El Dia de San Andreas

Saint Andrew's Day, Patron Saint of Scotland.

Celebrated in Tenerife by the locals running around the roads pulling tin baths, old car doors, in fact, anything at all made of tin! Usually, the children run around the school with tin cans on string, but it didn't happen today for some reason. Maybe, because of the recent bad weather. I'm quite glad really as the whole thing makes such a racket! Happen they are saving it until tomorrow!

I enjoyed five o'clock club tonight. Vinod and Josie are going back to England tomorrow. Vinod is the Indian gentleman I've mentioned before. He was a Doctor in Harley Street for many years but has now retired. His wife, Josie, is Maltese so we have had lots to talk about. I lived in Malta for a couple of years, my daughter was born there and it was so nice to chat about it. Made me fancy a nice walk through Valetta!

David, Charlotte's Daddy came up with this stupid thing.............say beer can. If you can do it without sounding like a Rastafarian wanting bacon with his eggs you are a good un!

Think I Have A Cold

I haven't stopped sneezing all evening. It must be all this bad weather.

Tenerife isn't able to cope with such bad climate changes and this past couple of days has proved it. Guttering is something they have never heard of so the rain just pours down the buildings. Everything was awash with the rain and the wind bent the palm trees in half in some areas.

It all got a little scary at times but, thankfully, we were ok and survived. I heard that six people lost their lives during it and I feel sorry for their families.

Brian, on dog walking duty this morning watched the sea overflowing the walkways. I've lived here for over four years and visited more times than I can remember but I've never been told that before.

It's calmed down a little now so happen we have seen the end of Tropical Storm Delta, I do hope so!

A Bit Grim!

Howling winds and torrential rain, how lovely! It does sound a lot worse on the Island of La Palma though, so maybe we should think ourselves lucky.

Rumour has it that it will be really bad over-night and last until tomorrow lunch-time.

I wouldn't mind too much but the electricity keeps cutting out which sort of curtails our PS2 and computer stuff. After being cut off for a little while earlier, we braved the elements and went to Bar Antonio. Louis had emergency lighting so five o'clock club continued as normal!

Take a look at Tully's blog...................they have snow. Brrrrrrr!

We'll be reading by candle-light soon!

Hatches are Battened!!

The radio gave out a severe weather warning earlier. Tropical Storm Delta is heading our way and, by all accounts, the winds could be up around 65 miles per hour. Lots of rain too!

Luckily, Shona, sister of 'im indoors, doesn't arrive until Friday but I do feel sorry for all the people who are here on holiday this week.

Our balcony is cleared and all the shutters are closed so we will be fine. At least I don't have a chimney to worry about!

Sunday Bowling League

We had a draw which was a good result. My opponent, Dave, scored 228 in the first game!! Best for me was a 174 and Doreen came up with a 171 on the last. Finishing fifth after a 45 week league was brilliant for us.

Jeff and Brian won 6 - 2 which leaves them in third place. A pic of the trophy to follow in due course.

Trouble is..........what are we all going to do until the second week in January?

A Normal Saturday

We had a lazy morning and decided to go out for lunch at Casa Chrissy. Brian really loves their home made food. Only place for him to get some really as I am the worst cook in the world!

On the budgie front.........I reckon they are sneaking into their nesting box whilst I'm out...........little tinkers! Video surveillance may be required, must look into it.

We are now settled for the rest of the evening. I'm computer-bound as per normal and Brian is killing monsters along with Crash Bandicoot. 3+, what is he like!

My Tribute to George Best

He was such a superb player and gave so much to his fans. Such a genius but, unfortunately, he was without guidance during his early years.

His addiction to alcohol shortened his career and also his life. I read earlier that he was likened to a fifth Beatle during the sixties, I can understand that. Bless him xxxx

Not much more I can say really apart from feeling well sad and I give my thoughts to his family.

Night George and sleep well.

Noughts and Crosses

I spent an hour or so earlier playing games online with grandson, Martin. He did make me chuckle. He's really into MSN Messenger and most of the family ended up chatting together. He seems to know lots more than I do!!

Mark, my son, introduced us to a new game which is well adictive and I've managed to get to level thirteen. Clever me!!

We went for our normal 'walk' around six this evening and spent some time with John, Carol and George, who were walking their dogs, Sally, Captain and Colonel, before we moved on for a beer at Bar Antonio. Carol is off to England tomorrow for a week. Brrrrrrrr!!!

There's Martin, in full concentration mode, trying to beat his eldest sister, Jamie, on the Playstation!

Photo: julian

The Bedlam Cube

I brought this flippin' thing back from England with me and it's impossible to sit next to it without picking it up. There are 19,186 ways of doing it according to the web site but can we find one?

If you are really clever, or patient enough to put all the bits back in the box, you will be awarded with a gold one.

I have a funny feeling, now that Brian has his hands on it that it will be whizzed over the balcony soon!

http://www.bedlampuzzles.com/

Fun Bowl, Monday Bowling League

I haven't laughed so much for ages! The aim of the first game was to hit as many pins as possible - after hitting the bumper first. Ten points deducted if you missed the bumper.
Martin couldn't seem to get the hang of it as he had never tried it before but I did well, scoring 141.

Second game was similar but we had to score as little as possible. We were all useless at that. Doreen had a strike first throw! Katie decided to roll her ball very slowly down the side but it stopped half way. Never seen that happen before. It all got rather noisy!!

The last game was a normal one, thank goodness and I clocked up 159 which put me in the running for a prize.

We had free drinks and a buffet and then all gathered around for the presentation of the cups etc. I missed second place by three pins!!

I sat outside, waiting for my lift, muttering 'I never win nuffin!'.

Sunday Bowling League

The last game of the season and we managed to beat the league leaders, Carol and Elliot, 6 - 2!! We lost the first game by around 20 pins but Doreen scored 165 in the middle game and I managed a 168 in the last!

Next week is position week and it's looking like the boys will be in third place and us, fifth. We are really pleased with that!

Almost forgot to mention that Ros got her 200 shirt today. Well done to her!! One day it might be my turn.

What Happened?

My Spanish team, Real Madrid, didn't seem to get it together and Barca went and won 3 - 0!!

Becksie played well though, lovely lad...........ummm.

It was really good watching the match in a Spanish bar...............so noisy and well funny.

Birthday boy is sound asleep in his chair, no staying power!

Birthday Boy!

It's 'im indoor's birthday today so he was allowed to choose what to do all day. He fancied a couple of beers and an English Breakfast so off we went to Casa Chrissy, via Rincon de Cristina, I might add and pigged out.

His next choice is to watch the Barcelona v Real Madrid game which is due to start in an hour or so.

I'm not sure if he's saying 'cheers' or asking for another one!!

Such A Hoot!

I was looking around the net for some instructions on budgie breeding when I came across this Australian site. Did you ever!! Anyway, after a few moments thought, I decided to join in.

Best thing I got out of it was giving them some fresh greens. I reckon the rest is up to them.

I did try though.

I must admit it was the funniest thing I've seen for ages and I was in fits. Budgie Memoriams, oh heck!

Not A Happy Bunny!

Do you remember last week when the nice Spanish lady promised not to cut me off? She promised to send a bill, not received as yet, and then..................no phone line on Tuesday morning!

I am like a bear with a sore head if I don't have my internet connection and poor Brian did suffer terribly. Like a good chap he phoned Telefonica, made three trips to the bank and at long last managed to pay them by some sort of bank transfer. He ended up with a list of numbers half a mile long!! Then we had to send a fax to prove we had paid it. Bearing in mind, all his transactions had to be in Spanish, I think he did really well. Three cheers Brian, I'm back on line xx

I thought that BT were the worst company I'd ever heard of but I reckon that Telefonica could knock spots off them!

It didn't do me much harm really because I did manage to catch up a bit on my volunteer work for a Family History site, do some cleaning and write all my Xmas cards!

Monday Bowling League

It was position week this week and Martin and I ended up in fourteenth place out of twenty four which I didn't think was too bad. This was our first season playing together and also our first in Monday League. Wait until you see our new shirts for next year!

Paul, the manager, pictured in the white shirt is laying on free bowling, free drinks and a buffet next Monday and the lucky ones will be receiving their trophies.

Duncan, in the shorts, is the Pro, Alison has now returned to Scotland and the lad on the end is my Monday partner, Martin.

Photo: Harleys Superbowl

Yippee!

Another win for us today, 8 - 0 too!!! Doreen was so funny as she dropped the ball but got a strike. All I heard was 'my knee went and they all fell down'! Ummm.

The boys didn't do too well though and it looks like they will be finishing in third not second place. Suprisingly, they were both quite cheerful about it even though Jeff did threaten to strangle me with the ribbon off the weekly medal. I know, on my side of the cupboard again, shucks!

We all went for a meal after bowling as it is Doreen's birthday tomorrow. We do enjoy their company so we had a pleasant couple of hours sitting outside Rincon de Cristina.

It has gone a little chilly now though and I'm longing for a nice gas fire and warm carpets instead of no heating and cold floor tiles.

It Could Have Been Tragic

I have had awful trouble this past couple of days with my internet connection and it was looking a little like I would be offline all weekend. It has been impossible to use the phone too as all you get is a really loud crackle. After trying various possibilities it seemed best to move the computer into the second bedroom, connect up there and ditch the phone! First thing Monday I'll have to send for the little man who knows!

My friend, Val, in Canada rang this afternoon but we couldn't have a decent chat, never mind as I'm sure it will be sorted soon.

One of my French neighbours amused me earlier as she went out of her way to let me know that I could get books from a nearby hotel....................I can manage quite a bit of Spanish but reading books in French is a little beyond me!! She meant well though.

He Did It!!

After nine or ten days trying to beat the level on his PS2 game Brian finally cracked it!! Was I glad, as there was rather too much swearing and cursing. Trouble is that he seems to be struggling a little with the next one. I will live in hope!

Five o'clock club was well funny tonight. We almost had the full crowd. Caron and David went off for a meal, though, and left young Charlotte with Sue and Don. She had enough stuff in her overnight bag to last a month. Does Sue know what she has let herself in for?

Jordan is staying with his Gran and Grandad tonight and as he will be five on Sunday, his level of excitement is on the high side to say the least. It has been made a little worse because the council, or ayuntamiento, decided to start putting up the Xmas lights today...........poor lad is well confused!

Terry was in hyperactive mode as normal and insisted that Enoch Powell was in favour of immigrants in the late fifties and sixties..................unfortunately, it doesn't seem possible to post the quote I just read onto here but I reckon he was a little bit wrong! If anyone knows different...................

No news on the budgie front as it appears that Juanita is still insisting on 'No way Jose'!!

The Tale of Ted's Tongue

Poor Ted, he kindly gave a 'mate' a lift home the other night and ended up being badly assaulted. The 'mate' had been on the booze for a while, or rumour has it and went berserk in the car, punching and hitting our Ted before trying to strangle him.

Whilst Ted was choking the 'mate' jumped forward and bit his tongue. He is really suffering at the moment and can hardly talk. As he already had a bad foot you can imagine the pickle he is in.

It has been the week for it as John, another local, fell down some steps and broke both his wrists.......................we saw both of them together today, looked like a scene from Casualty!

Hope you both get better soon lads xx

An Update..........

There we were thinking that our phone bill was all sorted when the nice man from El Banco La Caixa rang to tell us that Telefonica had refused our payment! My first thought was 'how did he get our number'.........DOH!

Anyway, after an irate phone call and quite a few swear words, from i'm indoors, I might add, Telefonica say that they won't cut off my phone and will forward a bill immediately.........not sure that I believe all that but time will tell. Guess what was in our post box when we got home.....you got it, the next month's bill!

I did a little research into the Red Canary family for Sue and it seems that they have to be fed a certain diet so that they stay that colour. I knew that Juan was being a little naughty!

Still with birdies, the nest box is now in place but both Jose and Juanita seem a little scared of it. Maybe Juanita is thinking 'No way Jose'!!

Four Years Today!

I can't quite believe that we have lived here for four years as the time has gone so quickly. This is a pic of our apartment building taken just after we arrived here. Ours is the one to the left on the middle floor.

We had a bit of a 'Tenerife Day' in sort of celebration today and decided to do just what we wanted. A bottle of beer before ten o'clock was really wicked!! Jane, the cook at Casa Chrissy, did make us a really good English Breakfast!

I had to get up early because next door's dog, Ricci, decided to bark from around seven, little tinker! Our first mission was to try to pay our phone bill, always a nightmare as receiving the actual bill is so hit and miss. We didn't get one this month but the nice man in El Banco La Caixa was so helpful and sorted us out within minutes. What a star!

We went to Antonio's Bar at tea time for our usual tipple. My friend, Sue, bought another Canary today to keep Fecker company but Juan, our favourite barman, reckons there is no such thing as a red Canary..............I'm about to check it out!

Brian's Post

I asked Brian to do this post tonight because we are celebrating four years of living in Tenerife. Not having put much in the diary that day apart from ' we have arrived' I felt it would be good for him to say what he felt and this is what I got...........

'Here I am four years in tenerife and still going strong. Need a little help now and again getting home but I'm still here'.

Sick sad puppy!

Big Pigs!

It always amazes me where they get these huge chops from! Never seen a pig here yet!

The Canarians seem to eat goat and rabbits which abound here but, seriously, where are these gigantic pigs? Food for thought, ha ha!

Martin rang me today, Monday bowling partner, it seems that our 'uniform' is being ordered for next season. We are having matching Harley's shirts. A bit posh, I reckon! I just wish that I could manage to get the all important 200 hundred logo before then. I would be well cool!

Sunday Bowling League

There was a bit of a generation gap at bowling today as Doreen and I had to play Charlotte and Natasha, a couple of teenagers. In true Headmistress style Doreen wished them both a good game before adding 'I expect respect'!

They were good girls though and started well by winning the first game by six pins which meant that we had to pull out all the stops and try to win the last two. Doreen's 156 and my 136 was enough to secure the middle game and our 144 and 145 in the last gave us a 6 - 2 win!.

Congratulations to Charlotte as she managed 176 in the last but, unfortunately, it wasn't enough to win them the match. Only two weeks to go before the end of the league.

We decided to eat out tonight at one of the local spanish restaurants, Rincon de Cristina. I had prawns in garlic with bread, it's really tasty but didn't do my sore mouth much good.

By the way, the weekly medal is at my side of the cupboard!!

The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon

As I mentioned the other day, Tony sent us a dvd this week, which we have just finished watching and thoroughly enjoyed.

It's BBC documentary about Mitchell and Kenyon's filming of Lancashire in the early 1900's. As they were based in Blackburn, my birthplace, I found it extremely interesting. Nowt like seeing an Accy tram!!

Being well into Family History the footage of the millworkers and the lads from down t'pit was just up my street.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4172449.stm

Thanks Tony xx

How Fast The Weeks Go By!

This time last week I had just boarded the plane! I can't believe how quick the time has gone.

I'm still suffering with my sore mouth but was sort of joking when I said I might end up with pile cream. Having read the instructions, after taking two of the tablets, I discovered that the bad chemist had given me tablets for worms!!

How he could have misunderstood? I went from ulcers in the mouth to parasites in the passages. Flippin' heck! Bestest Spanish was used at all times!

Anyway, 'im indoors insisted that I gargled with salt and warm water this morning, which was really horrid. It does feel a little better but I'm not telling him!

We came to an agreement this morning. I had to clean the kitchen, bathroom and sort out the washing whilst he did the floors. I did my share, even after trying to pull a sickie, but, guess what? He spent most of the day on the PS2 and we still have muckie floors!

Not A Well Woman

My poor sore mouth is worse today and I have the first signs of a cold. That's what you get for going on those aeroplanes!! I always said they weren't natural! I've also been badly bitten by mosquitos.........can't blame them on the plane, though.

We went to five o'clock club but didn't stay too long today. It doesn't seem quite the same sitting there in the dark.

The main subject of conversation, apart from Terry's hyperactive ramblings, was the fact that the Christmas Lights in England this year, have changed their name to 'Holiday Lights'. Diversity is being taken to extremes, I reckon!

Had some mail today..........Tony sent us a DVD and young Sophie sent her Grandad a birthday card! He was really pleased. There she is looking well cute.

Photo: Simon

We'll Get It Right One Day!

We had yet another Bank Holiday yesterday, we never get it quite right and had to drive to Playa Paraiso for some goodies, all the shops in our village being closed. The name means 'paradise beach' but we reckon there isn't much there and wouldn't want to turn up for a holiday!! We did see a couple of coaches turn up from the airport and off load a few......rather them than me!!

I had such a lazy day today. I've found this daft game 'Aloha Solitaire' and it kept me amused for a while. Trouble is that you are only allowed it for an hour and the play online version isn't quite so good. I'm working on it. If the worse comes to the worst I expect Markie may be able to help!

Looking at Tully's blog, she tells me that she is having kidney trouble again. Take care sweetie xx

I'm not doing too well myself. I have loads of ulcers in my mouth, well painful and I'm struggling to eat. Worst of it is that I can't have a brandy!!

We are off to the chemist tomorrow for some help. I've worked out the Spanish..........yo tengo ulceras en mi boca............we shall see, I'll probably end up with pile cream........hee hee!!