Out regular Postie is having a day off in the sun and I was outside when the red van drew up at the gate and an unfamiliar figure emerged.

I walked over to collect the post and heard an unusual accent. As always (nosy or just interested in people and places?) I asked the Postman about his accent. He said, “it is Spanish but I am from Cuba. “Oh,” I cried, “I love Cuba”. We stood at the gate talking about politics, economics, the beautiful Island that the Postman misses after 10 years in Miami and one year in England with his British wife. I asked him if he had ever stood in revolution square listening to Fidel Castro’s hours of speeches. “We had no choice, ” He said, “we were bussed in like it or not and stood there while he talked on and on.” We could have stood talking for longer but others were waiting for their post and I had vegetables to pick and cook. The images and sounds of Cuba will stay with me for the rest of the this sunny day.