I would like to think that the only tents left in the sector to the north of me belong to the camping and are, therefore, empty. They are being ‘stealth tents’ just to make it look like there are people there. The way a restaurateur might sit with his wife at a table in the window to encourage others to come and eat. Now I can watch things in the evening without concern that the volume might be a little high. I can yell at the dogs if I choose. The dogs can bark a bit if they please. I’m getting my camping back!
There’s still the odd bod, like the guy on the phone earlier, who wandered up to the south fence whilst chatting away. Naturally, the dogs all barked and, surprisingly, I did nothing whatsoever to try to stop them. Phone Man disappeared, never to return.
Thursday’s forecast said it would be windy today and it was not wrong. There were gusts to Beaufort 8 this morning. It has been blowy on and off all day and through the night. The awning would have survived it but I feel it has had enough of a bashing already. When taking it down on Thursday I noticed the size of the rip in the fabric. Fortunately, the rip is always around the roller unless the fabric is completely unwound. Not a normal occurrence. There is also something abnormal with the gears which wind the awning in and out. It is as if there is a tooth missing. I might need to get some spare parts. Surprising after only one year of use, however, most people go on holiday for a couple of weeks and use their awning perhaps only once or twice each holiday. Mine has been in use continuously for over one year through winter gales, the lot. Hardly surprising really as it’s not normal use.
The walk this morning was uneventful other than the fact that Charlie, Pea and Oskar were in dash-about mode, which was quite amusing. They have been fairly quiet today although Oskar has had his moments and Luis has been confined to the large cage near me since 14:00. There, he just sleeps quietly.
I have done a little more to the Adopt site but not a whole lot. For some reason, I drifted off to sleep this afternoon as I lounged in my chair, in the shelter of the van, under the carob tree. My slumbers were periodically punctuated by the occasional bark from one of the dogs. I can go shhh whilst asleep now.
After my shower, I released Charlie from the SDC and now he is quietly lying by the southern fence being a ‘resting dog’. Obi is in the shade beside the van under another carob tree, Boris is in subfloor 3 in his trench. Soon, he will be able to walk under the fence.
The carob trees have been allowed to grow unchecked. In March ’16 they were hacked back to allow me to reposition the van facing south so that the fence and the decking could be built. Now they have had their head and grow at liberty. The only pruning I have carried out is to the north side of the van, to prevent the branches scraping on the side and roof when it’s windy. Also at the rear, as I don’t want the branches to interfere with the rear window when it’s open all summer. Sitting here, I noticed the carobs on Janne and Erica’s side of the fence have grown to such an extent that there is only a narrow gap where one lot begins and the others end. Popping out to the shops in the van is definitely not going to happen. Not without a lot of demolition and pruning. All that in only eighteen months! Note to self: Carobs grow quickly!
Don’t tell anyone but there is going to be a certain amount of stealth pruning during the winter. The height of the southern carobs will be blocking the sun so are in need of some attention.
It may be my imagination or just wishful thinking but it’s all beginning to feel end-of-term-ish on the camping. Xanthipos has just pottered off in the Ferarri to pick up the rubbish but everyone seems to be beginning to run out of steam. Most staff have been working 7/7 for the past two months so it’s hardly surprising. There will come a time fairly soon when there will be insufficient custom to support the restaurant, and the bar will be next to go. In previous seasons, the bar has staggered on until the last Sunday of September. I can see from the CCTV recordings that the bar staff are packing up earlier. On one occasion, they were still present as I was going out with the dogs at 05:30! Present, but no customers.
A moggy, on the other side of the fence, is responsible for an outbreak of barking as it casually wanders from under T1 towards Janne and Erica’s van. Charlie’s doze was interrupted, Boris lifted his head to see what was going on and Luis gave a pre-emptive bark so as not to be left out.
Speaking too soon, a couple with a little dog, started to pitch their tent north of me. Their little dog yapped, mine started barking, and I did nothing. They didn’t get the message and decide to pitch their tent elsewhere. Naturally, being locals, the rules of the camping don’t apply to them, so their dog is wandering free. I wonder if it will bark or wander around in the night time…
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