Incommunicado

Last night was a busy session in the bar, made all the more pleasurable with the patronization of a group of young Spaniards from Salamanca who engaged Teresa and me in conversational Spanish while they spent an awful lot of money and, after staying for virtually the whole session, managed to walk out of the door in much the same way that they came in despite the drink. Hopefully my spanish will have benefited and Teresa's confidence behind the bar given an almighty boost.

But, I've left my mobile in the bar, Teresa has the keys to open tonight on her own (my night off today) and I feel helpless. If Lary calls........no, it doesn't bear thinking about. Teresa has been told by Favio to do it totally on her own tonight but she has quietly pleaded with me to "be around" so to all intents and purposes my night off isn't going to happen anyway because I've promised her that I will be.

I've heard on the grapevine that my Landlady wants this apartment for herself, which is a spin-off from a conversation I had with her a good few days ago about me "downsizing" into the studio below me that she is currently refurbishing. It looks quite nice what with a new floor an'all but the real attraction for me is the fact that there is hot water at the kitchen sink. Absolute bliss. As for the rent?. That'll depend, no doubt, on just how badly she wants the extra roominess that I've got here, my negotiations will be centred around the fact that the studio is exactly half of what I have here. Whilst the space and the terrace are nice, they are not necessary....the boys always invariably come with either family (Austen) or friends (Aaron) and don't need me to put them up on one of the 6 beds I have and there are balconies at all the windows for plants and plancha. Come to that the plants could come indoors anyway at a push. Talking of the boys, Aaron said just yesterday that he's thinking of coming in November "with folk otherwise I'd be pestering you for a bed." Something to look forward too.