A Brief Lull In Proceedings

This is the just about the quietest time of the year. Christmas, New Year, the Three Kings and the Fiesta de San Sebastián are behind us and Carnaval is still two weeks away. At the same time, although we have now started to get some lovely warm, sunny days, they are in the nature of false starts, and are quickly followed by colder, greyer and windier days. On the other hand, the sun is now setting discernibly later than it was at the end of last year. It is one of the consolations of winter here that we are far enough south for the days always to be longer between October and March than they are in the UK. I see that where my daughters live in the South of England, the sun sets at 5.30 in the evening. Even on the shortest day, our sunset came just after 6 o’clock. Now we are still in daylight at 7.30. This weekend heralds half-term in the UK, so we can expect to see an influx of families with children into the area over the weekend, then, as I say, Carnaval will arrive, celebrated down in Nerja next Saturday and Sunday, and here in the village the following Saturday. A couple of weeks or so after that, the clocks will go forward, the windy days will become less frequent and it will be well and truly spring again. And at Easter we have the family coming out to stay for a few days.