Partition, another perspective

A cooler humid day today, 25C in the morning, cloudy for much of the time. When I woke up just after seven I could hear the buzz of a strimmer or maybe a chainsaw coming from land beyond the urbanizacion boundary wall nearby. An effort is being made to clear the undergrowth, and reduce the fire risk, should we not be so lucky with the wind direction next time, Very hot weather is expected this weekend. I posted the link to tis week's Morning Prayer and Reflection an hour earlier than usual, since I was already up.

After breakfast I recorded and edited next week's Morning Prayer and Reflection audio, with the bussing of power tools inescapable in the distance. Then I finalised my two weekend sermons and printed them, before making lunch. Although it was cool enough to walk, I wasn't in the mood to go out. I had a siesta, then worked on another reflection for two weeks hence, still aiming to get all my preparations done before Clare arrives.

It was gone six when I repeated yesterday's walk as far as the Avenida Juan Carlos to see if the herborista there stocked nettle tea, and I was pleased to find that she did and it only cost me two euros for a packet. I also took photos of the ham slicing championship stalls along the paseo, as the staffs were all now open and displaying their wares - hams, cheeses, some regional wines. It was great to see this very hispanic food fest getting under way, with scores of people buying their cervezas and platos de jamon, served in paper cups and plates. All down the paseo are chest height round tables for four, say, at which to stand and consume. San Miguel brewery seems to have the monopoly on providing al fresco bars, with a half a litre copa priced at one euro fifty. Not bad at all!

When I returned home, BBC Four was showing 'Midnight's Children', based on Salman Rushdie's novel about the partition of the Indian sub-continent 75 years ago this month. An interesting follow up to last night's documentary on this subject, beautifully made, if a little difficult to follow if, like me, you don't know the book.