Ramblings in Retirement
November 2007

It’s been a funny old month for weather as we have had some rain-showers and cold (12 degrees) which is unusual for us, still, must count our blessings, as it seems the weather in the UK is poor also.

Owing to the flood in the garage in October and the failure of the electronic sensors on the lift, I made a claim on our insurance, they promptly sent an assessor who took photos and agreed to pay for the replacement of the sensors (879€). He also included a sum of 200€ for repainting the interior of the garage. Great news.

The builders also turned up and created a new opening for the second electric garage door completing it in a week. The people who were to install the door arrived the following week and, halfway through, discovered that they had the wrong door colour! (The original door was dark brown and the new one was supposed to match but turned out a pine colour). The boss arrived and apologised profusely saying he would replace it ASAP but that it has to come from Germany so it may be a few weeks, meanwhile we have doors of different colours, which looks a bit silly. We are also waiting on a wall builder to remake the stonewall where the window used to be.

So why do we need two electric doors I hear you say? Well, owing to Penny’s extracurricular activities of Art Classes, Yoga etc., she is demanding she has use of the car which conflicts with my needs. EKE is not a comfortable car to drive in the winter and I don’t relish using it to go to Javea wrapped up like an Eskimo so, we have bought Penny her own car which arrived at the end of the month. It’s a Hyundai Atos automatic (I think it is called an Atos Prime in the UK), which she loves, because it has a high seat making entry and exit easy.

Early in the month Penny “did her back in” and has been suffering considerable pain for most of the month. It still is giving problems and confines her to a stiff chair and frequent hot baths. Several trips to the Osteopath have helped but not cured the problem to date. These things take time but I am sure it is tiresome now.

We managed to go to a theatre show in Denia to see a play called “The Eccentric Lives” which told the story of the Bronte’s family. Penny, being somewhat an aficionado (since we once lived near Haworth), thoroughly enjoyed the play. For myself, having in the past been dragged kicking and screaming to Haworth Parsonage on several occasions, it was also enjoyable as it brought animation to what I have seen in the past. Also the reference to the “Black Bull” pub conjured up pleasant memories for me.

My golf has suffered a setback as the Society Committee reduced my handicap by 5 strokes! Despite this setback I managed to get third prize for a recent competition in Benidorm.

Our house in Gildersome seems to be stuck on the market and there does not appear to be much interest, perhaps this is due to the time of the year. Fortunately we are in no hurry to sell and we may take it off the market and try again in the spring.

This summer we were having lunch with friends at a nice restaurant in the mountains and during the meal one of the couples told us about an adventure holiday they had in Indo-China. We were so enthralled that we got the brochure which detailed the 21 day adventure of travelling through Thailand, Laos and Cambodia living in small town family hotels, eating in local restaurants and mixing with real local people. Visiting hill tribes and ancient sacred ruins, crossing the Mekong River by small boat and a tour of the famous Angkor Wat City in Cambodia it all sounded too fantastic to miss. We have booked this adventure for February 2008 and are now searching for appropriate footwear, rucksacks and Mosquito repellent!

Penny, owing to her back problem has not been as busy with her painting as she finds sitting too uncomfortable but I include a couple of paintings she did earlier in the month.