LET'S MIST AGAIN

It's Sunday, the church bells rang, but I don't think anybody showed up. The church, the tower seen in the distance, no longer has a priest of its own. Masses are held by itinerant priests but I don't know how often. I know the devout prefer to go to the church in the valley where they can see the same priest every time.

I used to quite like the young priest whose church it used to be, not that I'm a church goer. He was frail, sincere, effete and moody. He used to play Mahler on the church loudspeakers when depressed and throw the rest of us into a mood, too. He became too ill, however, and as there are no longer enough priests to go around the church all but closed except for the odd mass, weddings and funerals.

His name is Don Vincenzo and I quite liked to have him come around just before Easter to bless the house and spritz holy water around the dining room. Now, more cynical priests with scowls on their faces and pot bellies come round. The real object of this blessing exercise is to collect funds. As the priest progresses up the roads, telephones jangle as people ring to warn the next house and give the priest's ETA.

The red triangles in the foreground of this picture are the chimney pots for the outdoor oven. There used to be a place for a pig under it but that space is now a tiny laundry.

This picture was taken at about 7:30 this morning after a long struggle with trees that blotted every shot I wanted to get. I walked the length of our terraces and have 50 pics of tree branches in focus and the curling mists out of focus. The tree to the right in this pic is an olive and to the left an arbutus. There is a war between the sun and the mist today. I think the sun is going to win.

For the record: + 12 C. Humidity 93%.