The paper aeroplane, ever more tattered, still clings to the wires just outside Tinajo. The last lot of figs for now have been frozen. I have produced some work and know where it's all going next. Beloved has finished the letter P in his dictionary. We have a website, an RDSI phone and 24 hour free connection to the internet.

In pursuit of which I spent a pleasing hour down the main town waiting for Telefonica shop to open - one reason this is such a nice town is that it's totally Spanish- and therefore keeps Spanish hours; meaning no opening till 10am and closing between 2 and 5 -hence the wait. But I sat in a cafe, walked along the front looking at children in a play scheme playing games on the beach - team games, football etc. There was one beatiful girl, taller than most, in a bikini, with a lot of curly blondish hair. A female Tadzio - and this ageing woman here, Granny P, feeling like a female version of Visconti's composer yearning over the beautiful boy. Not sexual - just a longing for youth and beauty - couldn't keep my eyes off her and wandered further than I need so as not to lose her. Sunny. Not a tourist in sight. Then back up here - still not a lot of sun up here - cloud low - but it's almost a relief to catch the wind. Muggy even so - this dry dry island is muggy all the time - salt..So dry right now they've cut the water off. It happens- though I doubt if the golf course loses it - or the big hotels.

We can't shower, wash anything, flush the loos, let alone water the plants...


And tomorrow we're off, back to the other island...Granny p

Not a productive day. Weather also returned to standard summer weather up here; cloud never lifted from hills tho' sunny down on all coasts. Just about sums up my my mood; figbound. Reboiling overthin fig jam in morning, setting up first lot for freezing and (for the moment) last lot for compote in the afternnoon. Never thought I would be woman with shelves of preserves, jams, bottled fruit. But here so I am.

Actually our coolish wind etc up here is a relief. Find damp heat lower down stifling. Get prickled enough picking figs even without sun; birds and insects are at them too. The tree reeks.

What else? - watched Frasier at lunchtime - ah - only end realised I'd seen this one before. Never mind; it was funny.

Attic woman seen yesterday, to be taken out to lunch tomorrow, has taken her dog as surrogate beloved.... dog can't handle it, 'Tis both sad and funny. Growing old not good in these circumstances. Wonder was still upright walking 104 year old at Cenotaph celebration(?) of start of World War One. August 4th 1914; 90 years ago today also on Channel4..My Dad still weeping in heaven I daresay for the deaths of his two brothers. So many years of grief,

Beloved is switching off the lights. Bedtime I guess. Granny p

Low cloud - fog - lifting - not from my head. Dionysio next door has been painting the bottom of his boat. He wears a moustache these days. The wheelbarrow squesks along the donkey wall with food for pigs. Nieves, the cleaner, has been and gone - this time complaining about the cold - the fog was still low when she arrived - last week it was the heat. Wind a bit up again. Yesterday it was quite low and swung around all over the place, the way it did before the calima. Back north again now. Day to be generally disrupted as we have a meeting down at attic woman's house this afternoon, to discuss shopping, her, and the workings of our so-called business. Cat is off his food. Well well.

I have one blocked ear so sound also comes to me through fog. We leave for Madrid on Saturday - only way of getting out of here at this time of year. To UK on Sunday. Before then I have much jam to make, writing to finish, clearing up to do. As usual it seems unreal.

Still the leaves on my citrus trees keep on coming at last, and there even looks to be the possiblity of one - maybe two lemons! Banana trees also flourishing, but too small for bananas yet. Beloved doesn't care for them. Handsome and I nurture them despite.

Why is one, only one of our geraniums flourishing - most of the rest flowerless? Nasturtiums on one side finally done for by the heat.

Totally clear earlier; now clouded over - but will clear later, I think. Typical weather up where we are. At other times of year sometimes it doesn't clear all day. Wind, standard NNE, but right down; good.

In next field they're clearing maize stalks - 2 men and truck. When we walked the dogs along the dirt road parallel to us but north last night there was a group of trucks and men, all ages who'd been picking the green grapes. Some brownish. I asked if they hadn't been burnt by heat and they said not all, but many. (Certainly they looked in better state than grapes further down hill which have not swelled up but withered.) Earlier, walking along donkey wall, we put up two parent kestrals and one young - recognisably smaller - which called to each other. A rare treat - kestrals are so proudly alone normally. To see them in domestic mode was touching.

Yesterday was frustrating day, despite starting rather delightfully in the jacuzzi plus coffee brought to me by Beloved. Can imagine worse things. I bought and downloaded Norton 2004, thereby, I hope, finally preventing endless Spanish pop-up ads for blue pills, green pills, you name it. Also wrote longish blog wondering why such technological successes made you feel better about everything -sex life - domestic life - work life, turning latest literary work eg into potential gem as opposed to shite it seemed beforehand...matter of control, I suggested; or of feeling in control. I then moved to save this and it promptly disappeared into ether; no blog. Newly acquired confidence thereby punctured, though granny did manage to write a bit of the not- such- a -literary -masterpiecel thereafter, So all not wholly lost. That was a typical day though; cloud early, then clear skies, brilliant sun, sea a deep blue, islands clear. 'Spectacular views' ie as promised in our brochures which Beloved has at last managed to publish on internet. Good.

Enough for now. Today, later, I have to pick more figs, make more jam. Two lots so far too runny, one lot set like concrete. Merrily, merrily. But at least I have figs. Most other trees - my second one too - have no ripe figs as yet - probably because they had many more at the earlier fruiting in March/April, when this one of mine sulked. Some of these hard green figs - like the unripe ones on my trees - seem burnt by last weeks Calima. Wonder if they will develop at all. If thery do there'll be more jam making on our return in September. Five days now before new departure for London.

Dreamed of my dead twin last night. An amicable dream.
Granny p