Ramblings in Retirement
June 2008

The first couple of weeks of June have been a washout! We’ve had rain on and off since the beginning of the month till the 13th. The reservoirs are full to overflowing and even the Spanish were moaning about the weather! It is so unusual. Thankfully, the sun came out and we are at last back to our usual hot sunny days with temperatures in the high 20s low 30s and the pool is a comfortable 26 degrees.

Here is a nice photo of my boss!

















I believe that in the UK prices of fuel and commodities has risen significantly over the past few months and the same applies here. Petrol/Diesel has shot up in price and a tank is now over €60! Not content with that, but in Spain, inflation is running at 4.5% and the euros strength against the British pound has meant a reduction in our income of around 20% versus the same time last year! It’s a hard life.

I have been finishing off some work in the garden and will now stop all projects as it is too hot to work (particularly mixing sand and cement). Our lift has proved to be a blessing as I have brought up umpteen bags of sand and cement for my work rather than hand-haul each bag, I now put 3 sacks on the sack barrow and zip up the lift. As mentioned in the May edition, the lift is now the main means of entry to the property and I have constructed a new pathway near the “woodland area” using some crazy paving flat stones, which I found on my neighbours property after the workmen had finished cladding their wall. (It’s not called pinching its’ “fruits of the mountain”). I am quite happy with the outcome.













The second project was to crazy pave the area underneath the Poinsettia tree at the rear of the villa, previously I had covered it with stone chips but when I removed the large hedge adjoining my neighbours property I used those chips to enlarge the drying area. I chose to crazy pave instead of replacing the stone chips, as the leaves from the Poinsettia tree are too difficult to get up from chips.


Finally (for the garden anyway) I have been carefully watering the newly planted lawn extension and it is coming along nicely, although currently a mixture of the course “Gramma” grass and a finer “Bermuda” grass, the courser (and more drought resistant) Gramma will take over fully by next year.


It would seem that the “Visitors have started as the town seems much busier and I have washed and polished Eke which will throughout the summer months, be my main mode of transport. We enjoyed several meals out with friends in the month and discovered a few new restaurants, it will be a challenge to keep the weight down but now the pool is warm we are both back to our daily swimming. We enjoyed a lovely barbeque on June 21st (summer solstice) at a dinner for the Golf Society, which was held up in the Jalon valley. The participants raised €370 for the school for children with special needs which is in Javea and open to all not just English speaking, a worthwhile cause.

Our son Stephen has bought a webcam and when connected to “skype” we have been having video conversations and being able to see our grandchildren is fantastic. I bought Penny a new webcam and set up “skype” on her laptop so she can use it without using my PC. In fact her webcam is better than mine as it incorporates a microphone so there is no need for additional paraphernalia.

We are going off for a mini holiday next week to visit our good friend Julio Vesperinas who lives in northern Italy (in the Dolomites) and will spend a few days with him, hopefully the weather will be fine too. We have also booked a hotel at Lake Garda for a bit of sightseeing before we return to Spain. Again, thanks to Ryanair for cheap flights making this possible. I’ll give fuller details in the July edition.

I've made a short video of our villa which is nice and colourful at this time of year, hope you enjoy it.


Meanwhile, hasta la vista

Ramblings in Retirement

May 2008

The weather here in Spain has been most unusual this month, we have experienced many days of rain and although the farmers and local are happy (reservoirs are almost full again) it must have been disappointing for those tourists who came over for the half term holidays. We were to some extent lucky as we came to England at the beginning of the month and not only missed most of the deluge but benefited from the rare UK sunshine!

Penny had an appointment to see the doctor in Gildersome so we booked for 10 days “holiday” flying courtesy of an “el cheapo” with Ryanair to East Midlands. The good news is that Penny got the all clear from the doctor but the bad news is that she had to have a full blood test and he wanted to see her afterwards to discuss the results! Unlike Spain, blood tests in the UK surgery take 10 days to get results so, once again, I had to leave Penny and return alone, with Penny following in another 10 days.

Whilst at Gildersome I dismantled the garden shed at the side of the house, as we want to lay some decorative flagging from the drive to the back of the house. We are still waiting for a quote for this work. I also extended the gravel chips in the front garden to cover previous borders so that the “garden” should look less untidy with weeds. The wrought iron gates to the drive, and the one at the side of the house, got a coat of “Hammerite” to freshen them up. Penny painted out the dining room and hall to give them a freshen-up. Altogether a bit of a “busman’s holiday” I think.

Gorged on “fish and chips”, had my few pints of “Yorkshire beer” and dug into “pork pie and mushy peas” and a good “Indian Curry” all little treats, and the few genuine things of the UK which we don’t get in Spain (but not enough to make me want to stay any longer than I have to).

It was lovely to see our grandchildren again. Jessica was swotting up on her “O” level exams and particularly nervous about her Spanish exam (no need really as she was very good and passed easily). Millie and Daisy both seem to have grown up quickly (I suppose that is natural when we don’t see them for months at a time). Millie, (4 years old) looks forward to our visits whilst Daisy, (18 months), needs time with us to get accustomed again, but she soon warms up to us and has a lovely disposition.

Millie as a budding filmmaker

No, I’m not pushing Daisy in the water

Millie refuses to walk anymore

Having “crossed the Rubicon” last year by turning 60 my 61^st came and went quietly but Penny and I had a nice meal out when she returned. Our wedding anniversary follows on quickly on the 23^rd May (now 28 years and still going strong) and we celebrated with a weekend at the Marriott Hotel next to the golf course. It may seem illogical to have a hotel break in a location just 5 minutes from our villa but it was nice to be pampered and enjoy a little luxury. We had champagne and strawberries in the room on arrival, a delicious meal in the restaurant and the following morning, a fabulous breakfast on the restaurant terrace.

Grand life of luxury

Is that strawberry too big?

The weather as mentioned earlier has been unpredictable and in between the rain I’ve reworked the top level and extended the lawn by about 20sq. mtrs. Planting the “gramma grass” plantlets. My trusty chain saw put paid to a few tree stumps and several olive tree trunks to give a more spacious aspect to the area. I went to the local waste disposal area and bought several bags of compost equivalent to about 4x 50 litre bags and was astounded when I was charged only €1.93, wish I had known about this place earlier!

The next project is to lay a crazy paving path in the “woodland” area and this is currently underway. It is so much easier with our new lift, as I place the bags of sand and cement on to a sack barrow, and don’t need to manually hump the stuff up some forty steps.

Work in Progress

Hoping the weather improves pretty soon or my tan will fade!!!!!