Ramblings in Retirement
February 2010
February has been a crazy month for weather seemingly worldwide. We see in the news that the UK has still beean suffering from snow, Haiti with floods, Chile with earthquakes and Madeira with mudslides. It puts into perspective the rain we have had here in Spain! The first few of weeks of the month we had intermittent rain and sun and Spring is finding it difficult to gain a foothold. It is however nice to see that the almond trees here are in full blossom and hopefully we will start to see better weather.
For much of the month we have been getting ready for our holiday to India which starts on the 8th March. We have had all our appropriate vaccinations (€180) and purchased our Malaria tablets (€190), booked, flights to the UK, car parking for the duration, car hire for a couple of days and overnight hotels whilst in the UK. It is interesting to reflect that the original price of the holiday grows exponentially with all the necessary add-ons. We are flying to the UK on the Saturday (6th March) and will spend the Sunday with the family and grandchildren before driving down to Heathrow on the Monday for our holiday flight.
Whilst we are away, we are having the builders come to put steps into the pool, Penny would prefer to walk into the pool rather than use the ladders, and we also think it would be safer for the grandchildren when they come to visit. This has necessitated draining the pool which is a lot of water to discharge, not to mention the refill.
During the month, Penny awoke to feeling extremely dizzy and slightly nauseous, we whisked off to the private hospital where they have diagnosed “Vertigo” and given her some tablets to allay the symptoms. We have to go and see the ear specialist on Thursday 4th and hopefully he will diagnose the root of the problem and prescribe accordingly. Two years ago when we went to Laos/Cambodia Penny developed Bronchitis which affected her enjoyment of part of the trip so I hope we get this problemcleared up quickly so she can enjoy India.


Our India holiday follows a recognised tourist route (as opposed to out Laos/Cambodia trek). We have a tour of Delhi (old and new) then off to Agra (Taj Mahal) on to Jaipur, then off to the Ranthambore National Park where we hope to see some Bengal Tigers in the wild. We also see the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri. We have opted for the extension of the holiday with a few days at Shimla near the foothill of the Himalayas where the Maharajas and British colonials spent their summer breaks. Unlike Laos/Cambodia, our accommodation is 4/5 star (which will probably be more like 3/4 star UK standard but we think this is best given the countless warnings we have had regarding hygiene and food consumption.
My golf is going through a bit of a “purple period” lately and I am playing well with both my 4 ball Monday/Friday group, and the Golf Society.In February I won the Texas Scramble (with 3 others of course) and then on the next outing I came 3rd in my division. With my 4 ball colleagues I have been taking the money pot with some regularity. I do hope my run of success continues when we return from India!
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Texas Scramble Oliva Nova 1st place Stableford 3rd place El Plantio
Well, that’s all for now, sorry to be late (again) hope to have some really interesting tales to tell on our return from India.