Scary Caves

Charlotte and I had a change of route today and walked down to the other side of the village. She was 'so excited'. Goodness knows what she will be like next Thursday when we go off to La Gomera!

We had a bit of a vote and decided that neither of us really wanted to walk into that black hole and went off in search of a cool drink. She was sweating!

I'm Boring!

Apart from Monday bowling, I've been a home bird this week. I have a nice clean, shiny apartment to show for it though. Lots of little jobs which I've been meaning to do for ages have been done and a couple more planned before I jet off to England at Easter. One of them is to clean out the kitchen cupboards but being so short, and shrinking fast, it's hard to reach the top shelves. I'm on the look out for a beer crate so if anyone knows of any lying around give me a shout!

Juanita is still sitting on her egg, or Ken as he's been named. Only a few days left before he's due to hatch.

Five o'clock club has been short of members for a couple of weeks. Dave and Caron are being good kids and go home straight from work, Don and Sue don't appear as much as they used to do and are threatening to change their venue which just leaves us and Vic most afternoons. We did have, well almost, a full house tonight though. Joan and Kevin turned up. They are from Lancashire and we share a similar sense of humour. I won't go into detail, but, Pendle witches were mentioned..........Joan made me laugh until my sides ached!

Our Weekend

Apart from being St Patrick's Day, Saturday was Caron's birthday. The 'lads' went off to watch the Manchester United match whilst 'us girls' as in Caron, Charlotte and myself, met up at Antonio's, had a couple there and then wandered down to the park. It was a nice lazy day..........a bit wet and chilly, but you can't have everything! Ayoze won the cleaning up job!

Mothers' Day was ok........a quick chat with Sam (she was at work), and Donna finally managed to catch me at home after bowling. Not that I should mention that as Doreen and I were slaughtered, yet again. Jeff and Brian had two matches to play and won both 6 - 2. They are still up there at the top of the league. Another flippin' cup to dust!

I've been checking out the price of flights to England at Easter. I can only travel with First Choice into Exeter and it isn't too bad at the moment. 290 Euros return but I'm risking hanging on for another week to see if it drops a little. Knowing my luck, it will go up instead of down!

Driving?

For some reason I have been thinking about taking up driving again. I passed my driving test on the 23rd of July, 1979 and remember it so well! We had a mini at the time and my husband turned up to collect me afterwards with Mark and Sam in the car.........they were all so happy to see that I'd passed!!
I've had so many cars, normally Toyotas and they have all been given names.........I can remember, Alice, Daisy, Blossom, Pearl, Olivia and then Jennifer who was a similar model to the one pictured. She was a year younger and had a T bar, the love of my life! Next was Millie, I hated her, then Elizabeth, shortly followed by Arthur Astra. Somewhere in between was Bertie Rumble who was a complete pain but served me well at the time.
Peter was next, a Fiesta Si, he is on my list of favourites but the last car I owned in England was a Mazda MX3..........nice to drive but horrible to park........Polly!!
I keep looking at Melvyn and wondering if I might manage the wrong side of the road driving. I've made a little map to get me to the shop, very scary, but I think I might give it a go, Tuesday sounds good! Wish me luck!

Winter Turned Up

Everyone has been remarking on the wonderful weather which we have been enjoying this winter. Ummm, nice while it lasted but, according to the latest report, it will be Sunday before the sun shines again.

I had to visit the Town Hall this morning to collect a Certificate of Residence. I queued for an hour, nothing ever changes, and by the time I left, the rain was streaming down the road. Lovely!

I must have looked a pretty sight. Shorts, flip-flops and Brian's golfing waterproof coat! No wonder everyone laughed when I took refuge in Keith's bar. I managed to paddle home, half an hour later and it looks like I'll be staying put tomorrow as thunderstorms are on the way. Snow on Mount Teide too!!

A Football Overdose!

I had a good day at the bowling today scoring 149, 165 and 144 which put me into second place in the high handicap series. It wasn't enough to get a win for Doreen and I though as we only managed two points.

Thankfully, it didn't drag on today as I was eager to get back to the 'football bar' to watch the Rovers match. I had a bit of a shock, though, as the whole pub was involved in the rugby, grrrr!

Keith came up trumps though and put the footie on the big screen, just for us, whilst the rugby lot were left with the small screen. I don't think we were flavour of the month, somehow!

Rovers are through to the next round but poor Argyle couldn't get the ball into the back of the net no matter how they tried. After two matches, I was so glad to come home!

Happy Day

Our Melvyn's first introduction to the internet! He's been back to the garage for the last week with internal problems. He's fine again now, and I don't think he looks too bad for a fifteen year old!

Brian was well embarrassed when he went to collect him as someone had washed him. I could even see out of the windows!

My happy day consisted of, a well Melvyn, Juanita's egg, a lovely text message from Sam, our mate, David, sold his first car and I'm off to Cornwall for Easter........yippee!!!

News Flash!!

Juanita had her first egg today!

Brian managed to get this pic whilst she was away from her nesting box. For some reason I thought it would be bigger.

School Trip

The Canary Islands have been part of my life for almost ten years now and, although we have settled in Tenerife, it's my mission to visit all the other islands at some point.

I'm not doing too well so far as the only other island I've set foot on is Gran Canaria!

It turns out that Charlotte is going to La Gomera with her school towards the end of this month. Mum and Dad are working and can't go with her but she seems happy enough for me to tag along.

I can see the island from my house and have taken numerous photos of it. It's famous for it's wonderful walks (more of interest to John than me), the cloud which often covers the island and a strange whistling language that the locals use.

I'm really excited!! Even the thought of having to be at Charlotte's school before half seven in the morning isn't putting me off!

Adeje

We caught the bus to Adeje today as Brian needed to price up some wood and stuff and I fancied a change of scenery. I'm also checking out the prices of small freezers as it would benefit us to buy our food in bulk. More on that later.

Adeje is a fast growing town situated above the holiday regions of Las Americas and Los Christianos. I took this pic of the old Adeje, just a couple of hundred yards away from a busy superstore. Should we have wandered further we would have come across schools, colleges, health centres and sports facilities.

Such a wonderful mix and worth exploring further.

Sunday Bowling

Not a bad day as Doreen and I managed to take two points off the lads from The Sun Inn. I had my best score in ages on the middle game...............168! Today's clever clogs was 'im indoors as he had a clean game with a score of 210.

We play Bingo on Sunday. If you score a strike on the first, fifth, sixth, seventh and the last one on ten, you win 500 Euros. Brian was so close..............he left a pin up on the seventh but got the rest. Such a blow!

Why Can't I Sleep?

I've tried going to bed but sleep seems to be evading me tonight. Liz left me the latest Danielle Steel book, but even reading isn't going to send me off. I'm really wrecked as I had quite a busy day.

Jeff picked me up at lunchtime as Doreen and I had a make-up match to play. It was a waste of time, really, as neither of us could play for toffee. Bowling is such a stupid game. We had a giggle though. Jeff amused himself by shouting 'helpful' comments throughout. Little tinker!!

I don't seem to see much of 'im indoors these days as he's working so much. He finished job number two today but still has another three waiting in the wings. Another estimate to do too. All good stuff!

There has been a knock on effect as it means I have all the shopping and cooking to do. I'm sort of getting in to it. Don't mock! My roast chicken earned me ten points yesterday. That's a first.
It's curry tomorrow and although I have all the thingies, I bet I make a mess of it........a bit too adventurous for me!

Flippin' Brilliant!!

I really wanted to watch the FA Cup replay, Blackburn Rovers against Arsenal, so I had a walk around the village this morning to check out the football bars. Rachel at the Fisherman Bar assured me that they would have it on the big screen......seats booked!!

To be perfectly honest, I expected a 2 - 0 win for Arsenal and was almost biting my nails until the last few minutes when Blackburn scored. Did I make some noise?!! I had a lovely evening and well done Rovers!

If they can beat Arsenal, they have a good chance against Man City. I'm looking forward to it.

Many thanks to my friend, Sue, she also spotted the daffs in the supermarket and bought me some. It's like Kew Gardens in here xx

Look What I Found!!

Anyone who knows me will remember how much I miss daffodils in the spring. I've tried my best to grow them here but I reckon that it can't be done without frost. I have the bulbs but they only seem capable of growing leaves.

I decided to make a steak and mushroom pie for dinner and wandered over to the supermarket at about three this afternoon. First stop, butcher's counter. I'm sure he dreads me turning up! He is giving me lessons now though. It appears that if I need minced beef, it's carne molida, and for stewing beef, it's carne picada. You learn something new every day!!

Back to the daffs. I always take a peek at the garden section and I spotted some hyacinths. I don't care for them as they make me sneeze and I was wishing that they could have been daffodils when I spotted them, hiding at the back. Spring has sprung!!

So Boring!

I usually really enjoy bowling but it just went on and on today. We had two teenage girls on our lanes and, although they were playing a match, they kept wandering off, keeping us all waiting. So annoying. It didn't help matters that there was a birthday party on lanes one and two. Ten horrid kids that ran riot for two hours. I was so glad to get out of there.

We had a wander around Torviscas before we came home. I've been looking for a case for my new camera and managed to find one which I liked. A bit pricey but it has solid sides, just in case I was fool enough to drop it, and it's blue and silver. Nice!!

I know I'm sad but I heard this joke today which really amused me..........'Did Noah do any fishing whilst he was on the Ark?'. No, he only had two worms. Sorry!

Chocolate

I'm not a great lover of chocolate and I've never had a sweet tooth but I had a hankering for an Aero Bar last night. Unfortunately, they don't seem to sell them here but I did spot a huge Dairy Milk 'Bubbly' Bar which looked like it might be similar. I really wish I hadn't gone there as it is the best chocolate I've ever eaten!

I did promise the vet that I wouldn't feed Topsie chocolate ever again but as I told him, high cholesterol or no, you only live once!

No Turkey!

It was 'Charlotte Day' today and as she had a birthday last week, I decided to treat her to a trip to the bowling alley.

We caught the bus, which was well late, and I was bombarded with the usual question, 'are we nearly there now!'. She was good though and appeared to enjoy the whole thing. Her main problem was that she could only have a green ball. The pink one was far too heavy.

She does well out of the 'Aunties' here. Her Nan lives in England and can't spend as much time with her as she would like, so those of us who are missing our grandkids enjoy spoiling her.

I don't envy Auntie Sue tomorrow as her birthday treat is taking Charlotte to have her ears pierced!!
She doesn't do pain!

Krishna's

Liz and Lyndsay are flying back to Scotland on Friday so we decided to spend Wednesday evening in Los Gigantes.

Our first port of call was the Bamboo Bar as it was 'happy hour'. Dorada Especial at one euro twenty is pretty cheap for an English bar.

We wandered up the road to the Indian Restaurant, Krishna's, for dinner. It was absolutely superb.

I'm really going to miss Liz and Lyndsay though. I wish they would move back here!

Ready Steady Blow...........

Charlotte's birthday rolled around again last Friday and we were invited to her party on Saturday. Her Nana sent her a lovely Princess dress and she was as proud as Punch wearing it!
Watch out Kate Moss!!

It was quite a busy weekend as we had bowling followed by a couple of hours with Liz and Lyndsay. Melvyn had been poorly sick and bad and needed retrieving from the mending man. Nothing too serious thank goodness. Brian finished one job just to start another! I did end up rushing at one point.........I don't do rush!

I'm looking after Sue's canaries for a couple of weeks whilst they are in England caring for Don's mum. Not a problem as I pop into the apartment, every two days or so, to feed and water them. All well and good until today when I couldn't find the keys! Massive panic. I'm always so careful. The stress levels were rising and it wasn't helping that Brian was running around shouting 'they'll die'!! After ten minutes of chaos.........there they were in my other bag!! Sheesh!

Monday bowling was well good. Ros and I had another win. We were playing two blokes who are near to the top of the league. We lost the first and then I got my dander up and we slaughtered them on the last two games. Out of five matches, we've won three, lost one and the jury is still out on the other. Good for us!

Dismal

My plan for Friday was to catch the bus to Puerto Santiago and walk my way backalong to Playa Arena taking pics as I went. I didn't bargain for such a miserable day. I did bear with it for a couple of hours but as you can see the light was impossible to work with. Home again.

Actually, I'm on a learning curve as I've discovered that, once my photos are loaded onto Picasa, it goes straight to my blog. Cool!!

St Valentine

I'm doing the cooking this week as 'im indoors is working. I got off to a good start yesterday as my Shepherds' Pie earned ten points!! Quite a record for me.

I played at Ready Steady Cook today and went off to the supermarket with a budget of five euros. I bought two huge pork chops and a packet of mushrooms.........total... five euros four centimos. I also received a gift of a large cake for St Valentine so that was pudding taken care of!

My chops were covered with red and green peppers and some sliced onion, seasoned, wrapped in foil, and ready to cook in the oven whilst I went over to five o'clock club. (I was allowed to use the store cupboard and the fridge).

I was feeling pretty clever by this time and planned to do potato slices and grilled mushrooms....perfect!

There was just one thing wrong. I arrived home to discover that the oven was on but my chops were still on the worktop! I haven't laughed so much in ages!

Mr Grumps saw the funny side too and awarded me nine points. Maybe I'll have a rest tomorrow.

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!