Too hot to...............
do much at all, so I thought it’s about time I updated the blog.

First, an update on the house,

 

The garden has been transformed. My friend Granville ( who looks after my car for me when I come back to England) and his friends Dave & Trevor worked like Trojans in 30 something degrees to get this done for me, and look I can now have breakfast with Dave ( the roman head in the corner of the garden, not the builder!)

All it needs now is about four cubic metres of soil, but as I won’t attempt to plant anything until the autumn that can wait.

The paved garden comes at a price though, I’ve spent the last two weeks sweeping up dead fledglings that have either fallen out of their nest in the palm tree, been pushed out or failed their first flying lesson! When it was just a mess of weeds, I didn’t notice!

In the last two months I’ve visited England three times. Jane Stevens and Fleur Finch left FP, definitely a party worth going to; so many old faces! Judy Bullen’s 60th was another party not to be missed with an opportunity to catch up with some of Mick’s old school friends. The third trip was no party, I had to see my solicitor, hopefully for the last time, not that she isn’t a very nice person; I just want it to end!

In between times I’ve been hotelier, taxi driver and tour guide! Not that I’m complaining, I really enjoy having visitors and showing them round! Changing beds and cleaning bathrooms, not quite so much fun, but hey I don’t go to work!

My next door neighbour Pauline visited with her mum Sylvia, that’s a pick up from Granada airport, then Mick’s sister came over for a few days, that’s Malaga airport. Returning Pauline and Sylvia to Granada airport was combined with my third trip to the Alhambra Palace this year! A week after Sue returned I made another trip to Malaga airport to collect Sue (an old friend from primary school) and her husband Graham and then my fourth trip to the Alhambra (and my fourteenth in total!!) I think I deserve a season ticket!

Probably the most well known part of the palace is the Court of Lions, unfortunately the lions are being restored at the moment so you only get to see the bowl of the fountain without the famous lions! I’m hoping the rather unattractive structure around the fountain is temporary. But it’s still a fascinating place and the gardens are wonderful at any time of year.

 

Life in La Roda continues to provide all sorts of entertainment. Anne and I went to the theatre, up until this point I didn’t know La Roda had a theatre! It turned out to be in the old Market Hall and organised by the local Asociacion de Amas de Casa (housewives association) and consisted of three short sketches, each with a moral and faintly amusing!




At the beginning of May we had the Fiesta de San Pancracio. The patron saint of work and health, so especially important this year when unemployment is a real issue here with most families suffering from lack of employment and some families with no income at all!

All year San Pancracio lives in a small chapel on the hillside about 5 kms outside the town. On Friday night buses take the pilgrims to the chapel and the effigy of the saint is brought down into the town on an ox cart, with much singing, dancing, eating and drinking. On Saturday there’s a street party more singing, dancing, a live band, eating and drinking and on Sunday the saint goes back to his chapel on the hillside, until next year! This was the first year I experienced this particular festival, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I met the Alcaldesa (the town mayor) and she let me tag along with her, as she tried to explain what was going on, testing my Spanish as she has zero English!

Another airport pick up for Pauline and friends, Derek was travelling down on his motor bike with a friend, John. About 15 minutes before I was due to head off for the airport to pick up Pauline, Sylvia, Dougie, (Sylvia’s husband) and Fiona, John’s girlfriend, Derek arrived, without John!

John had an accident about 20 kms away in Puente Genil, and was in hospital. Turned out he had
broken bones and a torn tendon in his foot and he and Fiona ended up cutting short their holiday and returning home.



At the beginning of June I was invited to an evening of belly dancing (watching, not taking part I hasten to add!) This is Juana, one of my breakfast friends, who has been taking lessons and this was the end of term performance. We were greeted by two young girls dressed in silk tunics and trousers bearing pots of sweet, mint tea. The performance lasted about an hour and was followed by food and drink and an opportunity to talk to the dancers and their families and friends.

In the midst of all this I’ve signed up for a correspondence course in Creative Writing, hopefully this will, in time, improve the standard of my blog updates and you never know I could become a famous author, ‘not another Brits abroad novel’ I hear you groan! You’ll just have to wait and see!

As most of you will know 12th June was our 10th wedding anniversary, and I have to confess I wasn’t too sure how I would deal with this particular date, but I must have done something pretty spectacular in a former life because Andy Pilot and Nick Brewer with their respective families visited a few days before, then invited me to a barbeque and spend the night at their rented villa before meeting Jim & Lizzie at the airport on the 12th, so I had a good reason to look forward to the date!

Their visit took in a horse show in Antequera, the wolf park and Aqualand in Torremolinos. As the trip to Aqualand was the day before we flew back to England we found a great little hotel in Torremolinos (no really!) and stopped over making it a short drive to the airport in the morning.

 

While I was back in England the new pool opened. I’m told it was quite an event, a few speeches and lots of food and drink!! I have to say it’s a fabulous pool, Olympic sized; 10 lanes wide and 50 metres long! I know where I’m spending the summer! And the best bit is between 1.00pm and about 2.30 I have it pretty much to myself!! It seems a shame to get out when no one else is in it!

The Annual Feria de San Pedro, our town fair has just finished. We’ve had five days of fairground rides, dances, concerts and discos – nonstop noise from 7pm till 7am!

Fortunately one of my friends had some visiting children and I was able to borrow Jake to join me on the Trenmaravilla (the wonderful train) a sort of ghost train with clowns hitting you over the head with brooms and balloons instead of ghosts, and Olivia on the whirling mechanical spider or octopus I’m not sure what its called!

 

Sunday afternoon brought all the horses and their riders, some with carriages, into town.Anyone worried about drink driving?