SUNNY ISLES
We made a brief trip south this past week to visit some very good friends who spend about two months on Captiva. Captiva and its larger, more commercial neighbor, Sanibel, are lush with greenery, crowded during this season, and strung out between a bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Pretty great venue for escaping winter’s grip and wiggling your toes in the soft sand.
We enjoyed a relaxing 24 hours which included a stroll on the beach, browsing the Tuesday farmers’ market for breakfast pastries, and dinner at The Mad Hatter. This popular restaurant was packed with diners and the food was fabulous. From tasty Caesar salads, we advanced to rack of lamb, black truffle dusted dayboat scallops, and gulf snapper in a stew of cherry tomatoes, artichokes, and little neck clams. It was a memorable visit!
CULTURE NOTES
The Global Affairs lecture this week was a winner with former U.S. Representative Mickey Edwards speaking on the topic, “Does the Constitution Still Matter to Us?’ The Chief Penguin and I had heard him several times in Aspen and found him thoughtful; he delivered again. Later in the week, we were at a Sarasota Orchestra concert. Michael Balke, a young German guest conductor, was very good and seemed in sync with the players, but we were underwhelmed by violinist Midori’s performance. We didn’t particularly care for the Bernstein piece she performed, and she seemed disengaged from the audience.
ON THE SMALL SCREEN
Sticking to my daily treadmill routine requires an engaging series. Here are the latest two I’ve watched.
Morocco: Love in Time of War (Netflix) 
This series is set in the Spanish city of Melilla bordering Morocco. The year is 1921, and the Spaniards are at war with the native Berbers. It focuses on the dame nurses and the doctors who work in the Melilla’s Red Cross hospital. The nurses, overseen by a stalwart duchess and friend of the queen, are from upper class families in Madrid. Working in a war zone requires a level of stamina and flexibility they could never have conjured up.
The series is dubbed, and the dubbing takes some getting used to, but I enjoyed this slice of Spanish history and all the romantic entanglements between nurses and doctors. Fiancés show up, engagements and marriages are tested, and all the while, injured soldiers continue to be brought to the hospital. The duchess does battle with the colonel in charge of the base and even the queen shows up to inspect.
Love, Lies, and Records (Acorn) 
This British series takes place in the records office in Leeds. (Apparently, people in England need to come in person to register births and deaths, something most Americans can do online.) I liked this series but didn’t love it. Some of it is funny as much of life in this office is chaotic and crazy in the most unprofessional way. Interim registrar Kate Dickinson deals with a transgender colleague, engaged couples with immigration issues, and a distraught young widower. In her personal life, she is torn between Rob, her longtime partner and father of her children, and Rick, her colleague and lover. I watched it all, but don’t know that I’ll return if there’s a Season 2.
Notes: Morocco image from Netflix, Love, Lies image from next-episode.com
