Eddie & Brigitte Bramley

We Celebrate A Life

2012-01-30T22:36:00.001+01:00

Well, in our case, the Funeral Tea turned out to be a Light Lunch at the local pub.

Instead of tea and sandwiches, followed by cake, we had ordered soup and sandwiches, along with tea and coffee. Much more dad's thing. Food, rather than drink! In the end, the location proved to be perfect. The buffet was laid out in one room and the bar was separate, enabling those that wished to buy a drink (or several) to do so, without conflicting with anyone.

I would like to pass on my sincere apologies to everyone I didn't manage to talk to. Several times, just as I was about to speak to someone, I was dragged off to speak to somebody else. I know I saw many people I didn't actually speak to, I feel quite badly about it. Thank you, to those that made the journey to say farewell.

Often, as we grow older and our lives are so full, that we have little time, we forget that our parents have full lives too. They have friends to go to lunch with. Others to go to concerts with. Others to spend days with, and others to spend a few happy hours with, without seeing again for a long time. Often, we have no idea of the existence of these friends of our parents. Why would we? We have enough friends of our own, without adding to them. In our family, these 'extended friends' are all within our circle, as we talk so often about what we have each been doing. I know what is happening with the friends of my children, in the same way as the friends of may parents. If someone is ill, or has just had a wonderful holiday, I probably know about it. I may not have seen these people for a long time, but I still know of their existence, and how they fit within our family unit. It was wonderful to see so many of these faces on Thursday. Some, I had to be re-introduced to, as I hadn't seen them for many a year, but many were so familiar, it was as though we had seen each other only a few months ago.

There was much laughter and lots of chatting. Delight at seeing familiar faces, yet sadness at purpose of the gathering. There was no air of gloom. Mum and dad had done a lot of wonderful things, seen many wonderful places, and acquired a group of wonderful friends over their years together and what else should one do, but celebrate a life that was truly lived.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

Last Farewell

2012-01-30T22:08:00.000+01:00

On 26th January, we held the funeral for dad.

Sadly, 25th January was to have been their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Needless to say, all party plans had already been cancelled, but, instead of a party, we paid our repects in the Chapel of Rest. He was beautifully dressed, in dress shirt and bow tie, just as though he was off out for a lovely dinner on another cruise. Indeed, he was perfectly turned out for the next adventure.

Thursday dawned grey and drizzly. The house was full of those wishing to pay their final respects, from far and wide. Cousins and Aunts and Uncles from Germany, Kent and the Lake District, others waiting at the church from the village or other more accessible places.

As dad arrived at home, for his final journey, the sun broke though, lighting his way to the church. Along with one of the funeral directors, the coffin was carried by John, Tim and Ed, up the gravel pathway to the church. We entered the church to the sounds of 'Song for Liberty' by Nana Mouskouri [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTo0Inuvlxk ] (one of dad's favorites) and I was stunned to see all of the pews full of old faces. I have never seen so many people in the church.

The vicar (Rev Joe) made a wonderful speach about dad and his life and hobbies. He found a lovely passage from the bible which was very relevant, and then told many stories about dad and his quiet ways that benefitted many people, even though they didn't even know! As we sang the second hymn (One More Step) I found myself laughing inside. We had droped one of the verses, but, as there were so many people, many of them had hymn books, instead of the Order of Service sheets we had prepared, so half of the congregation sang one thing, and half sang another. A good friend of mine commented to the friend next to her that she didn't know the song, to which she received the reply; it doesn't really matter, everyone else is singing something different anyway. How funny. I knew it would go wrong, but I didn't expect that! (I have a horrible feeling that the words I copied and pasted were different to the one's in the current hymn book too - to compound the issue!)

I am standing upon that foreshore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white clouds just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says, "There! She's gone!"
"Gone where?"
"Gone from my sight, that's all". She is just as large in mast and spar and hull as ever she was when she left my side; just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of her destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at that moment when someone at my side says, "There! She's gone!" there are other eyes watching her coming and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!" And that is dying.

Following the church service, as most of the mourners left for the Shrewsbury Arms, family and close friends departed for the crematorium at Stafford. It was a beautiful day now, and this was a route that dad had travelled so many times. It was apt, that this was to be his final journey. Rev Joe said his final blessings, and then dad was taken from us forever.

An Officer and a Gentleman

2012-01-30T21:39:00.000+01:00

Ron Harman
2nd May 1936 - 17th January 2012

I don't really know how to write this, but, it is with a very heavy heart, that I write of the death of my dad. A true officer and a gentleman.

He served in the forces for 22 years (leaving as an officer), and then moved on to management within the logistics field, finally retiring some 15 or so years ago. He was always happy to lend a hand to anyone and had many anecdotes to share with those he spent time with. Always a gentleman, he never smoked, and drank only occassionally. Sadly, such a lack of vices cannot protect any of us against the march of time.

I'm very glad to say that we looked after him at home and he died in the loving folds of his family, surrounded by familiar sights and sounds, safe and secure in the knowledge that he had created a wonderful strong family unit, which was never diminished by the miles that often separated us.

I have many quibbles with the NHS, but the care and support that we received is not one of them. Caring for dad at home, saved the NHS some £1,500 per day, but, in place of that, we were provided with carers in the morning and evening, along with nursing care each day, and on emergency call whenever it was needed. Quite often, mum and I had sorted dad out before the carers arrived, but overall, the experience was a very positive one. Sadly, we had to call the nurses out several times late at night, but, they travelled the 1/2 hour without any delay, providing specialist medical care whenever needed. They knew we only called them when we were desparate and assured us that the people on call were 'working' their proper hours, so there was no need for us to wait before calling.

Within a short period of assessment, it was decided that we should be provided with a hospital bed. This arrived within just a few days. The delivery men were very funny. They helped me move dad into a reclining chair, so that we could put the bed in, and practically threw the existing bed up the stairs out of the way! I'm sure that if I'd given them the sheets to make the bed, they would have done that too - well, maybe not. A few hours later, I checked in on dad, and he was sleeping soundly in the chair, with mum asleep in the hospital bed. Both of them were snoring gently - a perfect set of bookends.

Pelota Sculpture

2011-12-31T19:27:00.003+01:00

At the base of the stunning Xativa Castle, within the historic grounds, is this lovely sculpture of two hands holding a pelota ball. I had no idea this was even there until recently, when I came across a picture of it, and had to ask a resident where it was.

The view from here is wonderful, as it is well below the castle, but still above the town itself. You can see all of the town laid out below you, yet it all seems to be close enough to touch.

For the uninitiated, pelota is a ball game, where no bats are used, but the ball is hit with the hand (hence the strapping) up and down a long, thin court. There are two players on each side, but I have no idea how the points are scored!

Sadly, the sculpture has lots of writing on it, but, as Ed pointed out, in England, with it being made of bronze, it would be lucky to still be standing!

What's happening?

2011-12-29T14:00:00.002+01:00

I'm sure we've missed loads of activities in and around the town this Christmas.

Previously, there have been lots of ways to discover what is happening. Chatting with others is an obvious source, but, as it is winter, people are more inclined to stay at home, rather than sit outside bars. Another source of information used to be a free newspaper, delivered to everyone in town. Although we never saw it, if there was anything special on, someone always let us know. Sadly, as a result of 'the crisis', this has now been discontinued.

The Adult school tries to keep everybody informed of what is happening, but even that has slipped lately. Previously, there were always posters advertising forthcoming events, but, as publicity is expensive, even the posters have not appeared. Verbal notices in class sometimes happen, but it is easy to forget, or misunderstand what is actually taking place.

The Town Crier is the best source of gossip! There is actually a tannoy system in town, where someone plays some music, and then makes announcements of any news. Football matches to be played, dances in the park, parades of children to visit the Three Kings, and even the death of residents is announced at full volume throughout the town. This is a double edged thing though; if you live in town, it is noisy and irritating, but if you live in the countryside, you can't hear it.

A little while ago, an English couple spotted a road being closed off with the yellow barriers, but had no idea why, as they too live outside of town. Having missed so many activities in the past, they wanted to see what was happening here. Quickly, they raced back home and got their camera, in the hope of photographing another traditional Spanish event. The drove back to town, parked up, and dashed back to the barriers, hoping to get a good view of these wonderous activities. When they got there, they discovered... the electricity board digging a hole to make some repairs.

Stash a cache

2011-12-26T18:24:00.000+01:00

As there are so few caches anywhere near here, I decided to stash 2 more.

I planted a tupperware box near to a lovely camping/picnic area on the outskirts of the village. I thought this one would be fairly easy to find, and I was right. As it happened, the person that checks and activates the new caches was working as I was uploading my new caches, and he published them straight away. To my suprise, within 2 days, someone had found the one near the picnic area.

However, the second one is obviously harder to find. This is a tiny, magnetic log holder, near to the wonderful glass blower roundabout on the industrial side of town. Although it is located along a pavement, so very safe, it is very well hidden. True geocachers will be cautious about being spotted, and, as this is next to the entrance to the industrial estate, it will be hard not to be seen! Maybe it will be found over the Christmas break, while there is less traffic around. Maybe I will have to put in a more helpful clue. I will have to wait and see.

Cena de Navidad

2011-12-26T18:15:00.000+01:00

I was persuaded to go to the Adult School Christmas dinner again this year - having missed the last 2 years.

My dilema - do I sit with the Spanish and Valencian classes and spend most of the night not understanding what is going on, or do I sit with the foreigners and upset my new classmates? In the end, the decision was made for me - a place was reserved for me with the foreigners!

I was quite happy with this, as it meant that I was able to chat with the others and catch up with them all. I also managed to wave to the other classes, so that they realised I was there. Several of them came across to wish us all a merry Christmas, which we were all able to reciprocate.

The Christmas meal consisted of the usual selection of nibbles, followed by a baguette of our choice (previously chosen from a list of 3 options!). We then got a glass of bubbly, as well as a sweet biscuit.

The class next to ours on the table, was the class of sewers / embroiderers. After the meal, they all put santa hats on, and went onto the stage to sing a song. It was very clever. Someone had written new words to a spanish carol, the verses of which related to the different classes in the school. Everyone applauded, and made them sing it again. Then there was music and dancing, during which I made my escape. Not having started until 10pm, it was well past my bedtime.

Sunrise / Sunset

2011-12-26T18:04:00.000+01:00

This month, we have been treated to a series of spectacular sunrises and sunsets. Several times, the whole sky has turned an amazing colour, in various shades of pink, purple, lavender and mauve.

One day, a friend that works in a factory, and only has very high windows, thought there was a fire outside, as the facory ceiling turned shades of red.

Splitting Image

2011-12-26T17:54:00.000+01:00

While I was away, Ed managed to split a lot of the wood we had, ready for the fireplace. However, there was still a lot to do. Then, he had a brainwave - use the digger! He put the breaker on, and spent some time splitting the logs mechanically.

It did work, and he finished them all, but he also admitted that it wasn't as satisfactory as wielding an axe, and doing it by hand. We won't have to buy any wood this year, and thankfully it has been quite mild so far. Already, the nights are getting longer, and, theoretically at least, spring is on it's way!

Bous en Corda

2011-12-26T17:46:00.001+01:00

This year, the weather was very mild for the Ontinyent Bulls on a rope. We only went on the Sunday, as I was in England until late on the Saturday night!

Of the 3 bulls, there was only 1 which was very enthusiastic. The first bull worked his way to the town centre fairly quickly, but then only roamed a little, barely returning to the main square before going back. Something of a disappointment. The second bull was even worse. He didn't want to go anywhere, and spent much of his time stnading still, while the crew tried to pull him around. They didn't stand much of a chance. He would have been quite safe in a china shop - I'm certain nothing would have been broken!

After a boring couple of hours, the third bull made up for it. This one was very active and happy to run up and down the streets for a long time. We got much more involved this time, following him to different parts of the arena and encountering him several times.

There was one man, who spent all of his time with the bull (he must have been fit) with a camera, filming the crowd as much as the bull. At one point, as I was with a crowd hiding in a large doorway, he coaxed the bull up the steps where we were. Everyone screamed and ran out of the way, leaving me as the next person in line for the bull. Within seconds, I realised that the bull didn't want to go up the stairs, and laughed with relief - but then I noticed that the cameraman had filmed everyone's panic (including mine) and was laughing his head off. I'm probably on Youtube somewhere, looking terrified.

When the bull was in the main square, Ed and I stay near a large street fixture, giving us the opportunity to evade the bul, whichever way it goes. However, I got caught out... The bull came down the road, and then turned into a small street next to us. I had avoided the bull, but the rope attached to it was now on the wrong side of me. I realised straight away, but some other fool panicked, and grabbed my leg, shouting 'the rope the rope'. Having moved me the wrong way, I now found myself having to get my leg back off/over the rope which was now several feet in the air. Thank goodness I have long legs. When Ed got to me again, he was quite relieved - he had seen me with one leg right up in the air and wondered what on earth I was doing!

A little later, I sat down on a doorstep for a break. As I put my hand down, it was instantly very cold... then I realised that it was not the marble floor, it was wet, not cold. Yuck. Someone had dropped a drink and I had just sat in it. I had to spend the following 1/2 hour with a cold wet behind! Thank goodness it was dark, so nobody noticed!

Bale Out

2011-12-26T17:17:00.001+01:00

Driving towards Stafford, we spotted a police car rushing to some sort of emergency. A few minutes later, and we discovered what it was.

In the centre of Weston, a lorry had lost it's load of hay bales. Thankfully, nobody was hurt and at that time, the traffic wasn't too bad, so it was funny, rather than serious. There was enough room for traffic to pass in turn, under the direction of the policeman.

Jess managed to get the best picture though - just as she was about to take it, an ambulance with flashing lights came over the hill, making it look like a very dramatic incident. As the ambulance passed us, we saw the crew laughing at the poor lorry driver's misfortune. Goodness knows how they managed to get the bales back on, but most of the mess had gone by the time we went back home.

Indulge

2011-12-26T17:09:00.000+01:00

Hmmmm. There's nothing so yummy as a hot chocolate, with cream and marshmallows...

Jess and I went to a rather nice cafe in Uttoxeter, where they have the latest style of hot chocolate. Did you even know there was a new style?

We ordered the drinks and then sat upstairs, where the girl bought our indulgences. Oh my! A steaming mug of milk, a bowl of whipped cream, a bowl of baby marshmallows, and a special stick of stirring chocolate. This is just like a giant lollipop of chocolate, and you simply pop the square of chocolate into the hot milk, and stir until the chocolate has melted. Then, you can add your own cream and mallows as you wish.

Yummy (but don't count the calories)

Geocaching with Jess

2011-12-26T17:00:00.000+01:00

Jess and I had a fun day out around the local countryside searching for some more caches. There are now about 70 in the Uttoxeter area alone.

Thankfully, mum has a pair of wellies at her house that fit me, as I had to take them on and off several times. The ground was rather mucky in some places after the rain, although it could have been worse. Technology is wonderful. With the latest phones, Jess is simply able to access the internet on the move, so we were able to check out random caches as we went from place to place.

We actually logged 8 during the day. Some of them were re-visits for each of us (but new to the other one of us) but it was great fun. We even went to the Geocache shop near Ashbourne, which was a delight. Some of the things they have made for hiding logs in, is quite astonishing. They even had a tiny acorn, where the top screwed off! I bought some microcaches and a Help4Heros geo-coin, which I plan to launch quite soon.

Happy Birthday

2011-12-26T16:46:00.000+01:00

In November, it was my Mum's birthday, so I went back for a visit to help celebrate.

The usual family gathering was expanded with a visit from an aunt and uncle from Germany, which was lovely although a cause of concern for my foreign speaking abilities. Mixing up german, french and spanish does not work, when trying to chat to people! Still, a couple of hours, and the mixups became fewer, even though they were never eliminated.

We decided to do a Christmas dinner, which was great fun. John and I spent much of the time in the kitchen, shouting 'yes chef' to each other, when checking how we were each getting on.

As usual, there was far too much food. John took his Red Cross food parcel back home with him, but we didn't need to cook anything for the rest of the week!

Horny

2011-12-26T16:37:00.000+01:00

My Uncle Heinz wished to visit a proper 'pub' while he was in the UK, so I took him to Abbots Bromley for a bit of historic culture, as well as a drink.

Trying to explain the intricacies of the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance to an English person is hard enough, but trying to explain it in a foreign language, to a foreigner is almost impossible. We parked in the village, and walked to the church, where the horns are on constant display. By a stroke of luck, one of the church wardens came in as were were there, and found a leaflet about the church, written in German. As we stood in front of the horns, I managed to translate the history of the Horn Dance, explaining something about their age, and the family connections over the years.

Thankfully, many countries have their own quirky passtimes and they understood the concept, likening it to their 'schutzenfest' celebrations.

We then called in the famous Goats Head (Dick Turpin was 'ere) [www.thegoatshead.co.uk] but our timing was terrible. A huge group of walkers arrived just before us. The bar was packed, but we managed to find a table for a drink. The funniest part, was that the walkers had the decency to take off their dirty boots before going into the bar. My aunty and uncle had never seen anybody do that before and were most impressed.

It was rather noisy, and the menu a bit ott, so we had just one drink, before moving on to a (short) guided tour of Uttoxeter.

JCB Lake

2011-12-26T16:20:00.000+01:00

Having lived in and around Uttoxeter for some 27 years, to my shame, I had never walked around JCB lake.

Yes, like every other mother, I have been there many times to feed the ducks with my children, but never bothered to venture around the paths nearby. A recent visit of some relatives from Germany gave me the opportunity to put this right. We had a trip out, and I showed them some of our lovely Staffordshire countryside. We managed to park up at the lake, and, as normal, we were soon surrounded by ducks and geese. Unbeknown to my relatives, I had some slices of bread with me! We had great fun feeding the fowl, even though some of them were a bit enthusiastic with their pecking. One of them kept pecking at my jeans, but most of them were quite civilised (although my fingers were rather pink from being pecked).

As we started our walk around the lake, my aunt was being followed by a line of white ducks - it was very funny. They, however, knew where to stay for the best feeding opportunities, so gave up after a short walk, and returned to the parking spots. As it turned out, we were walking around at lunchtime, and we found ourselves being overtaken by lots of people in suits, talking business as they took their lunchbreaks and stretched their legs. It was quite funny, with us all wrapped up, and them all smart and professional looking.

As we returned to the car, that were a foreign visitor taking pictures of the ducks, so my uncle took his cameraphone, and I gave him a bit of bread, enabling him to get a picture of himself actually feding them. If he has children at home, I'm sure they would have found his tales very funny.

To my delight, a car drove over the water as we were there - (those that have been there will know what I mean) my visitors were completely stunned, then laughed as they figured it out.

Pub Quiz

2011-12-26T16:01:00.000+01:00

Well, I was only in the UK for a short while (that was the plan anyway) and I managed to do a couple of pub quizes.

Isn't it odd, when you think you are quite knowledgable in the ways of the world, but suddenly find yourself wanting? What fun! How dim am I?! I know that I can never answer the football questions, not many of the sport ones, but this quiz showed me where I had serious gaps in my knowledge! To be fair, having been out of the country for 4 years, I wasn't going to know much about the latest 'soap' goings on, not what the latest 'wannabe' has been up to, but 70 points out of a possible 120 left me a bit embarrassed.

A nominal fee, and a team as big as you like, still left us in the dark. The photo page was fun. We even made up names, in the hope that maybe we'd be lucky. One question about the American police force in the 20's got our answer 'Keystone Cops' (yes - it was a joke answer) resulted in the correct answer of 'The Untouchables'. Simple really, since there is a new movie about them! I did manage to answer the question; what is the latin for an unwanted person, which Jess was very amused by. How on earth did I know any latin? I did get some other random answers too, but mostly I had to leave it to the youngsters.

We even managed to get the correct answer to 'guess the year', which gave us the chance to win £5, but sadly we were unlucky in the draw.

It was great fun though. The pub was packed. Everyone had a really good time, and we didn't get too much stick for our silly answers. The boobie prize was a packet of pork scratchings and thankfully, we were never bad enough to win them!

MotoGP (Sunday)

2011-11-19T19:10:00.001+01:00

With such fantastic parking, we didn't need to leave at 5am, however, what we did need, was every bit of water and wind proof clothing we owned. The day didn't dawn bright and sunny, nor was the forecast. Brrr. Go on the bikes? Not this year, thank you.

Having sussed out the grandstand the day before, we realised that this was not numbered seating, so, if we moved, we would (probably) not be able to sit down again. A few other people had done the same, and arrived early, with blankets and picnics to hand. We never though of blankets, but they turned out to be a good idea. It was really windy. My hat even blew off, and I had to run down to the back of the grandstand and retrieve it! Everyone that sat beside us gave up after a short time, to try and find somewhere warmer to watch the racing. Being such hardy bikers, we sat put for the full 6 hours! (A multitude of layers and hot tea helped)

Practice was pretty uneventful, but gave us the chance to chat with the other (fool)hardy fans that were there to watch. After the practice, there was a wonderful tribute to Marco Simoncelli, as the was the first race after his death in Malaysia. There was a great presentastion on the grid, preceded by all of the bikes from all of the categories doing a lap of honour. A huge banner was unfurled (which we couldn't see) and there was a lovely firework display right in front of us. I cried. Although it was a tribute to one person, it represented the spirit of all bikers, (and those that pursue other adventurous sports) and seemed to be a tribute to all those that have been lost. It was very touching.

The racing itself was great, but, as well as no screen, we also had no speaker system in our area. Who on earth put up a grandstand where not only coulnd't you see, but nor could you hear? Rubbish seats! Thank goodness we didn't pay full price for them. To be honest, not being sycophantic, we would rather have paid the extra £20 and had really good grandstand seats. (Maybe next year.)

The main race was a disaster to watch. Four riders fell at the first corner (which we couldn't see) then it was pretty boring for the next 20 minutes. The final few laps were exciting, then the very end was a real thrill, but, as we had no screen or tannoy, we had to wait until we got home before we knew the result. Hilarious. Ah well, we watched it all again later on the telly with our feet up and a roaring fire.

MotoGP (Sat)

2011-11-19T18:46:00.001+01:00

This year, we were given the opportunity to see the MotoGP for the first time in a few years. One of Ed's friends had won some tickets, and offered them to us at a reasonable price. We didn't really know what they were for, but they were 'Premium Paddock' passes, along with a Paddock parking pass.

We duly stuck the parking pass to the windscreen (I finally took out the 4 year old tax disk) and we were waved through to the front of the circuit, parking practically outside the main gate. Even better parking than the VIPs! We wandered around for quite a while, before were were able to figure what our pass did and didn't get us!

Entry to the restaurant overlooking the circuit - yes
Entry to the paddock, including nearly getting run over by Dani Pedrosa (twice) - yes
Entry to the pit lane - no
Entry to the VIP suite - no (we are not worthy)
Entry to the general area - yes (but not to the nicer toilets, unless you chat up the pretty spanish girl guarding them!)
Entry to the flash grandstands - no
Entry to the windswept freezing one - yes (with awesome view of the final bend, but not of the rest of the circuit!)
Entry to the top hospitality zone - yes
Entry into any of the hospitality suits - no!!

Having finally figured it all out, we had a great snack in the restaurant and then watched the practice sessions, before walking around the general area and looking at all of the stands.

There was a huge tribute wall to Marco Simoncelli, which we both signed, as well as the usual stands. We watched people pulling wheelies on special bikes, and tried to enter a few competitions, but gave up on the BMW one. We met up with someone we knew, then watched some of the qualifying, before scurrying home to escape the rain. That turned out to be a good move, as it then rained so hard, hardly anyone bothered to more than one lap, leaving the spectators watching just 1 bike go around in the rain for the best part of an hour.

Cocentiana Fayre 2011

2011-11-19T18:18:00.001+01:00

I can't believe this is our 5th visit to the annual Medieval Fayre at Concentaina. This year, as the morning was spent felling trees, and the afternoon limbing and logging, we didn't even set out until 7pm or so. As we drove towards the town, we noticed lots of traffic comming the other way.

The late visit turned out to be a great idea. Having been so many times before, a simple stroll around was perfectly ok, rather than a long visit to every stall! As it turned out, there weren't many people about at that time, most of them (presumably) having visited earlier in the day, and now on their way home for the evening meal. We had a lovely time wandering around, able to see everyting without being jostled.

No - I'm not expecting Ed to carve anything like this from our trees...

As we entered the Arabic quarter, I noticed a long queue of people at a stall. Curious, I wanted to know what was so good that the people waited in line for it - the spanish don't queue for anything. We got to the stall, and there was nothing there. Just a stall of empty baskets. The people seemed content to wait, so I waited too. Shortly, a man and a woman appeared, carrying a very heavy tub. They heaved it onto a counter and out poured a huge amount of dough. Ah - a fresh bread stall. The lady then began cutting the dough into loaf sized portions, as the man checked the bread already baking in the oven, to make sure the bottoms weren't burnt. We din't want any bread so we moved on, but, from the number of people there, I think that maybe next year we ought to try a loaf.

We did have tea 'on the hoof'. Tuna empanyadas, and a wonderful pie, just like a cornish pasty. It was quite late by the time we left, and many stalls were already dismantling, which was quite a shock. I was hoping to buy an ice-cream or something, but I guess they too had had enough after several days.

Timber

2011-11-19T17:52:00.001+01:00

One of our neighbour's pine trees had died, due to an infestation of beetles of some sort. He often said that he wanted to cut it down, but had waited until burning season before doing so. (We are not allowed to have any fires in July, August or September, unless we get special permission from the authorities.)

Ed had recommended that the tree be felled into our garden, so that it didn't fall on their house, or into their pool! It was certainly tall enough to do some serious damage. Ed and Jordi (the neighbour) took down some of the fancing, then fixed a strap between 2 of our trees, to guide theirs into a safe spot. Ed strapped the tree to the digger to pull it in the right direction, while Jordi did the cutting. What fun to watch. Jordi was terrified - he had never felled such a tall tree, and Ed was chilled out, as it wasn't his tree, nor his house! As usual, all went well, and the tree was soon down and out.

The pair of them worked well together, removing up the brash and making everything safe. Two more to go, but it was late in the evening, so it was agreed to leave them for the next day. Jordi said it would be ok for Max and Paddy to run around in his garden overnight, but Ed was worried about the pool and the chickens, so they put the fence back. Good move...

Next morning, the fence came down again, then I heard shouting and a commotion. Max had managed to get into the chicken run, and all of the chickens were now running around, being chased by Max, Paddy, Ed, Jordi and little Julian. I watched from a window crying with laughter as they all raced around the garden. Then, Max managed to get a chicken cornered, and bit it. A flurry of feathers, and lots of squawking, but he let it go. Finally, Ed managed to grab him. (Max that is, not the chicken.) He dragged both dogs back into our garden, and I locked them safely in the house. The poor chicken meanwhile, was returned to the run, along with the others.

Within a short time, the 2 remaining trees were felled and the fence re-instated. As soon as Max and Paddy were let out of the house, they raced to get back to the chickens. Max did his best to get under the fence, but everyone had made sure it was secure. Jordi left at lunchtime, so Ed sliced up his logs, enabling us to take down the remaining trees of ours that were too close to their house.

For those that are concerned, the chicken lived to lay another day.

This is Hallowe'en

2011-11-19T17:16:00.001+01:00

Once again, we are into autumn, and it is time for Hallowe'en.

I was hoping to do a pumpkin, but, as no one passes our house and we don't have anywhere outside the gate to park a pumpkin, I didn't do one. Also, one of Jessicas friends does such stunning one's, that I would be put to shame!

This year, there was an historical firework celebration in the town square.

The fireworks from the display in the museum were lit, with accompanying music and explanations. At 2pm, there was a mascleta, with the remainder being lit at 8pm. We duly trekked down for the 2pm display, arriving at 5 minutes to 2 - proper spanish style. (We are almost locals now.) The style of the display was like any other mascleta, with wonderful bangs and booms which we could watch from the safety of the archway under the old town hall. It seemed a bit daft to go all this way for a 5 minute display, but it was nice to see the old fireworks in a traditional location. (Where they were held many years ago.)

Later, we set out to watch the evening display. Arrived a few minutes before it was due to start... disaster. The square was absolutely packed and we couldn't see anything at all. Being tall, both of us are usually ok to stand at the back, but this time, we were 2 streets away (not really, but we might as well have been). We tried to wriggle through the crowd, but there was no chance of seeing much. Then the show began. A man explained everything in a quiet valenciano voice, which I could barely hear, let alone understand. Then came music and the first fireworks were lit. Stunning. From such an old version of something, the effects were simply amazing. I know chemistry is chemistry, and if something fizzes when reacting with something else, that will always be the case, but the effects were really glorious. The colours were very simple, mainly just reds and whites, but the showers of sparks and light were excellent. People standing in the square were shrieking to get away from the cascades of sparks.

We weren't able to see any of the displays fixed to the old town hall wall from where we were, but the taller displays in the square were easily visible. The 'ooos' and 'ahhhs' from everyone showed how good it all was. Fireworks now, tend to be mainly rocket (aerial) displays, so it was good to see such a fantastic display at close quarters. However, it must be said, some of them were at very close quarters, and many people literally ran out of the square on occasions. Maybe we were in the safest spot after all!

Calpe

2011-10-29T21:24:00.001+02:00

We had some business to attend to, in the Jalon valley, and decided to go in person (rather than doing it electronically) for a day out. Business over in about 15 minutes, so we decided to have lunch in Calpe.

After 4 years here, it was about time we visited one of the most famous landmarks on the Costa Blanca, the Penyal d'Ifac. The weather looked decidedly dodgy when we set out, and black clouds loomed overhead as we go there. We strolled along the beach, braving strong winds, hoping to find a nice restaurant before the skies opened. In fact, the wind was so strong, we were able to walk quite far before choosing a restaurant based on it's appearance, rather than on the rain!

We sat in a nice place, with a pleasant sea view and were given our menus. Now, maybe it's just me, but, after 4 years of trying very hard to learn the language, I feel very insulted when I am presented with a menu of photo's with prices stuck on them. Chips and egg 4 euros, chips and sausage 4.50 euros, chips and hamburger 4.50 euros etc. No thank you. In Spanish, I asked if we were too late for the Menu Del Dia, no, he admitted, and bought us a proper Spanish menu. That's more like it. (I had seen it on the blackboard outside.) Nice dinner ordered, 3 courses plus drinks, for a sensible price. Nicely cooked too!

Outside, as we approached the beach again, I felt a drop of rain on my cheek. Oh dear, it was quite a walk back to the car. But, in fact, the strong wind had blown most of the clouds out to sea, and the few drops we felt were the sum total! The wind had dropped too, so we had a lovely stroll along the seafront, right up to the harbour.

En route, we discovered that there were lots of roman ruins right by the coast, with several notice boards giving information about the excavations. Those Romans got everywhere. One thing was certain - their pathways lasted a lot longer than the Spanish ones.

Although it was a grey day, one chap decided it was still warm enough in the sea to go for a swim. Fair enough, but he took his little daughter (about 7 years old) in with him. I'm not convinced that she was going to thank him afterwards. I wouldn't even go for a paddle (although I did think about it).

As we walked along the narrow sea wall around the harbour, another couple came up behind us, walking a little quicker than us. In Spanish, I asked if they would like to pass, as I cautiously stood on the edge to make room, and she thanked us in English. I apologised - Oh, sorry, you are English - she laughed - only the English would be mad enough to walk along here. So true.

I think we have got things worked out here. Stay at home in the summer, and explore the tourist things in the winter, when there are empty, and looking their best.

School Trip

2011-10-27T23:06:00.001+02:00

During my Castellano class on Monday, the teacher explained that at 5pm, we would all be going to the local museum (Casa Santonja) to hear a talk on the history of fireworks. We duly trekked off, along with several other folk, to the museum (at the end of the road the school is on).

Inside, were lots of photos, collections of parafinalia and old-fashioned fireworks. Extremely interesting. The chappie started to talk, and, as I suspected, he was talking in Valencio, rather quietly, and I couldn't really understand him. One other English person was there too, so, we sneaked a look at everything, and then crept out! Shhh.

On Wednesday, I opted to go again on my own, and have a proper look. In the end, I actually went with some English people from another class. The museum was open from 18:00 to 20:00 and we got there at about 18:15. There was a mother and son waiting, along with another gentleman. We all stood there for a while, and I commented the it was the normal Spanish timekeeping (they did smile, but looked rather embarassed). Then, a policeman came. He called the people that were meant to be inside, and it transpired that they were in the cafe next door, so they had locked up. A few minutes later, and we all went inside.

I don't know why, but once again I ended up being the interpreter. Outside (on the back terrace), was a layout of a typical firework factory from centuries ago, and the guides explained everything, allowing me to translate for the other three. They showed us exactly how the fireworks were made, with what chemicals, and even how they made the fuses. It was actually very interesting, and I'm sure my interest inspired them, as they then took me around everything, bit by bit, leaving the other Spanish visitors to read everything for themselves. We even managed to ask a few questions, which they were more than happy to answer.

There were fantistic frameworks that fireworks were attached to. One was even an animated snake, chasing after a butterfly. As the firework burned, the butterfly and snake moved around in a three leaved clover shape. Incredible. Other catherine wheel shapes were easy to understand, but they also had a copy of the first firework with moving parts - a dove, whose wings flapped, as it progressed along a rope, driven by the force of the fireworks themselves. The original was created in 1350. It was used in a cathederal, so represent the rising of Christ, and had 12 fireworks underneath, to represent each of the 12 apostles.

Many of the exhibition components were from Italy, Germany and England, as well as Spain. Needless to say, the biggest ones were from Valencia.

Red Tape, taped up

2011-10-27T22:25:00.004+02:00

It has taken a while, but we finally have Spanish number plates for both cars! The story is a long one, with frustrations over time and money spent on rip-off merchants, who ought to be (insert suitable verb here).

It is the only thing that we were financially ripped-off with, so we have done better than some people.

Still, we finally found a genuine person who did the job, for a honest amount of money. Ed's was still a fiasco, as the Spanish won't import any right-hand-drive commercial vehicles. Somehow,we have managed to get it through. Subsequently, we have done the same, with much greater ease, for my car. Being left-hand-drive, we knew it shouldn't have been a problem anyway.

Even without the rip-off conmen, it has cost a lot of money, but at least we will now be able to drive around without any fear of punishment from the Gardia Civil. Apparently, if they stop you, they will give you 10 days to get it sorted, otherwise they will impound your car. (This is usually after 1 stop and a warning.) I have no idea how that is meant to work, because the process is so drawn out.

First, get a report from a technician. Then get some special paperwork from Trafico. Next, get a proper legal MOT (HOW MUCH did that cost???!!!!). Strangely, the MOT has to be held in their office for 10 days. At this point, your local council will come up with a (random) amount of import tax to pay. Then, take the MOT document to Trafico, and get issued with a number. Now, you have hit a sticky part... technically, your car is now on the new number, but you haven't actually got it yet, and therefore can't change the insurance. Still, I guess the chances of being in an accident in that short period is fairly unlikely. Next, the numberplate has to be made up. Then, change the insurance over to the new number. Of course, you then have to attach the new plates. Phew. I'm glad we paid someone to do the dirty work for us. Money well spent - once we'd found the right person.

For anyone wanting to import a car, I would seriously advise them to consider buying one here. It may seem to be more expensive, but in the long run, it probably isn't.

Well done Mum, who spotted that my letters (sort of) spell HUGS. I like that.

Palm Beetle (part 2)

2011-10-26T13:59:00.002+02:00

Well, today the top has dropped even more. To be expected I guess. We now have 3 leaves that are vertical and all of the others are on the wane. The really sad part is, not long ago, Iwas thinking how lovely and full it was looking, and how well the one in the back gaarden has taken after it transplant.

Today, we managed to buy the special insecticide. We went to 3 different co-operativas before we found one open. How crazy is it, to only open 1 or 2 days a week?! Really bizzarely, the one that was open, was the one in l'Olleria. It is the first time we have ever seen the door open. (We weren't quite certain where it was until now.) The lady was very helpful. She sold me the product I wanted (25 euros) plus, she explained that on different months, you treat it with a different chemical. I bought that too, as it was only another 4 euros. I was a bit concerned, when I paid her, and then she walked off without giving me anything... the stock is kept in another warehouse nearby! She also gave me a piece of paper, with instructions on what to treat it with and when. I'm not certain about 1 sentence though, so need to get someone to translate the Valenciano for me!

As soon as we got back, we poured the treatment into the crown, Ed standing on the roof of the truck, in order to get to the centre. Fingers crossed. I know it will look worse before it gets better, but hopefully we will be able to save it.

Devastated Palm (Dreaded Palm Beetle)

2011-10-25T20:48:00.001+02:00

Yesterday, our palm tree looked a bit odd. Ed noticed, when he came into the drive, that the middle seemed to have lessened and that somehow the leaves had fallen.

It was hard to see last night, but today I had to agree with him. The middle was much less full than normal, and one side had fallen a lot.

Thankfully, we have a friend that works for the council, so I sent him a message, and (hero that he is) he turned up tonight to have a look. He had a smell and a listen and then confirmed the worst. We have been affected by the dreaded palm beetle.

The beetles (or maye the larvae) omit an odour, which, when you are close to the tree, you can smell. Also, if you listen very closely, you can actually hear them munching away at the insides of the trunk. Horrible things.

The whole area around here has been very badly affected over the last few months. The council have been treating all of their trees, and have only lost 4 out of all of them.

Thankfully, our hero had a bottle of treatment with him, and, since we called him so quickly, he thinks we might be able to save it. I need to buy a bottle of the insecticide (imidacloprid 20%) which will be about 30 euros, but he thinks the bottle will last us for 2 years, as we only have a few palms.

We have to treat all of them, not just the 'pineapple' ones, to ensure that the bugs don't swap from one to another.

Fingers crossed. Watch this space!

Sunday Lunch

2011-10-25T16:53:00.002+02:00

We were invited to Sunday lunch at The Olive Branch by one of our friends.

We had heard it was very good before, but had never gone. If we are not out on the bikes, then I am perfectly capable of cooking a decent meal myself!

However, it was Laeticia's birthday, so off we went. Parking the car, we noticed how low the reservior was. No real rain since May has taken it's toll. It was a lovely day, so we sat in the garden having drinks, before going in for lunch. There were 6 of us, and the food was excellent. Ed had a mixture of beef and pork, whereas I had chosed turkey braised in gravy. Yum yum. Mine came in a teracotta pot, and there was no room for the veggies (again). The table was groaning with food, all of it beautifully cooked.

I had some 'happy birthday' confetti and sprinked them over the table. Laeticia was thrilled and took them home with her afterwards (I didn't tell her that I had re-used them lots of times and still had a load in my bag).

After pudding (warm Bakewell tart with ice cream) we went outside for coffees. When we asked for the bill, we discovered that Laeticia had already paid it, and sworn the landlord to secrecy. With some persuasion, I managed to get the figure out of her, and we all chipped in. How can Sunday lunch last for 4 1/2 hours!

Fira de l'Olleria

2011-10-25T16:40:00.003+02:00

Once again, it was time for our annual fair.

The funfair arrived on Thursday, and the fair was inaugurated on Friday night. We got there just as the dancers and human towers were working their way up the High Street. The music is lovely, although it is done by quite a small band. As this was an opening ceremony, the were all dressed very smartly in dark suits (unlike on the practice nights for the processions, when they wear shorts and t-shirts).

The High Street was the usual mix of stalls selling handbags, scarves or toys. There were a few food stalls too, with olives, almonds and hams. Each year there seem to be the same things, just the style of the handbags changes a little!

We went to one of the local bars and had a drink with an English couple who are returning to the UK so didn't go around the whole fair.

On Saturday, we returned, expecting to see people we knew. From last year, we learned that Saturday is the day to see and be seen! Sure enough, we bumped into severl people. In fact, we bumped into Paco and Emy about 5 times. They spent more time chatting with different people than looking at the displays!

This time, we also walked around the fair itself. The usual rides were there, including a new one.

Floating hamster balls! Great fun. Sadly, these were a little too small for adults. I did think about having a go, but, as they are zipped up tight enough to be waterproof, then, they must also be airproof - ie, the person inside must use up lots of energy and oxygen trying to move around on the water. It must be horrible and smelly inside! The balls were on long pieces of string, so that the operator can pull them back again at the end (or when the customer passes out?).

By about 11pm, we had had enough - thankfully. Apparently, at about 1am, there were a series of fights in town, and a lot of people were hurt. I understand that some of them were even taken to hospital. The gardia civil turned up in great force to restore order. Shocking! We always miss the exciting things!

Family Time

2011-10-14T11:27:00.005+02:00

After some persuasion, I booked Ed a break in the UK with his family. In reality, it is the first holiday he has had in four years. Other trips to the UK have been out of necessity, not choice.

He spent time with each of the children, as well as with many friends, which was really nice for him. Having deliberately including 3 weekends in the trip, he even managed to include some bike racing.

Hopefully it won't be so long before he sees them all again.

Sola en Casa

2011-10-14T11:04:00.003+02:00

Ed scooted off to the UK for a couple of weeks, leaving me 'home alone'. As it happened, John was here for a few of the days, and then Tim and his friends for a week, so I was only alone for a short time.

On the Sunday, I had the opportunity to go to another matinal with the spanish bikers. There were only four of us in total this time, Julian, Paco, Emy and I. This was much easier for me, as I didn't have to spend my time translating for Ed, and I could have a proper chat with Emy.

Julian was in cracking form, winding me up nicely, but I even managed to understand the innuendo's and fell about laughing along with everyone else.

We only went to Denia, but we went the scenic route there. I was a little dubious, as Muro de Alcoy tends to be about 10 degrees colder than everywhere else and I was only wearing jeans and an airflow jacket. Sure enough, at one point, I had to switch my heated grips on (for about 5 minutes). The scenery was gorgeous. There were rivers of clouds sitting amongst crags in the mountains, but it was impossible to stop and take photos. We went up and up, through the clouds, (which was just like being in the UK on a foggy November day) emerging into the sunshine amongst the cherry orchards. This is a valley I really do need to visit again when the blossom is out.

Finally, we reached the coastal zone, near the Montgo mountain, and the lads were lost! Julian wanted to go one way, and Paco another. As it happened, I knew roughly where we were, and Julian was right. We pootled off again and soon found our way into Denia, finding the coloured arrows for 'motos' and parking up with everyone else.

I did see an English couple I know, and chatted for a while, but they had their own agenda, trotting off for lunch elsewhere. We did catch up again before leaving, which was nice.

Boys on Tour

2011-10-13T15:17:00.004+02:00

Mum, can I come over for my birthday with some mates?
Yes, if you like.

I can't come, I haven't got enough holiday left.
Oh, ok.

We're all coming, they've let me have an extra day. There'll be 4 of us.
Brilliant.

Uh, oh. Where on earth am I going to put them all?! In the end, it was ok. With a combination of double and single beds and airbeds, everyone had somewhere to sleep. And so it was... four twentysomethings to trash the house. Which they didn't, as I knew they wouldn't.

We had such a laugh. One of my students came on the first night, so they were all tasked with a game for her. The poor thing. It was actually her birthday and she didn't get away from here until after 8pm, not knowing that her friends were all hiding in her flat, ready to shout 'suprise' when she got home.

On the Tuesday, we climbed up to the cross on the hill. Stupid idea! It was actually 38 degrees out in the sun. Then, in the afternoon, we all went to Xativa Castle.

Wednesday, they were meant to go to Aqualandia in Benidorm, but their hire-car broke down. Thankfully, it died in the garden, rather than leave them stranded in the middle of no-where. The recovery man wasn't very happy, but at least they got a replacement car pretty quickly. In the end, they went to Benidorm anyway and chilled on the beach, going to the waterpark the next day.

They were also brave enough to go swimming in the pools at Pau Clar (near Ontinyent). Not suprisingly, the water was cold, but really clear and deep. Two of them even jumped off the cliff into the pools.

As is often the way, when you only have one week, there were several wet days, but, there were also enough sunny ones for them to enjoy themselves. I think Paddy and Max missed them just as much as I did, when they finally went home.

Just Chillin'

2011-10-13T15:01:00.003+02:00

While John was over here in September, the weather was still wonderful, so we went to Javea for a couple of hours.

The beach was fairly desserted as the schools were back and most people had returned to work. The water was somewhat calmer than last time Ed and I were there, but it was still really warm.

We stopped at a supermarket and bought a picnic lunch. John was very impressed with the tools I keep in the car; teatowel, sharp knife, knife, fork and spoon! I must have learned something useful from Mum after all!

Half A Century

2011-10-13T14:49:00.006+02:00

Well the time finally came and I confessed that I am no longer 25. 'Tis true. The dreaded half century finally caught up with me.

I had a really nice day. We chilled out at home and went out for a meal in the evening.

Birthday pressies included an ipod from John, a brilliant photo album from Mum and Dad and some stunning earrings from Ed, amongst other things. I had a really lovely day.

Vincente, when he discovered how old I was, even made me a special cake, which he presnted to us at the end of the evening.

Thank you everyone, for all your kind wishes and messages. xx

My Darling Happy Anniversary

2011-10-13T14:29:00.002+02:00

This year, for our Anniversary, we were invited to a 50th Birthday Party! Andy's birthday is not actually until November, but as the weather is still nice in September, he decided to celebrate it early.

We went to their house, a beautiful house on a ridge, giving 360 degree views around the valley. There was a table groaning with food, and lots of people to eat it! Children of all ages were running around, going in and out of the pool and trying to clear the table at the same time!

We stayed for a while, then went off to The Olive Branch for a meal. Ed had a mixed grill and I had prawns. Both of us made mistakes! There was nothing wrong with the food at all, but, Ed's plate was piled so high, he had no chance of finishing it. As for my prawns, well, they were delicious, but the first one's were too hot to open without burning my fingertips, and then the last one's were cold!

The platefuls of vegetables were barely touched. I think I had 3 chips, and the mushrooms, but that was all. Poor Ed didn't have any dessert, but I managed a small lemon mouse!

Since it changed hands a few years ago, we have always eaten well there, but (I hope they don't read this), they really do need to cut down the portion sizes a bit! A couple of euros off the price, and only 1/2 on the plate, and they would turn a much better profit!

One clever thing they do there... in the basket of sauces, there is a little pair of scissors, so you can actually open the sachets! Good move.

Fireworks

2011-10-13T12:30:00.004+02:00

At the end of the fiestas, there is a big firework display.

Although we would be able to see it from the house, we decided to go into town, and watch it from where they are all set off, across from a dry river bed.

Having been told it started at midnight, we decided to go into town at 10:30ish, and have a couple of drinks, before wanderign down. We drove in, parked up and wandered to the bar. Just as we sat down (outside) with our drinks, the first rockets went up.

It started at 11, not 12!!!

Thankfully, the street we were in was wide enough for us to see quite well, although we missed the ground level ones (seeing only the change in the colour of the sky!

Ah well. One year, we will get it right.

The Show Must Go On

2011-10-13T12:11:00.002+02:00

Each year, there is an extravaganza of some sort, on the big stage in the park.

There have been some fantastic shows in the past, but this year I was a little worried, as the Town Hall have been adamant about cutting costs for the fiestas. In the end, it was actually quite good.

To start with, there were some dancers. They were more of a gymnastic style, but they put on a very good show, to some up-to-date music. Much of it was the men twirling the girls around, but they also moved into the audience, so that everyone was able to see them properly.

After that, there was a magician. He got some children up from the stage, but one of them had to be told (and then shown) exactly what to do. I think the poor lad had stage fright. It was quite clever, but we were a little too far away to see exactly what was happening.

The magician also did several tricks with an assistant. For a couple of these, I could see how he did them. Still, it was quite impressive to see. The girl was incredibly bendy to move to the very bottom of the cardboard box that he was thrusting swords through! When he chopped her in half, the audience was very intruiged, especially as there were two men from the village helping out.

The last act (I presume) was a comedian. We only stayed for a little while, as, being foreign (!) we couldn't understand everything he said. Some of it was perfectly obvious, but the innuendos were lost on us! Also, we were quite tired after all of our late nights, and just wanted to go to bed!

Let Battle Commence

2011-10-13T11:53:00.005+02:00

I was quite convinced that the battle of the moors taking the castle from the Christians was at 12 o'clock, and had been telling everyone that. On the day of the battle, we got up ratherlate, so this was another event that we were to miss.

As time went on, we couldn't hear anything and I didn't understand why. We may live some way off, but the battle is loud enough to hear from here!

Then at about 2pm, we heard it all. Then the penny dropped... there is a Mass at 12 o'clock and the battle takes place afterwards. First, all of the filas have to parade into the square (the Christians and then the Moors) and then the speeches are all done, before the battle itself commences.

As usual, we went to the later one, when the Christians re-capture the castle. This year, both of the lead roles were held by people a little uncomfortable in the spotlight. The Christian king had someone next to him, with a sheet of paper, prompting him whenever necessary and the Moor King was actually the Queen, as the King didn't want to do it! She didn't live on l'Olleria and her natural language was castelliano, so she had to learn the whole thing in another language! Well done her!

Come the actual battle, we weren't in our normal spot and I found myself hiding in a doorway to take some photos. HUGE mistake! The sound of the guns echoing inside the porch turned out to be enough to keep my ears ringing for nearly a week! I went quite deaf for about 2 days. Next year, I really must take some ear defenders (we have enough of them around the house).

Variable Weather

2011-10-13T11:44:00.003+02:00

In spite of the localised showers, it has been a dry summer.

The showers have literally been for a few hours at a time and although very heavy, being so short lived, any dampness has soon cleared.

I don't think there has been much rain since May really. I remember using a brolly in July, dashing to my spanish classes, but that too was a sort shower, just bad timing!

Max made the most of his sunbed (until it got too hot)!

The Grand Parade

2011-10-13T11:00:00.006+02:00

Once again, there were showers on the day of the Grand Parade. This is such a big event though, that a shower doesn't count. Only a full blown storm would result in it being cancelled.

We scurried into town and managed to park, then raced through the streets to find a good viewing spot. The town seemed rather empty, although there were certainly some people around. Then, we spotted our neighbour. She told us, that the start had been delayed by 1/2 hour, because of the weather. We live too far away to hear the town tannoy, so didn't know about the delay! She suggested that we sit with her, as there were lots of vacant places, but we politely declined. We didn't want to spend the whole parade in one place, and also, we would have had to pay for the seat!

We strolled down, and tucked ourselves in a nice spot, with a view up the high street. We were just opposite all of the princesses and near to a decent bar! As the crowds got thicker and the chairs filled, I was highly amused by a couple trying to show 2 folding chairs into the space where we were standing. They did their best to shove us aside, but we stood (quite) firm. Did they thing we'd been saving the place for them?

Thankfully, a light shower just before the start didn't last long, and everyone was able to put away their umbrellas. The storm clouds held off and it ended up being a nice evening.

The parade itself was the usual affair. We spotted the people we knew, despite their outlandish costumes and were even able to view from a couple of different places. At the end, the two floats with the pricesses came by, and we saw Marta throwing confetti.

Once it finished, we caught up with several spanish people we knew, and were introduced to a few more. We only saw a couple of english people during the whole event, so we have no idea where they were all viewing from. The parade itself it actually quite long, so there are lots of good spots. Maybe one year, we will actually go and have a look at the end part, to see everyone enjoying them selves as they complete the march. It must be quite a relief for some of them, to remove their headdresses!

Flower Presentation

2011-10-13T10:53:00.002+02:00

I was really looking forward to the presentation of flowers this year, as our little friend Marta, would be there, in her local traditional costume.

The Valencian costume is a full 'peasant' skirt, with a fine apron on top, and with hair tied into buns at the ears (Princess Laia style) with golden decorations.

As the day progressed, the heavens opened. In true spanish style, the rain came down as though someone had pulled the plug. But - the rain clouds kept moving about, swirling around the valley, so it was hard to know what to do. In the end, I decided that the event must have been called off, as the stage and chairs for the priests and dignatories would be soaked.

We didn't go. The next day, I discovered that it hadn't rained in l'Olleria! What? Although only 1 mile away, the rain turned out to be so locallised, that the town itself didn't get wet. Ah well - we will just have to wait to see the photos of Marta another time.

Desfila - Moors on Parade

2011-10-12T22:09:00.003+02:00

Straight after the paella cook-off, we scurried to the high street, to see the moors doing their parade.

We managed to miss quite a bit of it, as we were late, but that was ok, as we got there just in time to see the people we knew and they saw us too. Phew!

I think it was a bit disorganised as many people were at the paella contest still. There seemed to be a huge gap between troups, while everyone tried to get themselves together. Still, everyone was having fun as usual.

Afterwards, we spotted little Marta, covered in soot marks too, returning from her adventerous night.

Paella Night

2011-10-12T21:48:00.005+02:00

This year, we somehow managed to be a bit more organised!

We joined several friends, and actually arrived on time, being able to park easily! We actually felt quite guilty waiting to start, as many of the other competitors hadn't even arrived. We collected our firewood, and build our little mounds, ready to start.

When the time came, 3 of us joined the queue to get our goddies from the council! A bag full of; rice, oil, a red pepper, chicken, rabbit, paella spices, salt - only the water was missing. This is all provided free of charge. You simply go to the council and register your entry, then, with your entry ticket, collect the produce on the night.

We cooked 2 between us. Ed cooked a normal, traditional style paella, whereas Mark cooked a special hot, chilli paella. We all had great fun while this was going on, with Ed and Mark actually being on television later. I did wave at the cameras this time, but I don't think I made the cut!

When the paellas were ready, Tracey to their spicy one for judging. There were gasps of terror from the judges, as they all ran for glasses of water! Very funny. They were not amused. This was NOT a normal paella! We knew it wouldn't win anything, but it was worth entering it, just for the laugh!

In reality, it wasn't too hot, it was just that the judges didn't expect anything spicy. We all had a great evening. Once the pans had cooled a little, many people rubbed fingers underneath the smoke blackened pans, and marked their faces.

Sadly, we had to scurry away to see the next parade, anticipating seeing some other friends there.

Desfila - Fancy Dress Parade

2011-10-12T21:37:00.004+02:00

Before the big parade, the different groups parade in their club uniforms. Christians one day, and Moors on another.

Unlike the scouts or brownies, these are costumes relating to the names of their groups or to traditional costumes of 600 years ago. The Pirates dress in lovely costumes, even though none of them look like Jack Sparrow, but other groups have simple striped tunics, with pointy slippers and leather belts. Either way, it is a much more casual affair, but everyone has just as much fun.

This time, everyone has the chance to look around at the spectators, and acknowledge anyone they know with a nod and a smile. (And, as it starts much earlier, they are not all drunk before it starts!)

The band with each troupe are dressed quite casually, but they still put every effort into their music. I'm quite astonished that the drums actually survive the pounding they get, even though that's what they are designed for. The grin on the drummer's faces says it all.

All Bull

2011-10-12T21:16:00.005+02:00

As usual, we went to see the bulls most nights. We sat on the rails as normal, to get close to the action, but there wasn't much action to be had.

Many of the bulls (heiffers) were quite young, and had no idea what they were meant to do, and the older, larger ones were so used to the people around them, that they didn't do anything!

One night, one of the bulls knew how to get onto the table, which came as quite a shock to the people standing on it at the time.

To be honest, I don't think that the bull activities in the town are very nice. There seems to be little respect for the bulls, and the ring is quite small, resulting in little choice of movement for the bulls. If they could make tha area bigger, it might be better, but I don't think that the people would behave any nicer. One night, several of the lads had lazer lights, which they kept trying to sine in the animals eyes. (They did get told off for it though.)

Ah well - each to his own.

Horses for Courses

2011-10-12T21:08:00.003+02:00

An event we hadn't been to before.

As part of the annual festivities, there is a horse show held in the bullring in the afternoon (before the bulls arrive)!

Although I am not a horsey person, it was fun to watch the control the riders displayed, doing figure of eights, and cantering around. I find it intruiging how they can get the horses to do their fancy steps, although I have seen our little neighbour training his horse to do it.

To be honest, this was quite an amateur show, and some of the costumes left a bit to be desired, but it was still good entertainment, and free!

September

2011-10-12T21:06:00.003+02:00

Sincere apologies to all of you that follow the blog. Yes, September did happen, but, we were so busy, that somehow, despite my intentions at the end of August, I didn't manage to upload anything!

However - I'm (reasonably) up-to-date with my paid work, so hopefully I'll soon get up-to-date with this too!

Keep reading,
And please keep commenting on the posts.

Thank you
B

Splish Splosh!

2011-08-28T17:54:00.005+02:00

Tracy and I have been very lucky with our swimming this year. Almost exclusively, we have had the pool to ourselves when doing our daily 32 lengths.

Last week, as I was swimming along, I spotted something in the water. I thought it was a cicada, but ignored it. As we swam by, the disturbance of the waves moved it, so I didn't see it again for a little while. When I saw it again, I could see that it had a large body and several legs.

Hmm. A spider. A LARGE spider.

Once again, it disdappeared for a while, then I saw it again. Not a spider - a tarantula.

Ah.

I knew Tracy wouldn't be happy if she suddenly saw it, so I deceided to do something up-front about it. I shouted to the lifeguards that there was a tarantula in the pool. "Alive or dead?" "Alive." (I had seen it's legs moving.) "Really - they normally sink to the bottom of the pool." "No, this one is here, on the top - can you get something to catch it?" I expected him to come back with a net on a pole (for leaves etc), so we carried on swimming while he wondered off.

As we returned, he was standing at the deep end, checking in the pool. "I can't see it. Ah, there it is." He wanted me to push it across to him, so he could catch it in a plastic cup. I didn't like that idea much, so I told him to throw the cup.

With great trepidation, I managed to catch the tarantula in the cup, swim with it in my hand, holding it up and give it to him. I was totally freaking out! I thought, if the spider now realises it has sides on the cup, it might climb out, and run down my arm! ARGH!

He took it away, and we carried on swimming. As we watched, we saw the two of them messing about with it, then he shouted, "it's dead now", before throwing it away on the grass at the back of the gardens.

I'm not sure whether they killed it, or, if they just said that before setting it free. Either way, at least I knew I wasn't going to swallow it!

Grupo Hits

2011-08-28T16:40:00.002+02:00

After the Comedy Parade, we bimbled back to the bar for another drink, encountering lots of Spanish friends on the way. I really must start wearing my glasses more, as I seem to miss them, but thankfully Ed doesn't!

We happened to met an English couple we knew, as well as loads more Spanish people as we sat outside the bar. (With the new non-smoking laws now, Ed has to sit outside - not a problem in the summer!) After a while, we strolled to the park, to watch and listen to the live band. We were a little bit worried, as everyone seemed to be walking in the opposite direction. As we got there, there was just a rubbish DJ on. Not very good. We sat down in the park and had another drink (it is fiesta week) and after a while, heard the band start up again.

They turned out to be some kind of 80's tribute band, playing loads of U2, music from films and a bunch of other stuff. They were pretty good and it was fun watching them. The lead guitarist was (possibly) my age, but he certainly knew how to play. (I'm not convinced the lead singer was much younger either!) After a while, I suggested to Ed that we go, but he was genuinely enjoying himself. Then, the singer said this would be their last song... it was nearly 5:30am! No wonder I was tired.

Having been on coke all night (the fizzy kind - not the powder), I drove home and the first thing we encountered was the policia local. I expected to get stopped, but he just smiled and let us pass by. Phew! They know who we are, and where we live, so they seem to be quite happy leaving us alone.

More fun every night this week, so I guess I'd better start taking some siestas!

Comedy Parade

2011-08-28T15:20:00.004+02:00

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

What a time to start a parade. Midnight! We bimbled in to town at about 10ish and had a drink or 2 in one of the bars, then strolled up the high street in search of anyone we knew. As usal, there were an assortment of dining and patio chairs lining the high street, for those ready to watch the parade.

Near the top of the High Street, we encountered Victoria (whose husband Paco is one of our biker friends) and her family. We chatted for a while, and then we stood behind them as the parade started.

As usual, there was a huge amount of political 'party bashing' with notices on the floats which would cause terrible offence in the UK!

There was a brilliant range of themes again, causing laughter all the way down the streets. First of all, was a group referring to the new swimming pool. I found this one particularly funny, as Tracy and I have the open pool to ourselves every day. In this case, there were about 30 people - more than I've ever seen in the pool!

There were people dressed as Glass Blowers / Ghosts (bemoaning the loss of l'Olleria's famous glass industry); a lorry carrying a tableful of councillors at a meeting (the lorry stopped sharpish in front of us, and two of them nearly fell off their chairs!); Adults dressed as children, playing kiddie games (with all of the traffic now, it is impossible to play in the streets any more); A group of people dressed in black, carrying flaming torches (suppling illumination to the council) [I did laugh, when one of them accidentally set fire to the cloak of the one in front of him]; a bunch of very irreverend nuns, along with the Pope (who visited Spain just a few days earlier) [one of the nuns had a cushion up her habit - but the Pope's bodyguards were so good, that someone thought they were real!]; there was a huge troupe of hippies (I don't know where they got their clothes from, but they were brilliant) and, finally, some bullfighters and a wooden bull on a set of wheels.

I know I've missed a few out, but they were all very good. The parade took about one-and-a-half hours to pass us. Thankfully, after a while, we managed to get a chair too!

Each troupe had it's own band, and they were all excellent. Ed did spot that one girl was in more than one band, scurrying back to join a later one! (I wonder if she got paid twice too.)

I even spotted my students in amongst the parade, but they were all too busy enjoying themselves to see me - ah well, I'll tease them later!

Marta - La Festera

2011-08-28T15:04:00.003+02:00

On Friday night, was the procolmation of the Queens, Captains and Ambassadors.

They all met up at the main square in town, and then paraded through town up to the park, where they were presented, one by one, and received their vestments.

One of our biker crew has a little girl, who was a festera this year. We met them at the square, which was really nice. He looked very proud, dressed up in his suit (only the 4th time he's ever worn it), with his hair nicely gelled! His wife is very pretty, and she too looked lovely, in a nice black shift dress and towering heels.

Little Marta was thrilled to be there and gave me a huge hug. I don't know how long it took to do her hair, but she looked as pretty as any bride would do. Beautiful curls and rosebuds everywhere. Come the parade, she also donned little white lace gloves. (This is not unlike a communion attire, but it is not a religious ceremony at all.)

We joined in the parade though town, slipping out for refreshments before going to the park to watch her being presented. We go there just in time, and she was lovely as she walked up the long aisle, with just a small sublte wave to mum and dad on the way! Afterwards, she had a fiddle with her dress before she could sit down properly, but then she was perfect, sitting very still throughout the rest of the presentations (while some of the other children were very fidgetty).

She will wear this dress again to a church mass and on the float in the main parade, but for other presentations, she will wear the local Valencian costume (more photos will obviously follow).

I'm A Horrible Person

2011-08-21T18:13:00.003+02:00

The swallows were just about ready to fledge, so Ed told me to take a quick look, before they left the nest for good, probably next week.

I took the camera, and climbed up the ladder. one proud baby sat on the edge of the nest, checking me out, while the other two ducked inside. I set up a shot, but I didn't hink it would be very good, as I could hardly see the the other two. As I took the photo, the flash went off, and frightened the chicks. The biggest one flew off, and another one fell out of the nest at the same time, hitting me on the shoulder as it fell. Tragically, Max was waiting with great enthusiasm beneath me. I shouted at him, but he managed to catch the poor thing under the ladder, and ran off proudly with it in his mouth.

I was very upset, and shouted at him and Ed raced down to catch him. He spat it out, and it flew off, but, as it wasn't really ready to fly, Max managed to catch it again. Poor thing. Ed made him spit it back out again, and then he picked it up and put it straight back in the nest.

I felt awful. It was entirely my fault. The parents came back, and only found 1 and a half chicks. The next day, there were four swallows perched in the poolhouse. Two adults and two babies. Ed left it until the next day, then checked inside the nest. Sure enough, the one Max had had was dead. Ed put it in the septic tank. Hopefully they will still come back next year, but Ed thinks they might not, if they think the nest is unsafe.

That's the second lot of baby birds I've upset this year. I think I'll just stick to watching them for a while.

No Matinal

2011-08-21T17:50:00.005+02:00

We happened to bump into Julian when out shopping yesterday, and we arranged to go out, even though there wasn't a decent matinal on this week. In the end, there were 4 horses of the apocolypse, but 5 of us, as Emy came too.

We headed out towards Alcoi and then towards the coast. It was one of those 'Kodak Moments'. As we crested the hills into the Costa Brava, the mountains in the distance were stunning. The mist was lifting and lay in layers half way up the mountains. The bottoms were clear, as were the tops, but beautiful horizontal layers wrapped theyselves around the mountains like chiffon. Fanciful? True, but also very lovely to see. Sadly for Mr Kodak, I didn't have the camera with me today. Fail.

We thought we were going towards the Mariola mountains, but we actually ended up going past Guadalest, and having breakfast in the restaurant next to the Motorcycle Museum. The restaurant was really nice, and the food was a normal hearty bocadillo, with an assortment of pickles and olives. Water, coke and coffee were also consumed in large amounts, and the bill came to €5 each. Tourist trap or not, they weren't taking advantage of anyone.

We bimbled across to the museum, which, to my surprise was open (on a Sunday). Closing day happens to be Saturdays. For just €3 could could spend a long as you liked inside. It was just one large room, with a collection of well restored bikes and cars. There were a few that I had seen before, but Ed was much more familiar with them than I was. I did spot a few things worthy of comment, but we certainly had a good time looking around. However - boys will be boys - everywhere, there were signs saying 'Do Not Touch', but the 3 of them were practically climbing on the bikes showing each other how things work and explaining everyting. I thought they would get told off, but they chatted with the museum keeper too, and I guess he understood their enthusiasm, rather than any likelihood of them causing any damage. Sadly, no photos, as I didn't have my camera.

Outside, there was a stall selling local produce. Honey, different fruit jams, wines etc, as well as the usual tacky souveniers. There were gourds hanging outside too and Ed asked me what they were. I wasn't really sure, but Julian came to our aid. They were actually vegetables (courgette / marrow etc) which are hung up until the flesh inside dries up, leaving the just seeds inside. They were very light, and as you shook them, you could hear the seeds rattling. They are used simply for rustic decoration. At €25 for a large one, I think I might grow my own!

We came back home the windy way, rather along the main road, as it was actually quicker than being held up in the coastal traffic. With the weather being as hot as it is right now - staying out after 2pm is not a good idea.

I don't think we'll be out on the bikes for a while now, as the l'Olleria fiestas start this week. Juilian's daughter is a Festera this year... so watch this space.

Street Racing

2011-08-15T18:26:00.006+02:00

Oh, where to begin?

Back in the UK, we used to watch motorbike racing most weekends. This was a great social event, with there often being 20 of us larking around together. Here, it has been replaced with the matinals, but we still like the racing.

In Xativa today, there was a series of street races. They closed off the centre of town, and made a route around several streets, forming a circuit. In the centre, the pits were in the streets, and the start/finish straight was in the road below the Avenue.

Not knowing what the schedule was, we walked all around, both inside and outside of the circuit. It was possible to cross over between races/practices, but it was all very carefully supervised.

There were several categories, and we watched them all practicing, trying to work out what was going on. Finally we spotted some people with small brochures, but unfortunately there were none available when we got there. All of the cafes within the cordon were open, and even set out little stalls outside, selling a bocadillo and a drink for about €4. This saved having queues inside, and when they were running out, someone just made some more up. Even a bottle of water was €1. Still much more than it ought to be, but better than £1.50 which is normal in most places that have you trapped.

We saw everything as we walked around. For a while, we watched from next to the 'pit crews'. They were all frantic with stop watches, and shouting times to each other. One chap constantly genuflected and kissed the cross around his neck. At first, we thought it was as his rider completed each lap, but it was every few seconds. The poor chap was obviously frantic about somebody. Bless him. Literally.

When the actual racing finally stated (at about 12:30) it was amazing to see how quickly they drove through the streets. Ed thinks they were up to about 80/90mph in some places. All that protected the public was a bit of fencing, and all that protected the racers, was a pile of straw bales in strategic places. Great fun.

There was a race for classic bikers (or classic bikes?). When some of the riders took their helmets off, it was time to be impressed. I don't know if they were old spanish champions, but they certainly weren't spring chickens any more. Good for them.

The really odd thing, was the total lack of marshalls. There were yellow flag men on the corners, but that was it. If you fell off, I think you had to get yourself and your bike back up again! The lap counter, was a man with a big flip top yellow counter, who stood right in the track, moving out of the way if too many bikes came at once!

It may sound amateurish, but it was actually very well organised. I don't think anyone was hurt, and everyone had a really good time. Excellent. Bring on next year.

Palmera Matinal

2011-08-15T18:06:00.003+02:00

Brave souls that we are, we went to a matinal on our own! Actually, I did anticipate meeting an English friend there, but it wan't essential!

This was near to Gandia, in a tiny village. Looking at the map in advance did no good at all, as the park wasn't named on Google. Thankfully, the organisers of this event didn't want anyone to miss it, and there were bright green 'MOTO' arrows at every junction from our side of Gandia. As we got into the village, there was a chappie in the road, wearing a flourescent jacket directing all the bikers into a side street. I don't know what would have happened, had you not wanted to go (LOL).

We parked up, then realised the we were opposite the stunt display area. Hmmm. Hope he doesn't fall off, and skittle our bikes. We followed the crowd, and found the park. A lovely grassy area, with lots of trees. As it was so hot, there were even mesh canopies hanging from the trees, to keep the tables and chairs in the shade.

We paid our pennies (cents) and got our T-shirt, bocadillo and drinks. For this one, there was even ice-cream for later. It was another well organised venue. There were even things for the children, and we were entertained by an aerobic class on the stage with 5 people on mini trampolines, as well as the stunt show.

We had a nice day bimbling around the village and chatting in the park, but it was too hot to go on the rideout. The weather is wonderful, but it's not compatible with protective clothing, even if we do have special 'air flow' jackets, with mesh panels in.

Night in Xativa

2011-08-15T17:40:00.003+02:00

This weekend is the big August Fayre in Xativa.

This is a bit like the County Show in Stafford, except that it caters for everyone and it's in the centre of town!

Along the main avenue are loads of stalls and a funfair, but throughout the rest of the town, there are different events in diferent places.

We were invited out for a meal by a friend, who has an appartment on the top floor of some flats, overlooking the castle. We had a lovely meal on her terrace, before strolling down the avenue.

What a treat. There we were, in a beautiful town, having everything explained to us. It was like having our own tourist guide. Although we already knew a lot, she told us lots of little things that we didn't know. For example, there are always stalls selling walking sticks - apparently it is traditional for a man to buy himself a new one each year, and, at the same time, buy his wife a new fan, to show how much he still loves her. (I laughed and said that her mum must have loads... having forgotten that she was divorced - oops!)

I mentioned a particular fountain that I had seen pictures of, but hadn't found. She took us to one, but it wasn't the one I wanted, then she took us to another, which was the right one. I had been passed it countless times, but had been looking into a park on the other side of the street thinking it was in there, and had missed it every time!

We strolled back through the old town, which was a delight to her, as she hadn't done so herself for a long time. Although it was about 1 am, there were loads of people still around, with the fayre being on, and it being so warm. Everyone was happy and relaxed. What a contrast to any English city late at night.

Arenal Beach

2011-08-15T17:13:00.002+02:00

Last week, Ed suggested a day out at the beach.

We left at lunchtime, and headed to Javea. After a bargain lunch at Scallops (more than anyone can eat, for €9 including a bottle of wine), we headed for the beach.

While we were eating, we noticed that the sea seemed rather rough. Unusually, there were big rolling waves crashing into the shore. We sat in the sun for a while, then ventured into the water. As expected, the sea was nice and warm. We walked out quite a long way, and had fun jumping in the waves.

We soon realised, that it was better to be further out, so that we could jump before the waves broke. Every now and then, there were some really big ones (about 10 ft high) which broke before they reached us. When these hit, there was nothing you could do, apart from take a big breath and hope for the best! After one of them, I turned around, but couldn't see Ed. Finally, he emerged from the foam, having struggled to find his feet. He looked at me and laughed, "it was just like being in a washing machine".

After a while, we went back to the beach. Looking at Ed's watch, we had been in the water for nearly an hour. Later, after all that pummelling, we both slept like the dead!

As the sun started to fade, we decided to take a stroll along the front. It was lovely seeing everyone having such a nice time. Youngsters were mixed with grandparents, everyone respectful and happy.

Thankfully, I knew a quick way out off the carpark, so we didn't even get stuck in the holiday traffic. It won't be such a long time before we go again.

Flower Power

2011-08-15T17:05:00.004+02:00

Having done the front of the garden now, I didn't want any sunflowers where they were last year. However, as I was weeding, I noticed an escapee.

I left it to grow, and it has done very well. It's about 5 ft high, with a massive head. The other day, a big bee decided to collect some pollen. It was inside for ages, and was completely covered in yellow.

I think I know where to plant them for next year, so that we get a good display, so, fingers crossed that they all flourish as well as this one.

Tavernes Matinal

2011-08-15T16:43:00.003+02:00

With one of our 'gang' working overseas at the moment, we weren't sure if we would still be going out on Sunday. A quick call on Saturday night, and we were all fixed up, meeting at the petrol station in the morning.

We went to one of the seaside towns, to a weekend event. There were tents everywhere in a compound and lots of bleary eyed people. Someone that worked with our friend said that it had been so hot during the night, in the tents, that hardly anyone had slept. There was even a garden sprinkler system set up in the roof of the outside bar, trying to keep everyone cool!

This meeting was literally next to the beach. Brilliant. However, I'm not so certain that the tourists in the hotels on the other side of the road were quite so happy. Presumably, the night before, there had been a noisy disco outside, which was now in full swing again. We had a nice walk around, and returned in time for the raffle. The girl shouting the numbers was very confident, making lots of jokes as she called out the numbers. I wish I spoke Valenciano! I understood the numbers, but not much else. To our delight, the chap we had chatted to earlier won a prize. It was only a T-shirt, but good for him.

It was a roasting hot day, about 38 degrees, so as soon as we could, we rode off home. This time, we took the main road, so that we could get home as quickly as possible! The ride there, through the mountains was lovely, but travelling at such slow speeds in such heat is no fun at all. I had my jacket and gloves on, but I did feel a little jealous when someone passed us wearing just a t-shirt.

ooooooooo (not ahhh)

2011-08-15T16:17:00.007+02:00

For the 4 nights that it was on, we went to the bull running at Aielo de Malferit.

Although we were nice and safe on the first night, perched on top of an A-frame tressle, for the next 2 nights, we were in the mix! Scarey.

The first night, we stationed ourselves near to one of the cages, and scurried in at the first sign of trouble. It wouldn't be so bad, but this one seemed to be full of 16 to 20 year year old, and there was a strong smell of waccy baccy around! The second time, although we were in pretty much the same place, we were somewhat braver. Always making sure there was a clear route to safety, we spent a lot of the time in the middle of the course.

We certainly had some entertaining moments. Once, the bull charged our cage, and everyone rushed to the back, leaving me facing the bull. Although I was safe inside, I was convinced that I was going to be covered in drool, as it tossed it's head around. Yuck.

Another time, a lad ran towards our cage, being chased by the bull, but we could all see that he wasn't going to be quick enough. As he almost reached us, hands reached out to pull him inside, and, thankfully, the bull skidded a little, giving the lad a chance to get inside. The same night, a different lad was running, but had nowhere safe to get away. In desperation, he ran vertically up a wall. As the bull tried to work out what he was doing, it was distracted by another lad, and the one that had been in trouble managed to get away. (Parkour, eat your heart out!)

On the final night, we were back on our perch. Thankfully, this night too, there were no serious injuries. However, right in front of us, a young lad was running from the bull, but it caught him. It hit him square in the back, it's horns going either side of his waist. Somehow, he grabbed the horns, and lifted his feet up, so he was riding on the bulls head! Amazing. The bull ran quite far with him, then tried to smash him into some fencing. He managed to stay on, but then the bull turned and stumbled, and he fell off. The bull immediately tried to get him again, but it was distracted by the crowds. The lad was taken straight to the first aid post (someone found his shoe for him) and when we saw him later, he had a small plaster on his back. but that was all. I bet he frames his torn t-shirt though!

The last bull of the night was very funny, as it didn't want to go back in. Five times, the man with the big bulls guided it back, but at the last moment, it turned and ran back up the road. The poor man ended up dragging the big bulls as they too had had enough. Finally, in deparation, 2 fireworks went up; everyont ran to the side; and four small bulls were released at once. Rather than causing chaos, they simply ran to the top, then all of the bulls ran back down together, straight into the cages at the end! What a finale!

Cheep cheep

2011-08-15T15:59:00.002+02:00

I think we have single handedly saved the sparrow population around here.

Ed built lots of bird boxes, and the sparrows and blue tits fight for them. The best one, is a big house hanging in a pine tree, and there is always a scrabble for that.

On the terrace, the bird house we can access has fledged it's forth set of babies. We went to take a peep, and show one of my students, and the poor little fledglings fell out of the back! They were probably just 1 or 2 days away from fledging on their own, so it must have been a shock to mum, when she came back and they had gone. We all felt quite bad about it, but hopefully they all survived.

It's All Bull

2011-07-31T22:46:00.002+02:00

Tonight (Sunday) was the first night of the 'bulls on the streets' in Aielo de Malferit, a small town very near to us.

We've been to this event before and found it to be the best one around. There is lots of room for the bulls to move, and the people are very respectful of the animals (unlike in l'Olleria).

This year, we didn't see anybody get hurt (there are 3 more nights to go though) although we did hear lots of screaming from one end, so something may have happened.

One chap, who we have seen in lots of places, was excellent, making the bull run in circles around him, before diving up the wooden stands out of the way.

The stands in the background are identical to the ones we were on. Needless to say, we were right at the top, relying on the 'safety in numbers' philosophy.

Gandia Concentracion

2011-07-31T15:07:00.004+02:00

The usual Sunday rideouts and morning meetings are called Matinals (I think Matinal is Valencian for Morning), so if there is a 'Concentracion', then this is a weekend do. Last weekend, from Friday to Sunday, there was a big meeting in Gandia. We missed the evening and daytime events, arriving for just the Sunday.

It was excellent (as usual). There was a large bbq, for breakfast baps, and the usual drinks, T-shirts etc. The only odd thing, was that if you wanted coffee, you had to queue on one side of the same kiosk that sold the cold drinks, and queue on another side for the cold drinks! Very odd! This time, there were several stands selling bikes, and a much bigger selection of stands selling clothes and other accessories.

The location was in a big park, and as we arrived, a lady was trying to swing from the children's rings on the climbing frame. A man was trying to show her how to do it, but she failed miserably. To our amusement, Paco stepped up, and swung from the bottom to the top, turned around, and made his way back, stopping en route, to lift himself upside down (using his abs)and then finishing with a grand dismount. Everyone clapped. I asked him for a repeat show later, to film, which was good, but not quite so spectacular.

This time, we decided to go out on the ride-out that they always organise. This, as we suspected, turned out to be a slow crawl through the streets, ending up with arm pump from playing the clutch! It was good though. There were loads of people lining the street, clapping and cheering, many of them filming. Had I been on the back of Ed, I would have been able to get some great photo's, but I'm not organised enough to use 2 hands to ride a bike, and take photos at the same time. However, I did manage to wave for the cameras.

On the way home, we took the scenic (bendy) route, and had great fun. The only bad bit, was as we rode over the dam. The smell was awful. A terrible sewage/sulphur smell. I have a geocache hidden near here, no wonder only a few people have bothered to find it so far!

Guadalest

2011-07-31T14:52:00.005+02:00

As we left the safari park, I realised that we were well on the way to Guadalest, so, taking the scenic route, off we went.

However, what I didn't take into account, was that it was a lot later than I realised!

We got there just in time to take in the sights, before the sun set! We had a lovely stroll around the castellated village, but we were too late to go to the very top. Entry to the top is via the museum... you take a route around the museum, which then leads out to the top of the rock. It's very nice, but even if you rush, it's not a 2 minute tour! This meant that Shay and Rose missed some good photo opportunities, but then, I'm sure they didn't mind. Instead, we had a lovely ice cream, and strolled around the gift shops. We didn't bother with the 'Salt and Pepper Pot Museum' either, and the Motocycle Museum was closed too! I did apologise, but, as Shamus said, it's impossible to do everything in one day, and the safari park was great, without anything else on top.

Poor Paddy and Max were in the dark and starving by the time we got back. As usual, they sulked, but soon came around, when they got their treats!

Aitana Again

2011-07-31T13:14:00.005+02:00

Yes, we've been to the safari park for the 3rd time this year. We thought it was the perfect place to take Shamus and Rose.

This time, Samus drove, which was ideal. He has a Mercedes van, with doors that slide back on both sides, So Rose and I sat in out seats, real safari style, with the animals sticking their heads inside! It was grest fun. We had a nice slow drive around, before having lunch, somewhat later than planned. As it was quiet, we got to touch the elephants again, although the first time around we skipped the lions and tigers.

We were too late to join the feeding caravan, but followed around afterwards, while many of the animals were still happily munching. In the event, this turned out to be a good thing, as, when we almost caught up with them, we saw that there were some 10 cars or so, so it was better to be on our own.

At one point, a dad with 3 children stopped in front of us, and the little girl (6?) threw a carrot at some zebras and camels. I was a bit cross, because you are not meant to feed them yourself. However, one of the camels obviously thought this was ok, and he wanted one too. He climbed up the small bank and followed the little boy around the car, in search of a carrot. The boy (about 8) ran around the front of the car, and around the side (towards us now) absolutely terrified. His face was a picture! The dad disappeared from view, as he reached down to grab his 2 year old by the arms, he then ran all the way around the car (being chased by the camel) to the drivers side, opened the door, and literally threw the child in, as his two older children ran away into the park screaming. Dad jumped into the car, and drove off, (I'm not sure how he didn't sit on the smallest child!) leaving the bewildered 6 and 8 year old in the park! The camel obviously realised he wasn't going to get any more carrots, so he wandered back to the other animals, as dad stopped a few hundred yards away, allowing the crying children to get back into the car. Hilarious! (They obviously breed them tough in Spain, as a little later, the 3 children were out of the car again!)

When we went through the lion enclosure, all 5 males were looking magnificent under a tree, but, since I wasn't allowed to have the door open (although I was slightly tempted!) it was impossible to get a good photo. I'm still astonished at just how big adult tigers are. I think their feet are about as big as my head! Beautiful animals.

Yes, I do think that they should be in the wild, but many of these have had poor beginnings, and being here, with this level of freedom, is certainly much better than being in a normal zoo. A really good day out, certainly worth the €17 entry fee.

As we walked around the Daktary park at the back, there was a zoo keeper with the pythons. He offered to put it around Shamus's neck and he happily agreed. Afterwards, he looked at Ed, and asked if anyone else wanted a go - I knew Ed wouldn't but I leaped forward at the chance. It was really heavy, and felt very strange as it crawled around my neck. I could feel the muscles moving, but the scales themselves didn't rub against me as I expected. A brilliant experience. After we had had a go, there was another group of adults nearby, but they all declined the offer! The keeper put the snake on the floor, and one of the men dared to poke it, then they were a bit braver, and touched it. I'm not belittling them, 12 months ago, I would have been the same.

In the back, there was also a baby tiger, which had been abandoned by it's mother. At the moment, it was in with the racoons, so it had someone to play with. I would have loved to take it home, but it wouldn't be very practical!

Long Time Friendships

2011-07-31T12:41:00.004+02:00

After several false starts, some friends of Ed's were finaly able to make it, and stay with us for a while.

They actually travelled via France, Andorra and Barcelona, before staying with us for a few days, then goin gon to Oriheula to visit someone else. Then, they were going to Germany to watch the F1! Quite a trip.

On this basis, it was hard to decide what to do with them! In the end, we had a day at Xativa, and a day at the Safari park (again). That was plenty, for such a short trip.

As we strolled around Xativa, it was market day, which was nice. We were able to meander nicely, and even went inside the church. I had never been in before, and had no idea that it was also considred to be something of a museum. It was perfectly fine to walk around and look at things. As were ran out ouf time, and were asked to leave, the curator asked if we had been upstairs. Sadly not. Apparently, it is possible to walk all around, including right up into the bell tower. I will have to go again, prefereably not 1/2 hour before it is due to close!

We went for a coffee in the Avenue, and watched the world go by. In this case, it consisted of watching a traffic warden towing away illegally parked cars. Very funny. Just as the crane parked in front of it one, ready to tow it away, someone ran out of a nearby building, and jumped in, driving off and parking elsewhere. The warden then went on to the next car, where the same happened again. Eventualy, he managed to pick up one car, to the (presumably) horror of the unsuspecting owner. I managed to add to the entertainment, by spilling my entire drink down my new white top! Thankfully, I had ordered 'horxata' a milk drink, and not orange or coffee. A visit to the toilets, where I rinsed my top under the tap, and then blow dried it with the hand drier, and all was well again!

We then went up to the castle, but didn't walk around as it was too hot. We simply admired the view and had another drink at the castle cafe. We did consider a trip up with the tourist train, but I don't think it is value for money, so we drove up instead. This was fun, as they have changed the road layout in the old town, so we went a bit wrong, but that just added to the day's entertainment.

On the Sunday night, we went to our local for a meal. He does a wonderful Sunday menu for just €6, which includes a selection of 3 starters (yes, you get all 3, not just 1 of the 3), then a main meal, and a sweet. Drinks are not included on this menu, but who's complaining at that price? On this particular day, he had fresh sardines, and Rose said that they were the best she's ever tasted.

School Reunion

2011-07-31T11:39:00.003+02:00

Every summer, for a very (very) long time, a few of us have gone out for a lovely meal, and cemented our friendship from the 70's! Last year, everyone came to Spain but this year we met near Stafford.

There was the eternal 3, Alison, Tracey and myself, along with Tina, Janet and Penny (we hadn't seen Penny since we organised a big reunion at Tracey's parents house).

I was lucky enough to be able to stay overnight at Alisons, so, Mum agreed to drop me off in the centre of Stafford, and Alison picked me up there. As we waited in the car park, Mum asked me what Alison drove - I had no idea at all - a big, dark, estate car of somesort probably. Just then a white sporty number went by, with a blonde driving. Mum flashed her wipers at the car, but nobody noticed! Yes, it was Ali, in a car befitting her managerial status!

We had fun drinking while getting ready (true chav style) and desparately trying to help Tina negotiate the traffic jam that is the M6 on a Friday evening. She arrived with just enough time to change before the taxi arrived.

The taxi had set off from Stafford, via Old Croft Road in Walton-on-the-Hill (where we all went to school) and picked up Janet and Penny, then into Rowley Park to pick up Tracey, and was then comming to get the 3 of us from Penkridge before taking us all to Brewwod for our meal. As the driver pootled along, the 3 of them chatering away, Tracey asked where he was going, "Brocton" was the reply from Janet. Tracey pointed out that Alison had left there some 25 years ago and now lived in Penkridge! The poor taxi driver must have wondered what he was in for. After a scenic route to Penkridge, he drove up the lanes, with Tracey giving him directions. She then pointed out which drive to go up.

At this point - Alison's phone rang. It was Tracey, but she couldn't hear Ali. It was relly funny, we were laughing as Alison kept shouting 'Trace' down the phone, but it was pretty pointless. She could hear Tracey shouting 'Ali' as she was looking around. There was some level of confusion, when Alison then heard another voice... Tracey was at the wrong farm! She had turned up one drive too early, got out, and was wondering around the wrong house, looking for us. She noticed Ali had a new kitchen, and had changed her carpets, but thought it very odd at the lack if furniture upstairs (the property in question belogs to a single man) even the bathroom was different! When she got back outside, there was a strange man outside the barn, asking what she wanted. Thankfully, he knew/understood what had happened, and put everyone right. The funniest part, was that we had heard this over the phone, so we knew what had happened, before they arrived just a few minutes later! We were all laughing to the point of tears, as we drove to the restaurant.

We had a lovely meal. It was an italian style restaurant, with a glass of wine included in the price of the meal. The food was excellent, but, as Tracey ahd ordered 2 bottles of particularly good wine, the house wine was a bit of a disappointment (a little unfair - as there was nothing wrong with it, it was just the comparrison that made it seem poor). I had had enough wine by the time we got our 'free' glass, so I casually moved my glass next to Alison's empty one, she didn't notice, and casually drank mine. Penny saw me do it and was quietly laughing.

The restaurant was meant to shut at about 11pm, and the taxi was due to pick us up later from a different pub. At the end of the meal, the girls all insisted that I go to the toilet. What? I didn't need to go, but they made such a fuss, that I went. When I tried to come back, Tracey made me stay in the corridor. What on earth were they doing? I wondered if they were juggling my share of the bill (with me being poor), but I wanted to tell them that it was ok, I could actually afford it this time! Eventually, I was allowed back (but not before I had confused the staff, by waiting outside an empty toilet cubile!), whereupon I was presented with a beautiful Pandora necklace, to celebrate my 50th birthday. It's not for a little while yet, but I will be the only one of us that hits it this year, the others all being 1962 babies! (hmm, Janet isn't actually 49 yet!) We also had a bottle of champagne to celebrate, that staff keeping the restaurant open especially for us. I cried, as I hadn't expected anything like this at all. (It turned out, that as Mum and I had walked around Stafford that afternoon, we had almost passed Tracey while she was buying my gift - had I looked into the relevant shop and seen her, I would certainly have gone in and joined her and possibly helped her choose it - presumably 'for her sister'!)

As we sat there celebrating, our taxi home drove past the window! We had already paid, so we raced out, and down the street to the other pub. Half way there, I realised that I had forgotten my bolero jacket, so I had to run back. Thank goodness I had flat shoes on that time! Alison had managed to attract the driver, and we all jumped in. All of us very merry and happy. What a laugh on the way home! We had a different driver this time, and he was killing himself listening to us. He was really lovely and joined in with many of the comments. He didn't stand a chance - 6 women against 1 man!

It was terribly sad to separate at the end of the night. I didn't get a chance to see much of Tracey. Normally, she spends some time in Spain in the summer, but sadly not this year. Never mind, we will be able to make up time next year.

"It's Raining Again"

2011-07-31T11:23:00.004+02:00

After a wet spring in Spain, it was naturally time for a wet summer in the UK. Boy, it hammered down. We even got bits of hail! It was just like being at home!

I actually had to go out in it this time though (normally, if it's raining in Spain, I just stay in - the big advantage of working from home). On the Tuesday, Jess and I popped over to Stafford. Obviously, we had the roof down. Sadly, as we approached Stafford, it looked rather grey and rain seemed imminent. The traffic kept moving, so we were a bit concerned when the drops started to fall. I'm sure everyone was laughing at us, as we approached a roundabout with the roof down, and rain falling, but thankfully, it was the entrance to estate we wanted, so Jess was able to drive very slowly and put the roof back up, just as it really started to come down. (The car has to have the handbrake on to put the roof up or down, so she was a bit naughty, and put it on 1 notch as she crawled along.)

On the Wednesday, I had to go to the bank, and she literally stopped outside it, and I ran inside. I got wet within just a few feet. The problem was, I then had to run to the carpark and find her. I did have a brolly, but boy, it was tipping it down!

Yes - I know it rains everywhere, but I now have the luxury of (usually) being able to avoid it!

".. pair of Roller Skates"

2011-07-31T10:49:00.005+02:00

I managed to blag a cheap flight to the UK in the beginning of July, which was a great opportunity to see everyone. Although initially booked for a school reunion, it was very timely, as my dad had been very ill just beforehand, and was now recovering at home.

Sadly, Tim was busy working and then away for the weekend so I only saw him for a few hours. Jess, although working most of the days, had Wednesday off, so she decided to take me shopping, and roller skating!

What a laugh. It was a long time since I'd been on a pair of roller skates... probably 35 years! (Although when the children were in their teens, I do remember going around an artificial ice skating rink in Birmingham as part of their Christmas Fayre.)

As a very early birthday present, I bought Jess a new pair of skates, which meant that I was able to wear hers. Oh joy! For starters, I had to re-lace them, goodness knows how she had ever managed to keep then on her feet before. With great trepidation, I launched onto the floor. A bit wobbly and scared, but I did manage to keep upright.

The place was just outside Derby town centre, and was held in what appeared to be an old warehouse. Upstairs was the skating venue, and downstairs was a pool room. Excellent. Dad's could go and play pool, while their children were upstairs! Actually, it was quite good. There was a bar and a disco, and everyone was enjoying themselves. Some people were really good, and others were just wobbling around.

There were even a few games organised; a tentative game of Dodgeball, and a game of Tag. The dodgeball was a soft football, thrown at the participants (if it hit you, you were out) and the tag, consisted of trying to get from one end to the other - if you were tagged, you became a 'taggee' until there was only 1 person left. Needless to say, we sat on the side and watched, not being up to speed (literally) yet.

It was a fun night out, for very little money. (And after 3 weeks, my blood blister has finally gone!) Yes Jess, I WILL go again if it fits in.

Biker Weekends

2011-06-30T23:38:00.002+02:00

Every weekend for ages, it has rained, so we hadn't been out with the boys for a while. Ironically, as we were heading off to Benidorm for a bike meet with some British people, we met up with the Spanish lads! After a quick chat, we went on our way, but the following weekend, we went out with them.

The meet in Benidorm was in a good loction; just out of town, in a sports campus. However, the organisers were lacking in a few points. 2 portaloos for 1,000 people, and no chairs! Then, when it came to the giant paella, we discovered that only the first 600 peole had tickets for it, so we didn't get any, even after queuing. Not impressed.

The following week, at Oliva, there were about 2,000 bikers. The food area had loads of seats, there were bars open everywhere, so toilets were aplenty. The entertainment was good, and there was lots to see. We didn't go on the rideout to the beach, but took a walk around the Fira (commercial fair) which was very interesting.

I hate to say it, but soon it will be too hot to ride!

I Don't Speak Dog

2011-06-30T23:27:00.005+02:00

One night, Max and Paddy woke us up barking. Not normally a problem, they then go quiet, and we go back to sleep.

This night however, Max then started jumping and scratching at the back door. This is a noisy trick he is very good at. We tried to ignore him, but to no avail. He then started scratching at the front door. It was now 4am, and he had been scratching on and off for a while. After 1/2 hour or so, I got up, and shouted at him to be quiet. There were no other sounds around, so I knew there wasn't a burglar in the garden. Max carried on being a nuisance.

After another 15 minutes, Ed got up, and let Max in through the front door. He positively bounded around the livingroom like a 12 month old puppy, then waited at the back door to be let out. What?!! I opened the door, and he shot out, tail wagging frantically. I closed the back door. Had a drink, and went back to bed. Daft dog.

Next morning, we found Max nursing a dead rabbit. Evidently that was what he had been trying to tell us in the night. 'Look what I've got'.

Next time, I hope he just (puts it in a paella and) eats it himself!

Splish Splash

2011-06-30T22:59:00.006+02:00

The public pool opened on 20th June. The outdoor one, that is. Trying to find out when the new indoor one opens is impossible (although September seems to be promising... and it does have water in it now).

Several times, I have had the pool entirely to myself, which is heaven, and mostly it has been just Tracy and I.

We did have to laugh last week. I could hear lots of chattering, but didn't know where it was comming from. Then as it got louder, about 150 children appeared around the corner, with lots of teachers. Oh dear - final day out! They managed to strip off in about 30 seconds flat. The teachers all apologised, as hoards of children jumped in everywhere. Thankfully, we had done 28 of our normal 32 lengths, so it wasn't too bad. And yes, we did do the extra 4 next time!

Paella Passover

2011-06-30T22:50:00.002+02:00

Yummmm. Time for a paella.

Ed set up the gas stand and paella dish on a tarpaulin on the terrace, and set to to make us a wonderful tea. The local supermarket does a special rabbit and chicken pack, which is perfect, and he carefully browned, simmered and flavoured everything, as we licked out lips in anticipation.

After an age, we were just thinking of serving it up, when there was a sound in the lane... Max raced across the terrace... knocking everything over... so the paella ended up on the floor.

I managed to keep the dogs off it, but it was beyond saving. We had bacon and egg sandwiches for tea, and the dogs got paella for breakfast and dinner the next day.

Sixty Years Young

2011-06-30T22:04:00.002+02:00

What to do? How to celebrate? Ed has never been one for big birthday celebrations. A nice dinner out makes him happy, but I wanted to do more this year.

As no-one had planned to come over for his birthday, I thought he would like a day at the safari park, as he loves animals so much.

We actually went the day before, as the forecast looked a bit poor for his birthday. As we knew the score this time, we went a about 1pm, then had a quick drive around. we then had a lovely menu-del-dia in the restuarant. I ordered chicken noodle soup, and Ed ordered Safari stew for the firs course. When it arrived, I saw a huge bowl of soup, with a ladle. I thought it was soup for both of us by mistake, then Ed got his stew, in a similar sized bowl! There was enough for 2 in each bowl. The soup was delicious. Mum, I'm sorry, but it was better than any of your soups! I had to ask, and yes, the soup was made there. The main course was nice too, but the tinned pineapple I had for desert was a bit of a let down! (sort of - I could hardly eat it anyway.)

We then made certain that we were first in line for the 3 pm re-opening, so the we could follow the guide and feed the animals. It was perfect. He showed me how to feed the giraffe (rub the bread on its lips, then it sticks its tongue out) while I was being nudged by the softest thing I have ever felt. It turned out to be a llama, after some bread.

We then went on to the ostriches and emus. I let them peck my fingers as I fed them, and the guide told us all about them. Then, other people arrived and watched. The men were to scared to feed the birds, which I thought was very funny. They may not have teeth, but they can still peck pretty hard.

Next, we moved on to the ponies and donkeys and zebras. As the guide was telling us all about them, I realised that I was the ony one thast understood him. I then found myself translating for everyone there, including a Danish group, which had one young woman who could speak English. Every time we stopped, she stood next to me, and then translated my translations for her friends! Other people soon realised that it was ok to ask questions, and the guide and I did a great double act. At the end, he said I had been very good and gave me a sweetie.

We had a lovely day, including the visit to the small sanctury around the back. I stopped off on the way, they couldn't find Ed. Finally, I spotted him, and he asked if I had seen the snakes. No. I had gone a different way around. We went back and there were two white pythons on the loose. Perfectly calmly, I sat next to one, and patted it, while Ed took some photos, then, I went up close and personal with the other. Just 12 months ago, I would never have done that, but now, with all of the strange creatures we encounter, I didn't bat an eye. Maybe next time there is a snake in the garden, I will just pick it up, and put it out...

We had a coffee in the restaurant before we left, and as we sat there, a monkey strolled in. It jumped on the counter, and selected a packet of crisps. The man behind the counter heards the Danish girls cry out, and realised what was happening. He souted at it, but it just grabbed the crisps off the stand, and strolled off. It then sat outside, and ate them very nicely, one at a time.

The next evening, we had a lovely meal at our local restaurant. We were the only people in there all night. Vicente was kind enought to give Ed a bottle of cava for his birthday, which was very nice of him.

Did he ever think he'd get to 60? Apparently he didn't think he'd get to 20! x

Throw Another Hippo Steak on the BBQ

2011-06-30T21:35:00.002+02:00

We were invited to a BBQ in the mountains by some friends of ours who have spent a lot of time in Africa. (I think the chap is Africaans, but I'm not sure.)

I took a cheesecake and a cherry cake, as we had all been told not to bring anything except drinks. In the end, Sally was thrilled with the cakes, as one of her puddings had gone wrong (and I got to eat cherry cake, which I don't make very often as Ed doesn't like cherries!).

The barbecue was done in the African style. Three barbecues were lit, and then everyone goes and cooks their own food. A brilliant concept all round. Everyone gathers together around the fires chatting (rather than one person standing alone) and the food is cooked to each person's specifcation. In reality, we all cooked the food, then put it together in dishes, before sharing it all out on the tables. There was a huge selection of salads, as well as a few typical African dishes. Although Chris claimed there were some African steaks on the bbq's, I didn't think so, although I must admit that the special recipe sausage was rather tasty.

The strangest part of the night, was the weather. One couple got a call from their daughter, saying it was thundering and lightening, with very heavy rain. They lived only 3 kms from where we were. Sure enough, a litle later, and we were all running into the house with food and furniure! We watched the storm from the terrace, and then went back outside to continue, as the storm had passed over within 1/2 hour.

A lovely evening, with african music in the background, and good company.

Sparrow Spotting

2011-06-30T21:26:00.002+02:00

Ed built a lovely bird house, with a perspex back hidden behind a wooden door. This is fixed up on our terrace. The idea is, that birds nest in it, and when we want to, we can open the wooden door, and see the eggs/fledglings inside.

I thought it might be a bit too close to us, but evidently the sparrows don't. In no time at all, we had a nest inside, and mum and dad sparrow flying in and out. Soon, there were babies inside. I felt quite intrusive, sitting on the terrace listening to them shouting for their dinner! Within a very short time, they had fledges, and the parents had laid another set of eggs.

Max was very interested, when he realised that there was something inside the box, but there was no way for him to get at them. (He does well enough with the wildlife in the garden, but more of that later.)

Stash a Cache

2011-06-30T21:09:00.003+02:00

Well, after searching for lots of caches, I figured that it was time for me to stash one of my own.

I bought some large containers from the chinese shop (bit like Poundland) and got some goodies to put inside. As well as the obligatory notebook and pen, I included some toys, a biro, playing cards, post-it notes etc. A veritable treasure chest!

The first one I planted very near to home, near the north side of the Tunel d' l'Olleria. Ed and I found a safe place to hide it, then registered it with the Geocaching web site. Next day, it was live, and ready to be found. I told my spanish class about it, and then found out that this is a popular spot for drug dealing! I thought it was a little 'out of the way' - obviously it is! Not being of that persuasion, I had no idea. Still. Our friends Mark and Tracey found it, and one other geocacher has found it too. (I get a message when anyone logs the find.)

The second one I planted was actually an empty plastic vitamin bottle. This one, I hid in a stone wall, near to the reservoir. Although a few miles away, it is a place I like to go to occasionally, so maintaining it is not going to be a chore. Originally, I put a photo of the relevant bit of wall on the site, but Mark said that this made it too easy. Having removed the 'spoiler photo' someone else has already found it, and commented that the co-ordinates are spot on.

I have 2 more to plant, but in this hot weather (which has finally arrived) I don't feel like trekking up any mountains to hide them.

Geocaching with the Douglas's

2011-05-19T16:01:00.007+02:00

We were introduced to geocaching by Mark and Tracey and quite often go together.

Recently, we went to two sites quite close together, in the next valley. We packed a small picnic and followed the TomTom. Thankfully, I had read the instructions and looked at a map, and realised that we could actually park very near to the first site, next to a waterfall.

It was a beautiful spot. Steps down to the bottom, and a beautiful pool for swimming in (once the water has warmed up). There were already some people there, so we had to hang around for a while, before we could start searching properly. Then, we realised that the cache was not at the pool itself (too busy) but nearby. Off we went exploring and then found the 35mm cannister, hidden in a wall. As we left the site, there were more people arriving. Obviously a well known spot for the locals!

A short walk from there, and we entered into another beautiful valley. It was almost from 'The Land That Time Forgot'. There was a small river running along one edge, and a flat pasture, surrounded by rocky crags. Really lovely. We then followed a footpath down towards the river, past a derelict mill, and then on to the location where we found the cache.

How clever this game is, to take us to such wonderful spots that we would have never found ourselves.

Geocaching - FTF

2011-05-19T15:38:00.004+02:00

A new geocache had been placed in our valley, and Ed and I had the chance to go and find it and hopefully be the FTF - First To Find.

We drove to a village nearby, and then found our way through the village to the bottom of the mountain where the cache was lcoated. We still had 500 meters to go, but that seemed ok. We parked up and then followed a pathway. After a short time, this was obviously the wrong direction, so we simply climed up the side of the hill.

Simply? Those Romans and their terraces! Every 3 meters, we had a wall to climb. Unfortunately, in between each wall was an overgrown raggle of weeds and pricky bushes. We ploughed on (literally, sometimes) for ages. Afer a while, Ed asked how we were doing. I checked the GPS - 300 meters to go. What?! It was a nightmare. Every 10 meters felt as though it took 1/2 hour. At one point, I thought about going back, but, the car looked so very far away, and we would have to climb back through the undergrowth, I was certain it would be better to carry on.

Eventually, we cleared the shrubbery and managed to make better progress. By now hough, we were both exhausted. This game is not meant for people of our age! Finally, the way got much easier, even though it was still quite steep. Then, we were near the ridge at the top - at last. The wind here was very strong, as there was another valley on the other side, and this eas acting like a funnel. Then we found the proper path to the very top! No big suprise really, but it would have been nice to have found it 2 hours earlier!

Then Ed said, "I've found it", as he spotted the cache. It was a container hidden under a small overhang of rocks. To be honest, we were both too tired to enjoy the view, and Ed was also concerned about some dark clouds moving in. This time, we folloed the path back down, but it still took us 50 minutes on the correct path, to reach the car.

A few days later, I was thrilled to find an email from the cache hiders, asking about it, and how easy or difficult it was. I admitted that we got there the hard way, but it was a good find. The best part was - we could see l'Olleria in the distance!

Elixir of Eternal Youth

2011-05-19T15:09:00.004+02:00

Whilst winding around the streets of Xativa, during the celebrations of the Borja's, I was cornered by a couple purporting to be 200 years old. (I doubted my spanish at that point, but I was sure that was what they had said!)

The man showed me a piece of paper, and asked me to keep it a secret. It was the secret of eternal youth. When he unravelled the scroll, it was written in a code (dots, triangles and circles), and he asked me if I could read it. In the spirit of things (being watched by the other passers by) I declared that I couldn't read... so the man then said, it was ok, they have a version in Spanish. The lady then gave me a scroll to keep, and they moved on their way.

Elixir of Eternal Youth:
To ensure eternal youth and beauty you must follow the subsequent instructions in the strict order of execution.

Collect the morning dew from the flower of the third orange tree in the campo near Valldigna (near Gandia) at the moment that it first receives the first rays of sun on the morning of 24th June.

Mix the dew with some drops of holy water from the hermitage of St Rita de Barbera (Rita Barbera is the current mayor of Valencia) in a bowl, made from the wings of an albino bat. Leave the mixture in sun and shade for five new moons, until it has heard the howl of the wolf. (No wolves anywhere near here) Heat it with the flame of a dragon, until it boils (How much dew were you meant to collect?).

If this doesn't work, find a lover 20 years younger than you, and return to your adolesence.
If you arrive at this point, they have remedies for acne, should you need them.

Brilliant, but I don't think I'll be trying this any time soon.

The Borja's

2011-05-19T14:42:00.007+02:00

Xativa recently had a celebratory weekend of the Borja Family. (For those that don't know, the Borja family had two members which became Popes - so very influential.)

There were two full days of activities, based on the medievel theme. Although similar to the market that is held in Concentaina in November, this was much more fun, with lots of other things going on.

There were two acting troupes, moving around constantly, providing lots of street performances. At one point, I was accosted by a couple claiming to be 200 years old, that gave me the secret of eternal youth! (More about that in another post)

There was a man walking around, being followed by a small gaggle of geese. They were so funny, the way they waddled around behing him. He had a horn, which he blew occasionally, and the crowds made way for him. Behind was another man chasing up any stragglers. The best bit was when he ran... all of the geese ran after him.

There were two troops of soldiers, similar to the cavaliers and roundheads, that performed mock battles in the main avenue. (A small section of the avenue was sealed off, and straw laid out to simulate an ancient town.) There were some very large bulls to stroke and a fabulous display of falconry too.

Later on, we saw a troupe of banner wavers performing, which was very colourful. Near to the cathederal some actors were performing on some steps, but we got there towards the end, so we couldn't really follow it.

As usual, the market stalls were wonderful, with a fabulous selection of crafts and foods. We spent about 3 hours there and had a lovely time. Can't wait for next year.

Next Job

2011-05-19T14:32:00.004+02:00

Once the rain finally finishes, Ed is going to clad the wall of the house.

Here, houses don't have damp proof courses, but usually have a lower coating of bricks or tiles to prevent any bad weather penetration. Our tiles were originally the same as on the floor - the s-shaped paving tiles.

They were taken off some time ago, and we now have some lovely stone to clad the walls. When the sun shines in the right direction, they sparkle with minerals, looking very luxurious. They are actually the same stones that were used for the main steps in the garden, as well as some of the other garden decorations. This will blend the whole house and garden together beautifully.

If there is enough left over, Ed plans to clad the front flower bed too.

It's all coming together nicely.

Tease

2011-05-19T11:56:00.003+02:00

Max has finally started to retrieve tennis balls (only when it suits him) but he still won't hand them over when he brings them back.

Recently, we gave Paddy a new ball, but when Max realised it was a new one, he went after it too, so Paddy didn't have it for very long. However, little did Max know, that I actually had more than one new one, so, while he was fiercely hanging on to it, I had another new one for Paddy!

For Paddy, the best part is runing up and down the garden, but for Max, the best part is playing 'dodge'.

Very funny - both of them.

Still Waiting

2011-05-19T11:48:00.002+02:00

Still waiting for summer that is.

England may have basked in a glorious Easter, but here in Spain, it was a washout. As was pretty much every weekend since then.

Ed has a job lined up for a Saturday, but the chap came one Thursday and said, due to the rain and the subsequent soft ground, he would rather wait until another time. Ed totally agreed (working on wet ground is not the best idea, if it can be avoided). Unfortunately, it has rained almost every weekend since then.

We have had a couple of lovely warm days (28 degrees+) but nothing of any duration. Last night, I was woken again by the rain at about 5am. Still, looking on the internet this morning, I see that there is none forecast for the next 10 days.

Has summer finally arrived?

Blue Moon

2011-05-19T11:38:00.002+02:00

Whenever there is a full moon here, we know about it!

As we have no street lights and only a few houses around, at night time, it is genuinely dark. We need a torch to go to the pub, otherwise it is a slow and slightly dangerous walk back home. However, when the moon is full, it is better than street lighting, as the whole valley is lit up.

This can be quite disconcerting if you happen to get up during the night. one glance out of the windows leaves you checking all of the light switches, to see which floodlights have been accidently left on overnight!

Unfortunately, this year, when the Perseid Meteor shower is due to strike (12/13 August) it will be a full moon again, so there's not much chance of seeing many shooting stars. I guess I'll have to wait until 2012 for the full effect!

The Return of Hissing Sid

2011-05-19T11:23:00.004+02:00

Late one evening, I could hear both dogs barking in the back garden. They seemed to be very static (ie, not racing around the garden), so I assumed that they were right at the bottom of the garden, perhaps barking at Ursula's animals.

After a little while, Ed called me. Grabbing the camera, I went out, and there were both dogs, in the middle of the garden, barking at something on the floor. It could only be a snake - anything else would have run off.

Sure enough, it was another adult ladder snake. Ed got a metal rod, and carefully persuaded it to go into next door's garden, as they would not be back until the weekend, by which time it would have moved on again. However, the snake had different ideas, and it took a long time to get it to go. Once it got to the wall, it kept trying to come back into our garden, instead of into the next one.

After all this time only seeing them at a distance, I can't believe that we have had 2 inside a month. I'm still not brave enough to touch them though... maybe next time?

Cake Mistake

2011-05-19T11:12:00.003+02:00

With all the hype about these new silicon baking tins, I thought it was about time I got some. In Marks & Spencer, a loaf tin was £7, so Mum and I bought two from the Pound shop. (Guess how much they were - £1!)

Back in Spain, I noticed that there were a couple of bananas in the fruit bowl, a little past their best - time to make a banana cake. I quickly made one, then poured the mixture into the loaf tin. Disaster! The tin was so flexible, the sides simply bulged out with the weight of the mix.

Oh well. I baked the cake, which came out perfectly cooked, but a very strange shape! Instead of a long loaf shape, it was almost round, but with corners on it! However, the cake came out of the mould perfectly, so I was actually impressed. Short learning curve - from now on, when I make a cake mixure, I will have to distribute the same amount between 2 cake tins, so that they look like they are meant to.

Aires de Menorca

2011-04-17T13:13:00.004+02:00

On Saturday evening, we went to see a Gran Espectaculo Ecuestre.

This was a horse show in Xativa bullring, with the display being carried out by 'Menorquina' thoroughbred horses. There were 16 of them in the display at various stages, along with 8 riders and 4 grooms.

The horses were beautifully trained, dancing to music, walking with cross steps, diaganolly, backwards etc, as well as standing on their hind legs.

The music was excellent, and the compare spoke very clearly, so that I could actually understand most of it this time.

There was even a section where the horses came out in the dark, dressed up in lights. This was very clever, as, with the horses being black, it was impossible to see anything except the outline of them as they performed.

I'm not a horsey person, but the show was so well put together, and lasted about 2 hours in total, that I would certainly recommend it to anyone.

Spring Clean

2011-04-17T12:53:00.005+02:00

Ed has been working very hard in the garden, spring cleaning!

We have cleared the front flower bed of anything English (there were 4 tulips in there as well as a few narcissi) and have left everything spanish. The bay tree is fine, as well as the small palm, which Ed managed to split into two. There are also several different succulents. We have filled it with gravel, and now just need to clad it (new cladding is currently in a big pile, around the back of the house).

Ed has also raked up all of the pine needles and fir-cones from the front garden. A massive task, which, thankfully, only needs to be done every couple of years.

We did plant 15 red geraniums around the tree in the centre of the drive, but, unfortunately, Max loves the smell of the compost and has managed to uproot them several times already. Hopefully he will get bored with them soon and they will actually manage to grow and flower again.

Monday will be burning day. As well as the pile of garden rubbish, there is now a truck full of pine needles to burn. These can only be done bit-by-bit, as they are terribly flamable. The last thing we need, is to start a forest fire of our own.

It turns out, that of the three fires last weekend, one of them was a farm fire which got out of hand - the other two were started deliberately.

Like Something from Under a Rock

2011-04-17T12:44:00.004+02:00

When searching for geocaches, it is often necessary to look inside treetrunkc, down holes or under rocks.

This, of course presents an interesting issue in Spain. There is every chance of finding a snake, scorpion, tarantula or something else, instead of a tupperware container. In this case, we found a pair of Megarian Banded Centipedes.

These are reported to be slightly venemous. Hmm. Maybe climbing around looking under rocks is not such a good idea after all!

Serra Grossa Geocaching

2011-04-17T12:31:00.004+02:00

There are two geocaches on the mountains outside our house, and we finally managed to find the time to go up there. Admittedly, I didn't want to go up during February or March, as the processionary caterpillars were already out, and they don't mix well with the dogs.

Mark and Tracey had already found the new cache, but they went up with us. That turned out to be a good move, as the co-ordinates were out, and we would have been looking for hours! The cache itself was also very well hidden, so there was no chance of finding it by accident, should you decide to look under every rock on the whole mountainside! I guess we were cheating a little, but even so, we were there for quite a while.

Next, we moved on to the one a little further along. I knew roughly where it was from the description and there did seem to be an obvious rock that I checked under, but no joy. We searched around for a while, then Ed looked under the same rock that I had earlier. Bingo. Evidently, I have to learn to reach right underneath, not just girlie fashion, around the edges.

There are now another two new ones in the valley, so we will soon be off exploring again.

Glow in the Dark

2011-04-17T12:20:00.006+02:00

As I walked back up from the garage a few nights ago, I saw something glowing very brightly on the garden wall. I had no idea what it was, and couldn't see in the dark, so I assumed that Ed had dropped some took or something.

I mentioned it to him, so he walked outside and quickly spotted the glow! Investigating more closely than I had, he shouted, "it's an insect". I must be getting braver nowadays, as I quickly grabbed the camera, and managed to get some very close up shoots.

In the end, it was a male glow worm. He was there the next day too, so maybe in the near future, we won't need our outside lights, to light up the garden!

First Forest Fire of the year

2011-04-10T20:30:00.004+02:00

We have just had a couple of extremely warm days (38 degrees) considering the fact that it is still only April. Sadly, since we had a pretty dry winter, this has led to four forest fires this weekend.

The first one, was reported at 9:15pm on Friday night, and is still smouldering now, although it is under control. This was in our valley, and we have been able to see the smoke during the day, and the flames at night, even though it was some 15 miles away.

I have not been able to work out where the helicopters were going, in order to get their water, but they have been flying overhear non-stop for the last 2 days. When the sun goes down, they have to stop, and the poor firemen are then left to do their best overnight.

The helicopters actually flew over Bellus reservoir to get their water from somewhere near Ontinyent, or Enguera, which seemed rediculous. One person did say, that the water from Bellus was too expensive, but surely the cost of flying further would have cancelled that out! (I didn't know that the fire brigade had to pay for their water - but I guess someone has to!)

This afternoon, we toured around a little, and saw that one helicopter was taking water from very near the fire (Rotova), but the others were still travelling a long way. The fire was out by then, and they were just keeping on top of it, making sure none of the smouldering parts caught fire again.

As far as I know, no-one has been hurt, and no houses actually damages, but a very large area of forest and mountainside has been destroyed. Terrible for those nearby. Thank goodness we have cut down the trees nearest to our house now.

Hissing Sid

2011-04-10T19:53:00.005+02:00

Arriving home yesterday, Ed suddenly braked very hard by the gate, and backed up a little. There, stretched out across the entry, was a lovely snake. By definition - a ladder snake.

Being brave, I jumped out and took a few photo's, but I certainly wasn't brave enough to pick it up and move it. I shoved it a couple of times with my foot, but it wouldn't move. Ed then got out of the car and managed to persuade it to move along. However, it then went along our wall, and into the hole where our water meter and stopcock are. (We have checked since, and it's not there any more.)

MFN

2011-04-10T19:33:00.006+02:00

On Wednesday night's, it's Bike Night, but on Sunday night it's Car Night at MFN (Miles From Nowhere) at Eastwood, Nottinghamshire.

Years ago, this used to be a sucessful nightclub, but rules and regulations, along with a couple of complaints, have resulted in it operating just a few days a week now. The pub does have one redeeming feature - it has a huge carpark, and overspill field.

On a Wednesday night, I have seen all of the carparks full (some 2,000+ bikes), but on Sunday 3rd, was the first car night of the year, and the whole place was packed. I thought it opened at 7pm, but we got there at around 6, and already had to park on a grass verge. In the end, it was a good spot, as it was at the entrance/exit to the rear carpark. Thereafter, once all of the curbs were full, parking was on the gravel area, and then the field. £1 per person, and there must have been 2,000 cars - most of which will have had 2 or 3 occupants.

The burger stand had a new bbq, and the burgers were really nice (according to Tim, who 'borrowed' £5 from me) and they only charged 50p for a good sized paper cup of tea. Good on them. Good food, good prices. I wish them every success for 2011.

There were many fancy cars, and a few disasters, but everyone had a great time walking around, looking at everyone else's cars. (Apart from the one's parked 1/2 mile or more away!)

Strike A Pose

2011-04-10T19:00:00.004+02:00

Utoxeter has some new statues, on two of the three main entries into town. They are both by the same sculptor, and quite impressive.

The bull is representative of Uttoxeter's past as a cattle market, but as for the Centaur, I have no idea. Perhaps it is meant to represent Uttoxeter's Racecourse and/or Uttoxnian's affinity to horses!

Nice though - I like them (although I think the bull's legs are a little too tall!)

Geocaching - UK Style

2011-04-10T14:03:00.006+02:00

1. Having introduced Dad to geocaching, he took me to the point of his first find - well, to the gateway anyway. He parked up, and left me to find the cache myself, as he sat in the car and watched. I looked around one gatepost, and then the other. Nothing too obvious. Then a saw a snail, which looked out of place (in as much as a snail can look out of place!). I tentatively picked it up, and, sure enough, it was a snail shell, with a tiny sealed capsule inside, with the log rolled up inside it. Very clever.

2. The next time I went out, was with the two Tims. For the first one, only (son) Tim was able to go, and we strolled past the Racecourse towards gz (ground zero). Hmm. Problem. It was race day, and the whole area was full of people. This made it rather difficult for us to find the public footpath, as we had to walk around the field that everyone parks in first, to find the right track! Finally (after asking someone) we found the footpath, so off we went. A quick diversion off the path, and Tim was soon rummaging inside a hollow tree "found it".

We were then joined by (son-in-law) Tim, so off we went looking for more. We had trouble finding the tiny caches, and were even joined by their friend Liam, so the next stop was actually near Alton Towers. We walked down to the Chained Oak (of spooky tale fame) and I quickly found the cache near there. In convoy, we set off to Croxden, and Liam found that one (after a nasty lady told us where NOT to park!). A diversion through a ford, and Tim (S) found that one. Perfect - one find for each of us. Brilliant day.

3. Jess wanted to go with me too, so, on the Sunday, we went out again. This time, we had a geocoin with us, which had originated in Alaska. The owner was born in the UK, to an American forces father, and had never been able to return. In his place, he had sent the coin, to travel England for him, asking people to take pictures wherever his coin went. How clever. We left it in the cache we found at Stafford Castle, before Jess and I went on to find some more at Doveridge and Uttoxeter. She was very good, and even found a small one, shaped like a small stone, next to a fence post.

The Three Stooges

2011-04-10T13:57:00.004+02:00

Tim said I looked like a lumberjack in this shirt. I wasn't very happy, as I liked it a lot. Now I will think I look silly each time I put it on. Thanks Tim.

Three Three Degrees

2011-04-10T13:50:00.003+02:00

As it was Mothering Sunday while I was in the UK, I wanted a photo of the 3 women together, to celebrate. We had lots of laughs taking the photo's but of all of them, these two were the best one's I got.

Dad took some too, but I haven't seen them yet. Maybe they are even better.

Jess's new toy

2011-04-10T13:29:00.003+02:00

As the saying goes: the older the boys, the more expensive the toys. Jess had bought herself a new car, which I had seen in phot but she was able to pick me up from the airport in it.

Initially, it was hidden behind a large 4x4, but I was thrilled for her, when I saw it. A lovely (girlie) red soft-top. I simply burst out laughing, when she pressed the button, and remotely unlocked the car, then put down the roof. Wonderful. (Not jealous at all - honestly :-s)

Thankfully, my 2 cases fitted in the boot, so off we went, sunglasses on, roof down, cruising through the Staffordshire and Derbyshire countryside. Great fun. I bet all of the other drivers wondered what the old biddy was doing in the passenger seat!