Live Life NOW!

Weather in Spain

2011-04-13T17:29:00.000+02:00

That leap from Winter to Summer without a hint of Spring!

It happens every year and I forget every year too! We have had a lovely winter - the end March showed us a bit of temper and threw some rain (that was the day I chose to go to Marbella shopping with a friend - drowned rats - two of...) but all in all compared to last year it was splendid.

With the start of April we had a couple of murky days and a day when it tried to rain but didnt get very far and now the past two or three days the weather in Spain thinks its mid summer!!! No really - the temperature today is set to be in the 30 degrees centigrade area and its taken everyone a bit unawares.

For instance the animals - if your dogs and cats are bit lethargic or have upset tummies - it could well be due to the heat. Both of our dogs have asked to be let out during the night this week and they never do that so ...... be alert folks.

And on the subject of animals the ticks are about and although probably not in full flow, they are certainly evident.

The swallows have been around for at least a couple of weeks and are swooping in their wild but measured fashion over the pool for all the interesting (NOT) insect life that are practicing their backstroke.

AND the flowers - its such a feast at this time of year. The roses are covered in big fat buds (the greenfly and blackfly have not homed in on ours yet!) and all those "flower once a year only" plants are covered in buds ready to burst out. Garden watering is in full flow (well pot watering is anyway) and around me as I write the neighbourhood is planting, strimming, trimming, rotavating and generally making a lot of noise as the business of converting chest high weeds into tomato plants commences!

I am sorry to say that the Spanish here have absolutely no respect for water and the conservation of same! They allow their pools to become murky green dwellings for hundreds of living "things" over the winter and now the annual pool emptying session commences (not even onto the garden but running down the track). All that lovely food in that water going to waste whilst they water the newly planted tomatoes with water from our communal well!!

(Man with strimmer is starting to get a bit irritating now actually!!)

The front door is open and the fallen orange blossom keeps blowing into the house on the little breeze that is causing confetti like showers of the stuff all over our property. Still there are worse things to be drifting into the house than orange blossom.

And so we start again - that little frisson of excitement that heralds the onset of summer (that frisson that is frazzled in July and August) but for now its a lovely feeling of expectation. And you know what I love, I am certain that the summer here will be sunny and warm (albeit a bit too warm at times). That same frisson used to grab me at this time of year in England and so often the lovely April and May weather had degenerated into showers followed by rain for the rest of the summer and that early hope drowned by July!

So I might wax and wane a little on the journey but I love summer!! Bring it on!

Working in Spain

2011-03-07T19:11:00.000+01:00

I don’t know about the rest of the world but for many years now the UK TV programmers have been obsessed with the idea of living abroad. Great idea, and after being drip fed this for a few years we took the plunge and moved to Spain.

The thing they DON’T tell you when showing programme after programme of people “living the dream!” is how to make a living! Some of the programmes are about people who move abroad and start a business but not many. So I thought I would do a little comparison here of what is available.

Here in Spain if you don’t speak much Spanish and do not have a useful trade such as plumber, electrician etc, your options can be quite limited. You can possibly find work in a bar or waiting table, do telesales or work for yourself.

Another option is to train for a trade and here are just three of the options available on the Costa del Sol

Course	Cost	Equipment Cost	Length of course
Holistic Therapy	€1,500*	€500 (approx)	4 months basic course
Dog Grooming	€1,600	€1,500 (approx)	10 days
Hairdressing	€6,500	Unknown	52 weeks – 4 days per week

(*I did this course and added Hot Stone massage and two levels of Reiki to the basic course and spent another €1,000 on top of the basic)

These are just a few options – all require a build up of clientele after the course. The ease of this will often depend on the area you live. So you really need to think ahead – well ahead!

If I were to start over I think I would definitely go for the Home Business option and become an internet marketer which is what I do now alongside my Holistic Therapy.

For me the costs make sense and the earning potential is limitless. With a network marketing business opportunity you have your initial outlay of product and usually there are different levels at which you can invest, and then you really only have your marketing costs. Now different opportunities will have different levels of training and support but you definitely want to pick one with exceptional training because this will cut your marketing costs hugely.

So if you live abroad and are starting to think you need to make a living and you would like it to be a substantial living then do your research! There are lots of options out there!

Red Palm Weevil in Spain

2011-01-25T20:47:00.000+01:00

The devastation of the date palm in Spain is horrifying. For those of us who have or rather had palms on our properties the slow death is so sad to witness. An upright palm one day and then you notice a dropping of the fronds and more and more they droop. The worst thing is, that by the time you notice the drooping its too late! Our tree was fine one day and then one frond dropped. We asked a professional gardener to have a look and he treated it with some rather vicious chemicals but a month later we lost the whole tree really fast. We could actually hear the grubs munching their way through the centre of our palm.

The pest was first recorded in the northern United Arab Emirates in 1985, and since then it has spread to almost the entire U.A.E. (El-Ezaby 1998) and to Oman. In Iran, it was recorded in Savaran region in 1990 (Faghih 1996). Then it was discovered in Egypt at the end of November 1992 in El-Hussinia, Sharquiya region (Cox 1993). In 1994, it had been captured in the south of Spain (Barranco et al. 1996) and in 1999 had been found in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority Territories (Kehat 1999).

The cause of the high rate of spread of this pest is human intervention, by transporting infested young or adult date palm trees and offshoots from contaminated to uninfected areas. Here in the Costa del Sol area the cause was most likely cheap palms from Morocco already infected and now its too late.

Rhynchophorus ferrugineus or red palm weevil belongs to the family of Curculionidae or Coleoptera. This beetle is between 2-5 cm long, and has a rusty red colour. The life cycle of the insect is about four months. Equipped with strong wings they are able to undertake long flights. Females lay about 300 eggs in separate holes. The eggs hatch in 2-5 days into legless grubs which bore into the interior of the palm and feed on the soft tissue of the tree. Damage to palms is produced mainly by the larvae. They reach a size of more than 5 cm before pupation and then move towards the interior of the palm making tunnels and large cavities. Usually the damage caused by the larvae only becomes visible long after infection. By the time the first symptoms of the attack appear they are so serious that they generally result in the death of the tree.

Solution 2011.mp4

2011-01-19T01:05:00.000+01:00

Processionary Caterpillars

2011-01-17T21:07:00.001+01:00

Processionaries

Okay - its that time of year again - the Processionary Caterpillar invasion. Having said that, due to the deluge of rain we experienced last year, many "nests" seem to have been washed away and perhaps because of that - I have not seen a "nest" so far this winter!! GOOD!

For those not familiar with these caterpillars, they are known as processionary caterpillars due to the fact that when they leave their nests in the pine trees, they form a long line nose to tail and joined by a fine thread.

Pine Processionary Caterpillars build a white nest, often described as 'candyfloss-like', on the tip of pine branches in the autumn. By January they start to emerge and form lengthy processions and this is when they can be hazardous. Each caterpillar has around 60,000 white hairs containing a toxin which can cause sever rashes, temporary blindness and evn respiratory problems.

The problems are hugely exacerbated in animals, particularly dogs who can suffer a severe allergic reaction or anaphylactic shock which can result in death as their throat and nasal passages swell causing asphyxiation.

"Nest" in pine tree!

I suffered very briefly and mildly one windy day when Derek drove out of our drive unknowingly driving over a whole procession. When challenged the caterpillars releases their toxic hairs and these were caught up in the wind - virtually invisible. It was only later that morning that a constant stinging and itching on my neck caused me to look in the mirror and all down one side of my neck was red and swollen with small white stripes. Not very attractive and certainly not very comfortable. Fortunately it didn't last long so I must have only caught a very few.

Although the general advice is not to walk in the pine forests, not to let your dog off the lead in such areas and to keep a sharp lookout, I have found that lone pine trees can harbour plenty - as was seen in the incident above. Just keep a sharp eye - if you see fluffy white 'candyfloss' in pine trees now then avoid them for the next two or three months!

Your Solution for Prosperous Living

2011-01-05T21:37:00.000+01:00

Many people make resolutions to make more money and to gain control of their finances...they do it every year and then never make any change in the way they go about earning money. You won't magically make more money at the same job you've been working for years. You have to make a change. Are you ready?

Have a look at these videos - this business solution is a home study course that can help you be successful in your own business or could become your business.

Spain Bans Smoking in Public Places ....... again!

2011-01-03T21:19:00.000+01:00

From yesterday - 2nd January new and tougher Spanish anti-smoking law means bars and restaurants are no-smoking zones.

In 2006 the first anti-smoking laws came in which prohibited smoking in public places. When we first came to Spain everyone smoked, everywhere!! You would go into the bank and the teller would have not only a cigarette in the ashtray beside them but that ashtray would be full of cigarette butts. All public buildings smelt of smoke and it felt really strange after it had been outlawed for so long in the UK.

While the 2006 anti-smoking law prohibited smoking in the workplace, it came under fire for letting bar and restaurant owners choose whether or not to allow smoking: most permitted it. There was even a great deal of confusion amongst the bar owners themselves. Some said it had to do whether or not you served food or allowed children in the bar. Others said it was to do with how many square metres the bar was. All in all the confusion settled after about 6 weeks and it seemed that most bars and cafes did allow it. Restaurants were stricter but it still seemed that it was "business as usual" for the smokers.

2011 and not only are the bars and cafes now smoke free zones but the idea of smoking can not be encouraged. Smokers will not be allowed to light up on television broadcasts, near hospitals or in school playgrounds.

The bill, proposed by PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and his governing Socialist Party, was passed in the lower house by 189 votes to 154.

Bar and cafe owners fear the law will adversely affect business adding to the drop of 15% in sales since the recession.

Spain was once famed for its smoke-filled bars, corner cafes and restaurants, but the new law tightens restrictions introduced in 2006 by forbidding smoking in any enclosed public space.

The vote rejected a Senate amendment to allow casinos to have smoking areas. Moves to allow bars to build sealed cubicles for smokers also failed.

But doctors argue the new legislation will help smokers give up, which correspondents say is vital when 160 Spaniards a day die from smoking-related illnesses, four of them from passive smoking.

Spanish Health Minister Leire Pajin has called on Spaniards to share responsibility for the new law's success.

Personally, I am not sure how much the little village bars and cafes will adhere to the new law although I did hear today that bar owners would be subject to a €3,000 fine if caught by the police allowing customers to smoke.

Three Kings and Christmas in Spain

2010-12-22T19:53:00.000+01:00

Its one of the things about Spain that I really like. There is no real build up for the festive period as there would be from as early as August in the UK. The early part of December is taken up with other festivities (CONSTITUTION DAY December 6th National holiday throughout Spain in commemoration of the 6th December 1978 when the Spanish people voted in a national referendum to approve the draft constitution, thus providing the way forward for the creation of a democratic system in Spain) and (IMMACULATE CONCEPTION December 8th On the Roman Catholic Church calendar of holy days, today is celebrated as a holy day of obligation, commemorating the Immaculate Conception of Mary.)

So we reach the 25th December in quite a peaceful frame of mind. The shops are full of goodies but the frenzy is short lived. Of course the other thing to remember is that the Spanish don't really celebrate 25th December in the same way we do. For them its a holiday but not a present giving day - although the savvy have managed to include it into their celebratory calendar. For the Spanish children there might be a small gift on Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) but the main day for giving presents is 6th January - Epiphany which is when the 3 Kings came bearing gifts. Doesn't that make much more sense?

But then why is the birth of Christ considered to be on the 25th December when no date for his birth was ever recorded? A strong theory suggests that this date was eventually chosen by the church because it aligned closely with a major pagan festival, dies natalis solis invicti (birth of the invincible sun god), therefore allowing the church to claim a new celebration for Christianity.

So in Spain the day for giving presents is 6th January DAY OF THE THREE KINGS (Los Reyes Magos) twelve days after Christmas Day, with the coming of the Three Kings. Children place their socks outside for the Kings to deliver them presents, but only if they have been good. Naughty children have the fear of finding black coal in their socks instead of presents. On the eve of January 6th, it is tradition for three men to dress as the Kings and ride around the town in a colourful procession, scattering sweets to all the children who eagerly follow. We have been to this procession in Malaga city and its lovely. However, its recommended that you dont wear anything on your feet that is not easily cleanable and dont walk back into your house wearing this footwear. The sweets reach many willing hands but many miss and the resulting sweet, sticky crunch underfoot does not enhance your shoe soles and will certainly transfer itself to your house flooring - trust me I KNOW!!!

I do like the idea of Three Kings but its a bit weird having such a mega holiday in January!! In the UK most schools have gone back by the 6th January and here its party, party. Funny thing though. A few years ago we met some friends for dinner at Plaza Mayor - an entertainment centre (shopping, cinema, restaurants and bars) just outside Malaga on 6th January. Expecting the place to be dead and in fact not entirely sure we were going to find somewhere to eat it was therefore a shock to see it absolutely packed with Spanish people - not eating, no - SHOPPING!!! The power of the Euro eh?

All in all - I definitely like Christmas here - its different and much less frenetic!

UK versus Spain

2010-12-17T19:37:00.001+01:00

Well we have just done the annual pilgrimage to Blighty and now we are back to start our diet and catch up on sleep. I am sure we all experience this. Himself and I only go back to the UK once a year together and its usually pre-Christmas so that we can get everyone into the festive mood and then quietly disappear.

This year we were a bit concerned about the horror stories of weather and cold and snow etc but to be honest it was absolutely perfect. Standing on the plane waiting to disembark at Exeter Airport I thought I was going to explode with heat - jumper, gilet, coat, scarf and that was just the top half of me! Get me off here or I am going to spontaneously combust. They obliged and I got to the bottom of the steps and wanted to go back. Boy it was cold. You cant prepare for it you see. You know its cold because everyone told you so and you watched the weather forecast obsessively but you cant actually feel it until you feel it - if you get my drift!!

Anyway - the furnace like heat of my mother's house soon removed any last feelings of chill and a fabulous week commenced. We were out every night to a different place for dinner - whether it be family or restaurant all were yummy and not once were we offered the "low fat option" !!! Hence a quick pre-Christmas lettuce leaf diet for him and I.

On Saturday night we were taken to a special dinner by Derek's son and daughter-in-law to Little Barwick House in Somerset. This was to celebrate a big birthday for Derek in October. The food was fantastic and I couldn't recommend it highly enough! The food, staff, company and ambience were just fantastic. Roll on another big birthday!

The whole week was actually a bit of a revelation as one of the reasons we first thought about moving out of the UK was that everyone was so miserable - especially shop-keepers. Now I think its the opposite. All the shop assistants were smiling and helpful - particularly if you smiled at them too! Whereas here I am not sure half the time if I can be bothered to wait whilst the cashiers in Mercadona finish their conversations with each other. You tend to feel like you are inconveniencing the staff by wanting to pay for your goods!

Of course in the UK they are suddenly mindful of the fact that they do still have jobs and they need to safeguard them. Here they have always been mindful of that but its not easy to sack anyone here and I don't think not smiling and/or engaging with the person you are serving comes under the list of sackable offences!

I have to heave a sigh of relief though that we left the UK before this latest onslaught of bad weather. Our local airport in Devon was closed this morning and flights were severely disrupted. I don't mind the snow if I don't have to do anything like travel.

Here we are going to get rain soon - according to the weather forecast - and I don't like Spain in the rain. So its a toss up - rain in Spain which can't cope with it or snow in the UK which can't cope with it. So would I rather live in Spain or UK - the jury is out on that one - ask me in the Spring!

Hmmmm! Well its a good advert for a work at home business anyway - there is always a silver lining!!

Home Based Business Online from your home in Spain!

2010-12-06T18:32:00.000+01:00

Imagine how many people moved to Spain with the idea of retiring! Every year you hear of more and more people leaving the UK and moving not just to Spain but to various European Countries to "get out of the rat race". But one wonders if its out of the frying pan and into the fire!

At the moment many people who rushed out to Spain over the last 10-15 years with the intention of kicking back, doing a little part-time work and living the dream, are now rushing in the opposite direction because they can't make ends meet here in Spain.

We also moved out here with rose coloured glasses firmly perched on our noses, although it was never my intention to retire but I was intending to find the nice little part-time job to keep me off the streets and stop me from going doolally from boredom. Some research into the economy of Andalucia would probably have been beneficial as we discovered very soon that Andalucia has a huge unemployment problem and that part-time jobs are fought for and usually won by those speaking Spanish and some by those speaking both Spanish and English.

This is why you find so many of the expat community doing the markets (see previous blog). There are so many non-Spanish markets out here now selling everything from handmade goods to UK food products and Marks and Spencer clothing! Some people do the markets to themselves out of the house, meet people and make a bit of pocket money. But for some this is their only means of support and as the competition for the punters' money is fierce there are more and more people feeling the pinch.

So what other options are there when you are an expat wanting to make a living? Well there are several MLM opportunities out there such as the Aloe Vera products, Herbal Life and Bioflow - which immediately spring to mind. However, all of these options also require the franchise owner to "do" the markets to sell their products and market their opportunity. From my point of view I prefer the "no stocking of products" option available in the Internet Marketing Opportunities. Mind you I had a couple of go's before I found the opportunity that really got me going.

I am now with an opportunity that not only puts money in my pocket but supports Environmental and Humanitarian projects worldwide. For me the mission was very important but realistically I had to be able to earn good money too!

So what exactly is Network Marketing? The simplest explanation is that it is a method of marketing that utilises independent representatives to reach potential customers that a company otherwise would not reach with traditional marketing methods.

Network marketing is definitely an option for people living abroad and needing an income. There is plenty of money to be made, even in a recession and there is no requirement to learn another language (although I would always advocate learning the language of the country in which you live).

If Network Marketing is route you choose make sure that it fits your requirements, ticks all the boxes and delivers in every way.

If you are interested in more information on the Opportunity that I am with then please contact me!

Christmas Markets in the Sun

2010-12-04T17:10:00.000+01:00

From now till Christmas you could shop till you dropped and never enter a shop!!

Its a legacy of living in this part of Spain (cant speak for other areas) that for those who cant find work but need an income settle on becoming a marketeer!! I have done it myself in the past and still do attend the odd one as I cant stop painting T Shirts and so they have to go somewhere.

It can be a lot of fun. You get to know people from different areas some travelling the length of the Costa del Sol from Nerja down to Gibralter and many miles inland too. Most people are really friendly and sometimes end up being your best customers depending on what you sell.

On a quiet or cold day the most popular marketeers tend to be those selling food - things like sausage rolls, Cornish pasties and quiche are really alluring when you are bored and/or cold. Then there are the scones, buns and chocolate fudge cakes mmmmmm!! When I did the markets regularly I had to be strict and take my fruit and rice cakes with me or I would have ended up eating all day.

However, as I rarely do markets now, since I have been running my Network Marketing Business, it was a treat last Saturday to indulge in a little snacking. The heavens opened for a little market in the Benhavista Country Club. When I say the heavens opened I mean they really opened. I went with Michelle from Designs of Asia and we couldn't find the place. Then we couldn't park anywhere near so we were running with heavy boxes of her candles and massive bags of cushions through torrential rain. Not fun. When the rain cleared from my eyes I noticed we were next to the cake and pasty stall - disaster!!! The rain continued unabated for most of the day and the clientèle stayed exactly where I wished I was - namely home by the fire. I had taken soup but the sausage rolls and mince pies waved at me each time I looked. We succumbed big style - but it made the day go easier although it was a relief to leave and an even bigger relief to arrive home to a warm, dry house.

AmandArt at Swans Schools

Those kinds of days though are fairly extreme. Yesterday for instance was at the other end of the scale. Again down on the coast this time at Swan's School. We were early for this one - amazingly enough - which is probably just as well as the hike from car to table was probably 4 times as long as Saturday's. However, the day could not have been more different. There was not a cloud in the sky - wall to wall blue with a lovely warm sun. We were in a huge quadrangle type area surrounded by the school buildings and it was warm enough that after traipsing backwards and forwards to the car a few times (Michelle did manage to commandeer a supermarket trolley and a pupil from somewhere so we had assistance) people were stripping off layers of clothing.

All venues bring a different variety of people and spending doesn't seem to be high at any of them but the amount of people at Swan's School was very encouraging and the buzz was loud and convivial! I thoroughly enjoyed my day despite spending more than I made!!

Our stall and general view

AmandaArt Handcrafted Christmas Crackers

There are also a number of exhibitions of varying sizes which I have done in the past. I shared a stand with Posh Pets Spain a couple of years ago at the Over 50's Exhibition in Estepona. That was a two day exhibition and we had a load of fun. We took cava and nibbles ensuring that our stand was extremely popular and we did a roaring trade (not just in cava and nibbles either!).

For those of you on the Costa del Sol there is now a Facebook Page for Markets which some enterprising person set up - well done them!! It can be useful if you are a marketeer or if you are looking for one to go to!! Another great source of local information is In Malaga Today and not just about markets either - its a great resource for all local information and news!

Don't forget you will get unique and handcrafted items at these markets. Anyone can shop on the High Street or in that mainstay store that originates in Ireland (they can afford to do their own advertising!) but how much nicer to go and browse - have a snack and quite often a mulled wine or whatever takes your fancy. Often you can chat with the person who has made the item you are interested in and sometimes place an order so that the gift is completely unique. For those items that you can buy elsewhere, the markets are normally much cheaper as stallholders only have to pay for their stall on the day not premises for 365 days with all the associated costs of staff, insurance, electricity etc.

Its fun, its cheaper, its individual and its very Costa del Sol!!

Do you miss British Goods in Spain?

2010-10-22T15:09:00.000+02:00

Funny subject this. Initial reaction from me is emphatically NO followed by "I didnt come to Spain to live as a Brit". However, I don't hanker for cheddar cheese or sausages or marmite but could this be because I can get them all here and more? Take away the panic and then its easy to be abstemious. I still dont think I would get overly upset about the lack of too many things but I do believe that having them easily accessible makes them less appealing to me anyway.

Very nutritious actually!!

We are spoilt here because even the basic supermarket Mercadona has things like Cheddar, Baked Beans and Tabasco sauce !!!! (well I do like it but would use a local brand if it wasnt available). There are also three British type supermarkets within a short driving distance of home. These supply most of the items that the British seem to want most of which I wouldn't buy in the UK so am not going to start buying them here. But they also have teabags and orange squash and proper English mustard. Also the people who sell English Food at the local markets also do a roaring trade.

I went to Gibralter a few weeks ago. Never been before (not sure I will rush back either) and the person I went down with needed some specific things in Morrisons. So off we trotted and it was obviously just like being back in England - although this Morrisons was far bigger and grander than the little one that my Mum shops in. I could have spent 2-300 Euros or 20 euros - I opted for the latter. It might have been a bit of a different story if I had brought a cool box with me!

But it brought home to me why our shopping doesn't cost that much here. There isn't the choice. So you go to Mercadona and buy the basics and make what you want from that - which is fine. You go into Morrisons (for instance) and there are three aisles of chilled stuff including take away meals and if you dont like the look of the prepacked take aways Indian or Chinese you can go and select your own from two different deli counters dealing with preprepared food. In the UK this would be normal but I must have looked a bit like a hick from the sticks. I am sure my tongue was hanging out. BUT did I need it all? No but quite clearly I was in the minority as it was packed with Brits from the mainland piling up their trolleys to take back into Spain. What amazed me was the things they were buying were basics as well as what I would consider to be treats. They were buying bread, milk, jams, tins of tuna etc - all the things I would buy in Mercadona and I think that is sad. Sad that this is how they want to live in Spain and sad for the Spanish economy.

I suppose the one thing I miss here is the ease of getting local produce organically grown. The Spanish love affair with chemicals has led some of their fruit and vegetables to be banned in Northern Europe and I would like a better choice of such things. When we first came we grew our own but water is a bigger challenge these days and they do take a lot of water.

So, at the end of all that blurb - am I glad we can get British goods here? Well it leaves room for other stuff in the suitcase when visiting the UK (tea bags were always the main thing) and Derek does like his cheddar and baked beans (but he wouldn't go into a decline if he couldnt get them) so for the main part I think we could live without!!

Facebook Phenomenon

2010-09-25T17:18:00.001+02:00

Is it just me or as Facebook reached a new dimension? It seems that everywhere I look/listen/watch someone somewhere is using facebook whether it be to advertise to encourage to vilify or ................... play games!!!

On the games front I have to say I find them annoying only insofar as I am not interested in whether you build a new barn on your farm, make cakes for your cafe, shoot people in your wars etc so I would prefer that I didnt get the notifications that such momentous events have occurred. Having said that if thats what people want to do and they enjoy thats great. If I started I would probably get hooked and waste all my time planting, cooking and killing .......hmmmm ....... well something like that anyway.

Of course, the original idea of Facebook was for people to keep in contact and have a "chat" no matter where they were in the world - hence "Social Media". And I do use it for that too. As we live in Spain and have family in other parts of Europe particularly the UK and friends all over the world - Facebook is just great for keeping in touch without writing the email which sometimes takes away the spontaneity of the chat.

If you are a private person then perhaps Facebook is not the way forward. You can "private message" people but then you could probably just as easily email them. But if you have a business of any description, then you would be foolish to dismiss the power of FaceBook. In fact it is probably one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use. It doesnt have to be an online business - I have an online business, a T Shirt Painting business and I am a Holistic Therapist

Just recently a friend and mentor posted a video he had made showing people how to put a Facebook "like" button on their own website. You will notice that I have put one on this blog. Such a simple thing but so powerful. Probably its not Facebook that has taken a step forward but me!!! Finally I am learning how to use these tools and enjoy doing it.

Of course, its not all good. There are a lot of people who feel that their privacy has been invaded and they feel exposed. That is why its such a good marketing tool. There is a movie just released about the Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg - "The Social Network" which I believe premièred yesterday. According to the press, the movie does him no favours although sources for the material of the movie apparently do have an axe to grind so who knows. You are not going to reach the dizzy heights of wealth that this young man has (only 26 years old!!!) without making a few enemies on the way.

The thing is - even if we all decided that he was a terrible person would we ALL leave Facebook?

From Facebook's own statistics page

More than 500 million active users
50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
Average user has 130 friends
People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook

And if something or someone persuaded all those 500 million users to leave, would we be stepping out of the frying pan and into the fire!!

Cruelty or just neglect?

2010-09-21T18:46:00.000+02:00

One of the things both Derek and I find highly distressing here in Spain is the apparent lack of regard for animals. Now before you all get up in arms about that statement let me finish the blog and then if you still have objections feel free to comment.

When I say lack of regard for animals this is perhaps only a "lack of regard" in other European eyes but for the local Spanish there is probably no real intention to be cruel so perhaps its a case of neglect. Its hard though to view it calmly. For instance, take horses which are quite a status symbol here. People who really do not have the knowledge, time, space or finances own horses and some are not exactly neglected but one does tend to wonder why they have them. You drive through the "campo" (countryside) especially during the summer months and see horses tethered on the side of the road or mountain with no water, no shade, obviously no food as such - just dead weeds and very often the horse have docked tails so there is not even any respite from the flies. Now that does make me mad!

Just down the road from us in our last house was one such horse and I wanted to take water to him during the day but Derek quite rightly said I would be upsetting the whole system that the horse has grown to accept and if couldn't get to him in the middle of the day or we moved (which we did) then I would have made the whole thing worse by giving and then taking away.

The little Terrier - ready for frankfurters!!

I can feel my soap box sliding under my feet as I do get really wound up by these things. Another instance where I finally cracked and had to interfere was in the case of a dog. There is a really sweet tempered little terrier which I pass most days when walking our dogs. He loves attention and I take treats for him and every 3 months I stick a worming tablet in a piece of frankfurter so that is one thing taken care of. But I cant actually get to him to do anything else as he is in a fenced and gated property. However, in the middle of July when the ticks were at their worst he was covered and I mean COVERED. There would have been over a hundred on his ears alone and if you think I am exaggerating, then think again. His body was covered too and he was constantly shaking his head as I am sure that the ones inside his ears were driving him mad!

I couldn't stand by and watch this any more so I went to Posh Pets in Alhaurin el Grande and got a bottle of a solution that they use on dogs that are infested with fleas and ticks. I put this bottle with a note in a bag and left it on the gate. I felt very nervous going back past the house after that as I knew I had completely overstepped the boundaries bt more importantly I couldn't have borne it if I had gone back and found the dog still in a bad way. I am pleased to announce that when I went back after two days the dog was virtually tick free and I almost cried with relief. The thing is - I don't think the owner was being really cruel, it just didn't occur to him to do anything about it.

Another problem here is that the Spanish don't believe in spaying or neutering, but quite clearly they don't want to be overrun with dogs either. So their bitches have a litter of puppies which are very often destroyed at birth apart from one which is left on the mother to take the milk until they are about 6 weeks old. Then the puppy is taken away and left somewhere or given to neighbours.

Murphy a couple of days after we got him!

Our Spanish Water Dog X, Murphy is probably such a case. He was found on the side of the main road by a friend. She saw him in the long grass and stopped to investigate. She looked everywhere for siblings but he was alone and quite rotund!! She picked him up and donated (!) him to us as it was us she was coming to see at the time. Its too awful to contemplate his fate had she not come along at precisely that moment as its a really busy road with lots of lorries.

He fell on his feet but he is only one!

The Charities (AID, Chain, SOS) do fantastic work but even they are up against it with the amount that are born stray and those that are dumped and cats as well. A lot of the time with the strays the best thing that can be done is to spay them and put them back.

I know its not for us to come here and criticise but it will be something that drives Derek and I away from Spain eventually. Just a couple of weeks ago we had a pathetic creature who looked to be German Shepherd crossed with Podenco - possibly. There was no flesh on him, just bones covered in skin. He had open sores down his flanks and the top third of his ears was just black in parts an open sores in other parts. The first thing we needed to do was feed him. He wagged his tail at me when I opened the gate ................. WAGGED HIS TAIL .............. it was heartbreaking. We fed him twice and gave him water. Whilst he was wolfing the food down I had a good look at him. His back legs kept giving out on him and I believe he was probably suffering from fairly advanced Leishmaniasis. After the food he disappeared and only briefly appeared the next morning whilst I was out. By the time I got back there was nothing to be seen of him and I have not seen him since. I could not take him in but I have arranged for the vet to call by when the dog next appears.

There is, only so much we can do. But I do urge people to support the charities and perhaps not only call them when they have a problem but to help out, attend fund raising functions, donate books, clothes etc to the shops. It might not sound much but every bit helps.

Fire!!!

2010-08-31T13:27:00.000+02:00

Fire - something that plagues all of us in these hot conditions at this time of year. You only have to hear a distant helicopter and we are sniffing the air and checking the horizon for signs of fire. Its actually quite a scary thing and something the Spanish dont seem to get too hot under the collar about.

Usually there is a ban on lighting a fire between May and October - although strong rumour has it that it is in fact illegal to light any kind of fire (apart from in the house in a fire place) at any time of year unless you have a "fire" licence. That seems like a good idea to me but there again, like so many of the laws here, its only the foreigners that adhere to the laws. The Spanish just light their fires at night - and keep them smoky rather than firey!!

It just occurred to me the other day when I smelt a faint whiff of smoke, that we had not seen any fires around our way all year. I have hardly heard the helicopters going over either which is good. I wonder if the extremely wet (and rather elongated) winter that we had has made fire less of a problem! It doesnt seem likely though does it? After all its tinder box dry here now - very little green apart from the citrus trees and I am sure that it would only take one cigarette butt carelessly thrown to start everything off.

Last year we had several fires quite close and one very, very close but the bomberos (fire fighters) were with us very quickly. I actually spoke to the operator in English because its not something you want to get wrong when giving directions!!! She asked me how close the closest house was to the fire - obviously to ascertain if a helicopter was viable. The house (not ours I hasten to add) was very close indeed so they only sent road vehicles and no air support.

Where we used to live - near Maqueda (closer to Malaga city) we had a fire just down the track from us that lasted all afternoon and night. The bomberos left at about 9am and were back before lunch because it re-ignited. It was disgusting because it was paints and paint related chemicals. It came very close to our house in that instance. But again the whole thing was dealt with very efficiently.

I think if you live in a country that is plagued by bush/forest fires - they do develop a very clear method of dealing with it. As I say - this year has been great and I personally have only seen the helicopter once the whole summer! Amazing.

Eating out!!

2010-08-25T11:35:00.000+02:00

Okay - once again long time no blog - I blame the "visitors" of the previous blog. Too much fun and not enough seriousness!!! Sounds great eh?

Up until the family arrived we had had quite a quiet summer, deeming it too hot and too much effort to go out much but when you have visitors its go, go, go. So we went!!!

Because there are so many restaurants and cafes available its hard to know sometimes where to go. We ended up trying three very different places in the evenings and before the family left yesterday I did a "Restaurant Review" with them. Below is the result (please bear in mind that this is the opinion of six individuals and quite clearly is not an "authentic" review). These are average scores from all six of us, out of 10.

El Fogon - Alhaurin el Grande - Gerald Brennan Street.

Food - 5.5 (Starters were good - main course was what let the score down)
Ambience - 3 (bear in mind we were sat outside and its a busy street - inside for during the winter looks delightful)
Service - 7.5 (lovely waitress)

Dinner at Max Beach - Calahonda

Max Beach - Calahonda

Food - 8.5 (good international cuisine with some local flavour)

Ambience - 8 (the atmosphere was what we went there for)

Service - 7 (efficient but not exactly friendly)

Finca La Mota - Alhaurin el Grande

Food - 8 (good international cuisine)

Ambience - 7.5 (Arrived as sun setting then as it got dark lanterns were placed on tables - nice)

Service - 8.5 (nice and efficient)

The general opinion of the the visitors was that Max Beach was the favourite for a party atmosphere but Finca La Mota was a nice place for a quieter meal. The service was good in all three restaurants which counts for a lot especially at this time of year when all are busy.

As I say - this is just a bit of fun between the 6 of us but we have all eaten in some pretty good places in our time so we tried to make it an "informed" study.

We would eat in all of them again!!

Visitors!!

2010-08-17T19:19:00.000+02:00

One thing we can all be sure of when we move to Spain or anywhere where there is sun, and that is visitors from back home!! This week sees the arrival of Derek's family - son Steve, daughter-in-law Ruth and granddaughters Sophie and Lucy.

Overlooking Fuengirola from Mija

Amazingly enough due to such matters as ash clouds and horses, new houses and babies, (none of this ours I hasten to add - just the varying reasons for the non-event of visitors this year!) this will be our first visitors of the year so we are quite excited!! (The excitement has worn a bit thin today however, whilst doing the clean-a-thon - my goodness it doesnt take the dust long does it?) However, this is the time of year when everyone is having visitors - school holidays make sure of that.

We spend several weeks before hand discussing what we will do, what we will see, where we will eat etc etc. You see its our excuse for a holiday too! Ok we live in the sun and to people in our home countries that means we are constantly on holiday ............... HAH!! I wish. In reality unless you are over here retired then no its not a constant holiday. In fact its just that little bit harder in a way, than living back "there" and going to the J O B! So we leap upon visitors with great expectations.

However, all these plans can sometimes go awry as visitors tend to come out here to RELAX - novel concept I know! They tell me that its nice to go to a few places and especially to eat out in the evenings but to actually race around all day seeing this and that is not what they came for.

Steve - hmmm!

I have made this mistake before - planning carefully and chivvying everyone along to be ready to leave until I was asked sooooooooooo politely but very firmly if I could stop organising and just leave everyone to laze by the pool because thats what they came for!!

So now I treat all arrivals with caution waiting to see what the visitors want to do and if they are "up" for things - then so are we. And if pool and sleeping and reading is what they came for then that's fine too!! Its their holiday after all!

(I still have my list to hand though - Malaga Feria, Marbella, beach, lakes and then plenty of eateries to add to the evenings.)

Watch this space for photos and updates of the "visitors"!!

Have a Heart Foundation

2010-08-15T14:31:00.002+02:00

I went to visit our local English Speaking radio Station on Friday, Heart FM to catch up with Pat and learn more about the "Have a Heart Foundation" which she and Lee set up in Alhaurin el Grande last year.

I asked Pat what made her decide to set it up and she quite rightly said that we have so many animal charities in the area (which Heart FM support massively) but she felt that humans too needed some support. Now I have to agree, Derek and I do a lot to support the local animal charities and always have but apart from buying the odd draw ticket etc, we haven't been involved very much with other charities.

Before the charity was even set up Lee and Pat got involved with Alhaurin Auctions to raise 2000 Euros for mentally and physically challenged children in the Alhaurin el Grande area. Such was the success of that venture that they decided to start the foundation and make sure it was registered and legalised so that contributors knew where their money was going!

Having helped the children they were then approached about a 64 year old gentleman who had fallen behind with his rent. His fridge had broken and he had no funds to replace it and with that he started to lose his self-respect and fell into a decline. He was only 6 weeks behind with his rent but his landlady was elderly and so her daughter took over and decided that this was a good time to "get tough". Its so easy to kick someone when they are down!! With the help of "Have a Heart" and the radio station a fridge was found, food parcels were made up and delivered, clothing and other necessities have also been donated. Now a new ground floor apartment has been found for him at a lower rent. Arthur needs an operation to his eyes and it is uncertain whether or not he will regain full sight so a ground floor apartment is great for him. Best of all he now has people who visit him and CHAT and care and with that he has regained his self respect and is caring for himself again.

Sometimes charity is not about money. In fact money is not always appropriate - but caring is! It also needs people in the right places to just "direct" the flow of goodwill to where its needed. With Arthur, this is what Pat and Lee have done. They have this fabulous tool in the form of a radio station and they have used that to get the word out. Their followers only needed to know and then they rallied round and problem sorted.

So what I say is we all need to "have a heart" sometimes and think about not just what we can give but what we can do!!! Pat says she gets cans of food dropped off at the radio station for Arthur's food parcels and I know that when I do my weekly shop there will be a couple of things go in the trolley for Arthur from now on. Together we CAN make a difference - it may sound a bit trite but nevertheless its true. The purpose of this blog is the way I can get the word out. Words are my "weapon of choice" so perhaps those of you reading this would pass the blog site address on to others. Going forward I am sure Pat can always use good ideas and able bodies to help with future projects. We have offered our services and I am sure there are plenty of you out there who will do the same!

For people not in the area - some of you not even in Spain - there is a "donate" button on the radio station website (link under "interesting links" on the right hand side of this blog).

Pat and Lee are also hoping for a good turn out at the Ska & Reggae Festival at Los Arcos on 28th August and the raised funds will be going to the Have a Heart Foundation. I will be there and I hope YOU will too!

Last but not least - for those of you who like to be sure that they are donating to and supporting a legitimate charity this is the official number of the Charity G93023513 Have a Heart founded on 22/09/2009.

Obviously if you have questions you can contact Pat Jay directly through the radio station.

Snoozing and reading in the shade is for WIMPS!!

2010-08-12T12:43:00.000+02:00

I know, I know – another weather orientated blog but read on because it is and it isn’t – if you get my drift!!

Technicolour Sun - Courtesy of NASA

Now here we all are in Spain trying very hard NOT to moan about the heat. Yes the weather is just as much a topic of conversation here as it is in the UK and probably in most parts of the world. The last couple of days the temperatures have been getting silly with no respite after the sun goes down because there has been no breeze whatsoever.

But isnt it sad that we tend to wish our lives away saying "oh I cant wait for September". I think our biggest problem as expat Brits in a Southern European country in the height of summer is that we try to continue as normal. We are not used to flopping out for the afternoon and keeping cool as possible.

Heavens NO!!!! We must build that wall, prune those trees, wash that car and sweep those terraces – stiff upper lip and all that jazz. Snoozing and reading in the shade is for WIMPS!!! We Brits are not comfortable with that sensible approach to coping with summer in a hot country.

When I was in Abu Dhabi I used to start work in the morning at 7am and finish at 2pm and that was in air-conditioned offices all the year round. It was like having 2 days in one - great. But you see even with air-conditioning people are "conditioned" to that siesta time and we Brits are "conditioned" to that 9-5 work routine - when will we change?

Of course there are many people here who don’t have air-conditioning. We only have AC in the bedrooms for instance (I am not nice if I don’t get a good nights sleep). We don’t really want it in the rest of the house as it would mean keeping the doors closed and we would hate that. (Mind you we wouldn’t have said no to bit of AC during the last couple of days!!)

For me now I have the best of both worlds because I am self-employed and my main occupation is with my internet marketing business, I can start early when its cool and feel that by 2pm I have done enough so its pool and shade for me! And then I am happy to do some more at about 7pm when its slightly cooler. Flexibility is the key!!

I think its maybe a case of allowing ourselves to go with the flow more. We need to get over our mental conditioning (puns are ALWAYS intended by the way!) lighten up and relax!

ITS SUMMER after all and traditionally a holiday time - so chill, relax and Enjoy!!!

2010-08-11T16:45:00.001+02:00

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Malaga Feria

2010-08-11T13:27:00.000+02:00

Here we are in the height of summer - long hot days (a bit of emphasis on the "hot") and at the summit of "hotness" just over a week of feria madness!!! hmmmm!

A feria (for those of you outside of Spain) is basically a fair. But to call it a fair in the English sense diminishes it too far - a fullblown Spanish feria is nothing like an English Country fair.

Where to start? Well obviously for our region the Malaga feria has to be the best. Many would disagree with me preferring their own local town feria but for me the Malaga feria has all the excitement and style that the others promise but never quite deliver.

Its a game of "two halves". The daytime part is spent in Malaga City centre where bars do a roaring trade and shops shut after the morning trade. Many businesses close for the entire period both in the city and in the surrounding areas. If you want to get something done during Malaga Feria week (!) good luck!!

The daytime part is great fun. How is it that so many Spanish can stand cheek by jowel, drink copious amounts of alcohol and not fight? I am sorry to say that in the UK this would be a nightmare for the police - and for over a week ........aghhhhhh! There are temporary bars set up on the side of pedestrian walkways and stalls selling little tipple cups to hang round your neck just in case you get withdrawal symptoms between one bar and the next! There is food also available on these stalls and everyone is laughing.
Yes thats right L A U G H I N G - a novel concept isnt it? (Thats another thing we tend to forget how to do!)

We walked around the old town area around the Cathedral and Plaza de la Constitucion and every street you look down is just a sea of heads and you wonder how you going to get down the street but as long as you aren't in too much of a rush - and really who is going to be rushing in this heat - the masses move to accommodate two more trying to reach a bar and you might get you feet trodden on a bit but hey........... its part of the "fun".

Drinks are fun too - hollowed out melons with a lethal fruity alcoholic beverage inside and a ............ straw ...... to add that touch of innocence ... DONT BE FOOLED. Jugs of margaritas, sangria and beer are also passed around with abandon!!

Early evening - 6-7pm sees the fizzling out of the in town part of the day and a mass exodus occurs. Buses travel constantly back and forth 24 hours a day from Malaga town centre to the official Feria ground on the outskirts of town. Here the action starts very slowly and really starts going around midnight. Literally hundreds of bars have been erected for the week. Very wide avenues with bars and eateries on either side. You could go there every day for the duration and not get round half of them. You could eat Paella 10 times and it would always be a bit different. And then there is the fair itself with all its rides, candyfloss and noise - thats the bit we do have in the UK! But from our point of view - fairs are ten a penny, its the party atmosphere that we go for and if anyone can party its the Spanish!

It shouldn't be missed - in fact we'll see you there!!

Dont forget parking in the centre of Malaga is bad at the best of times, during Feria its a nightmare. We take the bus or train - cheap and easy! Another point that I have to make - if Bullfighting is your thing then there are bullfights throughout the feria week. (However, dont expect to see us there!!)

2010-08-07T18:22:00.001+02:00

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2010-08-01T12:22:00.001+02:00

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2010-06-23T19:26:00.001+02:00

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Sun, Sun, Sun ...... and did I mention SUN!!!

2010-06-08T13:46:00.006+02:00

Well my friends - its been forever since I blogged. I kind of got "bogged" down in blogging about rain (too many puns in there to apologise about and all of them intended!)

So I stopped, regrouped, and got "bogged" down in Living My Life NOW! so blogging was well and truly put on the back burner. And now, well now the sun is shining (somewhat fiercely) and the birds are singing - rain is history (although I have it on good authority that this rain thing will happen again this week !!!)and all is well in the happy Vellacott household.

Its strange isn't how we Brits cannot get away from talking about the weather. Unfortunately the weather was so foul last winter that it was a big topic of conversation. Even now people keep commenting about last winter's weather and do I detect a note of longing in some of these comments? Certainly with the soaring temperatures I think people do reflect with a little fondness of winters days of rain and lighting the fire at night.

Do I reflect with fondness? I DO NOT!!! YUK! Spain, in my personal view, does NOT do RAIN. Its ugly, mucky and inconvenient.

Yes it is quite warm at the moment and we have resorted to the Airconditioner at night as I am quite (understatement) grumpy if I have a bad night. But the aircon also has its plus points. The constant hum of the aircon evens out and masks all the other sounds of night time Spain in the campo; such as barking dogs, screaming peacocks, yowling cats and did I mention barking dogs?

But the nights are sooooooo lovely aren't they? A couple of nights back one of our dogs was not on top form and so I got up with her around 4am and she was wondering around eating grass and trying to make herself feel better whilst I sat in a chair on the terrace looking at the sky - aaaaah - it was beautiful - so many stars it was magnificent. Derek came out to join us after a while and it was with reluctance I think that we all went back inside when little Lucky was feeling better.

Spain in the summer, I think takes all the best bits of all your childhoo, teenage and adult foreign holidays and allows you to relive them all whether from your own garden/terrace or at a beach, at a bar or eating at an outside restaurant. The sounds, smells, feeling warm in very light clothing - it just makes you feel young and alive again.

So the days are hot ................ hello!! what did YOU come to Spain for? From my point of view, I came for the Sun and its here and I might get a little overheated when working (and sometimes when sitting) but I still love it!!

What to give for Mother's Day??

2010-03-05T18:32:00.007+01:00

Now then I am not one to push an idea but when I was looking earlier today for a Mother's day gift to send to my Mum I thought what lovely things there are available online for the UK!!!! Now thats fine as my Mum is in the UK and so glorious gifts from wherever takes my fancy can rain down upon her (in a virtual world anyway).
But here? No so easy so I thought I would do a bit of marketing for myself and give you a couple of ideas.

Of course you can go the safe route and choose flowers - flowers are always lovely and at this time of year in Spain they would last longer. Wine/bubbly are also good choices, add to the flowers and it now becomes special and dont forget Bubbly is not necessarily very expensive here in Spain - of course it helps if either the recipient or the donor likes bubbly!!!! We then have the dreaded chocolates - my preference is "please dont tempt me - well okay if you insist". But chocolates have never been high on my "must have" list.

No what I would really like if I was receiving a Mother's day or Birthday (anniversary, Christmas etc etc) gift would be to have a pamper day. A day where it was all about ME!! Treatments, light lunch, glass of something with bubbles if desired AND a gift to take home. Now what could be nicer than that?

To me that is luxury and something that Mum's of all ages appreciate. For more information on how to put together a package for Mum on Mothers day or a friend for a Birthday treat, go to www.mybutterflybliss.com and click on "Holistic Treatments". This will take you to the relevant page where you can select your package. It will be presented in voucher form ready for you to collect or I can send by email.

Give your Mum the treat she would LOVE this Mothers day!

Not really going on about the rain ..... but!

2010-02-22T20:30:00.005+01:00

Its a funny thing you know! It rains constantly in England - all winter and most of the summer! Spring is usually very good and Autumn can be too. However, predominantly we think of the UK and we think "damp". Its been raining here on and off, since the week before Christmas - about two months and are we fed up with it? You betcha we are!!!

I have said to Derek, if I moan about the heat this coming summer feel free to give me a good slap (virtual of course - a real one might end in me slapping him back). There is nothing like a bit of adversity to make one appreciate what one has!

The other thing we take for granted - the electricity thing - hmmm rain and electricity dont go well together here - in fact the other day we had a rapidly diminishing supply of the one and an increasing supply of the other. As the day wore on the lights got dimmer and dimmer - rallying sometime in the afternoon to plummet again when people started to turn on appliances and lights!

Have YOU tried calling Endesa - there is a possibility that I might commit murder one day. DONT call in the afternoon - I think they might be on skeleton crew. I spent a lot of time on hold - a LOT - the first time I got to speak to someone he spoke Spanish verrrrrrrrrrrry fast and refused to slow down. After a lot of tries I finally made it back to being on hold and on hold and on hold .............. yawn ....oh yes someone to speak to and I lost signal on my mobile. And so on and so on - in the end I was far more frustrated by Endesa/vodaphone than I ever was by the very low power. Next time - I will just wait it out I think!

Finally Endesa/Sevillana came to clamber up the pylon and switch off all the electricity (they waited until it was nearly dark to do this, of course) - mad rush around to light candles etc. The guy went up the pylon with a little TORCH - bless him!! Anyway about an hour later - hey presto - bright lights! (Nothing to do with his torch - this was POWER).

But something occurred to me during all this. We thought that it was bad here in Spain but we have never been more than a few hours without electricity. Yes we have been without due to the anomaly that is our house, at times, but never because of Endesa. Yet we hear on the news of places in the UK being without power for days. So we cant really grumble can we?

Semana Santa - or Easter to you and me!!

2010-02-21T19:38:00.008+01:00

It suddenly occurred to me the other day that Easter can only be about 4 weeks away and what better place to go for Easter than Andalucia?

Before we came to live here we used to subscribe to all the magazines about living in Spain and saw the pictures and articles about "Semana Santa" but they didn't really mean that much. So we talked to our Spanish teacher about it when we first came in 2004 and as we were just up the road from Malaga, where they "go to town" for Semana Santa; we made sure we went into Malaga to see what its all about.

We were recommended to go on a Thursday night - so as usual we took the bus (saves all the hassle of driving and more importantly - parking - in Malaga where both activities are hazardous to say the least. Thursday is one of the most spectacular nights of the week. In Malaga and Seville the celebrations last all week but in smaller towns and villages it may only be from Thursday to Sunday.

Okay, so bear in mind that we are not religious in any way although religion fascinates and interests me because I like ceremony and history. You don't need to be religious to be moved and entranced by what happens in Semana Santa. The first thing that hits your nostrils is the heavy scent of incense and candle-wax - incense mainly. Your ears are the first thing to experience the heavy beat of the drums but actually you feel the drums all the way from your feet up to your ears. Then there is the haunting sound of the trumpet.

Its all quite eerie really. The processions of thrones and I mean thrones - these things weigh tons and are carried on the shoulders of men who have to apply to be considered and I believe pay as well. All of the men are either dressed in black suits with white shirts or in robes. Some are blind folded and some bare foot. The penitents follow and there are lots of robes (different colours depending on the parish) and pointy hats and masks.

Malaga: One of the most spectacular features of the Holy Week in Malaga is that the floats are simply monumental and can weigh up to six tons. They are made to house velvet and gold drapes which reach up to some nine metres and cover the "dolorasa" (statues). The sheer size of the floats means that they cannot enter through the churches and therefore have to be assembled in the street. More than a hundred young men support each one. The "Virgen de las Penas" (Virgen of Sorrow) is not dressed in the traditional velvet robe but instead clad with natural flowers comprising more than twenty thousand carnations. (This an excerpt from an obscure website www.dismalworld.com .... nothing dismal about this I can tell you)

I would definitely recommend that one sees it all in Malaga or Seville as well as the small villages. Its very nice in the smaller places but lacks the power of the city. The streets are cordoned off and chairs are set out for those who want to pay. Beware though - food and drink increase in price and decrease in quality for that week (or that was our opinion anyway).

If you need B&B you know where to come!!

Facts on Transporting dogs by Ferry Plymouth to Santander

2010-02-11T19:09:00.012+01:00

Looking at photos the other day to put with the blog I came across all the photos we took on our journey to Malaga in 2004. So I took a trip down memory lane (a bit emotional as the two Cockers are now no more) and thought you might like to hear about it. If you are thinking of moving to Spain with your animals it will be of especial interest to you.

We had originally intended to fly the dogs to Malaga and we would fly on the same flight. But as the time got closer I got more and more concerned about subjecting two dogs, nearly 10 years old, to the stress of crates, screaming jet engines and possible delays. We had not intended to bring a car across at all. We were going to hire one until we could purchase one. About 2 weeks before leaving the UK we decided to drive. Neither of us could face flying Sham and Rock out here so we decided to drive our English car to Plymouth and take the Pont Aven to Santander in Northern Spain. The Pont Aven was a new ship at that time and had kennels for dogs so no need to leave them in a car.

It was great. Obviously a one hour trip to Plymouth docks at the UK end was easy. We, and anyone else with animals, were put in a different queue and we were parked on the boat near the lift that went straight to the kennels at the top of the boat. As I say, this was a new vessel at the time and so the kennel room and kennels were all very nice. We took blankets and bowls and food. The kennels are all stainless steel and with that knowledge if we were to do it again I would take a rubber mat for the bottom of the cage and a blanket to put on top. Stainless steel drinking bowls were attached to the cage already. We were late booking so were told that they would have to be in separate cages but when we got up there the poor bloke in charge hadn't got a clue what was going on and Derek just told him we needed a large cage to put the two dogs together and thats what we got. For anyone concerned that we did a large dog out of a large cage - there appeared to be plenty for all.

The only time we were not allowed up there was whilst leaving port and whilst docking in Santander - all the rest of the time you could come and go as much as you liked. There was a small deck outside the kennels but below was the helideck and that was empty and so that was where everyone took their dogs for exercise. As you can see from one of the photos Derek launched his career as a Kate Winslet (not lookalike) wannabe and did his Titanic bit!!! Hmmm - okay moving swiftly on!

The journey down to Malaga was long - predictably - but fairly without incident for the dogs anyway. We stopped every couple of hours for a water break and run around for the dogs and stretch legs for us. As we didn't get off the boat until 2.00ish in the afternoon and it was the end of September and in the afternoon we were in Northern Spain this all helped with the heat - so it was a comfortable journey for them. The only time we got it wrong was outside Madrid. We stopped about an hour and a half before Madrid and swapped over for me to drive and after the walk and water took off again. The traffic got heavier and heavier as we approached the city and the amount of lanes on the motorway got more and more. It was lucky that I was driving and Derek was directing as he is so much better at that. We got through okay but had hit Madrid at rush hour and it took us over two hours to get to somewhere where we could stop again. By this time both dogs were very thirsty indeed and we felt terrible. (We only had one divorce and it was after that section with tempers a little frayed ...... marital bliss resumed the next day!!)

That was the only drama for the dogs - we slept in the car that night I think somewhere around Valdepenas - sleep being a loose term used to describe a period during which eyes are closed and no sleep occurred!!! Actually I dont think my eyes closed that much. We parked up on the edge of a lorry park - walked the dogs - ate something and got back in the car. The dogs were great. It was dark and they were in their basket and so they slept. We were sat fairly upright due to carrying far too much in the back of the car and it was FREEZING!!! which we didn't expect. Then a shadowy black figure on a very squeaky old fashioned upright bike cycled past in slow motion almost and about half an later he cycled back again. Bearing in mind we are now talking about 1.00 or 2.00am this completely destroyed any likelihood of me sleeping again that night. Long, long, cold night. Still 6.00am and we gave up any pretence and were on the road again by 6.30. It was still very cold and very dark but we saw a spectacular sunrise and reached our destination around 11.00am. About an hour after our furniture which shouldn't have been arriving until the next day.

I would do it again but:
* Definitely make sure that if you are sleeping in the car that it is comfortable.
* If transporting dogs - a crate with an attached non spill water dish would be the sensible idea.
* A sleeping bag per person also desirable but my recommendation would be to stay in a hotel that take animals.

Dog Training Classes for you and your Pooch

2010-02-10T17:53:00.006+01:00

Yes its that time again when Rachel and I pool our resources to help you and your pooch improve your relationship.

When Derek and I got our two cocker spaniels, Shammy and Rocky back in 1995 - WE WERE CLUELESS. I had grown up with dogs - and even had my own but they were farm dogs. All our dogs and cats lived outside. Puppies were allowed to live in the kitchen for a couple of weeks and the odd lamb that was orphaned but apart from that the animals were outside. Because they lived outside training was not a huge issue. Dad did have a properly trained sheepdog but that was after I left home so dogs and training did not really come into my sphere of knowledge.

So having these two gorgeous cocker spaniels with yards of pedigree we thought we needed to "train 'em up". Fly on the wall fell off laughing so many times I dont think it could tell the story. Basically the woman who ran the classes just shook her head - lots and said it was us that needed training. Hmmm she definitely had a point there. I don't think we made a great job of training Sham and Rock but they were fairly amenable characters and any misbehaving that they did was usually down to us.

So, I can hear you asking, what qualifies me for dog training now? Time, darling, time is a great healer!! And Rachel of course - a much better trainer than the one we had back in Taunton. Rachel is the proprietor of Posh Pets Spain for those of you wondering!

She started the dog training courses at her establishment in Alhaurin el Grande about 3 years ago. She invited myself and another lady, Claire a dog behaviourist, to join in to give a complete service (my input was with the animal reiki - see blog from 23 January this year). That first group was very big so we all learnt a lot from that. We have done 3 or 4 courses during the period and now are ready to embark again into the "Sit, stay, stand on your head (oh no - that last bit is me - sorry!!) of a new course.

The Basic course consists of:

• Walking politely on a lead: the informal heel.
• Recall.
• Dog Manners.
• Walking in Traffic.
• Socialization & interaction with dogs & people.

We have loads of fun so if you have a dog that could do with a nudge in the right direction or if you need that nudge then contact Rachel at Posh Pets Spain on 952597035. The new course will start on Saturday, 13th February - Class at 11.00 am registration at 10.45am.

Only dogs and owners please - no spectators - you will have to get your laughs somewhere else!!

Aroma Stone (Hot Stone) Massage

2010-02-09T19:07:00.004+01:00

After all the linking and reading and what have you yesterday to try and get ACE back to his owners I think a little gentle massage is in order for today!

Aroma Stone or Hot Stone Massage is probably one of the most relaxing and luxurious massages anyone could have. I call it a "melting" massage and vaguely remember that it feels fabulous (vaguely because I haven't had one since I trained on it four years ago).

The stones used are two varieties -
We have the igneous basalt which erupts from the centre of the volcano and flows as lava. Rock is formed when the lava cools in the air or sea. Erosion and weather breaks down the rock into particles and these are transported by glaciers, rivers and the wind and deposited as sedimentary layers in lakes, rivers and sea bed where heat and pressure (by movement) change sedimentary and igneous rocks to metamorphic rocks.
Examples of metamorphic rocks are Slate, Marble, Shale.

What we use in the massage are the basalt (hot stones) and marble (cold stones).

As a contemporary therapy, stone massage was introduced to the world of Spa treatments by Mary Nelson in 1993. The therapeutic use of stones and rocks has, however, been employed for thousands of years in various forms.

Today we are familiar with spas, although they are nothing new. They were originally used to improve health and well being. Spas were about getting better, the hot pools, cold dips, plunge pools, saunas and steam rooms were designed to balance the body so it could heal. The same principles apply in stone therapy - using alternating temperatures to heal. The term geothermotherapy is used because the Earth (geo) is used to deliver the temperature through the stones.

Ezine Articles writes:
....there is actually a lot of history behind the technique, especially in ancient Native American culture. With them, hot rock massages were used during sweat lodge ceremonies. Basically, as the people were sweating out their physical and spiritual impurities, hot rocks were used for added relaxation. They worked so effectively, they became known as "grandfather stones."

Many ancient cultures used stones in some form or another and nearly always there was a spiritual meaning as well as the physical. The basalt stone has been imbued with energetic and healing attributes and marble is used for protection which is why altars are often made of marble.

For the actual massage - the stones are preheated in a receptacle that looks alot like a slow cooker. They are heated to around 50 degrees C and to start with the heat is transferred from the stones via the therapists hands to the clients body. When the stones have lost their heat then fresh ones are retrieved from the heater. The cold stones are used briefly - a balanced use of "hote" and "cold" renews, invigorates and soothes the body.

Amazingly enough a hot stone massage is very tiring. The heat induces detoxing which the body needs but it uses a lot of energy. Therefore choose your day for a hot stone with the idea that when you finish you will NOT be going to run a marathon. A calm day with lots of water, light diet and preferably no alcohol are a great follow on to the massage.

If you want to know more please visit our website: mybutterflybliss.com or call me on 636105863 (spain) or 202 3239 4830 (UK).

An Appeal for Help to Re-unite Ace with his Owners

2010-02-08T17:40:00.009+01:00

Here's a tale to tug at the heart strings - I am sure we all still have a heart don't we?

ACE is a beautiful dog whose owners have had to go back to the UK. You know how it is - work is scarce out here in Spain and money is scarcer!! Its not the usual story of no paperwork done and the owners leaving the dog behind for 7 months whilst all the jabs and paperwork take effect - no these are responsible owners. The dog is ready to travel, they have even paid the deposit to Posh Pets Spain and then things ground to a halt.

Ace's owners are having problems finding work back in the UK as well. Its a bad time for everyone and we feel for them. HOWEVER, having to find a new home for a very much loved pet is a hardship and emotional strain that they shouldn't have to face. They are such responsible owners and believe me I have seen many who are not. Through my association with Posh Pets I have seen animals dumped with them, have witnessed tears and tantrums when leaving and then never hearing from the owners again. Rachel at Posh Pets has had to put out appeals to re-home countless animals. So its sad when everything was being done correctly that the owners just cant quite make the final payment.

We all have responsibilities and many uses for our money so I am not telling you how to spend yours but if you felt you have a few (3 or 4) pounds/Euros or dollars to spare perhaps you could help ACE get home. He is featured on the home page of ACE FM radio station here in the Guadalhorce Valley (no relation other than they have championed his cause!). Just scroll down a very little and you will find his picture (aaah) and his story and a PayPal button.

If you are living in our area you can just pop into Posh Pets and donate 2 or 3 Euros (or more of course if the mood takes you!) - they are also taking a collection.

I dont usually get involved but I have seen too many abandoned animals here and it breaks my heart especially when I pass at least one or two dead cats and dogs per day on the roads. If anything drives me out of this country it will be this.

If you can help ACE go home it will be one less for ME to worry about.

There is a Facebook page for you to look at as well!! Click on the word Facebook.

Blogging - who dreamt that one up?

2010-02-07T17:44:00.005+01:00

Its a funny thing about computers and the internet and such - the knowledge kind of creeps up on you. You think that the tools you use today have been around for ages but they haven't.
The other night I was reading a book - just a run of the mill novel which was taking place in the mid to late 1990's. Not only did the characters not have mobile phones (!) but they mentioned floppy discs and "WordPerfect" when doing computer talk. WordPerfect - where did that go? Does it still exist? Well yes it does actually but I only know that because I just did a quick Google search. And I have hidden a link under the word "Wordperfect" so that you can go and have a look if you are curious. But to get back to the book I suppose mid 1990's is 15 years ago and a lot can happen in 15 years but I didn't think so much had happened in the Computer world. Yes I realise that daily things get easier and more "user-friendly" but I remember when we bought this house in 2006 - the then owner gave us his "blog" address so that we could look at photos of the house. I didn't have a clue what a "blog" was but I "googled" "blog" and this is what I got "A blog (a contraction of the term weblog) is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary ...".
Can you see where I am going with this? Computer-ease is part of our daily lives and THAT is what has happened over the last 10 or 15 years. In the days of "WordPerfect" we used computers as tools to get a job done. Nowadays we have difficulty in living without them. I have only had a laptop for just under 3 years and it goes everywhere with me - even overnight!! (Thats a bit sad isn't it - must stop that one!) but the point is that I run my business from it and its my telephone too!! Because we dont have a landline here in Spain we use skype for everything.
What would happen to us if suddenly (like that TV programme that I cant remember the name of but you can tell me in the comments section) where the main character was suddenly plunged from today back to the 1980's? Computers were massive giants back then and only had a "word processing" programme as a bad add-on. I do remember working in ADMA-OPCO (Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company) in the late 1980's and working on a Macintosh - oooooh boy that was bliss and spoilt me for going back to the cumbersome Wang computers that I used in many of the Oil Companies (I was temping at the time - 5 or 6 years of it). I suppose people of a certain age would cope because we could remember "life before ....." but what about the under 25's? They would be lost with what to do with one hand (the hand that constantly texts) and I am not even going to start on mobile phones!
The first computer - possibly - was the ENIAC in the 1940's.
"The ENIAC was invented by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania and began construction in 1943 and was not completed until 1946. It occupied about 1,800 square feet and used about 18,000 vacuum tubes, weighing almost 50 tons. Although the Judge ruled that the ABC computer was the first digital computer many still consider the ENIAC to be the first digital computer." Why did something invented in the 1940's take so long to get into everyone's home? Hmmm - that is a discussion for a different group - one far more knowledgeable than me. Suffice to say - the last 10-15 years seem to have seen such a explosion of computer technology that you just wonder why the gap?
Finally as I have already mentioned Apple Macs I might just as well declare that I have fallen for the IPad - and finally, finally you will have noticed that I have learnt how to put links under words and am enjoying that far too much!
On that note folks its Adios from me.

More on Barcelona

2010-02-05T17:22:00.010+01:00

Okay - for those of you who thought yesterday's post was a bit thin - I was just seeing if you were awake!!

Barcelona deserves two posts at least!

On the Sunday when we went site seeing we started off with the Sagrada Familia which is the fairytale structure that you saw on yesterday's blog. Its the most fantastic Gaudi Temple. There are turrets and niches and gargoyles and wotnot all over the place. In fact it needs a day to itself. It was a bit disappointing as its being cleaned and so part of it was covered in scaffolding and there were also piles of building materials around so it was not at its best. There were also queues of people waiting to get in so we walked all around the outside and then jumped in a cab which took us to Plaza Catalunya at one end of Las Ramblas.

This was the start of a marathon walk - but oh so enjoyable. We walked the length of Las Ramblas - stopping for liquid and solid refreshments along the way (luckily for Derek and unluckily for me it was Sunday so a lot of the shops were closed). However, had I wanted a retail fest there was plenty of that when we reached Port Vell - the recreational port that Las Ramblas ends at. All around the port were street stalls selling quite upmarket "must haves" interspersed with street musicians, most of which were great!

We wandered down to the shopping mall that you have to cross a bridge to reach but that was a modern shopping mall just like the ones we have here (but a good source of public conveniences).

From the Port we followed the path round the sailing boat marina and walked along a wide pedestrian way that had little bars and more street musicians - a pit stop for a G&T and a listen to the music before continuing on our way. we eventually made it to the sea front with beaches, that wonderful piece of modern art that is in yesterdays Blog which was all athletes, and bars upon bars. A slow walk along the front admiring sand scuptures (must be heartbreaking when they get washed away.

We kept walking (sunset now) sometimes the path was on the beach and sometimes we were looking down on the beach and there were bars and cafes set into the walls of the walkway. We trotted down onto the beach for dinner and then up again. walking through the touristy area with loads of smart restaurants and then around the olympic harbour.

After that it got quieter and less touristy until we were literally walking along a sandy track looking down on the beach. It was completely dark by this time and getting later so some of the chiringuitos on the beach were heaving. We stopped every now and again to watch the dancing and listen to the "music". It was one of the best days I have had anywhere. Just great to keeping walking and walking. We thought we could get back to our hotel the way we were going but we weren't certain that the path went the full distance but it did.

Fabulous Day!

Barcelona

2010-02-04T19:25:00.007+01:00

Well - as we are on the theme of travel perhaps a couple of words about Barcelona wouldn't go amiss.

The network marketing company that we have the privilege and pleasure of being part of held a one day event in Barcelona in September last year. Well we were really excited because so many people had said to us we should go to Barcelona so it was a perfect venue.

Amazingly enough although we live in Malaga it probably cost us more to get there than those flying from the UK. But it was worth it. The event was on the Saturday but there was a cocktail party for those who had registered for the event early enough. So we went on Thursday and had a good look around before meeting up with various people from the Company and attending the cocktail party on the Friday night.

Actually the party was great because it was a pretty small group of people so we got to meet all the top income earners in the Company many of whom had come from Australia and the States to participate in the event. We also got to meet the Co-founder of the Company, Shane Krider so all in all it was a brilliant evening.

The training day on the Saturday was equally good but tiring as registration was between 7-8am I think and we didn't finish until early evening. Great day though.

Sunday was play day. We just took ourselves off to the Sagrada Familia and from there to La Rambla. We walked miles that day getting back to our hotel (AC Barcelona at the sea end of Diagonal Mar) or the bar down the road from it, at about 10pm walked out and worn out but had a lovely day.

We would definitely go back to Barcelona - bear in mind though, its not particularly cheap so pack plenty of pennies!!

Istanbul

2010-02-02T22:23:00.005+01:00

Hello - no we are not moving to Istanbul but I dont think I told you about the holiday that Derek won.

We had just come back from a fabulous weekend in Barcelona with loads of people who are in this great business with us. Feeling a bit flat after all the excitement and then Derek gets a call to say he had won a holiday. Oh Yeah - we thought - sure!! So we went to the shop, the local plumbers merchants and sure enough holiday for two flights, four star hotel and transfers in Istanbul. Well............... you could have knocked us down with a feather!!

Within a week we had the tickets in our hands (disgusting flight connections but oh well) and it was all booked for 21st October for one week. Its just as well that we do work for ourselves because we had just had a long weekend in Barcelona and there was no option as to when we took this holiday it was that date or nothing. We took it!!

Istanbul was not a place we had ever thought of going but we certainly were not going to turn it down. The internet is such a fab place isn't it? In the past you would have had to go and get a guide book instead I printed out loads of stuff about sites and shopping and food and shopping and history and shopping and some about shopping or did I already mention that?

So although it was not a place on my list to visit I am so so so happy that we did go. We walked in buildings that had been there for hundreds and hundreds of year - looked at clothes and jewellery that had adorned the bodies of people who ruled a land totally alien to what it is today. It gave you goosebumps! We crossed the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn (all those places that you learn about in school).

As I said it wasn't somewhere we had yearned to go and I am not sure I would go back BUT it was a fabulous holiday (all the better for having it paid) and I am very grateful for it.

Go if you can!

When did I become an fitness freak?

2010-02-01T22:29:00.005+01:00

At the end of February I will have been using the gym for a year. Well admittedly I did take October off as I wasn't around much and when I was I was too busy. However, apart from that come rain, shine, shine, shine and lately more rain I have been going to the gym at least four times and more often six times a week. Do we think that is a bit over zealous? Probably.

The thing is you get hooked on exercise. Its like a drug (apparently). I did it once before years ago. I worked for an oil company in Abu Dhabi. We started work at 7am and finished by 2pm - its was like having nearly a whole day more to play with. I used to leave work and do at least 3 forms of exercise a day - sometimes up till 10.00pm. I was hooked. Eventually I broke the cycle because we went on leave and November in the UK was not conducive to water skiing and the like!!

So back to Spain and the gym at La Trocha, Coin. Sometimes I think I should be on a commission because I do witter on about it a bit. But if you live here and I mean HERE as in the vicinity of Coin etc the Aqua Wellness centre is really good. A biggish gym with a very good selection of equipment. A spinning studio, two further studios upstairs where things like step aerobics, body pump etc take place. Downstairs there is a pilates studio and various treatment rooms for massage etc. There is also a swimming pool - not very big, jacuzzi and spa area and steam, sauna, ice room (!) and hammam.

Even the staff are really nice and the other clients. Everyone is friendly and helpful. (Do you think they pay commission per superlative or just a lump sum per article?)

I do pilates - all in Spanish but you catch on quite quickly even if you dont speak any Spanish. The pilates teacher can say "sloowwwly" and "ok" and "stop" - so she is fluent!!

The Body Pump instructor can say ................. your name in "English" ............ provided he can remember it and is quite cute.

The Spinning instructor that I go to doesn't speak a word of English but works you hard on the spinning. The overall boss is a nice man who doesn't look in the slightest bit like a fitness instructor.

So yes, it gets me out of bed in the morning and I am home by 11am - ish and ready to start the days work (or go back to bed - not sure which!)

Try it - its reasonably priced and worth the money! Fit body, fit mind!

"Finding" yourself

2010-01-31T13:06:00.003+01:00

You hear a lot about people taking time out to "find" themselves or to have some "me" time but do they really mean that or are they just wanting to step off the treadmill for a while?

I have always considered myself to be reasonably well educated and well travelled. Having worked in Abu Dhabi and lived in that completely different culture for nearly 14 years I also considered myself to be "cosmopolitan". Who was I kidding?

Yes I had done a fair bit and had taken myself way out of my comfort zone a few times but you cant rest on your laurels. I cant sit there and say because I did this once or twice I am now a complete and fully developed person. Thats not reality is it. Reality is that we continue to develop until the day we die. Thank goodness!!

There is so much more to life and we all want something different so I am not here to give you my view as what you should be doing - thats up to you. My point of this blog is to urge you never to think that you "know enough" or that you have "been there, done that, got the "T" shirt" .................etc. There is always something new, something interesting, something fantastic that is out there just to make your day that bit better.

You can learn to be a better Mum, Dad, colleague, friend - it doesn't matter the relationship personal development, i.e. the development of YOU can make you enjoy life so much more and because you are enjoying things more others will enjoy you more. If you are looking for success then look no further than yourself for it is you who will make a success of your life.

A bit soap boxy? Possibly! Its something that I feel quite passionate about these days and I feel frustrated when I hear negative and downbeat comments around me and I just wish I could make people see that they can improve their life - but only they can do it.

If you are unsure where to start then no better place than watching "The Secret" - you can do quite a bit of PD on The Secret official website for Free! (See link on right hand side) And that will just lead you into further development where and when you want.

Anyway thats my thoughts for today.

Positive Media

2010-01-29T17:47:00.000+01:00

Do you sometimes wonder what on earth the media are going to focus on next? How many times can you watch the news from start to finish and there is not ONE good news story to be told? Is that because there is no good news? Of course not - but the sad thing is that good news is not what the public tune in for.

For instance at the moment people are watching Tony Blair answer questions over the war in Iraq to ascertain if the war was "legal" or not. We are avidly following the news stories hoping that this man will fall flat on his face - yet this is the man that a majority vote chose as their Prime Minister for many years. What is my point here? Human nature likes drama - especially if its someone else's and if its bad that's fine, just so long as its some else's!! (Probably why Eastenders - UK soap - is so popular - no one is ever allowed to be happy in it. In order to make everyone unhappy - disaster upon disaster befall the occupants of Albert Square. It makes the real world look so much better!! Maybe its by design - now there's a thought!)

But back to the main point, this was one of the reasons that I joined Polaris Media Group. For once being involved with something that focuses on the positive is so uplifting. The documentaries that Polaris have released so far are "Kids with Cameras" following a group of autistic children achieving success participating in a unique film camp. The latest is "Unbeaten" which chronicles the exploits of 31 disabled athletes as they make their way over six days in wheelchairs and hand cycles in what is known as the toughest road race in the world, "Sadler’s Alaska Challenge".

The thing about these documentaries is the focus put on how people (who actually do have something to gripe about) cope with adversity and turn it into a positive.

There will always be bad news - its the way things go isn't it? But sometimes we let it take over. Life needs balance and so to balance out the bad Polaris is focusing on the good and very good it is too. Unbeaten is definitely my favourite - it leaves me in awe of such achievements and uplifted and upbeat and for someone who used to be very negative that is a real achievement for ME!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpPIQXsiyOg
Trailer for the incredible documentary "Unbeaten", hosted by Dan Aykroyd and featuring "A Better Life" by Clint Black. Presented by Polaris Media Group.

Reflexology

2010-01-28T19:28:00.000+01:00

The history of this therapy can be traced back to ancient India, China and Egypt, as is evidenced by the wall paintings in a Physician’s tomb in Saqquara which dates back to 2330B.C. The practice of this therapy has continued in an unbroken line for many centuries in the East, alongside other therapies like Acupuncture, Shiatsu and Massage. Here in the West, with the development of Medical Science, we have lost many of the traditional natural therapies in the last 300 years. Doctors taught a system whereby the human body was little more than a machine made up of many parts and whose problems could be cured by surgery and by drugs, which of course, is true. However, mankind is more than just the components of the physical body. We have a mind and spirit as well. Many of today’s illnesses have their roots in mental problems or in disturbances of the spirit.

Reflexology is the physical act of applying pressure to the feet with specific thumb, finger and hand techniques. It is based on the principle that there are reflex points on the feet that correspond to every organ, gland and part of the body.

For example, the toes represent the head, the ball of the foot represents the chest and lung region, the soft area of the foot is the stomach and the inside of the foot represents the spine. The left foot corresponds to the left side of the body and the right foot corresponds to the right side of the body.

Reflexology is not ticklish; the pressure is firm but not painful. Different reflexes spark different sensations, some may feel tingling in the corresponding body parts, this is due to
the flow of energy being stimulated in that zone. If a particular part of the body is out of balance, the corresponding reflex may feel slightly tender during the treatment due to crystal deposits under the skin.

By applying pressure to the reflex points, the blood circulation is improved, the body relaxes and organs and glands become balanced. Over 75% of our health problems can be linked to nervous stress and tension. Reflexology is fantastic for relaxing and clearing these blockages.

Its purpose is not to treat or diagnose for any specific medical disorder. Reflexology is a holistic treatment that will promote better health and well being and return the body to its natural equilibrium

Hot Countries and Rain - not a good mix!

2010-01-27T18:12:00.000+01:00

What has happened to this weather? We seem to be in the grip of winter (perish the thought - and perishing it was today too!)

Last week I wrote about the rain here and how Spain struggles to cope with rain as its not the norm here. We used to live in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Most of you are probably more familiar with Dubai which is about an hour up the road, although last year Abu Dhabi staged its first formula one Grand Prix which put it on the map in some people's eyes. Anyway the U.A.E. as a whole had very little rainfall. So little in fact that when clouds were spotted a plane was sent up to "seed the clouds". This was done by spraying some sort of chemical (?) on the clouds which made them rain - yes really. Derek worked in one part of the military airport and would see the plane go up and then ring me to warn me that it was going to rain. Honestly - this is exactly what would happen.

I would then make sure that I was where I needed to be or back home before it rained if that was at all possible. Rain in Abu Dhabi was not good if you were driving. For one thing it was very localised. There was a particular flyover that I have driven over many times and there has been a torrential downpour on one side and nothing on the other. Storm drains were full of sand as well as rubbish (just like Spain really) and the camber on the roads was fairly non-existent in many places so rain collected in the middle rather than running off so aquaplaning was an added "interest".

The most "interesting" and potentially hazardous thing was that many (most ?) of the locals drove just as fast as normal but put their hazards lights on. "Look out here I come and yes I am a hazard so get out of my way". It worked beautifully! (They did it in fog too - not funny!).

Another interesting little quirk in Abu Dhabi was - back to this camber thing - the water would collect on roundabouts and get deeper the closer to the centre it got. So well meaning people would place buckets, empty paint pots, breeze blocks etc around the deep part to keep people from driving into it and potentially breaking down. Great, very public spirited of them - that is until the sun starts to dry up the rain and then inexplicably there are breeze blocks and other items in the middle of the road of a roundabout. You see those lovely public spirited people didn't think to remove the markers when the need passed and so now we had a new hazard.

So, back in Spain,do you think that perhaps because we didn't get a great deal of rain in the Autumn (ie none) that some well meaning sole has popped up and sprayed the clouds? And if that is so could someone please confiscate the keys to his plane? ......

Till next time - (hope webbed feet are in this summer!)

Stop Press - The Recession is Over

2010-01-26T21:15:00.000+01:00

Today was the day we woke up to the news that the recession is over! Hmmmm - it conjures up many bizarre visuals: people rushing around telling each other, shouting it from the rooftops, queuing to get in the shops and spend, spend, spend. In reality will there be any change - no, I am sure not; certainly not in the short term.

Now dont get worried I am not about to go into financial analyst speak or political mode I just wonder about these things sometimes.

When we arrived in Spain in 2004 my research had been sketchy to say the least. I had presumed a few months off and then the nice little part time job that paid all the bills (after all they were not going to be substantial were they - its Spain - cheap to live). I wasn't even fussy - I was happy to work 2-3 full days a week or every morning for 3 or 4 hours. It was such a cosy little notion and I spent many months before coming to Spain daydreaming about it.

Lucky really that I hadn't a clue about the reality here in Andalucia. I think the reality is that this part of Spain has been suffering a bit of a recession for many years. Unemployment is high and I found that when I did go on a Spanish on-line job site that there were literally hundreds of applicants for each job no matter what the job was.

So the world recession only served to make a hard life harder for the Spanish in the south of the country. For instance our many Spanish neighbours. One pair of brothers have a lorry each (one lives nearly opposite and the other lives just down the track) and they delivered fruit and veg. I used to groan when at 5am the one lorry used to grind up the track past us and the big metal gates of the one opposite opened up with a loud rumble. Now I feel sad for them because there is no 5am noise or rarely as the two men have no work (although I don't miss the wake up call). They both have families and I wonder how they manage. Another family have the husband out of work for nearly a year and his wife works 3 jobs and looks after her parents one of whom has cancer and runs our water community (a thankless task if ever there was one).

So for the UK Recession has meant loss of jobs through downsizing or companies folding but they have had the good times and the good times will come back. I wonder how much things will change here when the recession is over in Spain!

That's it - sorry if it got a bit political!

If you are still wanting to work here in Spain but wanting to enjoy the lifestyle too don't forget to visit my website for information on a Home Based Business. www.asimplesecret.com

Inspirational and Motivational Conference in Prague

2010-01-25T16:56:00.001+01:00

Well - this weekend is going to be something else!! Our Network Marketing Business is is holding the last of its "round the world" Kick-off events (training days) and Foundation Live Event this Saturday and Sunday (30th and 31st January 2010). This is the first Foundation Live (one day event) and the line up is fabulous. All this happening in the beautiful and historic city of Prague.

"Foundation Live is an inspiring 1 day motivational workshop with presentations on how to succeed in life, in relationships and in business.
For many, this event is the first time they meet the people they have learned from and worked with on their Beyond Freedom Evolution(tm).
Come and join the members of this community as we embark on this journey together…" (Beyond Freedom Evolution is the home study course that is putting me and life to rights!!)

One of the speakers is Scott Burrows. Scott has an incredible life story. A nationally ranked young athlete, he stepped into the passenger side of a friend’s car and awoke hours later in the emergency room, diagnosed a quadriplegic. Rather than accept his fate he channelled all the skills he had learnt as an athlete into his recuperation. You can see more about Scott on his website www.scottburrows.com

Scott will be joined by other inspirational speakers including our founder and leader Shane Krider.

For more information on this event or if you are interested in working for yourself, from home, in your own time at your own pace then please contact me or visit my website www.asimplesecret.com

The Winter Beach

2010-01-24T18:31:00.000+01:00

One of the things we love whether we are in the UK or here in Spain is walking the dogs on the beach in the winter. The beach is a great place out of season. Its not manicured, there is flotsam and jetsam and, here in Spain, a whole different set of people. Add some rather unruly dogs to the mix and you have an interesting walk to say the least!
Take last Sunday for instance. We packed the dogs into the car and drove 20 minutes to Torremolinos Beach. Torremolinos is great because it goes on and on - seemingly for miles. You expect it to be empty. Wrong!!! Admittedly there aren't many sunbathers although last Sunday was a lovely day and so there were some British holiday makers who were baring more body than the rest of us.
A walk on the beach with two dogs on extending leads (imagine the nightmare if I let them off!)is fraught with danger. The first hazard is the fishermen. A neat row of rods in holders in the sand - no need to paint the picture of dogs one side and us the other. How to wipe out half a dozen rods in one fell swoop!
Then we have a lot of very small people, with the wobbly, undirected gait that strikes fear in the heart of someone precariously in charge of a mad Spanish Water Dog on the end of an extended lead. Similar action to the fisherman, I spend a lot of time reeling him in and letting him out again. Then you get the joggers - plugged into their IPOD's - determinedly running off last night’s excesses. Running people always make dogs think that they are doing it expressly for them – exciting – depends on your point of view I suppose!
There are the meditators (not sure that is a word – the spell checker certainly wasn’t helpful!) sitting cross legged gazing out to sea. These tend to cause us a little anxiety as meditation and salty, sandy exuberant dogs don’t exactly mix - I know, I have tried it. So leads get shortened as we pass those communicating on different level.
A lot of the cafes are also open on the beach during the winter so – provided they have tables outside which most do, and that unruly dogs have at least worn themselves out a little, we can enjoy a welcome cuppa before walking up onto the promenade for the last stretch back to the car. The promenade is similarly hazardous but our dogs are not the only hazard thankfully. Skateboard and rollerbladers, bicycles, pushchairs and tricycles all add to the chaos so that by the time we reach the sanctuary of the car and from there home again, both humans and canines are ready to veg out for Sunday afternoon.

Reiki for Animals

2010-01-23T14:49:00.000+01:00

A few months after we moved here I decided to retrain as an Holistic Therapist. I love learning. Its a real buzz for me these days - bit of a shame I didn't feel the same when I was at school. (What is it that they do at school to completely put you off learning?) I emerged in the Autumn of 2005 as a qualified Massage Therapist and Reflexologist. The college I attended did other courses one of which was Reiki. Now I was really keen on complementary therapies but Reiki - no I decided that I wasn't up for that - its a bit "wooo-wooo" isn't it.

Actually NO its not. Not only does the recipient not have to believe in it, the practitioner doesn't have to either. And it was because this took the pressure off me that I decided to give it a go. One of my better decisions in life. I took first and second degree Reiki at the end of 2005 and loved every minute of it.

One of the best things about Reiki is that is a "non-return" therapy. I pass on Universal Energy but dont receive anything negative back from the client. Far from feeling drained after a treatment I feel energised and totally at peace with the world.

The most rewarding is the animals I have treated. I have treated dogs recovering from operations, with Leishmaniasis, with hip displasia and more. Every time I treat an animal it reaffirms my conviction that this therapy works. Dont get me wrong I am not saying that its a cure-all. However, the deep relaxation that Reiki brings about in both animals and humans really allows the body to do its work of healing. Animals just soak it up. They have no preconceived ideas - nor do they give out platitudes at the end of a treatment. Therefore the reactions of an animal are true and genuine and all the more valuable.

Reiki is just a harnessing of the Universal Energy that surrounds us. Anyone can practice Reiki, once they have had their channels opened, to receive the energy, by a Reiki Master. Many people just become a Reiki practitioner as part of their development through life. They use it on their families and pets and leave it at that. Reiki can even be sent from a distance and I have done this and received very favourable feedback from it. It also fits in very well with conventional medicine, enhancing the effect.

If you want to know more about how Reiki can help you or your animals then please leave a comment or contact me direct.

Getting Here - 2004

2010-01-22T14:43:00.000+01:00

When we decided to move to Spain it wasn't done with a great amount of aforethought or even that much planning. We had both been to Spain ONCE in our lives and not together either!! We didn't know the country at all. "A place in the Sun" has a lot to answer for!!

The idea grew very quickly and we made a trip together in November of 2003 to visit the Costa de la Luz. We had to stay in Portugal as there were few hotels open in Huelva Province - north of Seville. The Costa de la Luz is fabulous. Its quiet, pretty and the light is different. The beaches are wonderful and the very large area of National Park help to keep the construction much more under control. However, we drove "round the corner" and decided that the infrastructure was better for us on the more populated Costa del Sol.

First decision made. After that it was easy. We came back again in February 2004 and stayed in Calahonda in an apartment overlooking the sea and it rained, and it rained and it rained. We started the driving thing again - the only way to decide what you like the look of! We drove to Competa (a lovely picturesque village up a mountain to the east of Malaga) - Competa was running down the hill to meet us - MUD and stones and water like you wouldn't believe. We covered a lot of ground during that week driving from Calahonda to Nerja and then up to Antequera where we got well and truly lost. Every time we tried to get out of Antequera it "threw" us out on a different road. But for all the less than idyllic views we got at that time we sawa plenty to inspire us and more to the point - we still wanted to come here.

And this is the purpose of this blog. As you will have seen from the one I wrote about the rain a couple of days ago. For the most part its beautiful here - a tad warm in July and August - but when it rains it really is not the most beautiful place on earth and it doesn't cope that well with the conditions. Therefore if you are thinking of moving to Spain (or anywhere else for that matter) do try and see it, if not at its worst, at some of its less appealing moments. Then there will be less nasty surprises in store for you when you have already moved.

Thats it for today folks - enough already!!

Good website to visit if you haven't been there already www.andalucia.com

All the trappings of Home (with added Sun!)

2010-01-21T14:27:00.000+01:00

Before we came to Spain we rushed around buying all the things we didn't think we could get here and having all the medical overhauls we thought we would need in order to survive. How ignorant were we?

We did our homework and discovered that Spain's Medical services are way above the UK's in the league table so what made us, reasonably intelligent people, act as though we were going to live on a desert island?

Its not just us either. Many people we speak to admit to the same misconception and I feel quite embarrassed now to think that we were like that.

For instance one of the things we do every couple of years when back in the UK is have our eyes tested. We then jump through hoops to get the prescription glasses sent to Spain and bite our nails to the elbows until they arrive safely. (99% of all mail arrives safely - its just that one thing that you really want.............)! Anyway like everything else - its all available here and for those who dont find the language so easy, there is Specsavers!!!! Yes - how simple is that! They have branches in Calpe, Fuengirola, Javea and Torrevieja. We used the Fuengirola branch and it was great - both Spanish and English spoken! Derek now has a nice new pair of glasses and can see again!! Really see!

Its always daunting contemplating doing anything official in a foreign country but the most daunting part is the language barrier. We learnt enough Spanish to get by but didn't progress from that and I would urge anyone coming to live in Spain (or any foreign country) to learn the language. Having said that I would wait till you get there as its easier to learn a language when immersed in it daily.

Finally, if you have concerns about your HP sauce and baked beans - you need worry no more! Mercadona one of the main Spanish supermarkets seems to stock more and more English products (obviously in the areas where Brits live). We have cheddar cheese, baked beans and I even found bovril the other day which I wasn't aware that I wanted but when I saw it that was it - had to have it! Obviously they stock loads of other stuff too numerous to mention but you get my drift.

So you see you can have your cake and eat it too!

Until the next time - have a great day!

www.specsavers.es

Sunny (?) Spain??

2010-01-19T21:22:00.000+01:00

Well - now I really am going to keep this blog up. Promise.
It came to me last week reading comments on Facebook and other social networks, you can take the folk out of the UK but you cant take the UK out of the folk!! WE STILL TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER! And yes didn't we give it hell. We have lived in Spain for just over five years and I have to say that yes, the weather around Christmas and New Year was the worst we had encountered but it amounted to DAYS of rain not MONTHS.

Yes, we all have different reasons for coming to live in Spain but for most of us, if we are honest, the weather is a major point. And for about 300 days of the year its great but boy oh boy don't we moan when we hit a glitch.

There is a reason for this though. Spain does NOT DO RAIN. It quite simply cant cope. The roads become littered with debris that is washed out of the storm drains (the storm drains that for 2 thirds of the year are rubbish receptacles!). Then there is the mud. I have never seen two dogs conceal so much mud about themselves. They gather it like flowers from a meadow (poetic - yes?) and then hide it surreptitiously beneath their fur only to be shed in lumps (both wet and dry) over furniture, clothes, car - hmmmmm! Special !

But for those of you not yet arrived and those still agonising over the decision - its not all bad. Spain needs its rain. We "apparently" now have enough reserve water for two years if it doesn't rain again in that period. (Hmmm not quite sure who is responsible for that information). Whatever the reserves, we do have lots of water and should be able to enjoy a fine old summer of swimming, watering the vegetables and most importantly showering!

And now we are enjoying lovely warm weather with the odd day not so great but really back to situation normal for a Costa del Sol January. Phew!

Welcome!

2009-11-19T17:56:00.001+01:00

Hi and welcome to my "blog"

A couple of years ago I had never even heard of a blog, a couple of weeks ago I had never contemplated having one and then a couple of days ago I saw a few others and thought "hey why not". Believe me - I will probably make a complete "meal" of it but as long as people read it (even if only to have a laugh) why not indeed!

So bear with me and I will find funny, interesting and bizarre things for your interest - and who knows you might decide to have one of your own. After all if I can do it, believe me everyone can do it.......................

Catch you later!

Mandy