The Lost Weekend.....

Well, dear reader, after a little nap on Thursday afternoon, we headed down to the Reina Isabel for dinner. And that is about all I can remember. So there. I think there must have been some kind of cosmic radiation over the island, because I can’t really remember much about the evening at all and neither can James. I remember that we had dinner at the Reina, and we had drinks at the Reina. Then I remember the Top Totties from Tottington appearing and asking us to go to the El Pirata for drinks. We asked for our bill, it took ages to arrive, by which time Christine and Sheridan had come looking for us again. So, with me in charge of Denise in her wheelchair we headed to the Dinky Bar instead!

To give a little context, the Dinky Bar is on the sea front at S’Algar. For years it was a little coffee and snack bar that also served alcohol too. But it was always closed in the evening I seem to recall. No-one could understand why as it has the best location of all. Anyway, years ago someone woke up to this fact and it is now the hopping bar of S’Algar. So we spent a couple of hours there laughing, chatting, and watching all of the 20 year olds having a good time. There is nothing like watching the youngsters of today to make you feel a little older. Good on them! We had a super time and depending on who you ask it was either 1.30am or 2.45am when we all went to bed. I haven’t a clue to be honest!

Friday was spent on the sea front. I have become a little concerned with sun bathing recently, after listening to a fascinating show on NPR back in the USA about it. So although I would like to acquire a little bit of colour before the wedding, I am not attempting to tan like I used to. Accordingly I scoured the apartment for some suitable sun cream to wear. I found some factor 50 and headed to the front. James headed off for a walk across the rocks to Cala Alcaufar. Never having used factor 50 before I squeezed a large dollop out onto my legs. Oh My God…this stuff was so thick that it took forever to work in to my skin. By the time I had finished I was almost totally white from head to toe. I guess that is how it works, because I shone like a beacon on the front, reflecting sunlight for miles around. Feeling a little conspicuous I quickly lay down and hoped that no one would notice me. No such luck. James of course appears loudly proclaiming “Oh my God you are so white!” Nice….. Actually, by now some of it had worn off/worked further in, so now I bore an uncanny resemblance to Marcel Marceau, the French mime artist. Resisting the urge to stand at the front and do the whole mime/sliding doors thing I settled for lunch instead with James. Perfect!

That evening we headed out at around 8pm. Tonight was the first night of the S’Algar fiesta. When I was a kid the fiesta was a big highlight of the year, with a parade, games, and a famous competition involving a greasy pole. Before you all start sniggering, I never did participate in the greasy pole competition, which involves trying to balance on a greasy pole above the ocean. See….get your minds out of the gutter people. The highlight of tonight’s opening of the Fiesta was a huge Paella for 1000 people. Now THAT is mass catering! We duly lined up with Denise, Maria, and The Totties and surprisingly it was quite good. Washed down with a few glasses of sangria, we had a super time and were ready for an evening of dancing. The band struck up, and all of a sudden we were mesmerized by 1000 Menorquians doing a line dance to Achy Breaky Heart. Some things will stay with you forever….. We danced too, and once our friend Jenne appeared, she and I did a manic dance that slightly resembled a hair dryer being thrown into a bath tub. It was great fun, and, a little exhausted, we returned Denise to her house, and then retired to Christine and Sheridan’s house on the front. This time we were joined by Pauline, or Granny Tottie (GT for short…). We were also accompanied by a strange man called Nick and his dog Truck. Much laughter, many drinks and hilarity later, we realized that Nick had gone and left us with Truck. Way to go Nick! Beats getting a pet sitter I suppose. Just find some random group of people, tag along with them, and when they all get shit-faced, leave the pooch with them and bugger off. The next part of the evening involved Christine lying face down on a couch pretending to be unconscious, Sheridan shrieking at her mother in concern because she thought she was unconscious, GT throwing Cava over everyone, the dog licking everyone and trying to climb off the balcony, and a good time being had by all. I am not sure who the good time was who was had by all, but I vaguely remember Nick returning some time later with a frizzy haired woman from somewhere, collecting his pooch and leaving. ‘Nuff said…..

Morning came with a loud bang. Literally. The parade was launched with a marching band and cannon. When you have a hangover like a juggernaut there is nothing like a marching band outside of your window. Yes, dear reader, this all happened. I am not making any of this up. Roused from our sleep we dashed outside to be faced with 12 foot high Paper Mache (sp) baby. It waved at us. Slightly startled, we waved back. Then it shot water at us with a big water pistol. We were now officially awake. The parade moved on, the vuvuzelas blew, the drums banged and we saw Totties waving in the distance. Ah the joys of summer!

Saturday afternoon was spent at Jenne’s house with her and her mother Betty. We had a great time catching up and chatting. It is lovely to be back with all of our friends. We just wish we had a little longer to be here. The afternoon rolled into the evening, and before we knew it we were all back at the Reina for dinner. After all of the shenanigans of the previous nights, this was a far more sedate affair. John and Sarah, our friends from just outside of S’Algar joined us for a few hours too. Those of you who have been following the blog for a while will remember them from our exploits before. We spent a pleasant evening just chatting and watching the world go by. The evening finished up with the fiesta fireworks, and, feeling a little sluggish, we all kissed our goodbyes and headed to bed.

So now, dear reader, it is Sunday morning. In 30 minutes we will be picking up Denise, duly re-christened the Duchess of S’Algar, and we are heading to see some other good friends, Sue and Alex for Sunday lunch. I can’t wait! Sue and Alex are fabulous people and although we have only known them for a few years, they have been so welcoming to us. Alex has also told me that I can upload to the blog from his PC, so by the time you read this, I will likely be eating roast beef!

And that, dear reader is that. I’ll keep writing and will post more when I can. We hope all are doing well in their parts of the world!

Big love,

D&J