September, September

September marks a change here on the Mediterranean. The schools go back and the holidays are officially over. People suffer from post-holiday syndrome. It's got a different name in Spanish but you get the idea and I am not being flippant.

In some cases, people may have taken a month or two for their holidays so you can see why it is such a shock to the system to go back to their city flat and their ordered life, work, and packing kids off to school. After spending one or two months on the beach every day.

Here in our village it is very nice because all the summer in-comers clear off and it is tranquilo again.

Sometimes the weather changes. But not every year. The first year we were here, our neighbours started to rebuild their house. As the rains don't usually start until later in the year, the roof was off. Was there any polythene around just in case it rained? Of course not. Did it rain? It bucketed. Big time Mediterranean rain.

So after a mere four months here we found ourselves running around on the remains of next-door's roof sheeting it all up (he finally borrowed some polythene from his employer), and helping to stem the deluge into the house.

Fortunately, although wet, it was also warm. But the first thing we did was take a hot shower just in case, and then we were invited to have a few drinks next door. I have to say they did very well at being hospitable, our Spanish was not brilliant to say the least, so it can't have been easy for them and it was a fair effort as a thank-you gesture.

I write this because it is looking pretty ominous again here tonight with those beautiful low grey clouds. And it is more or less the same date as that original deluge when we first arrived.

In Gibraltar this week it was meant to rain on National Day. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with a few sun showers in the evening. The next day it chucked it down and I thought a few rainy photos would be cool.

They would have been if I had chance to use the one and only umbrella in the flat which was promptly taken by Hard Working Partner. And by the time I got out it was sunny again. This week has been alternatively sunny and rainy, although still warm.

Here are some Gibpix taken on three different days this week.

Outside the Trafalgar Cemetery


Queensway marina at dusk - showers threatening


Queensway marina a couple of (sunny) days later


One of the residents at the marina


Sunny in Spain - cloud hanging over the Rock