Alwyn and Pam dropped by this morning and took me out for coffee and a catch up chat. They were on holiday in Egypt just before I arrived, but when they returned to the UK, were caught out by the collapse of Monarch Airlines, and had to wait several days until they could get a flight back home to Alicante where their car awaited them. Both are looking happy and relaxed, and not just because they had a lovely holiday with the family over there, but also because the search for a new Chaplain has been fruitful, someone has agreed they want to come and minister here. Just knowing that much lifts a great burden from their shoulders. People will speculate and gossip, but it'll be a while before the name is announced here and elsewhere synchronously, but never mind. Most of the wait for a new priest is over. I'm happy for them, and happy to be out of another locum job, in effect.
I walked back from town via the Consum supermarket, after chatting with Alwyn and Pam, and bought a few sampler packets of dried meats to try. After a siesta, I walked inland along the north side of the rio Aguas and back along the south side, crossing at the point where there's a track over the river course, but it runs several metres underground. I got several photos of birds in a flock of white wagtails that comes down to the river as the sun sets to catch their supper. When the sunilight is at a certain angle, it may make insects easier to see. Their aerobatic flight path is bizarre, a succession of zig-zags in tight formation, not nearly as gracious as that of swifts, but more difficult to sustain, as they don't glide much. After a short series of aerial manouvers, wagtails set down on a branch or a reed to recover, before taking off again. I observed and photographed a few last year. This year there are many more of them.
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