Many happy returns.

Christmas and New Year have long since come and gone and Joan and I have been back to SL a couple of times since our festive sojourn.
 At least I have as Joan went out with me on the 30th March and remained when I returned to England on 16th April being still there to greet me when I returned on 5th May, packing me back off to blighty on the 16th May and finally, and somewhat reluctantly re-joining me in the UK on the 22nd May.

The weather over the festive season was positively glorious and we enjoyed a couple of hours in the sunshine on Barril beach on Christmas day before returning to the village to enjoy Christmas dinner for the first time in our Portuguese home.

Christmas day on Barril beach.

New Year's eve was likewise mild and it was possible to enjoy the midnight fireworks in Tavira wearing no more than a light jacket or cardigan.

Sadly the weather over the Easter holiday was not so kind. The temperature plummeted and during the sixteen days I was there it rained twice..............once for seven days and once for six days with the sun making a brief appearance during the three intervening days.

The Portuguese have a saying "Avril, aguas mil." which I suppose is akin to our own "April showers" and we certainly experienced more than our share of the "Aguas Mil".

Easter week and Joan, Barry and Netta enjoy the Aguas Mil at Fabrica.

Mother nature was kinder to us during my May visit and temperatures reached un-seasonal highs of 30+ as the sun blazed daily.
 For those of you who have followed my "Life of Brian" saga I am pleased to report that after some years of determined effort I finally caught "the one that got away".
 A fine 33cm sea bass that would have graced the cold slab of the swishest sea food restaurant was landed at 9am on Friday the 11th May   and quietly but somewhat ceremoniously consumed for lunch at 3pm that very afternoon.

Along with a bottle of Vinho Verde I can recommend no finer way of inducing an afternoon siesta.

The one that didn't get away.

It would seem that possibly as part of Portugal's austerity measures the Policia Maritima are clamping down on fishing without a licence. Both myself and another friend from England were approached and asked to produce our licences so if you are planning to cast a line be sure to first obtain  a licence. A few euros will get you a one month local ticket whereas the fine for not having one is €500.

Throughout our stay we encounter friends old and new including

Willie and Trish       (The Dubliners)

Angus and Michelle   (Scots Canadians and now master clammers)

Wendy and Adrian    ( 1500 miles to meet people from Leeds??).