Winter’s coming
My body clock is all shot: here in Scotland it gets dark over two hours earlier than in Portugal! That is on a clear day. Today it is sunny but at two in the afternoon, the sun has already sunk behind the treetops and the streets are enveloped in a milky haze. Clammy fog settles on everything. It is just above freezing.
I walked briskly back from the photo shop. The fresh, wintry air is invigorating, but I prefer the warm, cosy kitchen of our centrally heated flat. I’m now sitting upstairs in the toasty little study with the radio playing and enjoy a dramatic view: a wall of white fog is creeping in front of the hills. The trees in the foreground are illuminated by the long rays of the sun and the sky above is eggshell blue, a soft hue which you only ever see at high latitudes. This view never ceases to surprise me. I wish I could install a web cam above the window and play it as wallpaper on my computer after we’ve moved to Reading—it is that spectacular. If only I could take some decent photos (it needs a good zoom lens).
Speaking of which… The first instalment of Portugal pictures is here, taken with the point-and-shoot disposable camera and – aahhrrg – there is not a single dolphin visible in these pictures! I swear the animals were jumping out of the water right in front of me. The photos are also curiously underexposed given the glaring sunlight and, even though this was a high definition film for ‘needle sharp pictures’, some of them are blurred. I will never be a photographer. It is always embarrassing to turn up at the shop to collect my shots :{ —I’m sure the staff have a good laugh at the pictures when I’m gone, but given that this is a student town they probably get to see far more hilarious material.
Anyway, a choice few piccies will accompany future blog entries where I will continue dreaming about the sunny days and gorgeous sights of Portugal. This is one way of forgetting that it is winter outside.
BTW, that point-and-shoot camera isn’t all bad. Here are two pictures of our view I made before going on holiday, in one afternoon about half an hour apart, just to show you the weird colours the sky here can turn:
Denni