Life in Spain....

I had to laugh when someone sent me this clip on life in Spain, what an embarrassment, I love the chaps description of where he lives....a posh ghetto!!

Click here to check it out, you wont be dissapointed.

Of course I am also guilty of living like a pom, my local is an Irish bar, but it is just down the road so it makes sense. I do eat in Spanish bars/restaurants, plus I am learning the language slowly but surely.

I have also travelled throughout Spain and can happily say that Mojacar does look like Spain, it is the last place in Spain with chiringuitos (A chiringuito is a small enterprise, usually a bar, selling mainly drinks and tapas, sometimes meals in a more or less provisional building, often on a beach or loose surface where a more permanent structure may be inviable)  on the beach, there are also a lot of Spanish who live here, it is truly paradise.

The Spanish are not to crash hot on animal welfare, but children are sacred and precious beyond belief.

A good example is the local school bus dropping off the little cherubs, it has a police escort every single school day, at every stop the cops hold up the traffic until the children are off the bus and have crossed the road.

I dont really have a problem with this, the problem is that because the little darlings can do NO wrong they are the most awful children I have ever met, absolutely no manners as they are never scolded for bad or annoying behavior.

 Not a bad school bus though!

But I like 99% of the other immigrants who live here are here for one reason....sunshine, and that is plentiful.

We are loving our daily beach walks, it's a lovely way to start and finish the day.

The doggies are not allowed on the beach after the end of May until the start of October, I have no problems with this and is so much better than Sydney where they were banned every day of the year, if you were caught you were flogged then hanged drawn and quartered.

A managed to get a not too good photo of some dolphins as they were passing by.

Other happenings were the football game between England and Germany, I was joined by my lovely Dutch friend Eva who was proudly wearing a England shirt...she wasn't going to support the Germans was she! 

Pity we lost.

On a sad note, the boaters are all starting their mass exodus back to boating and cruising in the UK. By next week they will all be gone. I will miss them terribly but they are all coming back again next year and I wouldnt be surprised if they were joined by more boaters from the UK.

As I said earlier Mojacar  is paradise, there are no posh ghettos here!

Bev, Sue, Dot, Gordon, Andy, Roly and me. We all met wintering at Aston Marina

Paddy's Day In Mojacar

Last year we celebrated Paddy's day down at the local pub The Emerald Isle so this year it was decided to do the same.

I was a bit apprehensive as last years celebration down the pub was the last time that Elaine had a really good trouble free day.

But after mothers burial I really feel that I can move on a bit more with hopefully no more bad moments so to speak.

I need not have worried it was a great day.

The barmaids Eva and Lily were dressed for the occasion!!

Its only fair that I should show you what they looked like before they grew beards!! 

All the boaters were there plus the normal regulars and loads more to boot. 

My sister Jackie and niece Hayley are with me at the moment so of course they came along.. Bombo wasn't going to miss out, he slept through most of the celebrations! 

I was dressed for the occasion along with the landlord Jay.

Being a Irish pub its probably the busiest day/night of the year, we got there at about 15.00 and left at 01.30.

It was a most fantastic night with great company.

Farewell Mum XX

I have just got back from spending 5 days in the UK. The main reason for the visit was to attend mothers funeral.

My first stop was to visit Elaine's sister Julie, whilst there I also caught up with Elaine's niece Leyna her husband Bill and her lovely children Connie, Evie and William.

Evie Connie and me

Leyna runs a livery yard, as well as the usual stables etc there are numerous sheds where Bill keeps his toys, this little baby is amongst them.

Next stop was Luton where I stayed in a hotel in the middle of the town, the weather was lovely whilst I was there, I think I might do a complete blog post on my old home town and how it has fallen into total decay since I lived there throughout the late 50s 60s and 70s

My lovely niece Kimberley came to visit me one night so I took her out to a lovely Italian restaurant and then to the Globe pub where I spent my drinking days in Luton

It hasn't changed much in the last 37 years, and some of the locals were still drinking there!!

Tuesday was funeral day. it all went very well, we started the funeral from the funeral directors premises, it was quite interesting on the drive to the cemetery to watch peoples reactions when the funeral cortege passed, I was amazed how many people removed their hats including young people. We passed some workmen, they all stopped and nodded as the hearse went past. It was nice and humbling to see that there was still some respect in Luton.

I have never been to a burial before, it is very moving.

The grave is filled in very quickly after the coffin is lowered into the grave.

There is a headstone being made up but it is months away.

The wake was held at a country cricket club.

Mother sat at the end of the food table with her half of Fosters! 

As well as family and friends I caught up with my northern cousins who I haven't seen since the mid 70s!

Get Well Soon Jane XXX

I had a call the other night to say that a good friend of ours is in hospital after suffering a stroke!

The friend is Elaines lifelong friend Jane, they went to school together, and have kept in touch all throughout the years. 

Jane is the lovely friend who flew out from the UK and accompanied Elaine back to Macclesfield last May.  She visited her virtually everyday in both the Christie hospital and the East Cheshire hospice, she was at Elaines bedside at the very end.

She is in The Acute Stroke Unit at Salford hospital Manchester so she couldn't be in a better place.

Elaine and Jane back in Oz.

Im back off to the UK on Saturday for mums funeral. The funeral is on Tuesday so I am going to pop in and see Elaine's sis Julie before that, she is still fighting the bastard cancer.

With all this crap going on I still feel blessed, I have had a fantastic life and am now pretty chilled out in Spain, it's a good place to be at the moment.

I went down the pub the other night, well actually I go down every night!  A big storm was on, I couldnt help noticing that the rainbow ended on the pub Guinness sign......later on that night I won the local sweepstake of the boxing that was being shown....it was a sign! 

Meanwhile in Mojacar summer is well and truly on the way, it's lovely and warm but thankfully not hot!

I took this photo of a passing tug this morning, the sea is dead flat. 

Meanwhile back in my old hometown of Manly the commuters and tourists have been getting a great ride across Sydney heads on the Manly Ferry. 

It was one of the trips you could never get bored of, we used to love it, the rougher the better. 

Meanwhile back up in the villa, Sammie is just being Sammie.