When the gas man came to call...
Monday, July 26, 2010 @ 3:41 PM
It’s heading towards 8am, the sun is up but has not yet touched the hillside across the valley so I am enjoying that delicious, fresh moment when the village is cool and quiet, just the birds singing out. Steve has gone off for a ride on the VFR. I think watching the California MotoGP last night has that effect - he just needs to get round some bends and open up the throttle.
Last night as we came up from the land, quite a lot of people were gathered in the plaza outside our little bar - all generations as it was Sunday, with tiny children inspecting a horn beetle, their teenage sisters sitting chatting in odd corners, their parents having a beer and the grandparents keeping an eye on proceedings. One of these, Luis, bought us a drink of local copa (refreshing when diluted with a little ice-cold water) and we joined in the general chit-chat. I learnt about Jesus’ clever psychologist daughter and talked a bit more with our resident computer artist who says of himself that he is a bit mad!
We bought a chilli plant on Friday which is sitting out on the terrace at the moment, in full sun. I need to find out how to grow it and when to pick the chillies. They are pale green now. Steve does a mean little prawn, garlic and red chilli tapas which we both enjoy. Our lunches at the moment consist of a salad dressed with olive oil, local wine vinegar and a sprinkling of salt, plus some fresh bread. Usually we put in pepinos (cucumbers), onions and olives as well as the usual greenery.
I’ve just been interrupted by the arrival of the gas men! No one told us, but here the Junta inspect your bottled gas every 5 years to see if the installation is correct and safe. Ours (for hot water, not the cooker, turns out to be unsafe and poorly installed, so I am having to pay over 300 euros for it to be fixed. It is difficult to know whether this is just a sharp company making money or a sensible, safe and legal requirement. But at least they are doing it straight away and cleaning the heater at the same time. Steve is absent at just the right, or wrong, moment depending on your perspective! He has mastered the re-lighting technique and I just know that these chaps will struggle…What goes on down on the coast, or are you all on mains with not a bottle of gas in sight? J