So that’s it, our few weeks in the Bahamas with Alex, Dave and the grandkids Joe and Amber has come to an end. The sun, the sand and the sea will soon be a distant memory as we struggle with the much cooler weather back in the UK.



Shorts and T-shirts will be replaced by jumpers and jeans. Sitting on the lower terrace looking out over the ocean will be replaced by trying to sort through the mountain of mail that is waiting at home for us.







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Christine has already started making lists of jobs that need to be done when we get home, she has even put priorities on to some of them but still insists that these don’t constitute a Black Book, “they are just lists” she says, nothing to do with a Black Book or project planning. I simply mention the benefits of the Black Book as I wander off for a last look at the ocean, I notice that Christine is now tearing up the lists.


If there is a good point at all about leaving here it must be that at least we should be able to reduce the alcohol intake level for a few weeks. We have just completed another week end and another festival this time the Art and Wine Festival. These Bahamians know how to enjoy a festival. As I have said before fifty to sixty wines to taste plus champagne and six hours to do it in can only lead to one thing if you are not careful, and Jamie was anything but careful.



Jamie, a friend and colleague of Dave who is spending some time out here with us obviously finds festivals very difficult. They just don't seem to be his thing. He has made hard work of both The Cultural Festival, that's him below and now The Art and Wine on the left. But he’s young and will learn in time and anyway if you are going to be ill this is probably as good a setting as any to do it.




Dave and I had both learned from our mistakes at this festival last year and finished the day in remarkably good fettle, probably a first for us, at least we managed to walk to the car this year which was an improvement.






Christine of course is more interested in the art than the wine and finds it difficult to understand why anyone would drink more than enough in an afternoon. I try to explain. Entry to the festival costs $20 and all drinks are free so the principle is simple, the more we drink the better value for money we get but it's all wasted on Christine and she carries on looking at the art. We now have a metal butterfly and a metal fruit bowl to go with the metal tortoise we got last year. We have also spent an additional $70 and she still hasn't drunk her $20 worth of entry fee. But who cares, the art will look good in our garden room.


So there we are, set to come back to the UK for the winter, long dark days, snow, rain and frost for four or five months. Well not really, we are back out here again for Christmas. Can't be too bad can it?.