The night was not too peaceful. Minnie woke me up around 02:00 by barking in response to Mickey who was somewhere near the beach. I asked her politely to go back to sleep which she did. Later, around 04:00, it was the turn of Five to make a racket which she succeeded in doing for over thirty minutes! I was not about to wander around the camping to find out what was going on since Maria is here so it’s down to her to sort out this stuff. Having spoken to Steffie and Ursula, who also mentioned the punctured night, I passed the information to Maria for her action. She said she would keep Mickey in with her and I should call her if Five kicks off again. I told Maria that all of my dogs, bar Boris and Dave are kept in at night since this is the most reliable way to pass a disturbance-free night. If it were up to me, Five and Mickey would be put in their houses each night to be let out the following morning. This notion that dogs should be free to express themselves however they wish is about as effective as allowing children to discover everything for themselves without adult intervention. Neither scenario, in my view, holds water.
That said, Boris was being a ‘creaking door’ from around 05:00 but not sufficiently to make me part with my bedclothes! I got up at 05:30 and we were at the end of the Promontory by around 05:50 I expect. The moon makes all the difference for both human and dog so great fun was had by all.
Ursula proposed the formation of a bean stew for later in the day and Tony said he was up for it too. Beans were therefore put in to soak. The German neighbours from across the road were departing so I was grooming them as potential finders of homes for dogs. I walked down with Dave and watched them throwing a ball in the sea for their dog. She is trained to even pick up the sandy ball and place it in an outstretched polythene bag for carriage home!
I disappeared with Dave and did useful things. If only I could remember what they were…
In cooler weather, Dave is able to have more walks around the camping during the day. This is useful as it prevents me from sitting down for long periods and for him it may help to dissipate some of the fluid which might build up from his heart condition. I think we had three little walks altogether. Plenty of stops to chat to people and this evening to Maria in reception.
Late afternoon, Ursula produced an exceptionally lovely bean casserole. It was so exceptionally lovely that I ate lots of it purely as a favour so that she shouldn’t feel her efforts were in vain. As a result, I am not feeling hungry at present. Tony, who is not a great eater, nor a great lover of beans, did surprisingly well.
Following the beans and a short interval, Ursula and I took out the younger dogs for their evening walk. To be joined later by Charlie who had slipped the gate as we were going in and out. He found the others ok and we were able to reacquire him without difficulty. Charlie is a good boy so can be trusted to behave nicely under these circumstances.
Dogs were fed and put to bed and I went for Dave’s last wander of the day with Obi. We stopped at the office to chat to Maria and our conversation was punctuated by a series of phone calls: Dimitris from the bar, Martha, Georgia’s mother and someone else to do with the camping. I asked Maria if there were already Albanians in the camping as I’d just seen a familiar face from a previous year wander down towards the kitchens. She replied that the larger room near reception was already let and that more were likely to follow. I suggested the Albanians might be managed more effectively by promoting one of them to local boss. He would be rewarded for his efforts, invited to occasional meals in the house and encouraged through gratuities of beers and cigarettes. Another could be ’employed’ to keep clean the bathroom and kitchen and compensated by reduced charges and similar performance-related gifts. Maria said she would pass these suggestions on to Georgia. I expect the Albanians would respect the camping more if they were responsible to one of their own and it was a fellow Albanian doing the cleaning. We will see…
21:25 already! Time for a glass of red maybe
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