Well, it’s more than 3 months since the building work started on the granite escarpment at the back of my house and you’ll all be interested to hear what progress has been made. I’ve been lucky enough to interview one of my neighbours and here’s a transcript:-

Q. Briefly, what has been achieved in 3 months?
A. Humongous levels of noise and dust.

Q. Surely more than that.
A. Well, using a pile driver they’ve chipped out a metre down the entire length of the escarpment and replaced it with a wall of large granite blocks that’s sometimes 3 or 4 metres high and sometimes only 2.

Q. Nothing else?
A. Yes, they’ve moved vast quantities of soil and rock back and forth on the site. And sometimes away from the site. And perhaps back to the site. And destroyed a lot of trees.

Q. But what about the houses? Or even just the foundations?
A. Absolutely nothing. Zilch.

Q. Apart from noisy and dusty, how else would you characterise the work?
A. Discontinuous and inefficient. Sometimes there are workers; sometimes there aren’t. Sometimes the huge machines are working; sometimes they’re not. Much of the time they’re idle. None of the wall-builders have been seen since the start of August.

Q. So, do you still think it will be two years before any house is finished and occupied?
A. No, I now fear it will be at least three. At this rate, it will be a year before they start laying foundations. That’s if they’re allowed to continue.

Q. What do you mean?
A. There were 2 visitors taking photos today. Their T-shirts bore the insignia of the local council. Perhaps no building permit has been issued. One can but hope.

Q. How do you feel about Spain winning the world basketball championship last night?
A. Frankly, I couldn’t care less but perhaps that’s where all the wall-builders are.