Thank heavens for that. Literally. It's finally raining here on the Costa del Sol and the collective sigh of relief emanating from farmers throughout the land must surely be measurable on the Richter scale.
The current bout of precipitation has brought much pleasure to the casual observer - the sound of raindrops beating poetically on windows, the freshening of the spring air and the comedy gait of locals and tourists alike as they attempt to navigate pavements built with materials specifically designed to send all concerned tumbling base over apex.
The rain has also given us the perfect opportunity to analyse the character of our family and friends, specifically through the medium of that ever-trusty stalwart, the umbrella. You can tell a lot about a person by their attitude towards the old umbertush.
First, we have the uber-cautious. Ever since somebody mentioned at the beginning of February that there might be the odd shower in a few weeks' time, these people have been sporting their brollies as a badge of honour, carrying them everywhere beneath blazing blue skies, with an odd, vacant look in their eyes as they try to fathom why life has become so much more uncomfortable recently.
Next we have the play-safes. These are people who actually listen to and - even worse - take notice of weather forecasts even though every sentient being on the face of the planet knows that the forecasters are just a few blokes with no girlfriends staring at balloons and guessing. The play-safes will carry an umbrella around with them all day because an over-excitable bleached blonde woman on morning TV said something about isobars approaching from the East or something.
After that we have stable door-shutters. These chaps will look out of the window before they leave the house, see that the pavement is wet and consequently grab an umbrella before setting out. Somebody needs to whisper to them quietly that there's a big difference between 'has been raining' and 'is going to rain'. Plus, they're often caught out by the woman in the flat above having watered her balcony flowers earlier that morning.
Finally, my favourite category of all (mainly because I belong to it). These are people who will only take an umbrella out if the rain is washing a random selection of cars down the street. Even then it has to be one of those three-euro ones from the Chinese shop which always break at the first gust of wind thus giving you the perfect excuse to abandon it in the nearest bin with its broken spokes pointing in every direction known to man. The sense of liberation one feels on these occasions is unrivalled.
There's only one possible conclusion to be drawn from all of this, then: don't listen to the hype - it's good to get wet sometimes.
