Back in the saddle again!

That's how it feels after three or four days away from my blog. When I woke this morning, my fingers were twitching in anticipation of typing my first post this new year. It is day three and Bovinia is bathed in brilliant sunshine, which is all the more wonderful after four days of thick, freezing fog.

Yesterday, three boys dressed up in king costumes, one with his face painted brown, appeared at our door, as is the custom here. Their task is to recite something religious and write the date in chalk on people's front doors, in return for which they collect money for a good cause. CG and I knew they would be coming so we were waiting with our 5 euros, eager for a bit of entertainment, which we got, as two out of three kings forgot their lines completely, went red in the face (although you couldn't really tell under the brown facepaint) and just stood mouthing helplessly until they were prompted by a lady standing out of sight in our garage. Her voice made me jump. Then another offstage person - not a king, but enrobed and kind of regal looking - swung that thing with incense burning in it - I wish I knew what it's called but am sure you know what I mean - and wrapped the whole thing up with a blessing. We were vociferous in our praise, particularly CG, who is always extra-hearty in such situations.

A last word for today - the title I chose for this post was partially inspired by my rather slow progress through Jilly Cooper's new 'blockbuster'. I have read all the others and thus felt obliged to purchase and read this one. It's called 'Jump' and it is so, so boring. There are hardly any naughty scenes, which were formerly the sole reason for reading her books; just pages of blurb about racehorses, porn stars and gay tree surgeons. Furthermore, she has quite clearly based the wimpy heroine on herself, which is completely egocentric. Sorry Jilly. I'll plough through to the end and put you on the shelf where you belong.