Washing carpets amid the dunes

I'm finally back from Oz a little less pale and jaded than when I left this dreary backdrop and I'm pleased to see that Spring has (finally) sprung.

I had such a great time in "Fritza" our ickle camper-van, cruising around Tasmania which has stunning countryside and beaches and also pleasant, clean towns with friendly people. My friend looked beautiful for her wedding day and although it was a little damper than she may have hoped, it was a great day. And of course it was great to spend time with my friends, chatting and laughing, drinking and eating, hiking and sleeping...until it was time for us all to go back!

Sadly the Malteaser couldn't make it along (let's just say he has a position of greater authority than me, his new responsibility being to keep me as I'm now broke!) so Ozfest 2009 was 100% Anglo-centric. Whilst I caught back up with my French after a couple of days, I fear that the break has set my Romanian language learning back quite a bit more. I shall have to redouble my efforts if I want to reach any level of competency this side of Christmas!

Luckily the sun and rising temperatures put me in an optimistic mood and there has been a noticeable increase in activity levels in and around our street. Building projects that seemed to have been put on hold over the winter months have resumed, resulting in even more untidy piles of raw materials spread over the pavement and onto the street. I don't actually find it irksome to have the road covered in sand, gravel, uncovered earth or, this weekend, rather potent compost (ironically as I came back from buying compost!) but I imagine that this behaviour would have any self respecting middle class resident of any of my previous addresses up in arms and haranguing the perpetrators constantly with terse notes through the letterbox before deciding to write a very stern letter to the local paper (I can feel you all quaking in your boots at the wrath of Middle England). Here it goes almost unnoticed and many mounds have remained untouched over winter, providing convenient areas for dogs to relieve themselves.

The other activity that has seen a steep rise is carpet cleaning. The general practice among the țigani is to hang their washing out over the fences of their houses. This is where they hang large indoor rugs too, before beating them with a stick to remove all the dirt. You will also find teams of women on the street, either with the carpets on the quite dirty pavement or on the not much cleaner fence, scrubbing at the rugs with soap and water. It seems very laborious and rather a thankless task as it seems to have to be repeated ad nauseam.

I've heard rumours that the carpets are placed on bare ground, not on floorboards, hence the need for all teh cleaning. This is thusfar unconfirmed, I'll have to get back to you on that one!