Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!!!!!!!!!
Around sunset last night I thought I’d give a couple of my palms a little drink. There had been no rain for a couple of days and ever since The Incident With The Gardener (in which he watched loads of my beautiful plants and trees die – what kind of gardener he be?) the ones that survived are still looking a bit sorry for themselves. So I went to the back of the house and put the hose on the first palm, only to suddenly feel as if my feet were being stabbed by a hundred hot needles.
I’d disturbed a fire ants’ nest.
I hadn’t seen it – in fact I still can’t really see the nest itself – but the ants were teaming all over the hose and all over my feet!
Not a pretty sight!
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’d never win Miss Slim Ankles 2016, but within seconds my feet, ankles and lower legs would have done Mr Blobby proud. I looked as if I’d been pumped up! This rather attractive photo was taken after I’d over-dosed on antihistamines, which, fortunately, I’ve always got with me, and I’d packed ice round the affected areas, so the swelling had begun to subside. It took most of the evening, though, for my ankles and feet to return to anything like normal and this morning I was woken up by the itching returning, so I got up and took more antihistamines and I’m going to the pharmacy later to get a gel. That’ll teach me to come over all Charlie Dimmock!!
And to add insult to injury – it rained about half an hour later so the palms would have got their drink anyway!! And we’ve had another heavy shower this morning, too. Oh well!
Sunday was a very exciting day for Antigua – well, for the whole of the West Indies, when their women’s and men’s teams won the #WT20 Tournaments. I didn’t watch the women’s as it started at 4.30am but I did watch the men’s. What an exciting match! England started their innings poorly, then got better and ended fairly well, although could have done with another ten runs or so, but credit to the Windies’ fielding that prevented them from getting them. Then the Windies started poorly, too, and then got better and then worse again until they needed 19 from the final over. And you knew. You just knew that somehow… somehow they were going to pull it off. And Braithwaite hit four sixes off the first four balls. The West Indies won by 4 wickets with 2 balls left. You had to feel for England’s bowler Ben Stokes, whose face said it all.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/icc-world-t20-2016/top-stories/World-T20-final-Samuels-Brathwaite-stun-England-to-hand-West-Indies-title/articleshow/51673065.cms
But a huge CONGRATULATIONS to both West Indies teams – and their U-19s who also pulled it off. I used to say cricket was boring – well, for me a match that lasts for five days and ends in a tie??? Come on!! But I’ve got to love 20/20 since I’ve been coming to the Caribbean. On Sunday morning I was on the edge of my seat. And the Fella Who’s Far Away (But Nearby At The Moment) needed a couple of paracetamol and a lie down once it was all over.
