Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse! The pound had plummeted against the euro and now almost 1 for 1, it’s frightening.

Early December the weather has been a bit mixed with some showers and cold (cold to us is anything under 15 degrees as I suppose we are very aclimatised by now)! Later in the month it was still cold but sunny.

Penny had a severe stomachache necessitating a trip to the doctors who gave her some pills which eased the situation but they recommended she go to the private clinic in Denia for an ultra-sound examination. Penny is convinced it is irritable bowel syndrome but we might as well get it checked out. As Christmas is fast approaching we will leave it for a week until we return from our Christmas holiday in Jaen.

We attended the annual golf society dinner dance and prize giving on the 6th, unfortunately, I did not feature in receiving any prizes but there is always next year.


I did however manage to come first in our last game of the season in a pair’s competition. (I was paired with the society “Player of the Year” but I did hold up my end nonetheless).

At the computer club we had a guy who was raising money for a local animal sanctuary by having sponsorship for having his hair shorn off. Mick Scarles has very lengthy hair down past his shoulder blades and on a club day he arranged to have it all cut off. Mick raised 1000euros for the sanctuary and the club also contributed another 400 euros, as this was our chosen charity this year. For those with broadband I’ve posted a short video I made of the event on the weblog. For those without, here are a before and after photos



(He chose the wrong time of the year to do this….Brrrrr)

Our Christmas mini-break was a great success at the Parador in Jaen. Situated above the City and adjacent to the Castle this Parador was built sympathetically to the castle and proved to be an imposing sight. The accommodation was as expected (excellent), as was the food, and although rather extravagant, it was worth it. Here are several Photos which show the castle and Parador








The interior of the Parador was also beautifully fitted out in keeping so I took this photo as a memory.

(Penny is the one with the blue cardigan)!

We took advantage of our free time to visit some of the nearby towns. Ubeda and Baeza are both “Word Heritage” sites as there is evidence of prehistoric civilization and later occupation by the Romans and Visigoths.
The entire countryside for approximately 100kms in every direction is given over to Olive trees so it is hardly surprising that these towns and the city of Jaen are the Olive Oil capital of Spain. I don’t know much about the cultivation of olive trees but there must be some significance in the fact that the trees are all about 3 meters high so I presume the olives are harvested by some mechanical means. Locally, on the Costa Blanca, spreading netting below the tree then, beating the branches, so that the olives drop into the netting, does harvesting. It would be inconceivable to employ the same methods to the hectares of olive trees in the Jaen area.




As the year draws to a close, we are looking forward to spending “Hogmanay” with our friends Connie and Dennis and to bring in the New Year with a glass of Cava whilst standing on the naya watching the fireworks along the coastline.

I wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.