Gran Canaria: XII

I returned to Dali's restaurant yesterday evening, clutching the nose-bag once more. It was quiet, though I always arrive early and tend to sit at the same table.

I was greeted warmly as usual and shown the menu. They have regular "Gourmet Specials", though I tend to choose from the main menu.

I fancied the breast of lamb. It's awhile since I had lamb. Wolfie asked me how I'd like it cooked (medium).

In the meantime I was brought a small.hors d'oeuvre.

The breast of lamb arrived, cut neatly into about four chunky pieces. It was served with a small side-salad and french fries.

The lamb was excellent; as tender as fillet of beef and completely free of fat.

Wolfie is always attentive, though not irritatingly so. During every course he is anxious to know if the meal is all right.

For dessert I had banana in puff-pastry with a caramel sauce and ice-cream, which was perfectly satisfactory though too akin to the variety served in European Chinese restaurants. Perhaps I am being a bit unfair; it just wasn't out of the ordinary to me.

I drank a small carafe of red house wine with the meal.

105th Archbishop

The Earl of Belmont wishes the new Lord Archbishop-elect of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland and Metropolitan well.

The Most Reverend Richard Lionel Clarke, Lord Bishop of Meath & Kildare, premier bishop of the Church of Ireland (hence the prefix Most Reverend), succeeds the Right Reverend Alan Harper OBE, who has retired as Primate.

Dr Clarke, a widowed father of two from Dublin, is the 105th in the succession of abbots, bishops and archbishops of Armagh since St Patrick.

The Bishop said:

“I look forward to fresh challenges and joys, along with new friendships and discoveries, in the phase of ministry in the Gospel that now lies ahead, both in the Diocese of Armagh and within the wider fellowship of the Church of Ireland and beyond.”

His election will take effect from December 15th this year when he will be enthroned at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh.

Dr Clarke said:

“I truly feel neither worthy of the heritage into which I am to enter, nor adequate for the tasks that lie ahead. The God of Christian belief is, however, a God of grace rather than a God who looks for human self-sufficiency. All I can pledge is that I will give this task the very best of which I am capable and the prayer of all of us must be that God in his grace will enable some good to come from this.”

Dr Clarke said one of the main challenges confronting him and the church’s 480,000 members would be secularism:

“That to me is the danger, to think that religious faith is an add on and the normal default is to be without faith,” he said.

Dr Clarke was educated at Trinity College Dublin and King’s College London.

He began as a curate at Holywood, County Down; worked in Dublin, as dean in residence at Trinity; Dean of Cork; and Perth in Scotland.

Gran Canaria: XI+

The lingering haze and smell of cigarette smoke pervades most, if not all, of the establishments in this resort.

Lest you think I am biased, readers, I have no issue with smokers themselves, most of whom are as decent and honourable a bunch as the next man or woman.

My gripe is with the smoke in bars, clubs and even restaurants, which is horrid and obnoxious.

I suspect that holiday-makers take advantage of Spain's liberal stance on Smoking.

Certainly in the United Kingdom we have rigorous laws on Smoking, firmly enforced.

The great irony, of course, as always, is that we British adhere religiously to EU directives and legislation; whereas other states in Euroland might well flaunt and evade it.

Gran Canaria: XI

Timothy Belmont gets into the old tried and tested routine instanter on most hols.

Breakfast invariably consists of wholemeal buttered toast with home-made marmalade, though whilst abroad I'm quite content to have peach jam.

In lieu of English Breakfast tea, I have coffee with leche condensado ~ sweet, condensed milk ~ which does the job of milk and sugar.

In my experience, the milk turns sour swiftly in this climate.

I HAD A gin-and-tonic at about five o'clock yesterday whilst checking the emails; thereafter, seeing that the bottle of tonic-water remained half-full, I ordered another gin.

Gio's generally places three large ice-cubes in tall glasses. This, in my experience, dilutes the drink too much; so I reduce the number to one cube.

I can tell you that a very large measure of gin can be evaluated when two cubes are removed.

I felt the effects of these snifters afterwards so, as a consequence, ambled back to my apartment. I lay down in the bed and promptly drifted off!

When I looked at the watch, it was too late to get the glad rags on.

Accordingly, I am up and about this morning, ablutions duly accomplished.

Gran Canaria: X

I ate at at little pavement restaurant called Mamma Mia last night. It is rated highly in Tripadvisor, so I went on the strength of its reviews.

I sat outside at a little table facing the square.

The staff at this bistro are well turned out and polite.

Mamma Mia serves Italian food and, unfortunately, a few of the most popular items were unavailable, so the waiter suggested a "special", beef ravioli in a tomato sauce with mozzarella cheese, for the main course.

I inquired if they had garlic bread or alioli, which they did not; so again prosciutto bread with a salad was offered to me as an alternative. I wish now that I hadn't ordered it.

This starter was perfectly acceptable, though the bread was crisp and dry, not my preferred texture in bread. I ought to have known.

The ravioli was also perfectly acceptable; not outstanding in my book. It was served in a small casserole dish. I confess I did wonder whether it had been prepared in advance and reheated in an oven; though I could well be mistaken. It has been known!

I omitted to add that I was given a complimentary half-glass of sparkling wine (Prosecco?) served in a glass flute. I liked this, so had another two glasses.

The bill came to about €25.

I should imagine I'll return to Dali's for my next nosh-up.

Visitor Numbers

Lord Belmont in Northern Ireland generated 32,252 hits in September; still on target to achieve a cumulative figure of 1,000,000 by December, 2012.

Since December, 2007, there have been 938,000 visitors throughout the world.

Gran Canaria: IX

Nine thirty-five. Sun rising; clear blue sky; very warm already; merchants and traders preparing for their day's work.

The beach here must be a few miles long. People walk along the shore-line like a mighty army, in both directions.

Homo Sapiens of all shapes and sizes: The human walruses and hippopotamuses; the children with their parents; the elderly and the sprightly.