After I got up this morning I had a long exchange of messages with Rufus about the new generation of church leaders and their 'command and control' management style in his diocese. He's not happy about the way things are developing, and with good reason.
Another trip to Mercadona for the second part of this week's grocery shopping this morning. It's necessary when there are a number of heavy items to carry back up the hill. I limit myself to five or six kilos, so as not to put additional stress on my dodgy ankle, even though it is slowly improving as the weeks pass, with walking up and down a steep hill.
When I went to St Andrew's to return the novel I finished after lunch, I met the two church cleaners, and succeeded in chatting to them for while and making myself understood. It seemed that my Spanish pronunciation was intelligible to them! I could understand them, just about. The accent wasn't Andalusian but Latin American, which I'm used to from Duo Lingo lessons and podcasts. It was good to have some live practice at speaking for a change, and find that I have to confidence to talk, even if I stumble and forget to use words I know.
I've been doing Duo Lingo now for seven whole years, but am getting bored with it. I think it may be time to give it up, or at least give up the language drills, which progress so slowly and are annoyingly pedantic. The podcasts are excellent, however, and present very interesting stories. It's really time that I switched on the telly and listened to Las Noticias to get used to the presenters' manner of speaking - generally too fast - it's hard to get used to.
After a walk along the Paseo Maritime I headed back to the house for supper, and settled down to read my new Spanish novel Soldados de Salmina, but only managed a few pages, as I was more tired than I realised and started nodding off. Bed early tonight.
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