What Did I Miss!!

I´ve just watched a really brilliant programme about the making of ´The Phantom of the Opera´ starring Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford.

Back in the mid eighties, Brian treated me to a weekend in London, for my birthday, I think!! He was working there at the time and I remember catching the train from Plymouth, after work, and meeting him at Paddington. He had found a lovely hotel, just behind Kensington Palace. The barman was in his eighties, doing a degree in Military History and living hand to mouth. A wonderful man who I often think of.

Anyway, back to my tale. The highlight of my weekend was supposed to be a visit to the theatre to see the ´Phantom of the Opera´ but the Scottish blood in him refused to pay the price of the tickets!

I don´t normally nag but he did get it in the neck during tonight´s programme. I really would have liked to have seen it.

When Topsie Met Charlotte

She is a little scared of dogs after some fool let his alsation jump up at her and so we always lock Top away when Charlotte pays a visit.

For some reason she asked to see him on Thursday and they ended up the best of friends. Charlotte was playing PS2 with Top´s head on her lap. Who would have thought it?

He doesn´t know it yet but he has been invited to the park next week. It´s a long way down that slide mate!!!

An Apology

My friend Valerie and I had a difference of opinion a few weeks ago. I won´t go into the details but I missed her out on my Xmas message.

I´m sorry Val. I hope you and your boys had fun and all best wishes for the New Year.

xxxxxxx

A Quiet Day

Boxing Day isn´t a public holiday here in Spain and so everyone was out and about as usual. We didn´t do much though and hardly moved all day!

Pork chops and chips for tea which was kind of normal after all the salmon, pork pies and the other Xmas stuff with which we overfed ourselves with yesterday.

It was a lovely Christmas Day though. A nice breakfast with our mates followed by a lovely evening at Caron´s house. We treated ourselves to my favourite film........´Dirty Dancing´, and chuckled at Charlotte´s attempts at joining in. Look out Jennifer Grey!

I had a natter with my son which was lovely, but didn´t manage to speak to my daughter until today. Next call was to my brother´s house. It appeared that he was watching Blackburn Rovers play. That was a brave move after their 6 - 2 defeat against Arsenal last week. He must have gone home on a high though after watching them beat Liverpool. It all comes to he that waits!!!

It´s Xmas Eve!!

I´ve been thinking about my grandchildren and imagining how excited they all are. I hope they all get everything they have wished for.

We don´t have plans for later today but we have decided on a complete change for Christmas Day. No huge lunch for us this year after the ´Tommy Turkey´ disaster of last year, but a nice breakfast of bucks fizz, salmon, poached eggs and toast, followed by ´picky bits´ at Dave and Caron´s house later in the day. Sounds good to me!!

I feel a little like the Queen delivering the Xmas message but here goes..........
Lots of love to my son, Mark, his wife, Katie, and little Tully, my daughter, Sam, her special mate, Baz, Jamie, Martin and Maisie, my brother, Ray, Alison and their children, Dean and Bradley, and to Simon, Karen, Carla and Sophie.

Love also to Shona and William, not forgetting the new addition to the family.....Apache!! George and Alison and Alan and Karen.

Hazel, my bestest friend in all the world and her lot, Tony and his girls, my mate John and Top´s doggy friend, Joe.

Finally, to all at the Inn on the Shore, Downderry, Cornwall and our friends here in Tenerife (a special hug to our Charlotte).

Have a good one everyone. HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!!

PS. Does the Queen have a blog??

So Useless

I had to pay a visit to the Post Office or Correos today which is a mission that I really dread. It´s advisable to get there before ten o´clock as it closes at eleven and as I don´t do mornings, I have to make a tremendous effort!!

Needing at least two mugs of coffee (decaf these days) before facing the world, I was up at eight thirty and out of the door just after half nine. Not a bad sort of queue I thought. Only five in front of me. This should be a breeze and I´ll have time for coffee number three at Antonio´s Bar before meeting my friend, Barbara. Not a chance in hell!

I´m not too sure about the size of the population in our village but it must run into thousands. The one and only Post Office opens for two hours a day and one girl runs the lot. Just as I got to the front she went off to sort out the outgoing post which involved a lot of date stamping and ten minutes on the computer. By this time the queue was out of the door! Near on an hour just to buy a couple of stamps!

Just Another Week.............

...........until Xmas Day! Not that I´m excited or anything like that but I did have a moment earlier when a good old English Christmas came to mind. Finding a parking space, rushing around crowded department stores, listening to endless christmas carols and suffering hours of adverts for perfume, toys and electric razors.

It´s so different here. There are lots of decorations around but stuff isn´t pushed into your face. I have promised Charlotte that I will plug my tree in before Thursday and maybe put a few decorations up but that will be my lot. I refuse to have a repeat of last year when most of ´Tommy Turkey´ ended up in the freezer and was still looking at me at Easter!!

We have a break from bowling until the 7th January. Happen it´s a good thing as Doreen and I were useless today. The ´boys´ didn´t do too well either!

Silly Me!

Doreen had one of those ´ex-pat´ trips down memory lane yesterday and was reminiscing about her weekly visit to Marks and Spencer. I was sort of half listening and thinking about rows and rows of lacy underwear, tops and skirts etc, when she said that she had to get a lift home with all the bags.

I vaguely thought ´lucky her´, then I realised..............she was talking about FOOD!!!

I Had a Cunning Plan!

A couple of things have come to mind lately which I think are worth blogging and I set off to find the links and comment on them. However, I´ve searched the sites of the local newspapers to find the articles I was interested in, but not a mention. How annoying.

The first one, which appeared in the hard copy of ´Island Connections´ was of Barry and Val´s wedding. They are bowling mates of mine and Barry is kind enough to pick me up from my village every other Monday and take me to the Superbowl for Monday Bowling League.

Barry lost his wife, Chris, around four years ago and I remember trying to help him then, having some experience of losing a beloved partner. He was so lonely. A few months later a friend asked him to attend the funeral of the mother of a new resident to the island as she was without family and had few friends. Being the caring chap he is, he did so and that chance meeting ended up with romance. I recall him telling me that it was a little soon after losing his wife but I told him to go with the flow and have some fun!

Anyway, he´s now married to the ´new resident´ and as I often remark to Brian........I´ve never seen such a happy chappie!

My second search was to find an article written by Katy Kennedy (pictured) in another local English newspaper ´The Paper´ which seriously slags off Monday Bowling League. Again, it hasn´t been included in the online version. As I mentioned in a previous blog, we had to start again from day one. Katy and her partner Carol, couldn´t make the first three matches but did inform the bowling alley. Next thing was that they were ´blackballed´ and were replaced by another team. I agree with quite a bit of what Katy had to say but she was a little wrong in her facts and I feel an apology is in order. She blamed the wrong person and to put that in print was totally wrong.

Rant over.............time for bed xx

Poor Neglected Blog!

I´ve been quite busy this past week which is such a novelty!

Thursday was ´Charlotte´s Day´ and we did the normal sort of things, swing park, ice cream, and computer. I did introduce her to Super Bustamove 2, one of my PS2 games and she wouldn´t rest until she´d cracked it! It was so funny watching her charge around cheering after she had completed a level. Guess what we will be doing this week.

Brian´s sister, Shona, and her partner, William came over to us on Friday. We had a few beers at five o´clock club before going off to eat at Antonio´s. I find that understanding Spanish is easier than William´s Scottish accent. I say pardon so much that I´m sure he thinks I´m deaf!

They came along with us to Sunday bowling. It was a pretty poor show from our teams though, more´s the pity. Doreen and I got thrashed and Jeff and Brian only managed two points. Their big lead at the top of the table is diminishing rapidly.

Monday league was a bit grim today. There has been so much unrest that we have had to start from scratch. Ros and I had to play Doreen and Barry again. We won 6 - 2 last time........we won 6 - 2 this time..........hurrah for us! More on that later.

Talking ´grim´, the weather is really awful. We´ve had ninety mile an hour winds which are really cold. It looks like the ´go to England´ clothes will be out tomorrow!

Playa Paraiso

We caught the bus into Playa Paraiso today to meet up with our Shona and her partner, William. We had a lovely evening catching up, laughing at this and that before they went off for their evening meal in the hotel. (Brian did try to think up a way to join them for free........silly git)

After finishing our drinks we pootled down the road and found the local chinese restaurant. We had the set menu, you guessed it, sweet corn soup and chicken curry! It was ok though, nothing to complain about and at least I got the next year´s calender. It seems that it is the year of the pig! Pandas look better!

They are coming over to us on Friday so that William can meet our Top and sample proper Spanish hospitality. We are looking forward to it!

Clever Me!

After weeks of puzzling over this new router I managed to sort it today. Armed with the installation disk and the idiot guide, I opened a port! Spanish and technical..........I´m such a whizz kid. To be honest, it was a little scary as the router shut down and I thought I´d blown it, but a few seconds later all was well.

Utorrent is now uploading...........Corrie forever!!

Doreen Cancelled Sunday

I did consider calling off our bowling game today, as I´m still on the sick list, but I didn´t want to let folk down. There I was on my way to have a shower when Doreen rang. Jeff has picked up a bug too!! Being male, no staying power! Never mind, it meant that I could go back under the covers with my book. I am feeling so much better tonight, thank goodness, and we can always play our game during the next couple of weeks.

Having ´acquired´ an illicit copy of ´Casino Royale´ from the ´lookie, lookie´ man, ´im indoors is engrossed in it at the moment. I´m not really a James Bond fan and have no intention of watching it, but this new chap doesn´t really look like the shaken not stirred type of bloke. Bring back Sean Connery!!

Three´s

I so hate feeling ill and, thankfully, I rarely am. First of all I caught the flu. Aches and pains everywhere and sore ears and throat. Next, a very sore left shoulder. I think I may have a trapped nerve but at least it isn´t my bowling arm!

They say these things come in three´s so I wasn´t really surprised to find that toothache turned up. As dentists really terrify me I´m hoping that it will go away. To be honest, I don´t think I stand a chance as my face is well swollen. I look like one of the Tweenies!!

The Things Folk Say!

A friend of mine wandered over to me earlier to ask where I bought my flip-flops. I was expecting her to say how much she liked them but I couldn´t have been more wrong.

It seems that she was looking for a cheap pair to wear around the house!!

Good For Us!

Doreen and I have been bowling together as a team for over three years now and can tell where each other´s ball is going as soon as it hits the lane. It was the same when I had Martin for a partner for Monday League.

Today was the third match with my new partner, Ros, and we had to play the league leaders, Dave and Mary. Most folk in the bowling alley would agree that they are in a class of their own and are very hard to beat. We didn´t do too well on the first two games but started to get it together on the last. We also began to ´see´ where each others balls were going and offered a little bit of advice, as you do!

A little bit of a crowd gathered from the seventh frame onwards and were rewarded by our two points. It isn´t a handicap league so pinching two points from them was so good for us.

Go, girlies, go.......

I´m Hooked

I´ve never really been a fan of Holby City but I just can´t get enough of it at the moment. A few weeks ago we watched one poor woman going off to Switzerland insisting that she had a right to die and then a brave fight against cancer from another.

Poor Tricia. All those drugs and operations and then she gets killed on her way to the airport for a much needed holiday. I didn´t know whether to laugh or cry!

A good bowling day for Doreen and I (The Rackettes) as we were looking at an eight nil defeat at the start of the last game. Thankfully, we got it together and ended up with a draw. Jeff and Brian (The Rack ´ems) also had four points. Check out http://www.canarianweekly.com/localNews1172.html for all the results. Badly typed, I agree, someone hasn´t found the tab key!

About Time!

My desk, or I should have said the mess on my desk, has been getting to me for ages. I had a massive clear out today and I´m left with the normal stationery things, my diary, a lovely Waterford crystal paper knife which ´im indoors bought for me years ago, a couple of paperweights and a lava rock given to me by my son.

Charlotte wasn´t too pleased though as she missed all my teddies. I did think of giving her a couple of them (some are too special to give away) but her mum wouldn´t have appreciated it. Far too many teddies in their house!

We had a nice afternoon though. Lemony ice cream in the park and a swing race..........how old am I?. Back home for half an hour of Dora the Explorer and a game of snap. Down memory lane a little as the only other child who could find fifty ways to cheat at snap was Welby!

A Nice Chorley Man

I´ve been looking for a small hand bag for months. Just big enough for my mobile, specs and ciggies so we went up to the market this morning and found the perfect one. It only cost six euros and does the job.

We met up with this really nice bloke on our way home. He caught the bus from Los Christianos intending to end up in Los Gigantes. Unfortunately, he had a bit of a panic and ended up ten minutes away from his destination. The first thing he said was ´Can you tell me where I am?´.
It was his first visit to Tenerife and he told us, over a drink, that he had been to Santa Cruz, Puerto del a Cruz and all on the bus. I had a sneaking suspicion that he was a Lancashire lad and then he confessed to living in Chorley.

We sent him on his way, after giving him the directions............a nice encounter.

Grrrr..........Bleepers!

It´s happen as well that I don´t go to bed early as they are currently re-surfacing the main road. I can understand that it is easier for them to do it during the night but do they really need the reversing bleepers on? It´s half past midnight here and you would not believe the noise up there...........impatient drivers hooting and the workmen yelling their heads off!

To add insult to injury, they have also started building on the empty site next to us. So when one lot of bleepers stop another one starts! No peace from 11 pm until 5 pm the next day.

Five Weeks...........

I know I´ve been a real pain for weeks, moaning about my internet connection but for some reason it sorted itself today. I went off to bed in a huff last night, swearing to myself. Computer will go in a skip, I will find other things to do, I won´t mind not speaking to my friends and family in the middle of the night and I will save 40 Euros a month on ADSL.

But, it´s been as lively as a cricket today so happen I´ll give it another chance. Someone in the Telefonica building may be looking after me!

It´s Hard Work Being 58!

Happy Birthday Brian xx

We had quite a nice day. Bowling this afternoon followed by a couple of beers with Dave, Caron and Vic. Marilyn and Bernard turned up later which was good.

He´s been having scary moments though as he´s dreading the big 60. Sam rang him this morning and told him not too worry about it as he´ll never reach it!! Looking at him snoring in his chair she could be right!

I Spoke too Soon!

It´s like banging your head against a brick wall getting this internet connection to work. It was perfect yesterday but now it´s on and off so much that it´s making me dizzy!!

How can it be ok one minute and not the next? To make matters worse, my bit torrent isn´t uploading although the downloads are fine. If I don´t file share, no more Corrie. It doesn´t bear thinking about!

I can normally sort it but this is really beyond me. I just wish I could have a computer mending man who spoke English!!

On a really sad note, our friend, John, is very sick and in hospital at the moment. Michael is looking after Sally, his Labrador, as well as keeping us all informed. Lots of love to John xxx

So Nice

It´s wonderful to have my computer back as the house seems so empty without it. I´m not too sure about the workings of them but it didn´t seem right that the hard drive had ´gone`. Everything worked apart from the internet connection. Very puzzling, especially when he reduced the bill from 250 Euros to 60 and that on a month´s trial!! Happen he thought we were old dodderers and easily taken in, but a mighty moan and sounding a little like we knew something seems to have helped.

I´m now in the process of finding all the things he appears to have lost. Thankfully, all my pics are still there but no trace of my Family History stuff. So annoying.

Our quest for PS2 games hasn´t been quite as rewarding though. We discovered the rental ´hole in the wall´the other day where you make your choice and pay with a special card purchased earlier. We´ve tried JakX, Harry Potter and a Ratchet game but none of them seemed to suit. Well, at least we could take them back and didn´t pay sixty odd Euros for them!

A Good Weekend

We decided to catch the bus on Saturday to a bar in a nearby village as we wanted to watch the Blackburn v Man U game. Dave, Caron and Charlotte came along too. Superb service by the bus company......bar to bar delivery!!

It was a fun afternoon, especially for Caron as her drinks were two for the price of one! Shame Blackburn lost though.

We went of to bowling on Sunday as usual and The Rack´ems scored another eight points which puts them fourteen points clear at the top of the table. Doreen and I had a win too!

Terry's Parrot

Poor Terry. He has wanted a parrot for years and eventually saved enough to buy one last summer. It cost him 350 Euros but, unfortunately, it died a few weeks later.

I was speaking to him over the weekend and he mentioned that he was getting another one the following day. We then heard a request for help on the local radio...........a parrot had escaped and was last seen heading towards Alabama!! (Hotel Abama, not the state in America)!!

It appears that his wife was cleaning the cage and the parrot made a break for freedom. Best he buys a budgie!

Little Fingers

Young Charlotte had a bit of a mishap in the park yesterday which resulted in a very big 'ouch'. We never did find out how she did it because she was crying too much to explain it but she ended up with a badly bruised finger. Mummy did her best, a packet of Maltesers and a can of pop but nothing helped.

Off she went to the clinic this evening and was so proud of the Xrays she brought back, nothing broken, and after a spoonful of medicine, no more tears! We couldn't believe how much better that finger was.............happen Mum didn't mind spending forty euros!!

Talking about the poorly sick....I've been feeding Topsie his tablets all week. Open his mouth, chuck it in, rub his throat and hope for the best. Today, I happened to drop it onto the floor and he came over and ate it! Life will be easier for the last three.

I spoke to Shona the other night. She's Tenerife bound in about four weeks and I'm looking forward to seeing her. I'm sad to say that she isn't staying with us this time but I expect we will meet up quite a lot. Three of her Jack Russell's have had puppies this week............thirteen in all, wow!!

It's Looking a Little Better!

Thankfully, Top is a lot better. He's on antibiotics for eight days and has to go back to see the vet at the end of his tablets. No whiskey for him for a little while!! They did find the source of the infection and it appears that it is something to do with his gums which requires a small operation. That is scary in itself as he'll get so stressed if I leave him at the vet's. Happen she will let me hold his paw until he nods off!

As for my internet problems............the Telefonica man turned up at nine thirty this morning.........Sunday of all days. He plugged in his lap-top which showed all the problems in the apartment. Bad telephone lines which were only repaired on Monday and a problem with the router. We couldn't find 'El Presidente' who holds the keys to the main telephone exchange in the hallway but matie carried on regardless and managed to get me back online. I just sat around in my dressing gown, playing my game on the PS2, and let i'm indoors sort it all out. Two and a half hours and 75 Euros later, order was restored.

I suppose I must mention the bowling as it's Sunday..........Jeff and Brian 8, Doreen and I, 0.........nothing else to be said.

A Topsie Update

He's not a happy chappie. We took him to see the vet who said that he has a fever, reason unkown. His heart and lungs are fine but she seemed a little worried about his kidneys and liver. He had two injections and we have to take him back on Friday morning. If things haven't improved she intends to take blood samples and she also needs a urine sample. Now, how on earth are we going to get that?!! I can just see me following him down the road with a jug!

Charlotte's View of Thunder

'These two black clouds get black and angry and then they go bash, bash and boom'.

She came to stay this afternoon but as the weather was so awful we had to stay indoors watching torrential rain, thunder and lightning. We did some colouring (I had the bad crayons), played playstation and gave snakes and ladders a go. So funny and such a good girl under the circumstances.

Topsie, my ten-year old Jack Russell is poorly sick and bad tonight. He doesn't want to go out and can't jump up onto the bed. Unfortunately, as it's a bank holiday, we have to wait until morning to get him to the vet. The emergency number is to hand just in case as I couldn't bear not having him. Poor little man.

No-one Knocking at my Door!

No horrid children throwing eggs around the place tonight, thank goodness. The bad weather must have kept them all indoors.

November First is All Souls' Day. The folks here spend it with their dead relations. Picnics in the Churchyard and that sort of thing. It is a nice thought though. I think I could rest easy knowing that my family would visit once a year and bring me a pork pie!

Bad Internet, Good Bowling

For the second weekend in succession our telephone line and internet connection has been so bad that it was unusable. Allegedly, the 'man' turned up and repaired something or other last week but it just made matters worse. We had a gigantic whinge this morning and the 'man' showed up again. It turned out that the wiring in our apartment was shot and he had to replace the lot. He even left me a new phone!! So far so good.

As for the bowling............Doreen and I had a good 6 - 2 win yesterday which puts us fifth in the league. We have to play Jeff and Brian next week who are currently in the lead. Neither of us are open for bribery and plan to take some points from them if we can. Expect a battle!

Today was the first Monday League match of the season. Doreen and her partner, Barry, were lined up against Ros and I and it was such a close run game. They won the first by four pins but we rallied and ended up with a 6 - 2 win! Cool!!

The Spoils of Time

I decided to re-read the famous trilogy by Penny Vincenzi as it's been hiding in the cupboard for three or four years. I finished the first book 'No Angel' on Friday night and went off to find 'Something Dangerous'. You guessed it, no sign of it. I know I wouldn't have lent it out, I'm positive that it didn't go to our car boot sale, but after having every book out of the cupboard, still no sign!!

As we had an extra hour this morning we decided to pootle over to the market and I had a quick glance at the second hand book stall. Would you believe that he only had two by Penny Vincenzi and one of them was..........'Something Dangerous'!!! Noticing my excitement he tried to flog me the other one too!

Recycling or Somesuch!

I found this earlier.................


HINTS AND TIPS - YOUR BLUE BOX, BLUE AND WHITE SACK
Use the WHITE SACK for waste paper only, i.e. newspapers, magazines, junk mail, yellow pages etc. Do not put any domestic refuse, nappies, books into the sack as these can not be recycled. Take care when presenting your sack for collection to prevent problems of spillage and windblown paper.Use the BLUE SACK for plastic bottles only, i.e. milk, shampoo, pop, washing-up plastic bottles etc and metal cans/tins and foil. Do not put any domestic refuse, nappies, or plastic toys into the sack as these can not be recycled. Take care when presenting your sack for collection to prevent problems of spillage. Wherever possible, wedge the sack between other containers.Use the blue box for glass jars and bottles only. Rinse debris from glass containers before putting them in the box. Wash out your box occasionally as this will help keep it cleanUse the green sack to recycle your clothes, bedding, curtains and footwear.

It all sounds a little complicated to me. Because of the heat, our rubbish has to be taken out each day and, during the summer months, not until after eight in the evening. Most street corners have a collection of wheelie bins, different colours for different things. The 'muck truck' turns up around midnight each day. It all seems a lot easier than having blue boxes, blue bags, white bags and green bags!!

Bits and Bats

I mentioned recently that a mate had given me his old mobile phone..............old for him but really modern for me! The trouble was that I couldn't get on with it and so I decided to have a treat this week. Pay as you go mobiles are very expensive here...........over 200 euros for a decent phone with camera and 550 for the Nokia, which I really wanted. I've now gone on contract and chose a Sony Ericsson Z530i. It's one of those clam things, quite small and I'm well happy with it.

Good news on the bowling front. I have a new partner for Monday League. She's called Ros and I've known her for ages. We have found a sponsor, had a pre-match natter and are looking forward to the first match!!

It was Charlotte day yesterday and she was such a little minx! We are suffering with really high winds at the moment and I'm sure it sent her hyper. She screamed, giggled, ran around like someone possessed. Good fun though!

Marian

Mike and Marian came over three or four times a year and are honorary members of the five o'clock club.

We have never seen Marian at the best of health and have watched her deteriorate over the last couple of years.

Sadly, she died in her sleep during the night.

It's hard to think that we won't see her again but at least her suffering is at an end. Hard for Mike too, but I expect he is relieved having suffered along with her for so long.

Night, night, Marian, I'm glad we had a hug a couple of weeks ago xxxxxx

Teenage Girls!!

There was a real row between mother and daughter at the bowling today. Fourteen year-old Chaz was expected home at seven o'clock on Saturday night but went on the missing list. She eventually rang home at ten to eight to say that she had fallen asleep on the bus and didn't know where she was!

Her mum and dad, Carol and Elliot, set off in the car to fetch her home but couldn't find her. Can you imagine what they felt like? Just going dark and their only child wandering around lost.

They ended up driving for about 45 kilometres, stopping at every bus stop on the way. Chaz had walked as far as the airport, 4 kilometres, borrowed a few cents from a stranger and phoned her mum.

All was well in the end. The whole thing took a couple of hours but she was safe. Now she is wondering why she is grounded!!

I found it hard not to smile today when I heard 'But, Mum, I only fell asleep on the bus'. A few of us oldies with grown up daughters had a few quiet chuckles!

To make matters worse, Doreen and I beat Chaz and her mate, Tash, at the bowling. Poor kid, not her weekend!

In Bed With a Lizard.........

.............well, almost!!

I went off to my bed last night and as I pulled the top sheet back I discovered a lizard making itself at home!

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind them but I would rather not sleep with one. It got chased out and I spent half the night wondering where it had gone!

Catching Up

Doreen and I managed to get two points on Sunday from Bob and Steve which was a good result. Yesterday was Presentation Day for the Monday League. Dave from the California Bar picked up most of the prizes which was a good result for him. He is a superb bowler though. I did get a prize.........ten euros in the raffle!! Oh, and Brian's long awaited trophy from the Sunday League.......I did feel good walking out with it, even though it wasn't mine! Feelers are out for a new partner for me, but it isn't looking good.

We had a wander down to see Maria earlier, she has been in Barcelona all weekend and told me that is was 'muy frio y mucho viento'. Pretty similar here today, not quite so cold but quite windy.

Next stop was the park to see Charlotte riding her new bike. She's getting the hang of it now so expect a pic. I was planning to mention her Dad's antics but I've decided against it!! Nose hair is gross!

Home again to catch up on Corrie. I had hoped that Rosie would catch the train but never mind. Micky in the Bill got sorted and no-one made a fortune in Antiques Roadshow.

Such is life!

Love, Love Me Do!

You know how your tummy turns over when you hear a song from your youth...........the Beatles do that to me every time I hear them. As an eleven year old, I so loved George!!

Joan and Kevin lent us the dvd series of 'The Beatles Anthology' and there we were saying 'I was such an age, doing this that.......... and remember Radio Luxembourg?'. Kids of our generation used to hide under the covers at night hugging the transistor radio, hoping a grown-up might not notice! Reception was terrible and that flippin' ear thing really hurt!

Back to the Beatles.............one of my regrets in life is that I never saw them live.

Chocolate Eclairs

They are listed in the top ten of things I miss about England. Brian happened to notice a tray of cakes in the bakery tonight that looked well similar. I've just pigged out and it was perfect!!

A Little Sad

Martin, my Monday bowling partner rang today, to tell me that he can no longer play in the league. He has a new job in a hotel, with a shift pattern. I did hear a rumour last weekend but hoped it wasn't true. After two years as partners it is a bit of a blow, mainly because we have been really getting it together lately with lots of good scores. I felt a little choked as I think a lot of him and will miss him.

I'll also miss Monday league as it's a good afternoon out. Still, I'll think positive and hopefully, someone else might be looking for a new partner before the start of the new season.

It won't be the same though, but good luck to Martin and his new job xxx

Beautifully Done

I've read Jane Eyre several times during my life and can almost recite the main dialogue word for word.

This latest BBC production is pretty spot on and I can't really fault it. Well, apart from Mr Rochester not being as gruff as he should be and some of the scenes weren't in the right place. Jane is well cast though and is how I always imagined her to be.

I'm looking forward to the last in the series even though I can't imagine how they can put so much into an hour long programme. It has nine out of ten so far so wait and see.

A Good Day at the Bowling!

Jeff and Brian are miles ahead in the new Sunday League and really wanted Doreen and I to beat the two Swiss blokes who are in second place.
How we did it I know not, but we managed a 6 - 2 win!! Doreen and her gammy leg too!! The Rack'ems also had six points so a good day all round.

I've been hankering after a mobile phone with a camera for ages and a mate passed one over earlier today. Never having had anything else than Nokia, Sharp has confused me............. I can't switch the flippin' thing on! The idiot guide is in Spanish which doesn't help, but I reckon an English one would be difficult. Bluetooth who??

Remember Damien......he took a saw to the swing park tonight. The mind boggles!

Cart on Stanley, Cart On..........

Check this one out............
www.celticcross.co.uk/news/stanley.htm

It took me ages to find it and I really wanted to hear it. Cart on lads, one day I'll manage to see you play xx

Another Year

I can't believe that another year has flown by and it's five years since we left Plymouth on the Brittany Ferry to Roscoff.

Do I regret it? In the main I think I do. I'm not about to have a moan but the phrase 'the grass is greener' comes to mind.

Time for bed x

Too Hot to Think!

Another really hot day. Barry told me that his garden thermometer recorded 40 degrees C at eleven this morning! The only time I've felt cool is when he took me to bowling and had the aircon on in his car.

Happy Birthday to Dean, number one nephew who is twelve today xx.

Bowling was good as Martin and I won, 6 - 2. The last match in the season and we didn't qualify for the wooden spoon! It was the best I'd ever seen him play and with luck he'll start off with the same sort of points next season.

Brian and I met up with Dave and Caron later. Vic popped by to let us know he's going back to England tomorrow..........happy holidays to him x.

I keep meaning to mention this horrid child that frequents the swing park. We have named him Damien..............he is evil! His parents keep him supplied with horrid looking swords and plastic guns. I doubt if he's three years old yet but I'm sure he is a terrorist in the making. His bedroom must look like an arsenal! He'll have some poor child's eye out one of these days, mark my words!

Cheats!

I really can't bear anyone that cheats. This new 'throw it down the gutter' mentality that is rife during this bowling season is doing my head in. How can a person score a series of strikes in the first game to follow it up by a score of 112 in the second? Because he wanted to keep a low handicap..............flippin' sandbagger!!

I lost interest, yet again, as I prefer to fight against someone, not watch them miss pins on purpose.

Brian and Jeff almost came to fisticuffs over their game too. One of their opponents threw his ball and Jeff pointed out that the head pin was missing. Matey declared a dead ball and asked for the pins to be reset. Jeff turned a strange shade of puce and argued the point. He looked even worse when the chap got a strike!! Having checked the rules this evening, matey was correct......hee, hee!

It will be fine tomorrow, no handicaps in Monday League!

Strawberry and Hipos!

Charlotte's choice of ice-cream this week was strawberry. Pretty yucky, I must admit and at one point I thought she was going to be sick! The worst of it was that she got hiccups or hipos in Spanish, such a lovely word!

Apart from that we had a nice afternoon. We only had half an hour in the park as it was far too hot to linger, and then off to my house. Her computer skills are increasing, especially mouse control. I found a good learning programme where she had to make pictures, mainly using hold and drag. It caught her attention though and I never once heard 'I'm bored, Auntie June'!!

We are just home after spending the evening at Michael and Carla's place. They did a lovely barbie..........pork chops, chicken, steak and salad. Nice people and good conversation. Well, apart from those funny folk sat next to me!!

How Strange the Internet

The lady on the left, Mrs Holden, really looked after me back in 1967 when I first lost my mum. I've always remembered her care and love and would never have forgotten her face.

Her daughter, Sheila, sitting next to her, was my best mate at the time. A previous post showed us at her wedding. Her daughter, Deborah, is on the right, along with her two nippers, I remember her birth and changed a few nappies!!

I received this pic via email this evening, from a mutual friend in California, and was amazed to learn that Mrs Holden's christian name is Maisie.

Having always known her as Mrs Holden, it is so nice to think that one of my grandchildren is a Maisie too.

Light Bulbs and Toilet Rolls!!

Is it just us or are light bulbs and toilet rolls the things you always forget when out shopping?

During the past couple of days several bulbs have blown in our apartment. We did have a spare for the bathroom but that blew the first time I pressed the switch!! It's getting to be rather gloomy around here as both hall lights are out, bathroom out and the lounge too!

I'll say no more about loo rolls but I reckon a bright yellow post it note on 'im indoors forehead might help at the shop tomorrow!!

Playing Catch Up

We had to go bowling this afternoon to play the match we missed on Sunday. It was important to have it done before we play again because of the new handicap rules. I suspect someone has been sandbagging as our handicaps are the same!! Strange that.

Thankfully, Melvyn got us there today!

I've been feeling a little sad this week as our Donna left the Island on Tuesday to start afresh in France. I didn't see her that often but I'm missing her.

Thank You, Sam xxxxxxxxx

I expect you all remember my sad post about the death of our five year old PS2. It has been well missed as we are both addicts.

TODAY, a parcel arrived from my daughter Sam, which we expected to be a couple of dvd's but it was a new slimline Playstation 2!! I can't believe how tiny it is in comparison to our old one. Ratchet and Clank were fetched out and we spent a happy afternoon 'taking turns' and now we have a dvd playing. Such a lovely present, thanks again Sam xxx

Strangely enough, it managed to arrive on our twentieth anniversary. We had a bit of a party at five o'clock club. Dave, Caron, Charlotte, Joan, Kevin and Vic all turned up for a few beers and Dave and Caron bought a bottle of brandy for me and whiskey for him.

It's nice to know that we are loved xxx

Scary Sunday!

Another one of those days when 'our Melvyn' didn't feel like going too far along the TF1. We intended to go bowling but we ended up waiting for the grua to turn up and take us all home!

Luckily, we managed to get to the slip road, after a water pipe blew out. Following Spanish rules, 'im indoors put his reflective jacket on and placed the emergency triangles behind the car. I was ordered to go over the barrier, not an easy task as they look lower than they are!

Thank goodness for mobile phones. Brian rang for the grua whilst I informed the bowling alley of our misfortune. Five minutes later Officer Dibble turned up to check us out. Having explained that we were ok and just waiting for a tow truck, he left us to it. Nice of him to stop by though.

We only had to wait for around fifteen minutes which was well impressive for Tenerife and home again.

According to Doreen, there were lots of whinges in the bowling alley........but you can't have everything!

A Fun Afternoon

I collected Charlotte from nursery this afternoon for our regular Thursday jaunt. We had an extra mission today as we needed a nice flat stone for hopscotch.........no, I won't be playing!! Her Mum is intending to mark it out for her on their roof terrace. That done, she marched me down onto the beach to look at a dead turtle. I couldn't see it no matter how hard I looked. Imagination is a powerful thing!

Next stop the supermarket for our icecream. We try out a different one every week. Today's was 'lemony' and really very nice. After half an hour in the swing park (I got really high!), we went off for our computer time. We adopted a blue virtual pet named Wendy and can I find it now? Poor thing must be starving.

I had a text from Sue who is in England for a couple of weeks. They went over for a wedding but, unfortunately, Don's mum broke her hip. Not such a good holiday but at least they are there for her.

Birthdays..........Again!!

Who could this young lady be? Julian sent some pics, via Sam, of her first day at senior school. She looks wonderful and is a birthday girl on Saturday. Have a lovely day Jamie. We'll be thinking of you and send lots of hugs and kisses..............Nana, Grandad and Topxxxxxxxx

Our Martin! He can look forward to a year of peace now. One sister has gone off to another school but he knows that young Maisie will be annoying him during his last year at primary school!! Never mind, have a good birthday on Monday, mate, lots of love from Nana, Grandad and Top.....wish I could have a hug xxxxxxx

PS. Looking at Jamie's backpack, whatever happened to those horrid brown satchel things that my generation had to lug around?

Thank Goodness for Top!

I love to sit on the balcony during the early hours of the morning as it's the coolest part of the day and nice and peaceful. As soon as Topsie started running around like an idiot I realised that there must be a cockroach about. They sprout wings at this time of year and fly towards the light.

Ours was around four inches long and really horrid. Thankfully, 'im indoors managed to catch it after I had the screaming fits and woke him up. Unfortunately, he left it on the floor before going back to his bed muttering some sort of swear words and I had to scoop it up with the fly swat. It still had a couple of twitchy legs.........really horrid and I feel well creepy now!

Bad Bowling!

A new season with lots of new rules! I can see that we will have some rows over this during the next few months. One bad one is 'should any person not be on the lane at two thirty the match will be considered forfeit, and all points cancelled'. Yes, nice one, especially if I've travelled in on the bus which is a journey of around an hour, to find that some idiot is late and I've had a wasted trip!!

THEN.........they decided the fault line is to be used during all match games. Not such a problem but I bowled and received a foul. I know I never went over the line and went and complained. BLAH, BLAH, no, you must have gone over the line. Ok, I tried again, making sure at least three people watched me including the mechanic.........FOUL!! I rarely lose my temper but I was almost at the stage of picking my ball up and going home. Thankfully, just before I had a screaming fit, Shippy, agreed with me and the fault line was turned off. It didn't help my game though as I only had ten points on the third frame.

Not to worry as it might help in regard to another new rule. Handicaps aren't decided until you have played three matches. It's all so STUPID!

Sorry to whinge but I'm still well cross.

A New Series

I've just watched the first of a new series of 'who do you think you are' which looked at the family history of Barbara Windsor. It was interesting and a little sad in parts but it just goes to show how far you can go when the professionals lend a hand! I think it's safe to say that she's a real Eastender!

My friend John, who I thank for reminding me to look out for it, isn't too keen on the interest it generates as it takes so much longer for certificates to arrive and research sites tend to get a little clogged up. I best get a wriggle on too as I have 43 files to upload for FreeBMD! (Thanks also to the BBC for allowing me to pinch their logo!).

My favourite site has been taken off for repairs this weekend. No photo comp, no photo quiz and no late night debates. Missing it already!

The School Bus

I really couldn't resist blogging this little tale.

As I mentioned on a previous thread, Jamie has just started Senior School and now needs to catch the school bus (pictured). It put her mum into memory mode and she confessed to a couple of childish pranks............first I've ever heard!

She attended the same school and did the daily journey just as Jamie is doing now. Scary stuff really.

Anyway, it appears that all the kids on the bus, around fifty or so, decided to have an away day. They planned it weeks in advance, most of them took a change of clothes and instead of going into school they jumped on the ferry and had a lovely day in Plymouth. Unfortunately, a few got caught and the rest got a lecture the following morning but as pranks go, it deserves ten out of ten! Cool!!

Best we don't tell Jamie and I've just grounded Sam for the week!!

I Forgot to Mention.........

6) Dead DVD player!!

Toaster works.........I shouldn't have said that should I?

Most folk have problems in threes, we double it!! Fortunately, the fridge freezer did revive over night so that's one less thing to worry about.

It's still well hot. We are all suffering and I have awful heat rash. Thankfully, there is aircon in the bowling alley. Not that Martin or I played too well today, but never mind, better luck next time.

Jamie starts senior school tomorrow. I really can't believe she is almost twelve. Best of luck, Flowerpot, do well and enjoy xxxx

Would You Believe It?

I'm sure that we have some crazy leccy gremlin living in our apartment. We have had so many poorly, sick and bad appliances this year it's hard to keep up.

1) Computer - Repaired twice and now has a bad 'a' drive
2) PS2 - Completely dead
3) Dead kettle - replaced and the new one is looking ok so far, finger's crossed
4) Iron - struggling
5) Washing machine gave up the ghost and was replaced three weeks ago - needs the repair man come Monday............grrrr.

THEN we came home this evening to find the kitchen flooded. The fridge freezer has packed in!!!

Luckily, we hadn't done a big shop so not much to spoil but there isn't any cold water for 'im indoors' whiskey! Talk about priorities, what is he like? Telling him to 'chill out' didn't help (hee hee).

All mopped up and towels spread around and we'll see what it's like when we plug it back in. I'm always so hopeful!

September........already!

As my Nana used to say 'rabbits, rabbits, rabbits!!

I haven't any of those but I do have this pic of young Pepper. He's now wide eyed and on his feet........with a little help from Maisie by the look of things! Thanks Sam xx

Well, our cunning plan to win enough money to pay the locker fees flopped, even though we were both close. Ron won with 189 points with Brian a close second having 180. I had a split which included a green random pin. All I had to do was to knock the white one down............grrrr.......I missed it by a coat of paint! Two hundred euros out of the window. Not to worry as we both enjoyed our evening. Better luck next time!

A Good Win

Martin and I both played well today and managed a 6 - 2 win against the team 'Wigan Pier'. I scored 170 on the last which was a clean game until frame seven when I lost the plot! A big split, nasty rabbit's ears, but I did manage to get two of them. That 200 shirt still eludes me.

The new Sunday League season starts this week. I checked out the teams today and it seems that ten have registered so far. No-one new, unfortunately, just the same old faces.

We are off to the fun bowl tomorrow evening. Free bowling, free drinks, free food and lots of cash prizes. I'm quite good at bowling 'off the bumper' so finger's crossed. Our target is enough dosh to pay the year's locker fees!

My blog is a little lacking in photos at the moment because my 'a' drive is playing up. Everytime I insert a disk, my computer crashes. I've no idea why but 'the man who knows' will be back from his hols soon and should be able to sort it.

Moving House

Brian helped Dave and Caron shift their stuff into the new house today whilst Charlotte and I had the afternoon to ourselves. She's such a clever chica as she improved her time on the 'Bob the Builder' game by half!! Mouse control is good and she's sussed the space bar! Another couple of 'lessons' and she will bypass me!

We walked down to the park after a while for icecream (a beer for me)!! I reckon we both deserved it! The workers arrived about an hour later.

It took us ages to find a bar to have a meal in..........we were all starving. Tropicana was full of football supporters, Esmerelda only had tapas so we ended up at Bar David. Not a bad meal I thought and Charlotte enjoyed her egg and chips. It was a little scary when she decided to play hairdresser though and declared that I had 'flies'! I really hope not!

Anyway, I hope they are well happy in their new home, lots of love from all of us xxxxxxxxx

A Long Holiday

I collected Charlotte from nursery today as her long holiday from school is beginning to be well boring. Her Nana, on holiday here for a month, spent lots of time with her and Auntie Sue has taken her swimming quite often but three months is a long time to spend at nursery with the babies. Her parents both work so it's the only option for them.

We had some fun. An hour doing educational puzzles on the computer, mainly concentrating on mouse exercises, was followed by a snack. She wolfed down yogurt, choccie biscuits and lots of orange juice.........where does she put it?

She did have a go at the bedlam cube, once I'd dusted it, but that wasn't as interesting as the computer!! We had a few 'fun' games before walking down to the park for ice cream and half an hour on the swings before Mum turned up and I was reprieved.

I enjoyed it and I'm sure she did. Happen we'll do it again next week!!

Painfully Hot!

It has been unbearable this past couple of days and that is an admission from someone who reckons 'the hotter the better'!!

We went for a stroll this afternoon. It was like trudging through the desert and I was relieved to be back home. Not that it was cooler here but at least I didn't have to move! I've just checked the forecast for the rest of the week and it appears there is a weather warning. Jogging will be off the list of activities then!

Poor Topsie has been searching for cool places too. Under the bed has been his favourite today instead of his normal 'soak up the sun' position on the balcony.

One Day

I'm still trying to win the photo competition and this is my current entry. I quite like it so we'll see how it goes.

Having had a strong argument over last week's winner, I'm not sure how the land lies at the moment. I spent many years learning the art of photography and my tutor wouldn't have accepted anything that wasn't my own work. The first rule in this competition states the very same thing............but, the winner of the last one entered a photo of herself!

I don't mean to be bitchy and I wasn't alone offering my complaints but rules are rules. It was a good pic and deserved to win............if the photographer had entered it in her own name. Nepotism I expect!

Accident?

We walked down to Bar Ayoze on Friday evening to meet up with Dave, Caron and Charlotte, before going over to Sue's birthday party.

It was lovely, sitting there in the sunshine enjoying a quiet beer........until this horrid child kicked his football onto our table. Glass, beer and blood everywhere! It was pretty scary and I was shaking like a leaf, but, fortunately, apart from a few cuts, we were ok. The child, around 13 or so, had his football confiscated. Luckily, it was just the two of us but I dread to think what might have happened if all of the 5 o'clock club members had been there.

We had a pleasant couple of hours with Sue and her family, listening to old sixties music and watching the sunset.

I found two perfect bedside lights this morning.............pale cream and black. My beef thingy meal was horrid and Accy Stanley had a draw! Blackburn lost 3 - 0.........my brother will be gutted.

Another draw for Liverpool and Sheffield Utd. Most of the crowd were supporting the underdog, but I just can't bring myself to cheer on a Yorkshire team!

Such Industry!

We finally got around to painting the bedroom yesterday. Not the ideal occupation when it's over 80 degrees but it had to be done. I was the labourer, not an easy task! It just needs some new curtains, which I'll make tomorrow, and some new bedside lights. Jobs a good un.

Whilst I wasn't running around after 'im indoors I was cooking!! Two meals at the same time I might add, never been known before. I made roast chicken and all the trimmings and also a beef bourguinonne for tonight's meal. Someone said that it needed to stand overnight to do something. We'll soon know if it's edible!

My friend, Sue, has a birthday today and has invited us over for 'drinks' later. Happy Birthday Sue x

A Bad Night

We went off to the Bowling League Presentation last night............really grim! I started with prawn cocktail, my old favourite, followed by a steak and finally, tiramasu.

Three prawns in the cocktail, no potatoes or chips with the steak, just a 'parcel' of carrots and some green thing that I didn't like the look of, and the sweet was far too sweet to eat!

The management didn't make an appearance and when it came to the trophies, it was one per team. Doreen and I had a quick argument about who wanted to dust it most. I'm not sure how I did it but Jeff ended up taking the cup home!! Sad for Brian but good for me!!

It isn't looking good for the next season as only six teams have registered. We shall see.

Will They Or Won't They?

Jason and Sarah-Louise are due to be married this week. I've heard that two separate story lines have been filmed.

Their mothers have been against it all along and the question is...............will they both turn up?

We shall see.

Good old Corrie!!!

No Bowling

I really hate the end of the Sunday Bowling League season. The day seems to go on forever.

We had a wander around the village for a couple of hours and came home for curry. Just what you need on a boiling hot day! Tasty though!

A bit of TV, I'm up to date on Corrie, and time for bed.

Out Voted!

I've been trying to update my blog for about three days but, for some reason, Blogger wasn't playing!

As I predicted, the children decided that they wanted to keep the tabby kitten. They have chosen the name Pepper, though, and poor Nana lost her vote. Sadly, the fourth kitten didn't live very long and from the pic, it looks like Tiggy has her own favourites. I have a sneaky feeling that Sam will end up keeping two!!

My new washing machine arrived and on time too. It's quite a luxury after suffering with my old one for so long and I was well pleased to see the back of it.

The fiesta has moved on to the nearby village of Alcala. I've just watched a wonderful firework display from my balcony.

Finally, I hope my son, Mark, had a good birthday yesterday. We did have a chat during the afternoon but my attempt at a birthday blog failed miserably. Bad Blogger!!

Happy Birthday Mark xxx

New Things.........

I have a new washing machine. It's due to be delivered at eleven, tomorrow morning. Hopefully, Tenerife time won't apply and the first load will be washed by twelve! I shouldn't get so excited, should I?!

Next on the list is a new kettle. I've spotted one I like and a new iron too.

It will be well posh in here by Friday!

Expect pics!

Fiesta Time

Actually, it's almost over and having taken place over the other side of the village this year, it hasn't bothered us very much. We watched the fireworks from our building last night and it must have looked well funny. Top can cope without barking if he is able to see them and so we held him up so that he had a good view. We had some strange looks from our neighbour!!

My step-daughter, Donna, had a bad time of it though. She turned up this morning to tell us that she had lost her car. As badly parked vehicles had been towed away last night we presumed her's was one.

We had to rush off to bowling as it was the last match of the season and so we left her next door with Mimi. Julie (Doreen's sub) and I managed to win 8 - 0 whilst Brian and Jeff lost, putting them in third position. At least they will get a cup! The Rackettes finished next to last!

After a sleep and a shower, our Donna realized that she'd left her car at home!! What is she like?!

Tiggy's Babies

Tiggy, my daughter's cat, gave birth to her kittens this afternoon. I was talking to Sam on the phone during part of it and it sounded well painful. It was lovely to hear the kittens though!

These three were born within half an hour but the fourth, who remains a mystery didn't turn up for another hour. I would so love to have the tabby as he looks such a tinker.

We had a family competition........whoever guessed how many Tiggy had can name the one which Sam is keeping..........well done me! Jak it is, or at least until Jamie, Martin and Maisie talk me out of it!

Photo Competition 10........

The subject is 'People at Work'.

I can see these two chaps from my balcony and have been watching them for a week or so. They seem to spend more time moving their scissor lift than they do plastering! Poor Top wouldn't walk past it this morning as it makes so much noise. He hid behind a palm tree...........chicken!! One would have thought that it would be a quiet sort of occupation but nothing ever is here.

Anyway, I submitted my entry and, would you believe it, just a few minutes later I had my first vote. Happen it might have a chance.

Wakes Week

It was usual for each cotton weaving town in Lancashire to have a week's holiday from the mills during the summer months, normally called Wakes Week. The mill closed completely and most folk went off to Blackpool and stayed in lodgings for a few days. The unlucky ones who couldn't afford it went on 'day trips' and caught the sharrabang to Fleetwood, New Brighton or Morecambe.

That's where my blog has been this past week. Off on it's holidays!!

It's been a year since I started it and for those folk who have shared it with me, I hope some of it has been interesting.

Happy Birthday, BLOG xxxx

Melvyn Was Rammed!!

We stopped off at the bank on the way to bowling today and, as there wasn't a space, Brian pulled in behind three parked cars. I noticed a Spanish lady turn up who started to load her beach stuff into her vehicle. Being polite I explained that he was in the bank and would be two minutes but she didn't seem very interested.

Next thing I saw was the back end of her car coming towards me and then 'dunk'. I couldn't even get out of the car as her's had trapped me in! Luckily, she noticed and after explaining again where Brian was she was full of apologies. Melvyn was unscathed so off we went. I'll be having flashbacks though!!

My Spanish was tested again when we got to the underground car park at the bowling. There was a queue of around fifteen cars so I got out and went off to see what the problem was. A chap was standing by the ticket machine looking a bit perplexed. I tried to help but he went off into a bit of a rant telling me, in English, that I was a visitor etc. and should address him in his own language! When I did he turned his back on me!! I was beginning to wish I'd stayed in bed!

Bowling started fifteen minutes late as folk had to find alternative places to park. We lost 6 - 2 after all that!

Village News

There seems to be a lot of shuffling about here lately.

Dave and Caron have bought a new apartment and plan to move shortly. Young Charlotte is well excited and says that I'm allowed to have a look at her new bedroom. She reckons that she will 'ring me' when she is ready! She does make me chuckle.

Another move is in the offing as Dave and Jane are looking for somewhere new.

Sue and Don have bought a boat. We haven't seen it yet but I expect Sue will 'ring me'!!!

We met up with my step-daughter, Donna, earlier this evening. She was rushing off to meet up with her mates but had time for a quick beer with us. All seemed to be well with her.

Bowling for us tomorrow. I've a hankering for a nice roast beef dinner and plan to stop off at a nearby bar afterwards. A bit mad in this heat but I really fancy some roast spuds and Yorkshire puds!

A Pre-Season Friendly

Accrington Stanley v Blackburn Rovers.

A match which I would have loved to have been able to watch. Real footie, not like the namby pambies in the World Cup! I've just read the match report and Rovers won 3 - 0. Not to worry, Stanley have all the world to grow in.

This is a pic of the first showing of their new kit. I'm looking forward to watching their progress in the coming season.

I did ask permission from the photographer to include this photograph and if you would like to see more of his excellent work visit........

www.kipax.com

The Door Saga

I completely forgot about the door problem when I took Top out this morning. Most people in our complex go out to work during the day and there I was stuck outside! The lock looked ok but my key wouldn't turn it......grrrr.

It was baking hot, I hadn't taken any cash because I didn't expect to need any and Brian was away at work. I'd even left my mobile home.

Anyway, I went around the block again and then stood outside for a while hoping for a miracle. Luckily, after ringing my neighbour's bell for about ten minutes, I managed to get inside.

It was all sorted later in the afternoon. It seems that a new lock was required and we all got new keys! Why on earth didn't they give the keys out at the time? I know, it is Tenerife!

Summer Madness..............

...............is the topic for the latest photo competition. I need to have a think about this one as summer is sort of normal around here!

The annual fiesta is approaching and, fortunately, it's at the other end of town this year. My first few blogs, almost a year ago (how time flies!), recorded the suffering we endured because of the loud music etc. It was horrid.

It's been a little chaotic in our apartment complex this evening. The lock on the main entrance door has broken and folk can't get in! Bells ringing everywhere!!

No Escape!

I did try my best to stay in my bed this morning but it didn't work as 'im indoors was determined that I join him in his market venture. I was out of the door before I knew I was awake.

We were informed that it was market procedure to book your table at eight o'clock but after spending five minutes looking for the 'man' we were told he was off having coffee and would return about nine. Thankfully, it's only a two minute walk back to my apartment so I escaped at this point and found my own coffee at home.

To be honest, when it all got sorted I quite enjoyed it. Brian was in charge of sales and did quite well at it, whilst I sat on the kerb edge and chatted to the lovely South American lad on the next stall. He was really nice and we managed to converse in a sort of Spanglish way. He left me in charge of his table a couple of times too! A few of our mates passed by and stopped for a chat. Happen early mornings are ok............well, now and again!

We bailed out just before one o'clock having sold over half our books and making about 55 Euros. Not a bad effort and well done Brian.

Hopefully, I Might Sleep Through

We are over-run by books again. I seem to collect hundreds of them no matter where I happen to live. Unfortunately, I don't have the shelves like I had in our house in England so it's time for a clear out.

This week's brainwave is to take a hundred or so up to the market and sell them off. I'm not too keen really. Firstly, I don't want to sell my books and secondly, I really don't want to get out of my bed at seven in the morning!!

I'm really hoping that I might be so sound asleep that 'im indoors will just go and sort it all out by himself! We shall see.

Poor PS2!

It went and died on me the other day, before I finished my game too!! Never mind as I suppose I got my money's worth out of it, having had it for almost five years. One good thing is that I might get around to doing other things such as cleaning the windows, or happen not.

A quiet word to Sue. Please don't lend 'im indoors any more 'ello 'ello dvd's. If I hear about that 'fallen madonna with the big boobies' once more I shall scream!

So Hot!

It was far too hot to sleep last night so, after tossing and turning for a few hours, we decided to take Top out for a walk around the village. As it was just after four o'clock it was well quiet and we had a pleasant stroll down to the beach. Normally, it's a 'no dog' area but at that time of the night we thought it would be good to let Top off the lead so that he could have a silly half hour charging around.

It was fun! Topsie had a swim and I had a paddle and then we set off towards home.

The village was coming to life and we discovered that the bar Tropicana was just opening and stopped off for a quick beer. It was fascinating to watch the local Canarians who called in for a brandy and a coffee whilst waiting for their lifts to work. The donut man turned up, papers were delivered and all at five in the morning!

We moved on to Antonio's and watched more of the same whilst sitting outside in the dark! The lottery man was selling his tickets, people were buying sandwiches and the place was packed. It was an interesting experience. We finally crawled into bed around seven!

I was a complete wreck at the bowling though and decided that I shouldn't go off on nocturnal wanderings on match days!

A Quiet Week

I haven't had much to mention this week as all is quiet on the Western Front, as my Nana used to say!

Bowling was good though, with another win for Doreen and I. Doreen writes for the local English paper and has given me glowing reports lately:-

'I don't usually write about games played on an alternative day, but my partner, June (Rackettes) had a superb 188 and 176 and just missed her 200 shirt. Well played - a suprising victory for us - and I'm sure you'll get that yellow shirt someday.'

and.........

'A good series from June (The Rackettes) earned them the draw against Ron and Dave'.

Presentation night looms and, once again, I'm hoping for the most improved player award. I have done so well this last six months that even 'im indoors thinks that I deserve it. Fingers crossed!

Talking of 'im, he's down the bar watching the World Cup Final. I lost interest after the cheating in the last England game. It would be good if France won though as Barbara, Vic's wife, drew France in the sweep at Chrissy's Bar. She stands to win 160 Euros!

Spyro

Our PS2 is playing up and won't seem to load most of our games. I was a little bored on Sunday, not having bowling to go to, and unearthed an early Spyro game which, luckily for me, worked.

We are now hooked and spent most of the afternoon taking turns. Sometimes I really wonder how old we are!

Should I manage to get myself motivated tomorrow, I need to have a wander with my camera to find a 'blot on the landscape' for the new photo competition. My roses came in at sixth place which was quite a good result but I would love to win.

Nothing much to report by way of village news. Our regular haunt, Antonio's Bar is due to close at the end of the month, for the usual staff holiday, so the topic of conversation, yet again, is where do we all go for the whole of August?

Our Alison

She had a birthday over the weekend and there she is with my littlest grandaughter, Tully. Hope you had fun Alison, but with England losing on the same day, I expect it was a bit of a let down.

I met up with my friend, Ann, today, Caron's mum. She's over again and for four weeks this time. She brought me a huge pork pie!!

Hopefully, we'll have the chance for another crazy day out.

Well!

I was working up to having a little tirade about cheating gits and then I saw this.

When he limped off during today's match I did say to Dave that we'll never see him play in a World Cup ever again.

Well done, England, so sorry, but at least Becksie has manners. Love you lots xxx

Housework!!

Not something that I'm very keen on but it seems that it has to be done. Some folk tend to get it over with as quick as they can but I like the reward system. Cleaning the bathroom entitles me to half an hour on the PS2, changing the bed means that I have fifteen minutes on the computer and for preparing a meal I can do whatever I like for the rest of the day!!

I made a stew, bunged it in the oven on medium and then wandered over to the bar to watch the second half of the footie. I can't really comment as I didn't really feel like cheering for either team. Germany now faces Italy. Poor Ukraine, I fancied their chances and half hoped that they might play against us in the final.

It's party time tomorrow, my boy has promised to win the cup for injured Owen and I believe him.........go for it Becksie xx

Back to the stew, 'im indoors really enjoyed it but I would have preferred fish and chips.

Well Quiet

It's strange how quickly you become used to something. We've been watching one match a day throughout the World Cup and have felt really lost since the end of the last round.

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow, at least for a couple of days.

I met up with Martin today at the bowling. Another good result........6 - 2 for us!! Four games in one week and all wins, well done us!! Now I can have a rest until the ninth of July.

My grandson (also a Martin) was so proud that his school won against nine other schools at Sports Day this year. He told me all about it and was so excited that he won his race. He said that he is the 'sporty' one in his family! My bowling doesn't count then!!

Offside?

The general feeling about tonight's game was that the first goal from France was offside. I wasn't quite sure, but how many females are allowed to comment on the offside rule! Ribery does look rather wicked though, doesn't he?

It was really sad for the Spanish fans in our local bar though. Being a vibrant race they normally toot horns and shout and scream, but, they all, quietly, went home.

Sorry, Spain.

Good Bowling

I played Thursday, Sunday and Monday. All league matches and some good results. A 6 - 2 which I've mentioned before, followed by a 4 - 4 and then today Martin and I had an 8 - 0!!

My arm is killing me tonight and I still have a make up match to play for Monday League which I could get out the way on Thursday. My right arm is beginning to look like Popeye's!!

Blast From The Past

An old friend of mine, John, emailed this pic to me, taken at his wedding in the late sixties. He now lives in America and I haven't seen him in years.

Here I am on the left with the best man and the bride's sister.

That's My Boy!

My boy Beckham got us through to the quarter finals today and hit the record books as being the only England player to score in three world cups. What a star!!!

I admit that it was painful to watch. Those long ball passes didn't do to much for our chances. Then again, everytime an England player got even within a sniff of the ball he had his legs taken from under him.

Thankfully, it's over and we just have to prepare ourselves for Saturday's game against Portugal. They had two red cards so happen it could be good for us!

WELL DONE ENGLAND!!

Early Bowling

Most of us have opted for early bowling later today so that we can all be back in our respective villages in time for the football.

We aren't sure where we can go though as we can't get coverage at home and our usual bar is closed on Sunday's. I did ask if they might open but you can imagine the answer!!

Fingers crossed and 'COME ON ENGLAND'!!!

Classic Beauty

That's this week's photo competition subject and here is my entry. No votes yet but it's still early days.

I played really well at the bowling yesterday and scored a massive 188 in the middle game followed by 170 in the last. George and Carol were dumbfounded as Doreen and I beat them 6 - 2!!

It was a bit of a blow for me as I missed my spare on the eighth frame. Had I knocked the flippin' thing down I would now be the proud owner of a 200 shirt!!

We went out this afternoon to watch the Spain match. It wasn't too interesting but Spain ended up top of their group with three wins under their belts.

Scary Sunday is approaching, I'm not sure if I'll have the courage to watch England. I so hope they win!

Poor Michael!

A horrible thing to witness and it really made me cringe. We have heard several conflicting reports today about the length of time he will be out of action but one thing is for sure, we won't have him back for this World Cup.

Joe Cole's goal was superb, best in the tournament I reckon.

No football for us until Friday, when Spain play Saudi Arabia and steps are in hand to cancel the bowling on Sunday. I can't bowl whilst England are playing!!

I had a little chat to Charlotte earlier and she is so excited that her Nan is coming to stay next month. Uncle Nigel is turning up too!!

Stressful Or What?

It really didn't look like Spain had a chance at one point. The early goal from Tunisia had them seriously rattled.

Thankfully, whatever they had with their orange during the half time break seemed to buck them up and the second half was perfect.

Poor Tunisia tried to defend their one goal lead and although they did their best, Spain were the better team at the end of the day.

Well done Spain!!!

What Can I Do?

As you may recall, I had to put Jose in a holding cell the other day because he was the only suspect in a wife battering case. Now the pair of them are pining, hardly eating, clinging on to the bars of their respective cages and staring into each other's eyes. It's looking like I'll have to return him to the family home and hope that Juanita budgie learns to fight back!

Doreen and I had a really good win at the bowling today. We both played well picking up some really good spares along the way. Sadly, Jeff and Brian suffered an 8 - 0 defeat against George and Carol. I'm not gloating as we have to play them on Thursday!

We only managed to catch one World Cup match today. Brazil v Australia. Quite a good match, I thought, but Australia, although well good at defending, lost the plot when it came to attacking. Shame. Spain tomorrow and England on Tuesday, all good stuff!

No Sleep

I'm well wrecked. I went to bed around my normal time, two in the morning, read my book for half an hour or so and settled for sleep. I gave in at five o'clock after trying to count sheep and think go to sleep thoughts, the light went back on and I read my book for a little longer. Nothing helped and I was still awake when the children passed by on their way to school this morning!

Shona left for the airport around half eleven and phoned us earlier to say she was home and safe.

The photo competition closed a little while ago with the bread and butter pudding in the lead alongside a really nice black and white photograph of a little girl. Mine ended up in third place which was a little disappointing as it was in the lead for quite a few days. Out of thirty, not a bad result.

They Haven't A Hope In..............

That's what Brian bleated in my ear all the way through the first half, well, that is the polite version of it! At least they managed to get into the World Cup, did someone mention Scotland?!!

There wasn't much of a following in Antonio's Bar this afternoon. Just myself, Brian, Don, Sue and David. Shona chose sitting outside in the sun, Caron was there but not a football fan and young Charlotte was cheering for Spain and even brought her flag, made at school today. Her dad was gutted! Dave and I made quite a bit of noise when the goals were scored. Well done England!!

As it was Shona's last evening she treated us to a Chinese meal after the match. Chicken, bamboo shoots and chinese mushrooms, lovely! I was cheated out of my nightcap though, Bar Rincon was closed.........grrrr.

Duty Free

Well, 'im indoors went off to watch the Spain match whilst Shona and I caught the bus to Las Americas so that she could stock up on perfume and also pick up some ciggies for her sons. We both got free gifts in the smelly shop, I didn't do anything either! Quite nice really, a handbag sized hairbrush and mirror, just my sort of thing!

The bus driver had the radio on so I was able to listen to some of the match, didn't get all of the Spanish but at least I knew when they scored. GOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL! A good result and I'm so glad they won.

My photo of Charlotte is still in joint first place in this week's photo competition. She's sharing the spot with a bread and butter pudding. I suppose some folk smile at different things!

A little trouble in budgieworld as Jose has started to bite poor Juanita again. She was covered in blood this morning and so I had to put him back into the holding cage. It was quite comical really as I couldn't catch him and received a couple of bites too. Bad budgie.

A Little Different

After slobbing around the apartment for most of the day, Brian, Shona and I decided to have a wander around the village later this afternoon. We sat on a bench by the harbour for an hour or so watching the world go by. You see some sights down there!!

We declared it 'beer time' around half five and stopped at the corner bar for a quick one.

The enterprising bar owner had a tv out on his terrace, well more like out on the street really, so we watched a little of the USA match.

I can't say I've ever watched a telly on the pavement before!

Poor Archie

I just had a text from my daughter, Sam, to let me know that Archie, her cat, died last night.

He was fourteen years old and having known him all these years, I feel quite sad. Bless him xx

Oh Dear!

We got the points but I can't really say that they were deserved. As soon as Owen was taken off the game rapidly went to rats. The second match of the day was much more interesting with Trinidad managing a nil - nil draw with only ten men!

I've named them 'The Jack Russells' and I'm really looking forward to seeing how England fare against them.

Oh, and my boy said it was hot!!

It's Off And Running...........

I managed to catch the second half of the Germany v Costa Rica match tonight. Germany scored an absolutely perfect goal which we all appreciated. It's a shame Costa Rica didn't win though.

A real blonde moment, I've been trying to work out the time difference and sussed that the Tenerife papers gave the times here, making us an hour behind Europe. All well and good until I walked into the bar and saw the teams walking out. I thought it was the start of the match, not half time, and was stupid enough to mention it! Luckily, Sue came in, was equally blonde and took the heat off!!

Topsie had a surprise today as Auntie Shona turned up to see him. He really loves her. In fact, I've just spotted him sneaking into her room and I hope he doesn't wake her as she didn't sleep last night. She was so worried that she would miss her plane she couldn't settle. No, I'm not going to whinge about aircraft, I promise!!

Time for bed, I need to wake up match fit to watch my boy, Beckham, lead out his team.

There They Are!

The first steps to winning the World Cup! How I wish!

I remember the year that they did win, forty years ago. My mate, Sheila, and I stood outside the telly shop in Accrington and watched the last goals go in the net. I'd just had my ears pierced and was scared of going home!

I didn't know too much about footie then but did go to watch Blackburn Rovers regularly, more for walking around the stands and chatting up the lads though. You could do that in those days. Stanley had been out of the league some four years.

Maybe this could be the year. If Stanley can do it so can England!!

Bowling

Well, I keep plodding on, getting fairly decent scores (all just a little short of the high score bracket today), but I must admit that it does reduce the interest level having a poorly partner. Doreen's back was playing up today so her daughter, Julie, stood in for her.

She hasn't been too well either and her mum has banned alcohol and ciggies, even though Julie is in her thirties. After managing to sneak a bottle of beer she followed me outside to pinch a cigarette or two. As if her mum didn't know!

I must admit that she did quite well really and we did have a chuckle. It was more a game of noughts and crosses.........miss, strike, miss, strike! Hopefully, the wooden spoon will be as nice as the proper prizes!

I had a peek at the Monday League Table whilst I was there. Last week's win for Martin and I brought us up a bit.

Almost forgot to mention...........'im indoors had a 225!!!

Who Drank All The Beer?

The best thing about a 'bit of a do' is having a bit of a gossip about 'who did what?', the following day. We were good kids, yet again, so happen our dotage is looming!

We did have a wander earlier and met up with a few folks who attended the reception but apart from Kevin, we all remembered going home!

Someone somewhere supped it all............Kevin can't get all the blame!

More Wedding Pics

I really like this one! I don't think I could have staged it better had I tried. Vic on the right, hear no evil, 'im indoors, speak no evil and Don, on the left, see no evil...........well funny!







Just an outside pic, to give you all a feel of the place!