Another windy night followed by a grey, windier day with gusts from 30 to 60mph. I spent the morning preparing an order of service for next Wednesday's funeral, and after cooking and eating lunch, drove to St Andrew's to join in the first hour and a half of an afternoon of board games with added British High Tea. Despite the terrible bluster conditions, over two dozen people arrived to join in, pleased to have a normal opportunity to socialise after the disruption of recent years.
The church building is on the ground floor of a ten storey corner block and it really got buffeted hard by the wind, so much so that some of the closed external aluminium window blinds rattled themselves loose of their tracks and gradually began to disintegrate. Two complete blinds were lost, torn apart strip by strip as they came out of their tracks both sides flapping like a flag in the wind. Habitually the blinds are left lowered, to deflect the sun, as for much of the year it can over-heat the church. In windy spells they need to be left rolled up, but it wasn't thought of in good time.
I left at three thirty to drive to Calahonda and visit the bereaved mother and daughter, living in a gated complex of apartments with its own garden and pool overlooking the sea. I was nervous about driving in such a strong wind, but this posed no problem. For hundreds of metres off shore the sea was a white mass of boiling foam, with huge waves breaking a kilometre offshore. It looked terribly threatening, but for the moment the complex is twenty metres or so above the beach. Things may be different where the weather is extreme once the sea level rises, I guess.
The family are from Glasgow, having settled here over twenty years ago. Both mother and daughter had strong accents, and it was difficult to understand what they were saying on times. Anyway, I gave them copies of the proposed order of service and they seemed happy within. The son isn't arriving until next Tuesday. He's going to give a tribute to his dad. The choice of music has been left to me. I have some ideas to check out, and suggest to them over the phone.
On the journey back to Fuengirola, there didn't seem to be a huge amount of traffic, but it seemed to be flowing less freely than usual, and I wondered why. When we reached the rocky promontory at El Faro I realised. There's a stretch of highway beneath which beach turns into a narrow rocky outcrop and the sea runs right up to it. The driving East wind dashed the waves against the outcrop, throwing water high into the air, and the wind then blew it over the eastbound carriageway which was wet and intermittently covered with sea spray. Unusual conditions in which nobody was interested in taking any risk.
After I reached home and had a drink, I decided to get some exercise. Cautiously I made my way down the hill to Los Boliches, to call at St Andrew's and collect a new crime novel to read before strolling down the main street. As it was getting dark, it was nice to see shops lit up and open for business. Back at the church, another shutter was being shredded on the side of the building facing head on into the wind. It looked as if the whole window and frame might be blown in so two long poles had been propped against the frame and secured in place with tables pushed together. I wonder what it will look like in the morning? Especially if the wind continues.
I made my way uphill, back to the wind this time, a little less hazardous, and made it back to the house without incident. Here in the quiet living room, warm now I've mastered the air blown heating system, the wind moans and howls outside. Time for a read now, and then bed.
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