from that, it was like heaven on earth. I had to smile as John seemed to think he could tell which way the wind blew by sticking his finger in the air.

Wouldn’t that be a fine thing? We walked and walked, and I felt like a polo pony being exercised on the beach… as you do. Sore on the calf muscles… so that, along with my aching ‘hockey muscles’, I felt I must be doing something right.

Sandpipers were running races on the tide line and it was fascinating just watching their antics. Not so different from ponsy pigeons puffed up and ready to jump anything female in all the city parks. Great being a boy-bird. Sandpipers can run like the wind… it beats me why they don’t just fly. So much ‘sea talk’ this week, maybe I am still reliving Robert Redford’s epic, ‘All is Lost’ that we saw just recently. He was amazing, it was all so real and he had such an amazing part. He only had one line to say and it began with F and ended with K. That’s the sort of part you get when you are an OAP!!!

John and I decided to go for a pizza at Antonio Carlucci’s at the Pearl last night. Unfortunately the oven was bust so I had the most exquisite pasta dish I have had for a while instead… Penne courgettes with spinach balls… oh it was to die for. I have now got the recipe and have great plans to recreate it. I shall have to walk for a hundred miles to walk off the excesses on my hips now. Maybe I could call Pam, for a rematch.

Thoughts are turning to Christmas and people here are having bazaars and all the trinkets are being brought out, and folk are buzzing about buying a lot of nonsense. We actually bought a beautiful water colour from Roman Turcan (a Canadian Ukranian) who has been here for a long time. The green door and the detail was just perfect and so tranquil.

I had to smile watching the Arabs marching from stall to stall and then suddenly the call to prayer came resounding through the building.

My thoughts are now turning towards ‘icicle land’ as Gerry described it on the phone the other night. Dark winter afternoons, with the curtains drawn and outside the world all decked up in lights. Ah, and all that cooking and shopping and TV watching. A world away from my glass tower and material masterpieces. The mountain series is nearly finished, I must get on… or I will be fretting all through the Festive Season.

Just one more thought: as I was coming back through City Centre Mall the other day I saw this sign. Makes you wonder what goes on, out of the public eye!!