Just Call Me Tony!

I had another really good weekend in Mojacar, I'm feeling so much better than I did a few weeks ago and am so happy that I didnt need any drugs to get over it.

After watching some footy Sunday afternoon I headed off down to the Lua beach bar which is a really lovely bar that attracts a lot of Spanish plus a lot of English immigrants.

I took Bombo with me as my pulling partner, only trouble being he attracts as many blokes as he does women, especially when he is wearing his cool shades. 

The chap in the above photo is a good mate down here, he was at the beach club with a couple of other guys and four girls.

I was chatting away to one of the girls and after not too long into the conversation realised we had a lot in common.

We both came from the same part of the UK and both knew the same people from the 70s, what a small world.

She is recently separated, and living in a little village on the outskirts of Luton which is my old town, she had no children and was a really lovely attractive well dressed lady. 

We chatted for a couple of hours and I would have to say I was attracted to her, she was only in Mojacar for a few days and unfortunately Sunday was her last day.

When her group left she left with them, she gave me a lovely hug and kiss and said it was so lovely to meet and chat with you TONY !!!!  

WTF!!

Back to the drawing board!

Wild Weather Report.

We have had brilliant weather over the last month or so, but a couple of days it changed.

It has been very windy and quite cool, but the biggest thing is the rough seas, it's quite an unusual event, the Med is normally dead flat.

I always have my camera with me when out walking the boys so I took some shots.

The fishing boat was heading back to Garucha, which is about 8 ks up the coast from Mojacar.

There were even a couple of surfers out there.

Completely different subject....one of my favourite photos with the lovely Elaine. The photo was taken on Lord Howe Island, which is a tiny island about 700 ks off the coast of Sydney. It was without a doubt one of the best places we have ever visited, the whole island is a nature reserve, if you are ever down in Australia it is well worth a visit.

On the Jag  front.... I have booked it in for a full service next week plus have the cam belt changed as the car is 10 years old, its going to cost a fortune mainly because the cam belt change is a big job. But as I do want to take the car to the UK in July I want to make sure she is 100%  No guarantees that nothing will go wrong of course after all it is a Jag! 

Its A JAAAAG

As part of my crawling out of the black hole treatment I decided than rather than do my usual beach walk I would walk up one of the hills surrounding Mojacar, no big deal for the average walker, but for me as a flat walk along the beach chap it was a bit of a challenge.

We had loads of rain during the winter, the result is it is now green in our part of Spain.

The province of Almeria is the driest place in Europe, normally the landscape resembles Mars, there is virtually no greenery whatsoever.

The locals that have lived here for years tell me that this is the greenest they have ever seen it. We are not talking an England green but a light shade of green that is very pleasant on the eye.

The view as you climb up the hill is quite spectacular. 

Lovely walk. 

Coastal watchtower.

Mojacar in the distance.

Mojacars most expensive house sits atop a nearby hill.

The dogs did well to make it to the top, after all they only have little legs.

Yesterday I went to Almeria to pick up the new car, it is absolutely superb and drove beautifully on the drive back to Mojacar.

I have been playing with it today, setting up the phone, and all the other gadgets on the thing.

I then drove down to Macanas beach for a photo shoot, the only thing missing was some pretty young thing draped across, it!

Finding An Interest!

The general consensus of my mental state seemed to be find yourself an interest!!

So I have, I have gone out and bought myself a lovely Jaguar S Type.

To be fair I have been looking at getting a nice car for a while. A couple of weeks ago  I actually put a deposit down on a lovely red Saab Convertible which was for sale in the UK, it had only done 23000 miles and was in superb condition, but the logistics of getting it back here and going through the rigmarole of putting it on Spanish plates was doing my head in, so I cancelled. He was a nice chap and gave me a full refund.

Lovely looking motor though.

  

So I started looking closer to home and thought to myself the car I have always wanted is an S Type Jaguar, I had an XJ6 back in the early 80s but it was an absolute nightmare of fuel.

I was looking for a late model as possible diesel jag with low ks and a full service history.

As luck would have it there was one for sale just over an hour's drive away, I went down to check it out and it is a lovely car.

One company director owner, full service history, reasonably low ks etc.

Its the top of the range twin turbo 2.7 litre diesel, automatic of course.

Most importantly its Spanish registered LHD, so the paperwork although still a hassle by UK standards is minimal.

It has been in Almeria its whole life (9 years), so is totally rust free, Almeria being the driest place in Europe makes sure of that.

I did knock them down a couple of grand, mainly because there are a couple of parking scratches on the front, which in Spain is the norm, but I will get them fixed, there is only one key and it wont be long before it needs a set of new tyres.

It drove absolutely superb along a mountain road plus a quick fang along the motorway.

I am taking a bit of a chance buying privately as there is no warranty, but I wouldn't trust a garage warranty anyway. They seem genuine nice sellars and dont appear to be hiding anything so hopefully it will be a winner.

All going well I will pick it up next Wednesday.

It will be a nice car to drive back to the UK in July thats for sure. 

So I Decided I Had Better Go To The Doctors!!

Firstly thank you all for your kind messages and numerous emails it really does help and I Am eternally grateful for such kindness from mainly complete strangers.

Once again I woke this morning feeling incredibly low, but decided that it was time to get professional help.

I rang the local Dr and as I guessed they were fully booked up until next week, I pleaded with the receptionist that I really needed to see the Dr today.  She said I could come down straight away but would just have to sit and wait until the Dr had a space or someone didn't show. 

As I drove down there I had a bit of a meltdown in the car knowing that once I start to talking to the Dr that a breakdown was inevitable.

I sat in the waiting room, there were only three people there so that was good, in saying that the Spanish Drs are very thorough so a consultation of an hour isn't out of the question.

It was getting close to my turn when a Spanish lady came in and sat next to me, I instantly recognised her as the Dr that used to practice at the surgery. Elaine had been to see her numerous times and got on with her really well. I had heard a rumour that she had left the surgery with mental health issues. The Dr I was waiting to see was her husband and they used to practice at the surgery together.

I asked her if she remembered Elaine which she did not, I then told her that she had died last August, she looked straight at me and said have you got a new wife now???  A bit odd I thought but never mind.

It came to my turn but the Dr said can I give him 5 minutes and he beckoned his wife in, as soon as she reached his door she launched herself at him, im not sure if she tried to kiss him or attack him!!  

He quickly got her inside where they continued to argue very loudly, I was exchanging pleasant smiles with the receptionist. Of course being Spanish I couldnt hear what they were saying. Finally the door opened  and I thought she was going to leave, just as she got to the door she turned and full on attacked the Dr, he fought her off and forced her into another room where she started ripping wires out of the wall and trashing the computers.

My consultation was starting to look a bit dodgy!

Eventually the Dr came out and apologised, it was indeed his wife and they had split up but she won't accept it and did indeed smash the place up last year, he said he had called the cops so it shouldnt be too long now!

A few minutes later the cops arrived, but she was having non of it so they called for backup from the Guardia Civil and an ambulance. The Dr came and spoke to me again and said she was going to be sectioned and that he would have to go along in the ambulance with her. He was very sorry but could I come back tomorrow! 

I walked back to the seafront where my  car was parked, I was in shock but also thought to myself wow I really dont want to end up like that or anything close to being like that.

Going to the Drs had done the trick but not how I envisaged, I came home and started cleaning up a very neglected house, I also made myself a yummy salad and it tasted good.

For the first time in a long while I'm feeling a lot closer to my normal self, I'm not sure whether I will go back tomorrow, I will see how I feel when I wake up.

Life really does take some strange turns!

  

Falling Into A Black Hole..

There is no real easy way to explain it but for the last couple of weeks I have fallen into what can only be described as despair!!

I absolutely hate feeling like it, but am also very reluctant to go and see a Dr as the last thing I want is to rely on drugs to give me a lift.

I have been feeling a bit crook lately, nothing drastic just a persistent cough with the resultant  snot etc making me feel nauseous.  I have felt totally and utterly exhausted and have been sleeping for hours, if I was working hard I could understand that, but hard work for me is a long distant memory. I have completely lost all motivation to do anything and I mean anything. Im eating crap which I know is bad I just cant be bothered to make anything decent, thankfully I have stopped drinking apart from the occasional beer or small glass of wine. The good thing is I have lost 5 kilos of weight in about 10 days!

My self diagnosis is......

Obviously Elaine dying has left a hole in my life that can never ever be filled in. I can't ever see a relationship happening with another person. Elaine was just too special, noone could ever fill her shoes. I do miss female company though.

Selling the motorhome has removed my escape vehicle, before it was easy to take off with the dogs,  now its just too hard.

The boaters have now all returned to the canals for the summer, I do miss them, they are a great group of people.

Its only been a few weeks since poor old mum died and one of mine and Elaine's best friends is in hospital slowly recovering from a stroke.

My thought are that all these things have come to a head and i'm struggling to move on....

On the positive side....

Im living in a fantastic spot.

Im living in a brilliant villa overlooking the Med.

Im debt free and barring a world disaster I should be financially secure to never have to work again.

I love my little doggies to death, they are keeping me going without a doubt.

I have great family and friends in the UK  plus there are still a lot of lovely people here in Mojacar who are very understanding of my situation.

So there you go its seems a ridiculous situation where I have so much going for me but feel so empty and hopeless.

Hopefully my next blog post will be a bit more positive, I actually feel a bit better just writing this down, so who knows, perhaps its just a glitch in my confused head!!