September 2017 - Week 1

Friday 1st to Sunday 10th September 2017

Friday I drove over to Eat Etna for an excellent cappuccino and a reasonably good slice of fruit gateau. For dinner we had vegetable and goats cheese pizzas.

Saturday the temperature fell to a manageable 35°C, so we went to The Apple’s Eye at Golden Bay to sip cappuccini and watch the goings on on the beach. For dinner we had left over curry. It had been tasteless so I fried some onions and flavoured them with tamarind, sugar, marmite, salt, pepper, cayenne, Garam masala and tomato puree and added that to the curry and it was excellent!

Sunday we had a force 6 blow in from the north, so finally everything cooled down. We spent quite a lot of time on the terrace enjoying the sun and sea. For dinner we had roasted Mediterranean vegetables with olives and feta, a pretty perfect meal.

Monday Sam had some physio on her shoulder; then we went shopping; then we went home and worked. For dinner we had roasted spiced chicken with sweet potatoes.

After dinner I went for a long walk. It’s still hot but it’s bearable and I am desperate to do some exercise. I walked over to Qawra and as I was passing the Wood Hut I noticed the Scotland versus Malta football match – a world cup qualifier – was just starting. So I stepped in and sat at the bar, ordered a Drambuie and watched the football. Our local beer is called Cisk, pronounced Chisk, and an English couple aged 30 to 35 came in and ordered, “2 Sisks!” I said to him, “No, it’s pronounced Chisk,” and he said, “They have spelt it wrong then,” and I said, “No, it’s like ciao, if the C is followed by an I it is pronounced Ch.” And he said, “That’s only ‘cause they can’t spell!” I asked where they were from and he said Barnsley. I also asked who they were supporting and he said Ing-er-land! I said it was Scotland versus Malta and he said, “I don’t give a f***, I support Ing-er-land.” I don’t think I have found a new best friend.

Apart from that rather weird encounter it was great to get out and do a long walk after dinner again. I saw dogs and cats and lizards and locals and expats and immigrants and ice creams and spaghetti and beer and cocktails and noisy kids and I was all but deafened by the cicadas screaming from the trees and bushes. As the summer progresses their screams get louder and we now have a crescendo that would make even Beethoven sit up and take notice.

Tuesday I went for a walk in the morning. Along the way I passed my hairdresser who didn’t look well. He called me into his shop and told me his wife had left him. I made lots of sympathetic noises and ended up getting an unplanned haircut! For dinner we had chicken with corn fritters.

Wednesday morning I tried to get out but it was incredibly humid, so I contented myself with a stroll to the shops. For dinner I made a mushroom chiili which I thought was great but Sam found too hot. Fortunately we had a hundredweight of roast potatoes to go with it so she didn’t starve. I managed a good walk after dinner.

Thursday we went to Ibragg so Sam could see her physio, then we went to a local café for cappuccini, toast and croissants. After that we did a food shop at Greens. For dinner we had fish fingers, fish nuggets and oven chips. How healthy is that?

Friday we were woken by the sounds of thunder and rain striking the windows. Most of the day we had thick clouds, rain and thunder. That was our first proper rain since April. We didn’t get out although I did manage an after dinner walk once the weather had cleared. For dinner we had pizzas.

Saturday morning we went to Eat Etna for cappuccini, then we walked over to Café del Mar and around Qawra. In the evening we went to the Square for a couple of beers, then on to HOS for excellent Indian food; papadums, lamb tikka masala, naan and chicken biryani.

Sunday we mostly worked. For dinner I cooked corn beef hash for a change.