It’s not a lot of fun in Mauritius at the moment. It has been raining in biblical proportions since Sunday afternoon. When you live somewhere that is totally focused on the outdoors it gets very boring, even our regular watering hole has been closed due to heavy downpours. I get fidgety watching TV for too long however, there is some good stuff on at the moment thanks to a Firestick and VPN connection. Thoroughly enjoyed Death in Paradise (who will replace Neville?), UK TV play is entertaining me with The Heart Guy set in Australia (soapy escapist tosh) and Whitstable Pearl while on Netflix we are watching The Gentleman. I have a long watch list on Netflix (Somebody Feed Phil, One Day, Fool Me Once among others) but I hope the rain stops before my eyes go square.
It’s not just the weather that isn’t fun. As many of you will have read on my FB feed we have a terrible stray dog problem on the island and this week we carried out an act of kindness and took an old sick stray to be euthanised. Doing the right thing and doing the easy thing are rarely the same deeds, we both cried even though we had no previous connection with the poor thing. Watching a dog be put to sleep in the back of your car is traumatic even when it’s quick and painless. How vets cope, especially those working for rescue charities is beyond me, perhaps they find solace from those they save.
Other not-fun happenings are people leaving. Our very close friends from the UK are leaving due to a work transfer within days, my friend who is a talented chef, entrepreneur, and designer has returned to the Eastern Cape for business, and other friends from Cape Town are leaving because they miss their grandchildren and another couple are heading back to Durban because the wife hates it here (which is interesting because the husband doesn’t). Other good friends originally from the UK are leaving at the end of the year, again job-related. It’s sad to see our social circle getting smaller, and we will definitely miss all these people. Part of the issue, particularly for South Africans, is how expensive it is becoming here, on par with Europe except for petrol and utilities. If you come from a country where the currency is devalued it’s not much fun.
None of this is a tragedy, except perhaps for the dog. It’s just a part of life – people come and go, things change, and it’s not always sunny wherever you go. However, our little family unit is doing well. We’re enjoying the cool evenings, and trust that the rain will stop soon.
Not Quite Settled 
Please share your thoughts and experiences.