| open house |
[Mar. 23rd, 2009|04:40 pm] |
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I would like to be back in UK for the event(open house coffee and cakes 18th april) even if it is to have yet more surgery. It is such a shame that the hospices have to be self funding it is about time these lovely caring places were funded. The government can provide child allowance for polish children living in Poland and yet cannot support our own fragile children in hospice care. |
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| roof |
[Jan. 27th, 2009|01:00 pm] |
We now have some of our new roof tiles on. The very heavy strong winds stopped all work on the roof it was far too dangerous. A lot of damage was done windows blown out and a very severe fire raged for almost two days. The whole mountain at the back of Benidorm was ablaze the firefighters could not get access by air it was too dangerous. The cause has now been established a pylon was ripped up and fell onto the substation causing the fire. About 24 houses were destroyed it was horrific. Brian and I stood on our friends balcony and watched for a while but it was too dangerous to stay there so we came down and stayed at floor level. All is well now but it has gone quite cold.
Rachael will be 18 years old on Thursday I believe a buffet is being arranged as she did not want a party. I hope everyone has a good time and I will see her next weekend the 6th feb. I will catch up on all the gossip then. |
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| Noise |
[Jan. 22nd, 2009|05:14 pm] |
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The roof repairs have started and it has been said that the new roof will take about a month. After watching the men work I think it may take two months. So we decided to move to a hotel for 3nights because of the workmen starting at 8am each morning, (we are out most nights until 3am) and get out of bed about 9.30am. So we booked into the hotel further down the road and what happened!!!!!! the airconditioning is being replaced so we were awoken at 7am with the loudest noise you can imagine a hammer drill in the next room to us. No rest for the wicked it was a good job we were in bed earlier than usual 2 30am after a lovely birthday party of my friend Wayne who owns the hotel wait until I see him later I hope he has got a hang over. His mother is waiting to see him aswell as she stayed in the hotel rather than travel to Waynes villa which is a few miles away. Never mind I have come back to the house and will have a siesta later before returning to our temp accom. |
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| another tommorrow |
[Jan. 21st, 2009|08:27 am] |
Woken up yet again with 2 workmen clambering on roof. They start or should I say come to work early, the wAY THEY are working it could be two months before the roof is finished. They are removing each tile cleaning it then stacking them but are not going to use them on our roof They must be collectors items. We are having our lovely Spanish orange and yellow tiles replaced by some awful red brick type if we were in UK the building would be listed what a shame to allow a lovely roof right in the middle of the old town to be ruined.
It is a lovely sunny morning I hope that terrible cold wind does not appear today it has been lovely and sunny but a very cold wind so sitting on the balcony playing scrabble with Mum has been a no no for a few days now, but it is still warmer than UK.
I watched most of the new presidents inauguration yesterday it was good to watch history being made. As Luther King once said I have a dream and yes it has come to fruition I just hope that the speach he gave was as sincere as it sounded. Maybe one man can make many changes just let us hope it is for the better. As they have been saying over here. VIVA BARAK OBAMA!!!!! |
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| a rude awaking |
[Jan. 19th, 2009|07:53 am] |
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long last the workmen have arrived to replace the roof tiles. I was awoken to a loud noise scaffolding being offloaded. If it gets too noisey we will move into the Hotel down the road its only £10 per night b and b. We had some thunder earlier no rain but the sky is clearing nicely and looks like it is going to be another sunny day. I am off to get a shower now before all the workmen encroach any further. |
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| sunny Spain |
[Jan. 15th, 2009|09:49 am] |
Well today we have woken to a clear blue sky the only thing missing is birds singing! we do not have many birds here on this coast not many seaguls either I wonder why. After a quick shower I will have a stroll along the prom and maybe a coffee at one of the cafes although they charge tourists rates nearly as dear as UK prices. Brian will be traveling back to uk for his great grandsons christening he will be leaving on the 30th Jan and return on the 4th Feb. I leave for UK on the 6th Feb until the 16th feb.
We had some sad news last night a dear friend of ours a lovely man has died of breast cancer, he was a keen cricketer and made bats for all the top English team members he will be sadly missed. I wonder who will take care of the kitty purse when the rest of the party come over here a hard act to follow. I suppose at my age I will be losing more friends than I make. Well that is enough of my ramblings I am off for the promised walk and the lovely sunshine. Cheers |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 9th, 2009|02:28 pm] |
I have been back in Spain since Sunday and have spent most of my time in bed,I started feeling quite poorly at 4am tuesday morning although I feel a little better now I am still not back to my usual self.I thought I was better yesterday but have spent most of today in bed again. Well that is enough of my rambling there is always someone worse than ones self.
Not much change here in Benidorm the £ is struggling still but a bit stronger than last week at he moment we are gettin e108 to the £ a big change since last May 148 euro to the £. When will we see some recovery. The one conselation is it is warmer here. So we can take a stroll along the beach it is a lovely promenade which streches for a couple of miles, Plenty to see and many cafes and bars for light refreshments while we can still afford a coffee outside of the apartment. Lets hope a quick recovery of the financial markets is on the cards, |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 5th, 2009|11:55 pm] |
Well here I am back in Benidorm after quite a hair raising experience at Liverpool Airport.
I traveled back here with my mother and her partner (mum has to have wheelchair assistance to board the plane as she cannot managed the aircraft steps) We had a delay boarding as black ice descended without warning. We were taken out to the ambi lift sliding and slipping with terrible ice under foot (mum in wheelchair) we were loaded on to lift and raised about half way, what happened next was unbelievable! the hydrolics on the lift froze and we were trapped in a freezing cold lift on the tarmac. After about half an hour the back of the ambilift was thawed enough for us to be lowered, a treacherous short walk to the steps of the craft was then undertaken by Fran and myself Mum being pushed by two ground staff. We managed to get mum up the steps of the aircraft by her taking her time and lots of help from the fabulous ground staff. At last on board the Easyjet staff were wonderful they made us hot drinks and gave us warm water bottles to hold to get our hands warm. There was one lady and gentleman on the plane already and I asked how they got on and was told they where still on after arriving from Malaga as the lady was immobile they had been waiting an hour to disembark, eventualy two ambulence men came and carried her off the plane in a chair.
I have got to say the Ground staff and Easyjet staff were excellent because everyone was caught out with the speed that the black ice formed. So here we are in warmer climate laughing off our cold experience and if that is the worst that can happen we will not be doing too bad.
As for our stay in England well we did enjoy all the festivities being with the family and the Hotel wasnt too bad either. Never got room service once we will have to work on that next time. All that remains now is to wish each of you a peaceful New Year. |
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| christmas and New Year |
[Dec. 31st, 2008|02:27 pm] |
What a lovely time we have had.Our stay at Angela and Andrews has been lovely and we have been made very welcome which is quite a blessing when one is homeless.
We have been very busy catching up with mail ect. I now have to put my car up for sale (poor aggy) I have had her from new but as one says all good things come to an end,
The year has passed very quickly to think this time last year I was in Broadgreen Hospital after having a replacement valve I was not joining in the usual festivities to welcome in the new year in fact I was more than likely asleep as I do not remember much about it. So this New Year will be extra special. Lets hope that peace will start to prevail in all the war torn ravaged parts of the world and all the armed forces can return to their families.
Brian and I wish everyone a peaceful happy healthy New Year cheers x |
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| Christmas has started |
[Dec. 19th, 2008|12:03 pm] |
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All packed ready for the off cases by the front door (fullof oranges mandarins and tangerines all freshly picked) Even if we are overwieght in the cases it will still be cheaper than buying fresh fruit in UK. The list of festive fayre was a mile long so we had a good shop yesterday and we did not forget the roca cebolla for Karen or the cashews for Angela and I. Must post now as taxi is due, merry chrtistmas every one. |
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| Homecoming |
[Dec. 17th, 2008|09:27 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Spain | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
| [ | music |
| | look for me in rainbows | ] |
Well I am quite excited at the prospect of coming home!!! Where is home? I feel very strange and very sad at the same time. One of the UK homeless although I will not be sleeping on the streets I hope maybe there is a spare cardboard box at Angelas. What on earth have I done at my age changing the path I walk. There must have been some influence from some being somewhere and I have a feeling maybe a rainbow took a big part in my massive decision.
Well the move has been made and I will make the most of it, I will be a very frequent flier with my favorite airline Easyjet.
Brian has just been taking photos of the balcony, it does look nice. I am about to start some packing as I cannot remember what clothes I have left at Karens house. I have got Christmas presents to pack also just a few bits and pieces and of course the freshly picked mandarines and oranges.
Today the sun is shining and it is a little warmer we may be able to have morning coffee El Fresco. Cheers ringbark |
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| Party Time |
[Dec. 12th, 2008|07:30 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  cheerful | ] |
Well we started the Christmas festivities today. It was Brendas Birthday so a party was held in the bar next door which takes place every year on the 12th dec. I made the usual old English trifles which might I say went down a treat. I now have to make another friend a large trifle for his birthday tommorrow.
I have bought more gifts today and had them dutifully wrapped by the staff in the shops it does not cost anything extra it is just part of the Christmas shopping. It saves all the hastle when you get home all you have to do is put a gift tag on to the parcel a great service.
We are looking forward to our Christmas in UK just hope we get some snow its a few years since I built a snowman its always good fun. |
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| tinkerbell |
[Dec. 10th, 2008|11:46 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Benidorm | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
| [ | music |
| | carols | ] |
I thought it was Angels that appeared over the Christmas period not fairies. But those in power know better(dont they)
Well I think I have finished shopping and have started to pack my case ready for the UK trip. I wonder if i will be asked why my case is full of oranges tangerines and shredded crab all the things we like but find expensive in UK. The orange harvest is really good this year and we pay about 1 euro for about 4kilos of fruit 87pence a much better price than you pay in England. The growers here only get about 10cent a kilo so who is making all the profit as usual the Brits are being ripped off. We have also heard that the price of fuel has dropped but the electric and gas prices to the consumers has not gone down. Here in the winter the price of the bottled gas goes down because more is used and it goes up in the summer when the demand is less. A lesson could be learnt b ut not everything is rosey here there are some bad things the same in every country.
I have not heard much about David lately I hope he still continues to improve and enjoys the Christmas festivities, maybe we will see him over the holiday period. |
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| chocolats |
[Dec. 5th, 2008|09:14 am] |
Well I havE opened a large tin of heroes and started to distribute them to staff at our local haunts. They where ve\ry welcome as British chocs are very expensive out here. I have already finished a tin of Roses and have a tin of quality street left ( which I may keep for ourtselves). We do not eat many sweets but now and again go a bit mad on them All my decorations are up on the balconies they look rather good so I can now put the blue peter box away until the 6th jan Which by the way is the Spanish equivalent to our Christmas day, so we have two celebrations. Christmas day 25th dec then the Three Kings on the 5th/6th when the Spanish children receive their gifts.
The weather here is not so good not as cold as Britain though, but colder than the last few winters today it is quite dark outside and we are having the odd heavy rain fall, it will brighten up later.
The good news is a C&A has opened up here so I havE had a wander around and bought my Mum a nice warm jacket. I could not find anything I liked so I will be having a trip to British home when I come back to UK for Christmas
Brian still has a nasty chest infection but has improved alittle today he still manages to go and get his beloved Daily Mail. |
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| house move |
[Dec. 2nd, 2008|02:19 pm] |
Well after all these years I have finally moved out of port Sunlight, a big wrench after 38years I have a lot of lovely memories of the family growing up in such a lovely village.
Time moves on so fast I think as one gets older it seems to pass even quicker. The house always seemed so full of family and friends never a dull moment, Angela wanted me to go to each room and write down a lovely memory so many of them I am still thinking of any special ones. But the best ones are peeking into each Bedroom and seeing my children sleeping in comfort and warmth ( a blessing when there is so much turmoil in the world and children starving)
Watching for them coming home from school does not seem so long ago and now they are watching their children I have so many memories I must settle myself with pen and paper before too long.
I have just decorated my balconies with traditional British trimmings and we are getting a lot of Spanish looking at Papa Noel climbing onto the balcony and they are taking photos. We will still come back to UK for Christmas and go to our midnight service in Port Sunlight or Thornton Hough which ever Church the family have decided to attend. |
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| Rain |
[Oct. 24th, 2008|09:27 am] |
We are having a lot of rain today,so out come the buckets we have a roof like a sieve at the moment. The old spanish tiles have gone porous over the years and the landlady needs to organise a new roof which in Spain is not an easy task( she has already spent thousands of euro on patching ) the builders refuse to do that now as the house needs a whole new roof as the builder says todo neuvo. We have to get an estimate then the surveyer has to come and see it, then a licence is applied for at the Town Hall a tax has to be paid to them it is classed as an improvement to the property then another official paper to get permission to erect scaffolding, then yet another piece of paper to close our section of the little road as we are in the old town and the streets are very narrow. Once the scaffolding goes up the road will be impassable the one saving grace is we live at the end and there is access to the rest of the area just before our house.
We will be moving to a different apartment before the work is carried out only a few metres away but with superb views over the the sea and the mountains so in a way the weather has been kind to us.
Today is the memorial service for Andrew before his body is returned to his parents in the UK. One of the local celebs has organised coaches for us to travel to the crematorio as the community around is very close and caring so almost every house or apartment will be represented even the Spanish will attend a good testement to the memory of Andrew. He loved the rain and it looks like it will be here to give him his final send off. We have been asked to wear bright colours and sing our heads off so I have sorted out the brightest umbrella I have and my cloths will be bright also.
On a happier note I am coming back to UK on the 12th nov I am really looking forward to that. Although the grandchildren are almost independant from us I do miss them. Of course my own children need a hug now and again ( or is it me)!!!
I will catch up with the rest of the family and friends before returning here about two weeks later although the flights are not yet booked well thats the end of my ramblings I have to call dfs now and find out if Brians nasty rash has anything to do with the sofa and two recliners we bought and had delivered to Port Sunlight in November. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 21st, 2008|01:21 pm] |
Another hot and humid day. I know I should not complain that is why I am out here. While the weather is so warm I do not get much housework done, I have taken on the Spanish attitude man"ana. but I really must get drawers and cupboards sorted out ready for when we move.It is a bit silly tr ansfering all of Brians will come in handy gadgets (and I assure you all he has plenty) into cupboards in the new apartment. As the handy gadgets have never seen light of day since they where purchased or donated : Brian would bring anything that was different or given into the apartment" I dread the day that he sees a donkey eating strawberries looking for a new home.
On 12th nov we return to UK to sort out more of Brians special purchases in Port Sulight and that will be a job and a half as the house there has 4 bedrooms full of handy gadgets uread books by the dozen videos music at least 48 watches Why? does one need so many watchesanswers on a postcard please!
At the last count 34 pair of trousers not counting suits many pairs of boxed new shoes and believe it or not ( for a man who does no exercise and walks at a snails pace) 2 pair of unused trainers he will not live long enough to wear them out) Well I suppose I have a few things that I bought and have not used but not many. So I will be trying to rope the family ito helping me dispose of a lot of handy unused gadgets. Well thats my moan for the day. Tommorrow I start to investigate the source of my leather suite that was delivered to our home in Port Sunlight poor Brian has had the most horrendous rash on his legs which he attende the doctor to get cream not knowing what the problem was we have since read in the newspapers about the problem with leather sofas and recliners we have both purchased from DFS they say their furniture is not affected but Brian is so we must look for answers. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 20th, 2008|09:21 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  crappy | ] |
We are still in Spain in the lovely warm weather very warm for this time of the year. We have just said goodbo some aquaintences that we have known for some ten years or more. A group of six come out here twice a year, we normaly go to a show with them but this year it was not to be. Only two couples came out and one from each couple are having treatment for cancer. The lady for cancer of the pancreas and the gent from prostate cancer. They are in good spirits and have every intention of keeping strong. The third couple had to cancel at the last miute because the lovely gent has breast cancer which is very aggressive and has not responded as well. It is such a shame that men do not realise that they can suffer with breast cancer if detected at an earlier stage the success rate might be higher, We must tell every male we come into contact with that they must check for lumps and bumps in the breast area.
I have had a bad weekend as my young nieghbour had a massive heart attack and died despite being revived a couple of times it brought back some very vivid memories for me. Andrew was only 42 years of age and a lovely happy go lucky man, he will be sadly missed. His mily are flying over today so I must go and get some beds made up I do not know how many will be staying with us. On a happier note the sun is shining and the church bells are ringing life goes on. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 9th, 2008|01:12 pm] |
not much different happening here in Benidorm, the heat is still almost unbearable but we did have a small shower last night but not enough to freshen the air. Today is overcast and 32deg very very humid.
The Spanish and French holiday makers are leaving on mass to return to Madrid and Paris after their annual months holiday. It will be very quiet as they are very loud when they talk and sometimes all at the same time, I do not know how they understand what each of them are saying it is just one awful chattering noise. I have just been to the top and had a look at the sea( about 30yards away) the red flag is flying as there is a large swell but still a lot of idiots swimming quite far out not giving the life gaurd chance if they get into difficulties. I cannot blame anyone wanting to cool off but staying close to the waters edge seems a wiser thing to do. I am a strong swimmer but even I would not venture further than knee deep you only need one rogue wave and I have seen many over the years. I hope the weather picks up in the UK where was the summer? Not many barbies were had and only one or two picnics I hope that you may get an Indian summer. Well the heat has got to me the slow cooker is on with the evening meal all prepared, I am now off to have a siesta will have the fan on full blast mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm |
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| Heat wave |
[Sep. 3rd, 2008|12:33 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | phew | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Benidorm | ] |
| [ | music |
| | singing in ther rain | ] |
We are back in Spain after spending 8 weeks in UK mainly attending doctors and hospitals. It is so very hot here once again we are experiencing yet another heat wave. We tend to go shopping very early and then stay indoors until evening when we get a small respite from the sun and get a little breeze from the sea, musnt complain stops us getting webbed feet. Not much has changed here our lovely Church on the hill still looks lovely with all the fresh flowers replaced about three times a week( it is always full of tourists) the stained glass windows and the side chapels are beautiful. Siesta time comes around more often in this heat and I can see from my computer chair a nice fresh bed calling me so adios. |
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