It’s been three weeks since we became the official owners of Casa Azul and preparations are advancing. Our lawyer has continued to be very industrious on our behalf – he’s had to register the house with the various official bodies, make an application to conservation services and apply for an IMI exemption. Hopefully our architect is also busy preparing some draft plans for the house. They are due to be produced last week.

Meanwhile me and Jackie have been busy as well. Although Jackie is currently doing some teacher-training in Palestine for the British Council, she has found time to decide what sort of chickens she wants – latest option is some white fluffy variety as far as I can tell. I have been given instructions on how to make a chicken coop. I’m thinking though that perhaps a waterproof roof for ourselves may be more important than one for the chickens. I have, however, bought a rather hefty DIY manual and currently reading about why I would need a nibbler, grout spreader and power jig.

I’m also trying to learn Portuguese. One thing I’ve learnt is that you really need a heavy cold to get the pronunciation of those nasal sounds correct (there are 14 different ones according to my little book).

At least the dates have been set. My last day in the office will be 31st August and we fly back to the UK on 1st September. We are then in Isle of Man and Jersey before beginning the Portuguese adventure for real on 11th September.