Ramblings in Retirement
August 2009
August has been a relatively quiet month where Penny and I lounged about for the most part. The weather has been hot and sunny throughout (mid 30’s) and with a high-ish humidity which leaves us in a sweat as soon as we do anything (good excuse..eh)!
I did not mention in the July edition that we had some works carried out to replace our septic tank. The original had never been properly installed and sealed so when we had rain deluge it tended to overflow. Normally, you don’t need to empty them for many years but we were having it cleaned out at least twice per year, at €150 a time! It is surprising how difficult it is to find builders who will tackle this job but were lucky and Jamie and his team soon had a gigantic pit dug and the new modern septic tank installed. (Unfortunately I lost my lovely Poinsettia tree). In the UK it is difficult to even contemplate a septic tank and mains sewerage is taken for granted, unfortunately not on our mountain.
We have arranged for the builders to return in September to put balustrading around the newly formed septic tank area and to clad the new walls.




We are also having the entire top of the garage laid with tiles (you may recall this was covered with Astro-turf but over the years this has become a bit worn. Each February and October we get deluged with rain for about a week at a time, which courses down the terraced property and makes its way to the garage roof where it discharges via drain holes into the street below. Naturally the Astro-Turf becomes sodden and covered in debris which I have to clean off. By tiling, I am hoping to reduce the work and keep a nice appearance.

The annual Moors and Christian parade was carried out in Denia and once again it was a huge success for visitors and locals alike. The costumes are truly magnificent and it seems that the leader of each group is now becoming more dramatic in his/her actions in stirring the crowd.





At the end of the month we had our own Fiesta at the urbanisation. Folk dancers from Pedreguer town came along and demonstrated their skill at local traditional dance and music. Food was available in the form of a giant Paella, the bar was well attended and later we danced the night away under the stars.





I have mentioned that the Credit Crunch (or as the Spanish call it the Crisis) has caused massive unenployment due to too much dependancy on construction. It is laughable that Denia and Javea councils have embarked on major roadwork programmes which are having the effect of seriously annoying and disrupting their secondary income stream, the tourists. If they are not careful they could lose this income as well!!!

That’s all for now,