La Gomera

I managed to capture this wonderful sunset over the island of La Gomera earlier.

It took your breath away.

Home Alone

I pulled a muscle in my side earlier in the week and so I decided that lifting a ten pound bowling ball might be a bad idea. Doreen's daughter, Julie, stood in for me which left me with an afternoon to myself.

It was really nice. I spent a little while on the PS2, followed by some computer time and then the glorious weather drew me outside where I sat on the balcony for a couple of hours. It is well hot for February and I made the most of it!

Sue passed over some of those daft magazines the other day and I alternated between reading those and doing my embroidery. A bit of people watching in between!

Feeling the need for a bit of a change around four, I wandered down to Bar Rincon de Cristina and sat reading my book until Brian came back. He really wished he hadn't bothered as the Rack 'ems lost 8 - 0!

I've just checked Tully's blog and was glad to see she had a nice birthday. I would have loved a bit of that cake!

Two Junes

We caught the bus into Playa Paraiso this afternoon to meet up with John and June. It must be at least ten years since we all got together and we really enjoyed it.

Strangely enough, Liz contacted me this morning to say that they were in the area and so we ended up with a group of six! A very pleasant afternoon.

I really wanted more photos but we spent so much time gossiping that I didn't get the chance. Not to worry as we have a couple of weeks yet.

Old Friends

We are off to meet up with our old mates tomorrow, John and June, who are here for a month's holiday. We were near neighbours whilst we lived in Cornwall and it will be so good to see them again. I did have a chance meeting with them last Easter at Par Market but we didn't get the time to catch up on families etc. We are meeting up at the bar in Playa Pariaso, Shona and William's favourite place. I'm looking forward to it. Look out for a full report later!

Liz and Lyndsay flew in today too. They are spending their first week up in the north of the island. Pretty chilly there I expect but their second week will more than make up for it as it's well warm down here!

What a Week!!

I woke on Sunday to find that I had major computer problems. It would stay running for ten minutes or so before crashing and as I've had hard drive trouble lately, I was sure it was fatal.

The plan was to take it to the computer shop on Tuesday but Topsie ended up needing the vet. He was so sick on Monday night that we tried ringing the 24 hour emergency number. No answer was the stern reply!! We rang continuously until two in the morning before deciding to hope for the best. I stayed up with him all night and at four o'clock I was sure I was about to lose him.

By around nine, he was still groggy and was sick again so Brian took him to the vet. I sat here for over an hour dreading him coming home without my little man. What would I do without him?! After all that, he trotted in tail wagging and the vet couldn't find a thing wrong with him!!She gave him a couple of injections, just in case and took blood samples. We had the results from those today which were 'nearly perfect'. She now plans to do heart x rays. Oh well, as long as he's ok I don't care what she does.

My computer went to the mending man this morning and he diagnosed a broken fan. Nice one! Three hours and thirty euros later..............perfect!

We've also been busy doing three estimates for carpentry jobs. Two have been accepted and we are waiting for the result of the third. Just like buses, all quiet for ages and then they all turn up at once!

Bird Strike!

A flippin' dove flew into the apartment this morning and scared me half to death. It almost knocked my head off and then managed to land on top of the kitchen cupboard. My coffee went everywhere!

Brian found the step ladders and a towel and was in the process of rescuing it when it took flight and zoomed back out again. It didn't even stop for a photo! It did leave a white feather on my desk though.........could that be lucky?

We had one of those sort of days. The kitchen tap broke apart on Thursday and as Friday was a Bank Holiday we weren' t able to buy a replacement until today. Lots of mucky pots built up in the meantime as I drew the line at fetching hot water from the bathroom.

My job was to fetch the spanners whilst Brian did the technical bit and now I have an nice shiny tap and a sparkling cupboard under the sink!

Christmas Came!

I had a pretty poor Xmas as far as post from England was concerned. I didn't get a single card, which upset me quite a bit. The worst thing was the letters that are normally included. It appears that the Post Office have included a magic number into my address........thanks for telling me!

Mark and Katie sent me a parcel via an express delivery service but, unfortunately, I was out and it ended up back in Manchester! Thankfully, Katie sent it back and it arrived on Thursday.

There I was slobbing on the sofa, still in my nightie and playing Playstation, when the intercom buzzed. The delivery man explained that he had a parcel for me and I had to go downstairs to receive it. I've never moved so quickly. I threw some clothes on and rushed out, still with my giant fluffy slippers and unbrushed scary hair.

Such a wonderful present. A Sony digital camera!! I can't thank them enough, especially as my ancient brick (as Mark calls it) gave up the ghost on New Year's Day.

This is the first photo I took after I'd patiently waited for the battery to charge. It's from my balcony but isn't too good as I was still shaking with excitement! Expect lots more!

Thanks again, Mark, Katie and Tully xxx

Well I Never!!

For the first time in history, well, at least in our house, a couple of light bulbs have been changed on the same day they blew!! The one in the kitchen went belly up, closely followed by the bathroom bulb. I'd settled myself to showering in the dark for the next few weeks but 'im indoors found the ladder and sorted it! He must have been in the mood as he moved on to the kitchen.

To be really honest, I don't know why we have such trouble. Wherever we live, light bulbs go within weeks, kettles and irons constantly need replacing.......we're electric!

We went down to the park earlier for five o'clock club. It was very well attended today. Dave, Caron, Charlotte, Maz, Bernard, Joan, Kevin and us. The usual stupid conversations and sad jokes. Oh, well, that's excitement for you!

There has been such a rush of birthdays lately. Sam was first, followed by my brother, Ray, Maisie is four today, Katie next and Tully a few days later.

Happy Birthday all xx

Rain is Better

We have done really well this winter as far as weather is concerned. Apart from a few windy days earlier in the month, it has been nice and hot during the day. It is a little chilly during the evening though!

It appears that January has replaced November as the 'wet month', it's tipping down but much nicer than that scary wind! The weather report states that it has set in for the next few days. I'm a home bird tomorrow. I don't mind watching it but I'm not going out unless I have to.

Not a bad result for us girls at the bowling today. We played a make-up game against Brian and Jeff, postponed from Sunday. I've been aiming at the centre arrow on the lane for months now and, although I found I had fairly good scores, I've gone off the boil lately. Our first two games weren't too good and so I decided to change my style. I moved over to the left and curled my ball slightly, towards the head pin. It worked wonders! Doreen had a good game too and we completely thrashed them. Too late for a win but at least we had two points.

I'm looking forward to Sunday so that I can check out the new tactics. Hopefully it isn't a fluke!

Catching Up and Such

Firstly, the state of play in Budgie World. There is still such a lot of activity as far as the nesting box is concerned as Juanita spends most of her day in there. I can´t work out what she is doing but José isn´t included. Happen it could be time to practise my Spanish at the pet shop!

Secondly, believe this if you will. Gosh, I´m sounding a little like ´im indoors!! I had a word with Carol at the bowling today concerning matie who alleged he could hypnotise chickens. It appears that the chicken wouldn´t play, his frog was off sick and the lizard had done a runner. I must confess that she almost fooled me but then again, folk will do anything to get a job in Tenerife!

Apologies to Shona, I did get a text to say she wished she could have been with us yesterday. The weather is awful in Scotland at the moment.

Not a lot to say about Monday bowling as we were thrashed.

Finally, I changed my blog to the new one and I don´t like it!

Should I Have Gone Bowling?

It was my choice to postpone bowling until Friday as I had a fancy for a Sunday off. I planned to have a nice stroll around the village but ´im indoors had other ideas.

He did lull me into a false sense of security by proposing a trip to Playa Paraiso, where we looked around a couple of shops and stopped for a cool drink. Ok, it was a beer!! In fact, it was the bar where we used to meet Shona and William whilst they were here last year and I was cheeky enough to send her a ´thinking of you´ text. Needless to say, she never replied!!

As Brian fancied a couple more beers we took Melvyn home and ended up at the Fisherman´s Bar. Strangely enough, we were just in time to watch the Arsenal v Man United match. How things pan out!

It was good fun though and I really enjoyed the match and the banter. Out of around twenty of us there was one bloke supporting Arsenal. He got some stick and gave some back but we did applause when the last goal went in.

Nice, good natured fun, good to see and he bought a round!

A Quiet Day

Really lazy. We played Playstation mostly and argued through it. They do say that the older you get the more childlike you become. Happen we have reached that point!

I made the decision to switch the flippin´ thing off at about six and we had a wander around the village for an hour or two before tea. We got as far as the Church Square and noticed that the English bar had the Blackburn match on and stopped to watch the last twenty minutes or so. Well done to them, a three nil victory over Manchester City. My brother will be well pleased.

Our Sunday bowling has been postponed until Friday and I´m really looking forward to yet another lazy day. I get worse!!

Vernon and Vicky

Surprise, surprise!! A lovely one too!!

When I first moved to Cornwall I met up with Vernon´s Mum, Shirley, and she became one of my greatest friends. Unfortunately, I haven´t seen her for some years (she lives in Cyprus) but I do meet up with her four boys from time to time.

Robert, the eldest, always makes me chuckle. Vernon is next in line, followed by Jeff. Young Greg is the baby or was as he´s clocking on to forty now!

Anyway, back to my tale. Vernon turned up today along with his girlfriend, Vicky. The four of us spent a couple of hours going down memory lane together. It was really lovely. I had a little bit of Cornish village scandal to tell him too! I expect he´ll make great use of that!

Thankfully, I had told Brian about the mad weekend Sam and I had last Easter so he couldn´t dob me in!

José and Juanita

I haven´t mentioned my babies for a while, mainly because they have been pretty boring of late.

Their nesting box has been attached to the side of the cage for at least twelve months and neither of them have been in it..........until TODAY!!

Juanita, the blue one, decided to investigate and keeps scratching around in there. Poor José gets pecked if he tries to enter. They will be a couple of years old come the summer and maybe it´s time to start breeding. We shall see!

How Can He Do That?

I was about to throw my bowling ball on Sunday when I half heard Carol telling Doreen about a man and some chickens. Thankfully, I managed to concentrate and got a strike. Happen she should talk chicken more often!!

To be serious. Carol runs a bar with entertainment and was presented with a business card earlier in the week. This chap has an act where he hypnotises chickens and has asked for a spot in her show. The mind runs riot. How does he do it and what do they do when he does? Five o´clock club lost the plot a little tonight as our imaginations overtook us. Carol did promise that she would check it out. I can´t wait to hear!

Another thing that is amusing me at the moment is an article in one of those crappy magazines I have become addicted to since I took early retirement. A bloke who never found his ideal woman decided to buy a plastic girlfriend. She cost him over five thousand pounds and looks a little like an overgrown Barbie. He now has three of them and they were pictured sharing Christmas dinner! Each with a glass of wine!

His comments were ´they see to my physical needs and take turns in my bed´. He spends most of his spare cash on their clothes and wonders why his friends don´t understand him.

Each to his own.

Saturday Kitchen

Brian´s favourite programme at the moment is Saturday Kitchen. As his father would have said ´there´s bits aboot it´, but I get really disappointed with the amount of cheese that they all throw on.

Then eggs turn up! Some chappie made a nice soup this week and then he chucked a poached egg on top. I know it´s a done thing in Madeira but really it´s quite yucky.

I don´t cook, hate cheese and I´m off eggs and I do wish that these million dollar chefs could come up with something different now and again.

On a high note, Doreen and I won at bowling..............yippee!!!

´Meet You Under the Clock´!!

I found this wonderful photo during my internet wanderings and although Accy buses were wonderful in their own right, I was more interested in the clock that you see in the background. That thing with black legs top left!

I don´t think it is still there now, but during the sixties it was the place to meet for teenagers hoping for a new romance. There you were, skirts showing your knickers, trying to feel confident and praying that matie would turn up!

After all, you only met him last night for a quick snog at Burnley Mecca! Could you even remember what he looked like!!

I was only ´stood up´ once and I ended up marrying him. It would be nice to know how many folk got hitched because of that clock.

Big Sneezes!

Barry gave me a lift to bowling yesterday and confessed to having the worst cold ever. As he had the aircon on, I´m sure the germs have spread. I can´t stop sneezing and my throat is so sore. Hopefully, it´s just the dust from the building site next door, I´m ever hopeful xx

We did catch up with Deal or No Deal tonight and watched the first winner of the quarter of a million. I know I´m sad but it did bring tears to my eyes. It was so nice to see a youngster win it.

That bad Tracy in Corrie has a lot to answer for. Poor Charlie is doomed!

Time for bed. I hope I feel better tomorrow.

Two Poorly Arms

My left arm has been poorly, sick and bad for a couple of months. A trapped nerve at shoulder level, I think, but as long as I don´t reach upwards or backwards, I can cope. Brave little soldier that I am!!

After a few weeks of no bowling, followed by playing two days together, my right arm is aching like fury tonight. I admit to having a bit of a problem today as my locker happens to be at the top and my ten pound ball was hard for me to reach one handed. Thankfully, Michael, lovely lad, was around to fetch it out for me and Kirk played the gentleman and replaced it. Yes, Kirk, wow!!!

None of us seem to have been able to get it together since the Xmas break. I´ve never seen Jeff play so badly. He had a score of 98 on the first game and things didn´t improve much. Ros and I did our best and as our opponents rang in with a sickie, we aren´t sure how we did. We shall see.

A lazy dressing gown day tomorrow. I have some transcribing to catch up with and a PS2 game to play. I´m looking forward to it.

Sunday Bowling

It was really nice to be back there today. Lots of New Year wishes from all the folk we haven´t seen for a couple of weeks. All good stuff.

Not that any of it helped as far as scores were concerned. Brian and Doreen were both pretty useless. Jeff had five strikes in a row but Brian let him down with a 117........well bad for him!! They lost 6 - 2 and so did we! I was above my average in all three games but my mate couldn´t get it together. Oh well, you win some and you............get thrashed.

I´m back there again tomorrow for Monday League. Hopefully, Ros and I might win!

Bloggers´ Block!

I´m not sure why but it´s the first time it has happened to me!

Normally, I can wander on for a page or two, but for some reason I appear to be more boring than normal.

Oh, well, happen things might be better tomorrow..........night all xxx

Happy New Year!!

Five O´Clock Club decided to celebrate the New Year by going on a pub crawl. We started of at Bar Antonio and this is us at our second port of call, San Juan Bar.

From left, Maz, Bernard (trying to hide), Caron, Brian, Dave and me.





Next stop, The Fishermen..............I´m not quite sure what Caron is doing! We moved on to Vitamen bar but the landlord waited until we all got comfy to tell us that he was closing. Not to worry as we managed a quick one at Bar Carla before he closed for the day. (No pictures).





We finished up at Chrissy´s. The only one left open I think.

Brian and Maz putting the world to rights!








Finally, a pic of our photographer, Charlotte, on those dreaded skates. Caron and I took her to the swing park to practice. To be honest, by that time, I´m not sure who was supporting who!

It was a fun day but I must admit to feeling more than a little ´cakey´ today.

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.