Month: August 2020

I made sure that Fido went for a wee and any other activity he wished to perform before I went to my hammock. Some noisy dogs nearby woke me up so I ended getting out of my hammock anyway, as one does. The alarm was the next interruption. Only one car was in the car…

I watched another exciting episode from Foyle’s War involving a former SS officer, accused of war crimes, wanted by the Americans, but being sheltered by the British because of his usefulness with the Russian spy network. An interesting ethical conundrum. Sub-plots included the political career of Adam Wainwright, Sam’s husband and supposed dodgy dealings with…

A calming episode of The Waltons preceded my bedtime routine. John Walton was accused of stealing valuable items from a house where he was working. The reality was that the once-rich household had fallen upon hard times like many others during the Depression. The son was secretly selling off the family valuables in order to…

Apart from a brief awakening around 03:00, my hammock kept me asleep. It was at 04:30 the alarm jangled my brain into some semblance of operation. In fact, this morning we managed to get out of the gate by 04:55! I blocked Oskar’s access to the behind-dashboard area so he has no opportunity to hide…

My closest northerly neighbours were there this morning when I went for my swim but later, I noticed they’d gone. They’ve been replaced by a single tent which is in the same sector but at the furthest point under the trees. We can all relax now although it’s possible that some misguided person might decide…

Only one van and one car were parked in the beach car park. A small tent with a dull red light at the entrance was pitched north of the Big Rock on the Big Beach. We were upon it before we saw it, despite the little light. We trudged on by and repeated one more…

Due to other commitments, things didn’t get done on time yesterday so I ended up eating later than usual and only having time for a quick visit to Arkwright’s shop where Granville was adapting the shop bike by means of a lawnmower engine. Needless to say, the motor fell off the bike before he managed…

The wind subsided into a very calm night with the occasional gust just to keep everyone interested. I needed to pull a sheet over me as I lay in my hammock but it would have been too hot inside the van. Some cats were having a discussion just before getting up time so Luis, sans…

It huffed and puffed but it didn’t blow down my SunBlocker as I’d taken it down already. So I was glad I did. I slept on my bed which started out as being a good idea until the wind stopped and it got very hot despite having the roof vent and both cab windows open.…

Another night inside as the forecast predicted wind however it didn’t materialise; assuming wind is supposed to materialise. It was a little warm at times and an annoying mosquito was whining outside of my anti-mosquito netting. Skinny was on hand to greet me however I was a little confused as I’d updated my watch to…

I slept in. Not as in long sleep in the morning but as in inside. I had to clear the junk off my bed before I could get in as it’s been a while since I slept there. It didn’t take any time for Skinny to adjust as he was there to welcome me to…

My evening entertainment, for anyone who might be interested, consisted of an episode of Spooks where the final member of the original cast has been killed off. I’m guessing it’s because they’ve gone on to greater things. My next was an episode of The Waltons which is always a relaxing way to close the day…

It was chilly when I woke up at 03:45. Once conscious, I needed to get up for the loo. Naturally, that caused a disturbance in the Force so Obi appeared as if by magic followed by Isabella who clumped around on the decking with Obi sounding like only half a herd of elephants. The other…

Something woke me around 01:30 so I was pleased to look at the time to see how much longer I had in bed. Maybe it was the baby nearby? I finally woke at 04:00 so accepted I was unlikely to sleep longer and got up to get the dogs ready for their walk. It’s new…

I watched the first episode of Shetland. So far, two or three people have died in this murder-mystery set in, surprisingly, Shetland. The story so far includes goings-on from WWII and the Shetland Bus. It’s possible that one of the victims of this story died a long time ago. It seemed like a good story…

The third episode of Once Upon A Time In Iraq was very interesting. It centred around the US clearing operation of all insurgents in Fallujah, the serious wounding of an Iraqi baby and his mother and the death of a US marine whilst escorting a reporter to take a photo of a dead insurgent in…

I (re)watched another excellent episode of Foyle’s War where MI5 agent Foyle was delving into a Russian spy ring giving away the location of UK safe-houses. I wandered out to the loo to discover a large empty area adjacent to my northern boundary. I know it would be only minutes before it would be filled…

I watched the second part of the BBC ‘Once Upon A Time In Iraq’ documentary where the initial euphoria of the invasion gradually fades through attempts to put things right to outright, unmitigated violence to the people of Iraq. The narrative ties in with my general perception of the Iraq war and the painful aftermath.…

With a minimum temperature of 28.5℃, outside was the place to be last night. The inside dogs were on the floor as the seats were too hot even with the fan on. I discovered Isabella curled up in the brown chair which was out on the decking close to my hammock when I got up.…

I was in bed by 22:00 and asleep soon after. We’d watched the first instalment of Perry Mason followed by the first of Once Upon A Time In Iraq as recommended by Ursula. The first episode of the series looked at the period leading up to an including the invasion by US and UK forces…

The final episode of ‘Defending Jacob’ has an interesting twist which is a departure from the novel to the chagrin of those whose comments I read. The ending leaves scope for another series and plenty of doubt and uncertainty. I finished off the evening with Porridge which seemed apposite. I only woke up and got…

I amused myself with a story from Cracker starring a particularly overweight and unwell-looking Robbie Coltrane as Dr Fitz who helps the police solve difficult crimes. This story consisted of several episodes stitched together totalling 2.5hrs! I slept outside and my night was punctuated by some doggy outbursts however I wasn’t conscious enough to do…

Another night inside where perhaps outside would have been better as I woke up at 04:00 feeling hot. In the early part of the night there was activity without and I discovered the rental tents had relocated to the storeroom to be replaced by small, personal tents belonging to customers. The same cars were in…

It was cooler last night so I slept inside for the first time in several days. I had to remove the accumulated clutter from my bed as it had become a temporary storage facility. I could have slept outside as the temperature rose as the night progressed so I was quite warm come the morning.…

Fido and Luis needed to go to the loo at 00:55, to my great joy. At least Luis wasn’t barking at caterwauling! I clambered back into my hammock and drifted off until just before the alarm. The walks were organised in the same way as the previous days. There were more cars in the car…

I slept outside in my hammock but needed to put on a T-Shirt around 03:00 as it felt cooler. I took the opportunity to put Skinny inside too. There was plenty of moonlight for the first walk and I’d taken the precaution of kitting out the dogs with their collars so that we could go…

I just love August! Particularly the 15 August Holiday Weekend which is next weekend – yippee! It’s going to be pretty horrid over that weekend but the good thing will be that it’s all downhill to quieter days with cooler weather and fewer people. Not that we’ve been rushed off our feet this year which,…

My hammock was cool and comfortable as I lay gazing at the full moon as it climbed slowly in the sky. It reminds me of an earlier visit to Greece with Danny when we took a ferry to Kythera with a couple of stray Dutch kids we’d adopted. I think they were cousins but I…

I started off outside yesterday evening but then went in due to the wind and the fact it was cooler. I was preparing to sleep inside but discovered later that the wind had dropped completely so hammock-sleeping was again on the menu. I went initially to try it out but the trial was so successful…

I watched Darkest Hour for some reason last night as I think I’d seen most of it before. I fell asleep during the final few minutes and woke up around 23:00. Not such a good plan as I had things to do so needed to wake up to do them. Consequently, I was awake until…

Maria came to tell me around 21:00 that it was Georgia’s birthday celebration down at the restaurant in half-an-hour or so. I’d just had a meal so sat down in my chair for a while. It was 01:15 when I woke up and I could hear the party was still going strong. I opted to…