Tuesday 31-10-2006

What! No assertive groups of youngsters at our door, in gross plastic ghoul faces demanding ‘trick or treat’ on Halloween night? Where will we get rid of last years chocolates now?
I started this blog in hope of bringing to the blog the good bits of life here in Spain as well as the bad bits. It’s easy to highlight the good bits because that re-enforces our decision to make the move here in the first place. It is quite hard to moan about the bad bits of life here because it is tantamount to admitting that we made the wrong decision to move.
Well without us wanting to pull the plug and come home, here is another really naff bit of life in Spain.
Today we simply wanted to go down to Albox to shop and to take a £ cheque into the Albox branch of our Spanish Cajasur Bank. We also wanted to then take out 100€ in cash to live here on for the next few hours.
We arrived at the bank mid morning and there were just three people in front of us. There were two girls trying to ‘help customers‘, whilst one other girl pratted about chatting and sorting out mail, but utterly refusing to stoop as low as actually serving a customer. Obviously she had recently had a promotion to a prominent position and her job description, did not that include the menial task of serving the people who pay her wages.
I (and Elayne who was also waiting) stood for thirty five minutes waiting to put one cheque in and take one dollop of money out. It was hot in there as we stood waiting and at one time I did actually think that I was going to faint from the heat.
The two girls who were attending to customers, were dealing with all customers and every reason, some of who seemed to be wanting to make wills or draw securecor sizes of money out of the bank and required special permission from head office. They were also taking random phone calls and spending enormous amounts of time with whom ever was on the phone.
When finally I did get served I said to the girl that they should have more staff on duty but then only got the Spanish shrug of the shoulders to signify ‘tell the boss, I’ve told him ten times already’ manana.
I used to get frustrated at Barclays, HSBC or TSB in Otley when it took ten minutes out of my lunch hour to do a transaction.
There you go, don’t grump about Barclays, HSBC or TSB to me again!!!!!
But this is wonderful Spain and it has been twenty six degrees today, the last day of October, and wall to wall sunshine.
Pictures: Spanish sunset, and then my sunshire, is she looking good on this sun or what, but I am a little biased???

Monday 30-10-2006 War of the roses.

We had a lovely day today. Our friends Isobel and Eric came up from El Pinar. They arrived at about twelve thirty and announced themselves as meals on wheels. They brought everything required for a full outside picnic lunch of hamburgers, rolls, onions and mushrooms, including two disposable barbeques. Together with some wine and beer this all went down very well. Thank you both for your kindness and forethought.
After lunch we held a boules competition. Modesty prevents me from disclosing whom the winners were but the Yorkshire/Taberno flag flew higher than the Lancashire/El Pinar flag. There was a suggestion from a certain Lancastrian that as we were on home ground we had an advantage. Whilst this was hotly denied, it was felt that a return match at El Pinar, sometime in the near future, would put pay to such comments ;-)))
Another super sunny day with the temperature in the high twenties. Fancy getting sun burnt at the end of October.

Captions to today’s pictures:
1 Stop giggling Elayne and light the barby.
2 It takes ages to grill a ‘roo.
3 Eric showing me how big the ‘roo was before it went in the pan.
4 Eric setting fire to the caravan (where’s the insurance docs?
5 Re-assuring the local fire brigade that all is well took some time.
Why let the truth get in the way of a good story ;-)

Sunday 29-10-2006

We were up early this morning (as we all are on the day that the clocks go back) in readiness to go to the Albox Feria.
You may remember, that on Wednesday, we had been told that the temperature this weekend would reach thirty one degrees. On Friday we had the rain and fourteen, on Saturday the thermometer just reached between fourteen and sixteen, so what chance then of thirty one? Well it did not reach thirty one in our neck of the woods, but strewth it did reach twenty eight this lunch time down in Albox (and twenty seven up on site). Not bad for the first day after the clocks go back.
The feria was very different and very interesting, testing out our senses in many different ways. The fun fair was only just waking up after the all night long session that had just ended.
The rambla was set out as a riding arena with fresh sand laid and areas marked off for horse and carriage preparation. There was also an area of the rambla set aside for cherished Citron 2CV’s and old classic Seats (bet you didn’t know that any Seat could be old or cherished). The pride of ‘car place’ was a very nice red Bugatte (see pictures). It was the only really old classic car as far as I was concerned.
Any way horses and riders assembled and the first competition was sort of like Spanish dressage with riders in Spanish Don gear (as we are Don’s I suppose we could take part next year). Then there was some riding by men and women and synchronised double riding and then an exhibition of very ornate carriage riding (the carriages actually has hydraulic disc brakes) with two or four horses per carriage. In the main the horses looked very fit and well cared for but in some instance the horses tail hair had been cropped back to the tail stub. This is quite unnecessary and unfeeling towards the horse especially in a country where it’s this hot and there are plagues of flies, the horse is unable to swish the flies away with their tails. This was the exception rather than the rule but it saddened me a little.
We have said though at the outset, that we have not to dwell on these things in this country, which has so many wonderful attributes. We arrived back home, after petrol and water stops , at about two and this afternoon and we are now chilling out and enjoying this fabulous ‘autumn day‘.
All of the pictures were taken by Elayne are from this morning at Albox. Isn't the picture of the fountain spout against the sun fabulous, one in every thousand pictures turn out like this !!!!

My comments, concerning our free draining earth yesterday, came back to haunt me last night.
It is true that the earth, even after disturbance, is very free draining and can be walked upon within a short time of it raining. However this is not quite the whole and full picture.
Where our caravan roof drains off on to the land is a big JCB tyre indentation. The rain coming off the roof forms a puddle that then takes far longer than the rest of the surrounding earth to dry out.
Last night we got ready to go down to the feria/fiesta in Albox as mentioned yesterday. It was probably about half past nine and we had dressed in our jumpers and intended taking our fleeces just in case it was really cold after midnight (well! we don’t know, because we are normally tucked up in bed by then, ‘onest). We of course have to do a hundred and one things before we actually climb in the car and set off. Well after ‘did you lock the door’, ‘did you draw the curtains‘, did you leave the roof vent closed’ we were sat in the car about to start the engine and my ‘nearest and dearest’ says ‘I thought that you were taking your coat’. Well yes I was intending to take my coat, but with the long list of extra curricular items to do before we set off, I had simply forgotten it.
Never mind, with a light heart that we were actually nearly on our way, I jumped out of the car, not bothering with the torch, unlocked the caravan and retrieved my coat from the wardrobe, relocked the caravan and walked straight into this thick JCB tyre print which was half full of pure of thick mud. Not just one foot but both feet, one after the other before I realised. I was so fed up that I didn’t fully appreciate the extent of the clarty just then. I jumped in the car and we drove off to Albox to have an Indian before exploring the feria.
It was only when we got down to Albox and under the street lights that I could see that both of my shoes, and now the carpet in the car were like a scene from The Archers. It was very embarrassing standing in full light trying to scrape my shoes on the kerb stones whilst passers by thought that I had trodden in something far worse that pure Mondrono mountain mud.
After that we looked at the Indian that we had intended eating at and found that it was only a ‘take away’.
We then re-parked the car in a little dark back street, scraped some of the mud off the car carpet and walked down over the rambla to the fair with me banging my feet on the ground like a bad tempered school boy. When we arrived at the fair, it was just that, a very noisy and colourful fun fair for youngsters, but also with lots of food stalls, some of which you can actually sit down in a tented area and dine. We ate at one such place and had a half chicken, between us on a platter, with a mountain of chips and roasted green peppers in lovely garlic juice, with bread. This with two drinks came to €12.40 (about £8.50). A good meal and super value.
Further round the fair they had built huge tents, and rock bands were getting into the swing of the evening. One such band had the lead singer wearing just his underpants and shouting at full volume, not a musical note to be heard.
The plaza was full of stalls around the edges and in the middle were dozens of African gentlemen flogging pirate CD’s and DVD’s. These were set out on a square blanket laid on the floor. From each corner of the blanket was a rope to the centre. When the word went up, that the Guardia Local were coming, they all swiped up the centre rope and ran off with all the discs over their shoulders. Other dealers came whilst we were actually eating and shoved the CD’s in your face asking you to buy them. It was all really quite amusing to watch. We never saw anyone arrested but we did see children enjoying being involved in shouting that the police were coming, false alarms as kids do. I’ve never seen so many illicit discs on display in one place in my life.
We arrived back home about quarter to one and slept late this morning.
We have done some shopping this morning and on the way back we had another ‘ensalada’ with cheese, egg, tuna and a drink on the way back home at El Rancho. This afternoon Elayne did some girlie things and some more hand washing (no such thing as washing machines out here yet) whilst I moved the last of the almond prunings and built a barbeque table in readiness for our friends Isobel and Eric coming up to see us from El Pinar on Monday lunch time. Eric promises that he won’t get lost in Albox this time up. They are bringing hamburgers (Eric’s special brand, which are really lovely), buns and a disposable barbeque with them. So we will do some salad things to go with the burgers, some wine and then all we need is a nice bit of sunshine to dry up the JCB quagmire so we don’t all walk in it. Have a nice Sunday.

Friday 27-10-2006

Last night I talked with my brother Brian and my favourite ‘S in L’ Chris, via Skype. It was really very clear reception considering the distance, although I had a bit of feedback at my end. We talked for over twenty minutes (although it seemed a lot shorter) during which I was watching another amazing sun set out of the window of the caravan computer room . Whilst I was talking to Brian on the hand set phone I canoodled my large Megxon camera from it’s case, opened the window even wider, switched the camera on, zoomed in, focussed and was taking pictures of the glorious sun setting to the west of us.
It was lovely to talk to Brian for so long and I hope that by dedicating the resultant best of these pictures to you, Brian and Chris, you will forgive me if I had any momentary lack of attention during our conversation. I did nearly strangled myself with the phone flex a couple of times, but I hope that you agree that the pictures were perhaps just worth the effort.
I hope that the pictures from my large camera down load for you all in reasonable time, feed back if you noticed please. Also if anyone has any interesting questions, about our life out here, we will gladly try to explain and add some pictures, if decently acceptable.
To cheer you all up, it’s now 22-15 local time and it’s pouring down with rain. Elayne and I are in negotiation over whom will go out and turn the genny off tonight. I bet I know who wins!!!
Where’s my golfing umbrella, do we still have one? And if we do can I hold the torch and umbrella whilst trying to turn off the genny and petrol tap without pouring the cold water from the umbrella down the back of my neck?
When we awoke this morning it had been raining on and off all night. The earth here is very free draining. In the UK if you stripped the grass off the lawn and it rained for half an hour you would not dare go near the earth again for a few days in fear of getting caked up to the eyebrows in mud. I went out (our site is just recently moved bare earth) this morning just fifteen minutes after it had stopped raining, to fill and start the genny, and I just put my sandals on my feet. After attending to the genny and putting the water and petrol cans in the car, ready for refilling, I came back to the caravan and my feet were no more wet and dirty than if it had been dry. After all last nights rain also there were only just one or two puddles about on the land this morning. There’s me thinking that I better rush off and buy some wellies.
It was also good to talk to Christine and Andrew at Whiteley this afternoon via Skype.
Picture wise, I have also put a contrasting picture on showing the difference between last night and today. HANWE.

Thursday 26-10-2006

After dancing lessons last night followed by a disco at ‘you know where’ we have had a quiet day so far today.
It was raining as we got up but not hard and it hardly wet the ground before it stopped altogether. However it has left a cloudy and cool day today (fourteen- sixteen degrees). We are told that we should expect temperatures in the region of thirty one this week end.
We went down to Albox for some shopping and whilst we were there we walked round parts of the old town and rambla where preparations are well underway for the start of yet another four days of feria/fiesta.
The whole town is gradually being taken over by fair ground rides and huge marquees on any spare ground and down along the rambla (hope we don’t get a lot of rain in the mountains) ready for the partying until the early hours of the next four nights.
We want to sample the event so we might set off about nine or ten o’clock tomorrow evening. We will park the car at this side of the town so as to make an exit when we are ready. We will then go down on Sunday morning to see the procession with, we hope, lots of horses a little like the one we saw at Nerja.
We can expect loud music and fire works each night until Monday. With binoculars we can see right down to Albox near where the activity will be taking place.
Today’s pictures therefore are of preparations for the Albox feria. Also one picture looking back up from Albox to Mondrono where we live probably three quarters of the way up. Enjoy the week end.

Wednesday 25-10-2006

Isn’t technology wonderful, some times?
When the gennys go off at night, very late, Elayne and I read for a while by torch light (rather romantic don‘t you think?). We have several torches ranging from the big 4 x U2 battery type to the small 2 x AA battery type torch that costs about £8.50 in Halfords.
The other day the ‘big’ torch stopped working, so I replaced the batteries, at great expense, only to find that the bulb had blown. To prove the theory that the bulb had blown, and without any forethought or brain engagement at all, I took the bulb out of the small torch, placed it in the ‘big’ torch, where upon it glowed very brightly for a few seconds and blew as well. How did I manage to survive for twenty years in the electrical division of the papermaking industry without being found out? In five or six years time transformers across the entire world will be going down like nine pins through my electrical know how and expert advice.
Searching for a shop here that actually sells torch bulbs is a long job. Searching for a place that has anything other than 0.5 and 1.5 volt bulbs is an impossibility. I need one 4.5 volt and a 8.5 volt bulb. No way Jose, not on your Spanish life!!
We continue the search of course (me being a tight fisted Yorkshire man etc, etc)but by now I am thinking that it might be just as easy to buy, yet, another new torch or two with bulbs already in situ and add some batteries from my stock at home.
Anyway next to the Mercadona supermarket in Albox is a Chinese knick knack shop that sells allsorts of cheap and badly made items imported direct from China. The proprietors are Chinese so they shout Spanish at you as though you’d had the temerity to order two number 54’s despite the ‘out of stock sign’ on page twenty four of the Chinese restaurant menu.
Whilst I’m searching in this shop for a cost effective replacement torch, which are coming out at about €2.5 to €4, I spy some boxes that talk about ‘the everlasting torch’ that needs no batteries. O! yes have we heard this before or what? You get them home and they die within ten minutes.
Well these little torches looked quite well made and only cost €2.5 each. I bought two just in case they were any good at all and until we can find bulbs for the other serious torches.
Back at the van I unpack the torches, read the instructions (which are a very funny translation from Chinese to English) and switch on the torches. They generate their electricity by a loose magnet in the torch sliding up and down inside and past a coil. Tip the torch up a few times and it generates enough power to give off a light.
Surprise, surprise, they are actually very good. Outside in the dark they give off a blue light which is adequate. I keep leaving them on around the caravan to see how long the light stays on for, but as yet I have given up a long time before the torch has.
At this rate I should sell the big torches at a car boot sale and buy ten more of these everlasting ones. I could buy loads and export them to Halfords where they could sell for about £10 each.
Now where did I put my solar powered calculator?

Tuesday 24-10-2006

Last night at dancing , Pam (our friend from Lighthouse Properties) gave us an folder in which was the draft plans of our new house, according to Chema (our new architect). One drawing showed his interpretation of what he thinks we want and the second drawing showed another option in a different sort of configuration. We still like the format of our original ideas, so with a little tweaking here and a little more tweaking there, we should have the final plan for him to go and present to what’s left of the Albox Municipal Planning Department. We are not going to hold our breath on this one, because the organisation sounds to be in total chaos.
We have been to Antas and Albox this morning and returned (after a pit stop for water for us and petrol for the genny ) to the caravan, where we are this afternoon sweating in tee shirts and shorts at about 24 to 26 degrees. It’s a glorious day after the warm but strong winds of yesterday.
I have just calculated, with the aid of a map, calculator and ruler, like I do, that the mountain top observatory that we can see west from here is about 47k away ( about 30 miles). Therefore if our field of vision is that distance for three quarters of our 360 degree view, outside the caravan, we can see approximately 1300 square kilometres (502 square miles) of landscape and mountains. Not bad for a back garden view.
The pictures are of Pip enjoying the early morning (07.45) sunrise this morning, and of Mondrono, which is our site backdrop, so to speak. Also we have found an almond tree (not one of ours) that thinks that it is February already.

This morning both of the generators started misbehaving. One genny got grumpy yesterday and refused to run for more than fifteen seconds before cutting out. We changed it for the second genny which after a couple pulls on the starter rope burst into life and ran all day and right up to about half past eleven last night with not a problem. Meantime, I stripped the first genny’s carburettor down to see if there was any obvious dirt around. No dirt so I put it all back together and tried it again. Same result, it ran for fifteen seconds and then died. I repeated this cleaning process a few more times before giving up on it for the day. I went out this morning and tried to get the second genny going and it did the same as the first genny, ran for fifteen seconds and then died. With both gennys out I became really concerned ,and as I did not have access to compressed air with which to blow the carburettor jets out ,I called Philip down in Santa Peter for help. By this time I suspected that we had been filling the petrol tanks with dirty petrol.
After the telephone call we took both the gennys down to Philip. When we took them out of the car genny two burst into life happily as though it always did ,but genny one still would not run. After a lot of poking about Philip took the carburettor off genny one and into his workshop and blew the jets out. After
re-assembly once more it would still only run for fifteen seconds. Whilst we were all stood scratching our chins, Philip asked if I had filled them with oil recently (being four stroke engines they have oil sumps just like a car). I changed the oil on both gennys a few weeks back and replaced the oil with the recommended quality and amount according to the Spanish manual. Philip got some more oil and put no more than a cup full into genny one and bingo the damned thing burst into life and kept going. Both gennys have an oil warning light on them, so one would have assumed that the oil was OK. We returned home and number one genny has been running all day. I ran number two genny for a while after topping it’s oil up.
Who would have suspected such an outcome except a proper motor mechanic with a lifetimes experience in these things? I learned a very good lesson for the future and was greatly relieved to have both gennys working properly again. When I asked Philip how much he wanted for his valuable time he said €5. Now is that good value or what?
We went dancing tonight again and started on the tango (I think).
More pictures from our trip yesterday and including a olive press scrap yard that we found and one of the sunset through the bottom of a wine glass (what better way to see a sunset?) If we start to show pictures of the sunrise through the bottom of a wine glass then we‘ve hit big problems).

Sunday 22-10-2006

From Elayne
We woke up to brilliant sunshine and cloudless blue skies this morning, and not a breath of wind.
We went on Skype last night and spoke to Steve, Debs, Ivan, Ollie and Nick. It was Debs birthday and the boys showed us the enormous box of chocolates that she had been given, as a present. It was really lovely to see all our family together, but a bit strange that we were in another country and not with them.
As it was such a lovely day, and being Sunday, we decided to go for a drive. We decided to go to Santa Maria de Nieve first off. It was a village on both sides of the main road, with not a lot to offer, except for a very strong smell of what we assumed to be goat, and a rather nice church. We walked up the road aways, poking about as we do, and taking photo’s, then headed back to the car. As we got back to the church a friendly Spanish gentleman indicated that he would take a photo of us both. Would you know it, the camera batteries had died on us, and we didn’t have any spares. So we had to regretfully decline his kind offer. He did wave to us and give us a thumbs up as we drove past him on our way out of the village.
We decided to follow the road to Velez Rubio and have a look round, and drove through some spectacular scenery, following a twisty winding road through the mountains. As time was getting on and we were conscious that the cats were in the caravan, we took a side road back to Taberno. We were glad that we did, because we eventually arrived back on the road that we pass every time we cross the rambla to go back to our site. So we now know what lies around the corner.
We landed back at Lentisco’s for a welcome drink, then back home for some lunch.
Just to spoil our day, the genny decided to refuse to start, so we changed the plugs on the other one and set it going, thank goodness we have got one in reserve.
We will have to send the poorly one down to Philip’s , as it seems to have given up the ghost.
We have had another beautiful sunset, and sat outside with a glass or three of wine, to watch the stars come out, till nearly nine o’clock.

Saturday 21-10-2006

Strewth there's three months gone since we came to Spain. Time flies when you're having fun.
Reporting back on our meal at El Ranchos last night.
Wonderful. Fabulous. Marvelous. Very , very good.
It was probably the very best bought out meal that I have ever had in my short little life. We didn't have a starter, as such, but bread and allioli (strong wonderful garlic butter) were brought to the table whilst we enjoyed a drink.
Elayne ordered chicken breast, flattened to half plate size and grilled on the open fire, with chips. I ordered entrecote steak, also grilled to perfection on the open fire, with chips.
The last time I had an entrecote steak was with Dave and Elsie Cooper from Nitran, Dundee, at the casino in Dundee. It was two inches thick and about three inches in diameter and Dave and I had to share it. It took half an hour to eat and we couldn't talk whilst we struggled to eat it.
This steak, last night, was three quarter large plate size and nearly an inch thick. It was moist. It was delighfully tender. It was full of delicious flavours. It was a sensation. It was a great joy and pleasure to eat.
We both gave the whole meal above ninty out of one hundred. We were not bloated afterward and we had a little room for a delightful whiskey ice cream sweet, followed by coffee (Spanish style).
We will be returning again as soon as decently possible for our figures and pockets, just hoping that this was not a 'flash in the steak pan':-)))
We had a windy night up here but everything is secure and only occasionally did the caravan move about although it was quite noisy at times. The Sky dish is buffetting about a bit but it is in a very exposed position.
Today we have been to Antas and then Vera (pronounced Bera) and then back home.
Tonight we are going to have a video call with Steve, Debs, Ivan, Ollie and Nick is staying with them just now so we can talk away and see each other at the same time for free on Skype.
I have even bought ten metres of USB cable extension so that we can show them all the whole of the inside of the caravan. It should be a bit of fun. Technology working for people instead of against them.
We have just had a long video chat with Sandra and Malcolm Pinder. Malcolm bought Sandra six doves, and a victorian dove cote, for their wedding anniversary (old softy, Elayne went ahhhh!)and Sandra's birthday. Malcolm was able to walk outside with his laptop and video camera so that we could see the doves and the dove cote. It is truly amazing seeing live pictures from something like two thousand miles away as easy as that. I was also able to put a pair of sunglasses over the video camera lens and show them the almond trees and mountains.
After the call with Steve tonight and after the strictly come dancing programme we may go down to Lentisco's at about ten o'clock. That is if we can stay awake that long.

Friday 20-10-2006

We trotted off down to Heurcal Overa this morning, earl-ish, to stock up on cat food, from Lidle, that they happen to like just now. When we got there all the shops and the whole place was closed for the fiesta holiday which is this week end. As well as all the shops being closed, lots of streets were blocked off because of the fair that they are having. It is simply huge. I haven’t seen a fairground set up as large as that since when I was small, just after the war (second one of course), and a fairground was erected at Town Moor in Newcastle (anyone remember it?).
So we didn’t get any shopping, but we did call in at El Rancho’s and had a pint and a grand ensalada (large salad with lovely crusty bread) with lashings of olive oil and vinegar for lunch. We determined to go there this evening and try one of their steaks, grilled with herbs, on a massive open fire. It’s just that sort of weather for this sort of meal right now, cool and a good wind blowing. The wind is buffeting the caravan a bit but is probably holding off any rain that’s lurking. We will pay homage, or otherwise, to the steak, tomorrow.
One of the enclosed pictures, taken looking west from the computer room, has come out quite dark. Because of the sun it has turned more dramatic than it really is. There will probably be a super sun set if the breaks in the clouds hold open. The other picture is looking SE from the computer room and is probably the more realistic of the two.

Thursday 19-10-2006

We are still 'live' (so to speak) from the caravan. I have been taking in hand another ten or so almond trees this morning whilst Elayne went ballistic with the iron (poor genny). This afternoon, in the grip of high winds, but not cold we wrapped up and set off to walk right down into the rambla and around the whole of our 'estate'!!. We have to walk quite some way up the camino to be able to get down into the bottom of the rambla so we walked far further than two hundred metres in each direction. Once down in the bottom of the rambla and looking back up the cliff face is quite awesome. One would be ill advised to try to climb these cliffs because the ground is quite loose and erosive. Anyway we have at last done the walk and I suppose we were out for an hour and a quarter or so.
BTW.
Our postal address for the near future will be:
Paul & Elayne Fellowes
C/O Lighthouse Properties SL
Plaza Mayor
Taberno
04692
Almeria
Espana

It feels really good to get back on line again, we had so much more time in the day today because we did not have to go to Albox.
Todays pictures are of this mornings lovely sun rise over the sea and mountains to the east of us at about quarter past eight. Me talking to one of our twelve olive trees, it must be over one hundred years old and is about half a metre in diameter at the trunk. The fruits are well formed now and some are turning from green to that lovely black as they ripen. Also a shot of our plot (excluding the rambla which constitutes about a third of the land) looking up from the SE corner and showing the almond trees (well over a hundred) and the future house position, where the caravan is. The caravan is facing SW and the house will face more south to south east. Lastly (but not in any sequence) a picture taken from down at the bottom of the rambla this afternoon. I estimate that this particular cliff will be between sixty foot high, or nearly sixty foot below the level of the caravan!!!