R & R in Majorca

We have been on holiday – once again to the Hotel Bon Sol in Illetas, Majorca, where we have spent many holidays in past years. We had a suite of rooms – bathroom, bedroom, sitting room and a large veranda looking out onto the mini-golf course and beyond that, the sea.

Other times we’ve had a bedroom and sitting room combined. It’s quite arbitrary; all the rooms are nice in different ways. There were two sink bowls in the bathroom, so I said to M, ‘This is mine; don’t get my area wet and soapy.’ I also had a hairdryer and magnifying mirror on my side, but M had to sneak over to my patch to get the benefit of the mirror.

We arrived on a Tuesday when it was cloudy; the next day it was dull; we went shopping for fruit juice – I can’t wake up in the morning without liquid refreshment - and bought an umbrella. On Thursday, it was cold and wet – I didn’t go out, but M braved the weather for a while. On Friday, cloud turned to full sun, and from then on the temperature increased day by day. I hid my vulnerable skin one minute and lay out in it for a little while, the next minute. The Bon Sol has various levels of seating , some parts shaded by trees and other more open areas with beach umbrellas. Below is the patio where some people choose to lie, and also where drinks and icecreams are available, and below that the view from the edge of that patio, looking out over the sea. We always sit in shade, but make the occasional foray to the little beach below.

The glass roof above covers part of the restaurant area, where we had buffet lunches each day – for example smoked salmon, Spanish omelette, courgettes, potatoes, or a roast meat with sauté potatoes, or lightly fried or grilled fish; salads and fantastic desserts. All delicious and tempting. M gave way and arrived home half a stone heavier, after a mere ten days. I was very careful, and what’s more, visited the on site gym, every day for half an hour. I am only one pound heavier than when we left home – and smug.

In the time we’ve been going to the Bon Sol, we’ve seen the waiters change from young to middle aged; that applies to us, too, of course.

While I was there, I read the third fiction book of my Piatkus prize (for second place, first three pages of a novel, at the Winchester Conference) – Songs without Words by Anne Packer. Of the other two fiction books which I won, I left one at the hotel last year, and gave one away, but this was markedly better. I empathised with the characters, was amused by the dialogue and caught up by the plot. It had very good descriptions of how the main protagonist felt in the context of the situation, in which they found themselves. (I was inspired to get my own creative juices flowing and break the log-jam with my latest novel.) One thing I did find difficult was an American vocabulary – some words I literally didn’t understand – and to a greater extent – references; I can’t remember being quite so aware of this before, so maybe there’s a difference between Californian language or possible colloquialisms and New York/Boston lingo. Also, a few too many names dropped in, but if they weren’t important, I ignored them. Although it was a large book (in size, I mean) I brought it back home, which is praise indeed.

And speaking of books, all copies of Tainted Tree in Surrey Libraries were out on loan over the weekend, though one's now back on the shelves at Godalming. Hurry along there and collect it, if you're a local.