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Hopefully, you have by this stage read and enjoyed ‘Beyond the Meander’ and about to explore the second in this wonderful series of the ‘ups and the downs’ of life on an olive farm at the Finca de San Juan.
Under the Blue Catalan Sky, opens ‘As the summer of 2001 draws to an end, it leaves us as it arrived, very hot.’ If you have not experienced the extremes of climate in the mountain villages of Catalunya, Malcolm and Lyndsay are now best placed to proffer their limited knowledge.
In the height of the summer heat, the mercury in the direct sun, would, on many occasions, pass through 40 degree centigrade before midday which would be 104 degrees fahrenheit! As if that was not extreme enough, the winters would see the temperature plummet to minus 10 degrees centigrade. This invariably led to no running water until 1100hrs, yet another miscalculation on their part, how would they find a solution to these extremes of climate.
Find a solution they did, which you will find as you turn the pages of both the books.
By now, you have slowly seen the Finca rise to make a home for these two intrepid explorers, there is solar energy to light their home and store more power in the deep cell batteries, with a huge inverter to convert the power collected from the sun and transform that direct current into alternating current that would light and heat their humble abode.
Well, that is pretty simple you would say, many homes all over the world are moving to solar energy, of one sort or another. But at the time of writing this short resume we are almost 25% into the 21st century. To Malcolm and Lyndsay this was fitted and working by them as ‘old father time’ helped see in the 21st century, now 25 plus years ago.
The business that Malcolm aspired to is now up and running. Their home is now ‘open for business’.
Anglers from the four corners of Europe tell the tale of long evenings round a large dining table, wine glass in hand, telling perhaps tales of the one that evaded their lure,or sniffed at and left that juicy worm. But, I am sure for many the size of that monster they did tempt to leave the river, will grow as the tale they tell becomes more exaggerated…..PINOCCHIO comes to mind!
Most evenings, would end with one or two fishermen, having maybe one glass too many, but with Lyndsay providing the food, Malcolm pouring the Rioja, being joined by Peter, Lyndsay’s son, now having made the local village of Riba Roja his home, everybody had a great time and all looking forward to making it down to the mighty Ebro the next day, after a pretty hearty breakfast.
Beyond the Meander introduced us to the old Catalan farmer Juan Ramon, who over time became a very important part in the lives of the two new owners of the Finca de San Juan. Many of its early readers commented in their reviews that they enjoyed the way that the interaction between Malcolm and Juan Ramon indeed blossomed as their friendship grew. I think Malcolm had started to realise that an uneducated 75 year old farmer really could teach that London Grammar school boy that the world didn't start and end in the UK. You will see further interaction between these two, now very close friends.
Peter was also around to help with the Anglers, being a very keen fisherman himself and he became a great help, which the guests started to rely upon.
So, as we move on through UNDER THE BLUE CATALAN SKY, both Lyndsay and Malcolm found the time to explore this beautiful part of the Iberian Peninsula and indeed move further afield to explore the Castellon mountains to the north of Valencia and give a vivid description of the treasures to be found within.
Malcolm has a way of bringing both life and character to these small, but beautiful villages, some clinging to the highest peaks.
There is much more to delight the reader. Malcolm draws us in and his background as both an artist and a storyteller shines through in a way he captures not only the landscape of places visited but also the emotions it inspires. He leads into the wonderful Christmas with their now very close friend Juan Ramon and slowly ventures in to perhaps their next adventure, will it be about the idyllic watermill they have purchased in the Limousin in France? Are they preparing to leave this magnificent valley for pastures new? We will keep all our readers in touch with Malcolm and Lyndsay’s exploits and hope it will be available from early December.

See my new piblished book.