We were very pleased to learn this morning that Joanne and Tim have finally secured their new house in Shepperton and hope to move in on Feb 19th which is exactly the day we get back from the States so it looks like we may have a rather busy time that day. After waiting for what seems an eternity finally they have a date on which they can begin to organise their life.As it was time to check all the emails etc we headed off to the Whole Foods Supermarket in downtown Sarasota. We discovered this shop by chance the last time we were here and we were so impressed by their displays of fabulous organic produce that Noel took some photos which are hanging on our walls at home. This year we have tried their fresh seafood and fruit which is fabulous though rather expensive, for treats only.... They also have free wifi so we can get online and some excellent chocolate chip cookies to munch whilst on line. So with cups of tea and cookies in hand we called Joanne on Skype and discovered that they were already on their second bottle of Champagne. We also rang Mike & Pauline, our neighbours, for a chat and then headed home to The Meadows.
The area we are staying in is called 'The Meadows' and is a huge area with a low population and comprises of three Golf Courses spread over many acres of land. The houses are of varying sizes and pretty much all of them have a golf and/or water view. I believe the site was built by the English builders Taylor Woodrow and the roads and areas are named after English towns and counties and so we are in Weybridge near Surrey Lane. Rings a bell?
The TV news is full of the very bad earthquake in Haiti and the US government seems to be leading the charge to send aid and help to those who have suffered. This matter has been worse when considering that there has been a corrupt Government for many years whilst the criminals seem to outweigh the rest of the population. During the past ten years the US Government has pumped in almost five billion dollars to help the Government improve the infrastructure and support of its people but somehow ten years later most of the money is unaccounted for except that a number of senior people do not seem to be suffering. The aid which is also given to the poor families often is in the way of equipment but this gets stolen from them by criminals. 4000 serious criminals have escaped from the jail which collapsed in the earthquake and you can guess what they are up to right now.
It would appear the previous government, when trying to avoid any anti government lobbying, used to round up people at random and shoot them in the town square to prove that the government should not be messed with. Good stuff AY?? The US will immediately pump in $100 million dollars of immediate aid and there is general dismay that China is only going to give $ 4.4 million in aid. It would appear that Haiti has refused to recognise China in the past and only has political links with Taiwan.
That's the political bit for today.
While driving home today suddenly the Sat Nav sprang in to life and tracked us through the Meadows Golf course (from hole to hole) whilst we were naturally on the main road. I am not sure where they make the TOM-TOM Sat/Nav but it certainly prefers golf courses to travelling on a main road.
It's been quite a bit warmer today and the weather forecaster on Fox TV said it was 75 F in Sarasota and tomorrow we may expect a little rain. Let's see but we will no doubt go for a walk somewhere and if it stays warm then we may head for the swimming pool and think of the cold weather in England.
Tonight's exotic dinner was Champignon au natural sur la omelette avec petit pois et corn suivre chocolat et vanilla crème glace. All washed down with a glass of single malt.
