Sorry ...

The apologies were for Mystère when we got back just after six this evening. As we entered the house there was silence ... then a feeble little meow. It required only gentle coaxing to tempt him from his hiding place whereupon he went into full-on, "OMG, where have you been, how could you do this to me??" mode. He didn't know whether to purr or yowl, so he did both, while I apologised profusely for abandoning him for so long. I was so relieved to find him unscathed and looking healthy and well-fed, after all the hassles R and A had. I'm not sure I'll ever feel able to ask anyone else to look after him again.

Later G, who has been feeding him for the last couple of weeks, popped in to say that she'd never got to the point of being able to stroke him, and a couple of times she hadn't seen him for two days and worried that he'd got shut in somewhere. The only reason he stayed in the room while she was here was because I shut him in, hoping that he would acclimatise to her presence. Anyway, he's on my lap now. Happiness!

In other news, while we are bored with Xativa, we are not bored with Sant Sadurni, as for the first time in three years we managed to arrive there on a lunchtime when our favourite restaurant Ticus was both open and not full -- we took the precaution of phoning first. The lunch was gorgeous: four small courses for 15 euros each, including free wine refills. At least waiting that long makes it extra special. Then a wind-lashed drive home -- we've forgotten what wind is during our sojourn in Andalucia.