oops, i haven’t posted here since may … & now it’s august! i’ve been rushing around a lot but i will save that for another post, in the mean time andy & i have just finished enjoying a week of urlaub on the slovenian coast. slovenia doesn’t have much coast (just 46 kilometres, apparently) & it’s all pretty rocky, so the “beach” is a human-made affair, with concrete walls containing sand that has presumably been brought in from elsewhere, & demarcated swimming areas between the yachts, launches and jetskis. the sand is geometrically arranged with sun umbrellas and deck chairs, & as it’s now high-season it is pretty well-populated with families & bronzed teenagers. not quite the wild pounding surf and endless empty white sand of new zealand’s beaches … however, it’s fine for lying about reading or resting, & the water is not nearly as bracing as the arctic currents around aotearoa. being at the top of the adriatic, there aren’t any waves to speak of, just a gentle swell caused mostly by passing pleasure craft & the water is so salty that you can float indefinitely without moving. the water is very clear and (mostly) clean – or at least free from visible debris. we stayed in a very nice apartment at villa lili, with a sea view from the balcony (where andy is sitting in the picture with the full moon rising), far enough away from the beach nightlife to be peaceful in the evenings & run by very nice people. so it’s all been very relaxing. it’s true, i did bring the laptop & had 2 online meetings & did various other bits of work, but i’ve also managed to read a novel (doris lessing’s “the sweetest dream” – a bit rambly, not as good as some of her others but still engaging) & make a start on “leo & co.: oktoberfest – und zurück”, which biggi & marion gave me for my birthday.

yes, another birthday has come & gone. this year i celebrated by going to the film “man for a day“, along with director katarina peters & star diane torr, plus about ten friends; the film was great, then there was a Q&A; with the artistes, & afterwards we all went across the road & celebrated into my birthday with some bubbles. it was about 3am when we got home, so we had a nightcap & i opened my presents (which included the “man for a day” t-shirt, a great pair of tights from philippa, echt bayerisch geschenke from martine & lisa, & from karin some great algäuer käse which we got stuck into immediately).