The rainy season might have started. We have had rain every day for the past few days. It remains hot and sunny in between the showers and already the vegetation is looking perkier. We went off to the East coast with the girls and some friends yesterday where we only had one huge downpour. It happened soon after we got into the sea to body surf on the big rollers. We sat on chairs in the surf and enjoyed a refreshing rain shower that washed the salt off. We must have looked barking mad to the locals who were sheltering under a nearby tree. We had a great BBQ of duck and fish - not normal BBQ fare but Doreen had a surplus of duck and needed to get rid of it. The duck had been pre-boiled and then barbequed with a hoi sin sauce – delicious!

The house build has slowed a little due to the rain. It is a Lucian tradition that as soon as the first drops of rain are felt the entire workforce all rush for shelter! This can result in no work at all being carried out at the height of the rainy season. Jeff is now devising a pay structure that is based on hours actually worked rather than a flat daily rate. The build itself is still at the preparation phase prior to the big cast. The amount of wood and steel involved is amazing and there will be 38 cubic metres of concrete poured on top of it. Will the bamboo scaffolding be able to cope? We’ll find out next Wednesday when Fi and I will be safely back in UK. No doubt we will get a blow-by-blow account by e-mail, and if Jeff can master a blog input, there should be some pictures next week.

Fi and Waggy have continued going to the gym, kayaking and walking, so are both looking fit and tanned. A friend of ours took them off to a bay around the corner for a photo shoot. He is a very talented amateur photographer and got some great shots of them both. Tomorrow is Waggy’s last day so we are off to the Two Pitons for lunch at the Dasheen restaurant and then onto the waterfall at Canaries for a swim. We have to go south first as Jeff has an appointment to see an ENT specialist about his ears. The infection has left him very deaf due to all the debris so hopefully this guy might fix him up properly.

Each night when we have visited Chateau Mygo for a sundowner, Fi and Waggy have taken the fishing rod. They actually caught a red snapper this week and got a round of applause for their efforts - or perhaps perseverance. You really need live bait, which is only available if one of the locals has been using his cast net to get the tiddlers. So the next purchase has to be a cast net of our own so we can become independent fishermen.

There is no great news from Marigot. A few dogs are pregnant - fathers unknown, mangoes are lying all over the roads and the land crabs are getting a bit more active, probably building up to their mating season; apart from that all is well.