Friday 17th.

Woke to threatening looking weather which soon turned into vile weather with lots of rain. Visited Bruce and Jennifer in morning to discuss final arrangements for next year.Looking forward so much to living in a larger and lighter and thoroughly welcoming space! Whoopee! tempted to simply stay on now, especially as we have spent most of the rest of today sorting and packing YUK!! Got fed up in the end and went out to Silves for last visit; bought new cork table mats for home and K bought new clothes from interesting Moroccan shop. Evening to Mato o Vista again for final dinner with Luis and his mate Francisco in attendance.Too many glasses of wine again plus free medronho, parting gift from Luis who is already looking forward to seeing us next year. Delicious grilled lamb. Portuguese food may not be very exciting, but they do grilled meat and fish really well (though best to avoid their stews!!) Mixed feelings today of not wanting to leave but also wanting to get home and see family and friends again. Soon be saying farewell to our host, John, of the 'skellingtons', 'arthuritis', and endless discourses on his many and varied areas of expertise. And not least being woken in the morning by his shouted instructions to his minions Minel ( easy to confuse with Manuel from Fawlty Towers) and Jean Pierre, a French bee-keeper-cum builder who also works for him and who John calls John Pee Air.