Ever since we arrived back in Madrid on Thursday we've been trying to keep our cool.
Well, it's 35 degrees out there, from about 11 until 11, not a cloud in the sky and we've only got a tiny air conditioning unit in the sitting room. We've also got ceiling fans in the sitting room and bedroom, and small portable fan, but they don't bring the temperature down (in fact the small fan gives off heat!) So we've had to come up with other methods to make the interior of the flat liveable.
The most obvious is judicious use of windows, shutters, blinds and awnings. At least one advantage of Rosie waking us up at 7pm is that we can at least enjoy a few hours with the windows wide open to catch the cool early morning breezes. This is when I've been doing all the cooking for the day, before the kitchen becomes a sauna. Then the shutters and awning come down to stop the sun hitting the glass, then finally the windows close at 10.30ish as the air outside increases in temperature. Time to bring out the home made air conditioning.
We've been freezing large tupperware containers of water and placing them, open, in front of the small fan so the air chills as it blows over the melting ice. Then, following a tip from my parents' Sudan days, we stand frozen bottles of water in buckets of cold water and cover the bottles with socks. Not sure of the physics here (an inverse convection current?) but it does seem to work. Finally, generous servings of iced smoothies throughout the day have been keeping us sane. Anyone else got any tips?
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Monday, 19 July 2010
Chilling in Cornwall
First stop off the boat from Santander was St Hilary, the native range of a particular hospitable tribe, the Rainbows, who welcomed us with open house.
Becky, Kate's sister, her husband Dan and their four children (Maisy 10, Elsa 8, Luca 6 and Lily 4) live on a couple of acres down a bumpy track about 10 minutes outside Penzance. It's a beautiful place, with Dr Dan managing to find time to grow a considerable amount of his own veg and raise chickens for eggs. 
We always enjoy staying there, only the tables have turned a bit - Kate may be the eldest but she's way behind Becky (and her other two sisters) in the motherhood stakes. 
Plus in the past we've been care, and responsibility, free - whereas now, with babe-in-arms, we're even more constrained than our hosts. Even more so after our Delica went in for its MOT on Friday afternoon and needed a couple of things doing to it which meant we were carless until Tuesday evening.
Still, we enjoyed our enforced weekend chill-out, and chill was certainly the right word as we'd missed the good weather and were welcomed by proper Cornish mizzle! After the car came back we managed trips to Falmouth, St Ives and the wonderfully named Mabe Burnthouse to visit various friends and relatives, with the sun finally making an appearance on Saturday in time for a walk on the beach. A lovely beginning to our long summer holiday!
Becky, Kate's sister, her husband Dan and their four children (Maisy 10, Elsa 8, Luca 6 and Lily 4) live on a couple of acres down a bumpy track about 10 minutes outside Penzance. It's a beautiful place, with Dr Dan managing to find time to grow a considerable amount of his own veg and raise chickens for eggs. 
We always enjoy staying there, only the tables have turned a bit - Kate may be the eldest but she's way behind Becky (and her other two sisters) in the motherhood stakes. 
Plus in the past we've been care, and responsibility, free - whereas now, with babe-in-arms, we're even more constrained than our hosts. Even more so after our Delica went in for its MOT on Friday afternoon and needed a couple of things doing to it which meant we were carless until Tuesday evening.
Still, we enjoyed our enforced weekend chill-out, and chill was certainly the right word as we'd missed the good weather and were welcomed by proper Cornish mizzle! After the car came back we managed trips to Falmouth, St Ives and the wonderfully named Mabe Burnthouse to visit various friends and relatives, with the sun finally making an appearance on Saturday in time for a walk on the beach. A lovely beginning to our long summer holiday!
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Cathy's party
Beep! Beep! Beep! Suddenly the peace and quiet of another long, hot Sunday afternoon in the South of France was shattered by a string of cars and vans honking their way down the drive to Cathy's gite. Even those of us who were expecting them were pretty surprised, especially at how they'd all managed to coordinate their arrival perfectly. Cathy dashed into the kitchen saying "Oh god! what have we got to feed them" but she really shouldn't have worried, as no sooner had the cars parked when people started tumbling out bearing huge tureens of soups, trays of pizza, platters of roast meats and vegetable terrine, giant bowls of salad, breads, cheeses, pates, dips and bottles of wine, along with boxes of cutlery and crockery. Within five minutes a table for 26 adults was laid, a separate one set up for the enfants, while another was covered with drinks and snacks.
It was Kate's mother's - Cathy - 60th Birthday and she'd planned to have a quiet one. Just her, her boyfriend Jean, her two daughters and their families plus her friend Christian (who's 50th birthday was also that day) and his family. A mere 15 people for lunch, on 3 tables set out under the oak. No sweat. Jean however had other ideas and had teamed up with their friend, landlady and feast organizer extraordinaire Margitte to magic up a surprise party and feast for Cathy's french and anglo friends that lasted well into the warm summer night.
It was the perfect culmination to the two glorious weeks Kate and I had spent relaxing at Cathy's in the company of Kate's sister Becky and her four beautiful children (husband Dan joining us the friday before the party). It was a lovely, lazy time, with mornings often spent swimming at the local lake, trying out boats I'd built with the kids out of paper and plastic bottles, long 5 course lunches eaten out side, walking through the woods with their mental Breton spaniel Cocky, games of cards with Jean and their neighbour Norbert, visits to other friends and local markets, plus lots and lots of reading. It really was a shame to leave - if only the rest of our families and friends could be persuaded to move to France (preferably the Lot region) it would be ideal! 
It was Kate's mother's - Cathy - 60th Birthday and she'd planned to have a quiet one. Just her, her boyfriend Jean, her two daughters and their families plus her friend Christian (who's 50th birthday was also that day) and his family. A mere 15 people for lunch, on 3 tables set out under the oak. No sweat. Jean however had other ideas and had teamed up with their friend, landlady and feast organizer extraordinaire Margitte to magic up a surprise party and feast for Cathy's french and anglo friends that lasted well into the warm summer night.
It was the perfect culmination to the two glorious weeks Kate and I had spent relaxing at Cathy's in the company of Kate's sister Becky and her four beautiful children (husband Dan joining us the friday before the party). It was a lovely, lazy time, with mornings often spent swimming at the local lake, trying out boats I'd built with the kids out of paper and plastic bottles, long 5 course lunches eaten out side, walking through the woods with their mental Breton spaniel Cocky, games of cards with Jean and their neighbour Norbert, visits to other friends and local markets, plus lots and lots of reading. It really was a shame to leave - if only the rest of our families and friends could be persuaded to move to France (preferably the Lot region) it would be ideal!
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Headline News: It's bloomin' hot here... (by Kate)
There was me thinking it was only the English who are obsessed with the weather. How wrong can you be? I am rapidly reaching the conclusion that Spaniards are even more fascinated about the atmospheric situation outside their windows than we are. Never a day goes by without the TV news running a story along the lines of "Hace Mucho Calor!!" (Ain't It Hot?!) with pictures of crowded beaches, people eating ice-creams and vox pops saying things like "It is so hot today I have to wear short sleeves!" and other similarly penetrating comments.
Of course it is very hot, but that's to be expected in Spain during July, where temperatures hitting the forties aren't uncommon in some parts of the peninsula. It happens in a reasonably predictable fashion every year, so why it's such a source of obsession for the broadcasters I really don't know.
The good part about the summer heat is it's an excellent excuse to brandish that most Spanish of accessories, the fan, or abanico as it's called here. It's entirely commonplace to see women of all ages creating themselves a bit of breeze like this and unlike the UK, where fans are regarded as part of a fancy dress costume, nobody bats an eyelid if you pull one out and start wafting away. It takes a bit of practice to perfect the wrist action so you can open your fan with one smooth action and even more practice to be able to close it again, but boy is it satisfying! It took a lesson from my gay friend, Jose before I got the hang of it and now I spend more time opening and closing my fan (purple, with flowers) than actually fanning myself. The "man fan" is also available in shops here, but most chaps prefer not to compromise their macho image by using one (in public, anyway). Most of them make do with a newspaper, meeting agenda or flyer provided by the many street publicists who leaflet the metro entrances in Madrid.
As for how we're coping with the summer heat, well, not bad, so far. Of course it helps to have air conditioning in the flat and a swimming pool available for complete body submersion, admittedly. But even when we're out and about, the simple expedient of staying in the shade and drinking lots of fluids (of the ice-cold variety) keeps us reasonably cool. Plus, Madrid heat being very dry, you don't tend to sweat much (unless you're foolish enough to run around in it) and the quality of feeling hot is somehow less draining. And of course, there's always the fan.
Of course it is very hot, but that's to be expected in Spain during July, where temperatures hitting the forties aren't uncommon in some parts of the peninsula. It happens in a reasonably predictable fashion every year, so why it's such a source of obsession for the broadcasters I really don't know.
The good part about the summer heat is it's an excellent excuse to brandish that most Spanish of accessories, the fan, or abanico as it's called here. It's entirely commonplace to see women of all ages creating themselves a bit of breeze like this and unlike the UK, where fans are regarded as part of a fancy dress costume, nobody bats an eyelid if you pull one out and start wafting away. It takes a bit of practice to perfect the wrist action so you can open your fan with one smooth action and even more practice to be able to close it again, but boy is it satisfying! It took a lesson from my gay friend, Jose before I got the hang of it and now I spend more time opening and closing my fan (purple, with flowers) than actually fanning myself. The "man fan" is also available in shops here, but most chaps prefer not to compromise their macho image by using one (in public, anyway). Most of them make do with a newspaper, meeting agenda or flyer provided by the many street publicists who leaflet the metro entrances in Madrid.
As for how we're coping with the summer heat, well, not bad, so far. Of course it helps to have air conditioning in the flat and a swimming pool available for complete body submersion, admittedly. But even when we're out and about, the simple expedient of staying in the shade and drinking lots of fluids (of the ice-cold variety) keeps us reasonably cool. Plus, Madrid heat being very dry, you don't tend to sweat much (unless you're foolish enough to run around in it) and the quality of feeling hot is somehow less draining. And of course, there's always the fan.
Saturday, 13 June 2009
exciting news
Our swimming pool is finally open for the summer!
Hurrah!! An excuse for Kate to wear very little and an opportunity to get some refreshing exercise. Monday, 1 June 2009
I'm a bit chilly... open the window!
After a rather playful debate between our three flatmates - Jorge, Pete and Alex - the air-conditioning has gone on in our flat. Alex, who pays the bills, wanted it set at 27C, while English Pete was lobbying for 22. I think they settled at 24 in the end.
To be honest Kate and I hadn't been that bothered by the heat. True we had been sleeping on top of the covers, but I think after spending last summer sleeping in 38 degree heat in Sheena, our campervan/solar oven, we've become somewhat inured to warm, windless nights. In fact for us, it's a bit too cold tonight and we've actually opened the window to let a bit of heat back in. Pete, meanwhile, after 4 years in Spain clearly hasn't acclimatised and sleeps with what sounds like a jet engine fanning his room.
To be honest Kate and I hadn't been that bothered by the heat. True we had been sleeping on top of the covers, but I think after spending last summer sleeping in 38 degree heat in Sheena, our campervan/solar oven, we've become somewhat inured to warm, windless nights. In fact for us, it's a bit too cold tonight and we've actually opened the window to let a bit of heat back in. Pete, meanwhile, after 4 years in Spain clearly hasn't acclimatised and sleeps with what sounds like a jet engine fanning his room.
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Mega-exciting!!!!
Yesterday they started getting our swimming pool ready for summer, filling it with fresh water and skimming the leaves out. Woohoo!!
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
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