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Articles by Chris Whittaker

June in The Mountains

Chris Whittaker

Chris and his wife Julia split their time between York and Jubar in la Alpujarra. Chris is an artist as well as writing regularly for the Moor Times. You can view his web site at www.goggleme.co.uk. He has also been known to do a little DIY around his house. He continually loses his tools so marks them with a blue spot so that he knows they are his. If you come across any then please contact Chris so that he can retrieve them. I am told there are a few at his son-in-laws hotel and restaurant in Mairena, Las Chimeneas.

The need to conserve water drives us in the summer heat.  So we have installed water drips on thin hoses for our vegetable rows.  This involves piercing the tubes at intervals, one per plant, and feeding a small plastic tap into the holes.  This is a struggle on your knees with the sun blazing.  There should be a tool for this job.  David, my son in law,says I need a pair of agricultural thumbs.  

Antonio is back. .  We need Antonio to lay the slate floor, the finishing touch to our summerhouse, which is a delightful asset now the full heat of summer has arrived.

He turned up yesterday at 8am and inspected the job.  Going through our weedy and somewhat unruly veg plot he gave a cursory glance and snorted in Spanish.  My  building tools were then inspected and he went back to his car to get some better ones.  My barrow needed to be cleaned and my pronunciation of the word  “carro” (cah-rrohh) carefully corrected.  Fortunately the cement mixer was pronounced up to scratch and we got started.  I was a little worried about keeping up with him, but we soon established a rapport.

He was, he said, not in a hurry. And this being summer, it would be very hot, so if the sand ran out, we would go home until more arrived.  Either my Spanish has improved or his ear for my accent has, either way I enjoyed the morning and the floor was half complete by midday.  It looks splendid.

I ordered some fresh sand by telephone, and was delighted that Emilio, the builders merchant, seemed to know who I was and where to deliver it, at least approximately.  The problem was that the road between his sand and my need was closed for repairs, and as usual we settled on mañana.  Mañana being the word for both tomorrow and morning, there is room for clarification here, but we shall see.  If there is no road, it can’t be done.  

This morning, on Julia’s advice, I went to ascertain how far the re-surfacing had advanced.  We now estimate it may be finished by this afternoon, which, since everywhere is closed from 2 till 5.30-ish, effectively means this evening.  In the meantime, we are on tenterhooks, or the Spanish equivalent, to make sure the dumper doesn’t take us by surprise, because the driver, if not instructed otherwise, will probably dump it somewhere where we have to barrow it (cah-rrohh) about 40 odd loads.

Antonio will return at 7am tomorrow.  I look forward to another early start!

© 2010 Chris Whittaker

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