Today I wandered down to the market – so much noise – so many people – just amazing. Impossible to grasp how many people from how many different nationalities merge into the Costa Blanca summers to meet and chat loudly, in more languages than I can recognise.

A lot of the market vendors are Spanish, of course, selling everything from pottery to shoes and fruit to toys. Usually, there is also a sprinkling of leather and artisan sellers from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria and every now and again there will be someone from Holland, the UK or France selling electronics or cheese or silver jewellery – so it is rare not to find something to tempt me.

At this rate we will need a bigger flat.