Winter Sunshine

It seems really odd to be sunbathing at the end of December - but this week the weather has been glorious. We're lucky - because the autumn in Andalucia has been so bad it's made the newspapers. Low temperatures and lots of rain, which fortunately have filled up the reservoirs.

We've bitten the bullet and cleared all the rubbish out of the house. It reminded us that we've been here for six years now. So all the old curtains and bedding which was left behind by the previous owner has gone down to CUDECA, as have wheely bags and all the crap that people seem to leave behind here when they come to stay.

We've bought a beautiful new multi-textured spread for my bed, and re-arranged the furniture slightly so that everything will be ready when Teresa and John come out with us in January.

December 2007

A strange week of mixed fortunes. We flew in on Sunday night (December 2) to find the restaurant in Pueblo Lopez closed until February. Then the next day, after cleaning the house, within twenty-four hours, both computers had collapsed. Mine updated Windows and needed a startup disk to re-boot, and Heather's lost its Internet capability. Faced with the worries about marking OU scripts, and some problems with our new Moodle courses at Xaverian College, I was on the point of going back home. Fortunately, we were bailed out by Eric lending us his snazzy new wide-screen laptop, and the Swedish boys at Daytona got our systems working again in a couple of days.

But the weather has been stunning - especially for this time of year. It's been hot enough to sunbathe every day, with cloudless skies.

The evenings are chilly - as soon as the sun goes down, which is around five or six o'clock. And it happens very rapidly, which one tends to forget.

We brought ourselves up to date in a civic sense by paying all our local taxes vis Saez y Saez, and we enjoyed the new Los Olivos which has crap service but a much cheaper three course menu for 13 Euros - but the same good standards of cuisine.

May 2007

Another 'mixed week' weatherwise. I arrived on Monday 21 to an electric thunderstorm which even knocked out the satelite TV stations. But there were good days ahead. David Radford brought me up to date with neighbourhood developments (ie, gossip) - the saddest part of which was the death of John Clarke at 'Oasis' who had been doing his two lengths in flippers and goggles regularly until quite recently. The tree in the Plaza (pictured above when alive) has been poisoned by persons unknown and has now been cropped, and climbing vines planted round its base. I got a replacement mobile phone from Adam's Internet shop, read and wrote reviews for the next newsletter, and lived more or less the whole week from one shop at Mercadonna.

Easter 2007

We arrived on Easter Monday to find Malaga Airport partly under water. The rains had been torrential and persistent - and continued so in muted form for the next few days. We read, wrote, and did jobs in the house. Friday 13 was the first decent day, and Saturday the first time I got into the garden. The patio is much more pleasant and much easier to keep clean since we had it re-tiled, and since I cut the trees back.

The broadband connection has setlled down now - though I still have to wait for a connection to be made via next door before I switch to our own supply.

Two sad tree losses to report. A palm tree in the middle of the garden has been infected with some bug and lost all its fronds. And complaints about lack of parking space from the houses opposite Salus has led to the cutting down of some of the orange trees to make more room. Not a good solution to the problem say I (to Giovanni).

Contacts

Window cleaner

Pete Harriss

Tel: 679.88.63.52

Email: peteharriss@yahoo.co.uk

Robin and Judi

Tel: 0034 958 78 5517

Nora and BM

Tel: 00 34

November Haircut

The palm trees in the garden receive their fairly severe trim at the hands of the 'tree fellah'.

October in Puebla Lucia