Winter seems to have dragged on and on and on this year. Spring has been a long time coming. There was a time about a month ago when we had a few days of glorious springtime sunshine and everyone was saying, "That's it. Summer is coming." Except it didn't. A few days of sunshine and then the rain started again. Then, again, a few days of rain, and cloud, for maybe a week and the sun came out, gloriously brightening up the sky, and once again, people were saying, "That's it. Summer is coming." Except it didn't. Again. And that pattern has repeated itself over and over it seems, never quite shaking off the bitter cold winter weather.
So today, for the fifth day in a row, we have sunshine once again. Will this be it? Is Summer truly on it's way? I certainly hope so. It feels a little different this time. The dark clouds on the horizon are gone and the sunshine definitely feels like it's here to stay. Except those dark imposing clouds that sit, ever present, over the Sintra hills, creating a micro-climate that insidiously surrounds the hilltop town of Sintra, envoloping it on all sides with a shadow of low black clouds. On an otherwise clear day, from the viewpoint of Cascais you can actual see these clouds tumbling down the hillsides. The historic town of Sintra is the location of the historic Palace of Portuguese Royalty of years gone by and so, in reverent honour, this weather phenomenon is affectionately named by the locals "The Queen's Fart."
Summer here for my family and I though will be a hectic one. I'm hoping that I will get to spend at least a few beach days doing not much in particular except enjoying the sunshine, the sea and building castles with the kids. But there is lots to do. Lots and lots. And lots. Because there is some important news. I have a new job in Bangladesh. There, I've said it. Actually, my wife and I have both managed to secure new jobs out there, and so my family and I will be moving out of Portugal and heading East, to the city of Dhaka in Bangladesh, where I will once again be a full time employee, earning a full time wage and enjoying all the full time hours at work. It was about time I got myself fully employed though, to be honest, and gave my career a swift kick up the rear end. I was getting nowhere fast treading water in part time employment. But there is simply oh so much to do before we leave Portugal. There's packing and arranging and sorting and selling stuff and more packing. Not to mention vacinations and visas, change of address forms and the small matter of a UK tax return, and probably a million other things that I haven't even thought of yet to do before we get on that plane to Asia.
I've made a start on the new "Expat in Bangladesh" blog though! Click the flag on the right to see it! (And don't forget to bookmark it in your favourites!) For the present I have decided to stick with the familiar theme, but it may change. Of course there are no posts to show right now, and that will most certainly change, and probably well in advance of August. I do plan to blog on both blogs, at least for the foreseeable, so don't go wandering off yet! I have a whole stack of draft posts about all sorts of Portuguese topics that I need to finish off and publish.
In the meantime though, the sun is very definitely shining down on Portugal and I shall endeavor to make the most of my time left here. This weekend is destined to be a beach weekend with swimming and sand castles. After that, I think most of the weekends through the rest of May and into the start of June are taken up with "Life Stuff" and "Work Stuff" and "Bangladesh Stuff" until we take a quick trip, just for a few days, to the UK. Then it's back here to Portugal for the rest of June and July. We move out to Bangladesh in the first few days of August.
No comments:
Post a Comment