Updates

Granny is back in London from heavenly stay in Italy with her three old friends and in two days will be off to Venice for Beloved's birthday. Life in betweenwhiles has been a whirl of seeing family - and most beloved babies- in the course of which, yesterday, she ran for a bus, fell over, banged one cheek bone, hard, but managed to avoid a black eye, but also fell on her right hand and has what looks like two broken fingers, currently splinted by Beloved's Beloved daughter with two strips of plaster and a kiddy wax crayon - very effective if odd-looking, but no odder than her swollen and bruised hand. Thank god for NHS Direct: when Granny rang it nice nurse assured her she was self-treating sad hand properly, provided she kept on stuffing in Ibuprofen and applying ice, so averting several hours in A&E. Modern times have something to be said for them, obviously.

Back on the island it's all go. A stray dog got in and killed the two adult chickens and large white-tailed cockerel. That's Beloved's drama. The island's drama is larger and is even big news in the mainland Spanish press. Madrid police have descended on various island town halls and on the island council - cutting off their telephone lines meantime - and on the prison cell of the island Mr Big Crook, who'd been orchestrating corrupt development deals from within. Large numbers of island politicians from his party and others, plus council officials plus developers have been questioned- at least eight have been remanded in custody. A lot of document shredding is going on in local police stations..... the local police being the ones who should have waded in and stopped illegal buildings going up: did they? Hell. All of this has been documented as the 'mere tip of the iceberg.'

Among others questioned has been Granny and Beloved's local mayor - whom they did not vote for.

The police operation called 'Operacion Union' is rumoured to have been instigated by one non-bent - presumably - socialist leader in the Cabildo (the Island Council) for political reasons according to his politicial opponents, especially those in Mr Big Crook's party - which contains most of the arrested ones. All of them, of course, are claiming 'no senor, not me, senor, don't know anything about it, senor,' despite big sting in which bribe money for one development was handed over to a middleman: this one provided by the police, as it turns out.

The story looks like it will run and run. Good. And about time too.