SPANISH ADVENTURE

DIY SOS

2011-05-17T14:27:00.000-07:00

Ed and his magnificent wood store

Our dear friend Ed came over in April and stayed for just over a month on a busman’s holiday. He is quite an amazing man! He is on the eve of his 70th birthday and he didn’t stop working from the minute he arrived until the minute he left…

Amongst the many jobs he did for us, whilst he was here, included…

Putting up over 150 metres of Post and Rail fencing, built us the most fantastic wood store (see above), concreted the stable floor, installed our front gate, made us a hitching rail for outside of the stable and a gate out into the lower paddock, built us a stile, repaired various items including our trailer, assisted with the shearing, plus many other smaller jobs too numerous to mention….

Thank you so much buddy! We really do appreciate everything you have done for us over the years and we don’t know what we would have done without you….

The ready-mixed concrete arrives

The surplus is used to level the drive...

No more mud in the stable...

FESTIVAL OF PATIOS IN CORDOBA

2011-05-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

Lin with our dear friends...Alan & Lorna..

As you will have seen from our previous post, we had been invited up to Cordoba for the Festival of Patios, by our dear friends and fellow alpaca breeders Alan and Lorna and what a wonderful day we had.

We arrived at Cordoba Railway Station at around midday whereupon we met up with Alan and Lorna and then all travelled in to the town centre together.

As we said previously, the Festival of Patios is the Spanish equivalent to our own traditional village open garden events back in the UK and the atmosphere was also very similar.

Having visited a few of the patios, which (as you can see from the photographs) were absolutely stunning, we stop off in a bar for a drink, followed by a wonderful lunch in the centre of Cordoba.

Sadly, the day raced by and before we knew it we were back on the train returning home, but we were taking with us some great memories and it was worth it just to be able to spend some time with our good buddy’s Alan and Lorna, with whom we always have a wonderful time.

PS: Having returned first class on the Renfe, we now can’t imagine travelling any other way. For an extra 18 euros per head, we were offered an unlimited amount of alcohol, a sandwich, a cake and a cup of coffee, as well as a newspaper and generally being waited on hand and foot…

A few examples of the stunning patios...

The magnificent architecture of Cordoba

Cordoba - Nominated for City of Culture 2016

THE SAGA OF THE RENFE TICKETS!!

2011-05-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

Platform 3 at Cordoba Railway Station

Hurrah! Hurrah! A day off….

We had been invited up to Cordoba for the Festival of Patios, which is very similar to our Village Open Garden events, by our dear friends Alan and Lorna.

As it is a direct line from Ronda to Cordoba, we decided to take the train, until we discovered the cost was 120 euros return. We had heard of a ‘Tarjeta Dorada’ that offers pensioners 40% discount on train fares, so the day before we are scheduled to go, we head off to the railway station to obtain one.

Unfortunately, the computer was down at the station, so we were unable to get them there and this is where the saga of the tickets begins.

Not to be defeated, Lin had read somewhere that these cards were available at the travel agents, so we charged down to the town centre, where we tried three travel agents. Unfortunately, we were declined at all three as it was too close to their lunchtime, but they would all be happy to help us after 5:30 when they re-open! So back we go at 6 o’clock and choose the agent we liked the most and obtained our tickets. Unbeknown to us we had to pay the agent a commission, so they cost us 15 euros instead of 10. She also offered to organise our rail tickets, which were also subject to commission and would cost us 114 euros as opposed to 95 euros if we purchased them at the station, so upon her suggestion we returned to the railway station to buy our tickets.

You’ve guessed it….the computer was still down, so we were told that we would have to purchase our tickets the next morning on the actual day of travel! Am I boring you yet?

Anticipating chaos, we decided to arrive at the station early and were thrilled to find no queue at the ticket office. However, when we attempted to purchase our tickets, we were told that the returning train was virtually full and that there were only first class tickets available!!

So, after chasing around for the best part of 2 days trying to obtain a cheaper price, we ended up paying over 145 euros, whereas had we just bought 2 regular tickets at the outset, it would have only cost 120 euros! It could only happen to us!

Anyway, so not to detract from our trip to Cordoba, we will publish another post on our wonderful day there......

Renfe's AVE high-speed train..

SPRING IN ANDALUSIA

2011-05-10T04:34:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share our superb rosebush with you...

The view from our paddock across the adjoining fields...

One would imagine that most people’s perception of Southern Spain especially Andalusia would be a semi-arid and parched landscape, which can be the case in the summer months of July and August.

However, during the spring everywhere here is lush and green and awash with wild flowers, as these photographs testify…

Lin has made a magnificent job of our rock garden..

Lin's treasured Iris..

Our lower field covered with Marguerites...

THIS LITTLE PIGGY....

2011-05-09T15:19:00.001-07:00

One morning last week all four of our dogs were making a real commotion up by the front gate, so I went to investigate….

When I returned Lin asked me what was all the fuss was about….

‘Nothing extraordinary’ I replied ‘Just one of our neighbour’s pigs standing on the drive’ Yesterday, we saw his female partner and 8 piglets... I'll attempt to get a photograph of them soon!

No surprise to find a pig wandering down your drive!!

GODSWELL MONTY

2011-05-09T15:04:00.001-07:00

Lia - a proud daughter

Lin and I are very excited at the moment with the news that Godswell Monty, owned by Nigel and Ginny Cobb of Europa Alpacas, was awarded Reserve Champion by Judge Matt Lloyd at the French Alpaca Show held in Salbris at the beginning of April.

Monty is a fine light fawn stud male and is the sire to our own Lia, whom is currently his only female offspring…

ALPACA SHEARING 2011

2011-05-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Lia looks on anxiously, whilst Micah appears to be totally relaxed....

Shearing this year was scheduled for Monday 2nd May and although the weather forecast for that day was horrendous, in reality it went like a dream!

You will remember Kym and James Dixon, the married couple from Wollongong, Australia who have sheared the alpaca herds in Andalusia for the past couple of years. Well they came over again this year, starting at Alan & Lorna’s in Cordoba on the Sunday, travelling down to David and Di’s in Antequera on the morning of Monday the 2nd, before arriving at ours at around lunchtime and if that wasn’t enough, having completed the shearing here followed by a quick lunch, we then all travelled over to Nigel and Ginny’s farm and sheared a further 28 alpacas there before nightfall.

They were then up at the crack of dawn on the Tuesday to shear Jane and Juli’s alpaca herds in Gaucin, before making their way back to the UK on the Wednesday, via Nigel and Ginny’s new farm in Manot, Poitou-Charentes the central western region of France on the way.

They truly are an amazing and hard working couple, so we were devastated when they told us that they were retiring from shearing and moving back to Australia, where James is thinking of taking an electrical apprenticeship and Kim will resume her career in teaching.

Although they are going to attempt to find a replacement shearer on our behalf, they will both be sadly missed, not only as professional and efficient shearers, but as really good friends.

We wish them both every success for the future.

Mothers and babies wait patiently during shearing!

LIA IN ACTION

2011-03-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! You really must have a look at the video we posted on YouTube today.

The link is www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVJQ8LFNBfs heading 'Alpacas Pronking'

Since little 'Micah' was born on Sunday we have had continual rain here, so we decided to keep both mothers and babies in their field shelter.

As you can see, after 48 hours of incarceration, Lia was bursting with energy.......

Is was a real thrill to see her running and pronking around the paddock and having so much fun.

You may be wondering why she is wearing a green leotard. In actual fact it is a green Vet-Flex we are using in an attempt to heal her umbilical hernia!

If you look carefully, you will be able to see Martina and Micah in the background, who is experiencing freedom for the first time!

As you can see at the end of the video, Lia has gained confidence in us and was happily coming over to the gate to see us, until she was spooked by the dogs. This is probably as result of us handling her on a daily basis.

It is fantastic that we now have two babies born within a month of each other, so they will be able to play and grow up together!

MICAH

2011-03-15T05:16:00.000-07:00

Where am I?

Our darling Micah is two days old today!!

He chose an awful time to come into the world, cold and rainy, but he is doing really well.

As you know, he was slightly premature, so we’re absolutely delighted that he has put on half a kilo in weight already!

An attentive Mum....

After a tiring day....it's time for bed!

NEW ARRIVAL

2011-03-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Micah..one hour old!

We’re grandparents again for the second time this year, and it’s only March……

Martina gave birth to baby boy at approximately 11:30 this morning (13th March 2011) slightly premature weighing in at 6.5kgs.

We have called him Micah, which means ‘who is like God’ in the sense that God is unique.

He is a 'cafe con leche' colour, which he has inherited from his father Ross and he has the most beautiful, huge eyes. As you can see from the photographs he is a bonny lad and is going to be extremely handsome!

Lilly says hello...

Mothers and Toddlers Group...

A new friend to play with....

Lia...one month old

ALPACA HUSBANDRY

2011-03-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

Lilly and Lia look fairly relaxed...don't they?

Following the birth of Lia, it was time to cut Lilly’s toenails, which had grown very long and twisted and we were concerned that it might result in lameness. We were reluctant to cut them during the latter part of her pregnancy in fear of causing her any distress.

Alpacas that reside in hard rocky ground in the mountains of Peru will naturally wear their toenails short, whereas ours who live on fairly soft ground need their nails attended to every six months.

Lilly is not the easiest of animals to deal with, in fact she is an absolute nightmare, so whenever we attempt to handle her she will scream, spit and kick and generally make the whole process stressful and traumatic for all of us, her included!!

Having researched dealing with difficult animals we decided that a restraining chute was the answer. So I set about making this implement of torture that you can see in the photographs! (I think I have been watching too many episodes of The Tudors)

Anyway, although it was a bit Heath Robinson, by and large it worked very well and once inside Lilly appeared to be very relaxed, even though her daughter was close by! I was then able to set about cutting her nails with a minimum of fuss!

Some bad news! Little Lia has an umbilical hernia! However, our vet Alonso came over today and is confident that we can deal with it ourselves. An umbilical hernia appears as a soft bulge around the umbilical cord area. There is a defect in the muscles and tissues of the abdominal wall, which feels like a little hole. We have to push back the hernia sac and massage the area 3 times a day for 2 weeks, which will encourage the growth of the muscle, which hopefully will close over the hole.

LATEST NEWS!

2011-03-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

Drilling starts a week before Christmas....

Due to our location, we live in fear of a housing development appearing in the open fields of the valley below us, which would spoil our fantastic view. So we were delighted to hear from one of our neighbours that the field directly adjoining our land is to be planted with olive trees.

We have noticed that there are large numbers of young olive trees being planted locally, so one can only assume that there is a subsidy available from the town hall.

Here are a couple of photographs of them boring a well in preparation, which was really quite exciting and interesting! It took four days to complete!

A huge generator is required....

FAMILY VISIT

2011-03-04T05:35:00.001-08:00

Our Special Little Chap...

Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside of our control, we got a little behind with our BLOG during the latter part of last year, but there is one event that we really do have to report on.

I (Mike) received an early and very special Christmas present!

With our ever-growing family, it is becoming very difficult for me to get away, so you can imagine our delight when Guy and Amanda surprised us with the news that they were coming over with Ollie and our new grandson Dexter on the weekend of my birthday.

It gave me the opportunity of meeting Dexter in person and spending some time with him while he is still a baby and what a super little lad he is…. He has a great personality and was so quiet and well behaved that we hardly knew he was here.

It was also great to see Ollie again, who has grown into a charming and very special young man! From the photographs you can see that he had a great time with the animals and our dogs were all very sad when he left.

Sadly, the weekend went so quickly, but we did find time to take tapas in town at one of our favourite bars and pay a visit to the Cueva de Gato, the caves located on the road to Benaojan. The huge entrance of this cave resembles the face of a cat, thus the name ‘The Cave of the Cat’ as it has been known through the centuries. The unpredictable floods of this cave river have claimed many lives over the years and during the torrential rain of last winter, all of the access bridges were washed away.

Needless to it was lovely to see them all and enjoy many hugs and cuddles with Dexter and hopefully we can all get together again later in the year…

A devoted and doting Nanny

Gosh...Where did he get that hat?

Ollie enjoys a ride on Hector!

Shame about the washing line....

That's my boy....

BABY LIA

2011-02-15T04:07:00.000-08:00

'Lia at 4 days'

What an exciting time we are having here at the moment with the arrival of our new baby!

Lia is now four days old and full of energy! She has put on half a kilo in that time, so now weighs in at 8kgs and is incredibly strong for one so young.

Lilly continues to be a very attentive, protective and loving mother and is never more than a few yards away from her daughter at any given time!

PATTER OF TINY FEET...

2011-02-10T13:35:00.001-08:00

Lilly and Lia...

Linda and Mike Hall are pleased to announce the birth of their third alpaca cria…

Lia (Leah) was born at 11:30am on the 10th February 2011 and weighed in at 7.5kgs and is the daughter of our Lilly and Monty of Alpacas de Andalucia.

As you can see, both mother and baby are both doing well…

Lilly is a fantastic mother...

When Lia met Sally...

First steps...

First Meal..

This evening's sunset - What a wonderful introduction to the world...

LITTLE RED ROOSTER....

2011-01-30T02:03:00.000-08:00

Caliph...showing off!

We have a new member of our ever-growing managerie....

At a party last summer, at our friends Norman and Viv’s house in Algodonales, we met Isidoro, a charming Spanish builder, who has subsequently done some work on our house!

During our conversation, we happened to mention that we had chickens, as did he and when he discovered that we didn’t have a cockerel, he insisted on giving us one of his as a present.

Months passed and nothing was forthcoming, so we assumed that he had forgotten. However, one day to our surprise, he suddenly turns up with this magnificent cockerel…

We have named him Caliph (Moorish leader) and as you can see from the photographs, he seems to be very happy in his new surroundings and with his newly formed harem!!

The alpaca boys look on....

Leader of the pack....

FOR ALAN AND LORNA...

2011-01-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

Lin and her 4 faithful companions

Our first BLOG entry of the New Year is for our dear friends Alan and Lorna from Cordoba, with whom we have just spent a couple of smashing days. We had a gathering of alpaca owners yesterday at Jane’s new house in Gaucin and as it is a six hour round trip to there from Cordoba, Alan and Lorna stayed over with us last night.

Although it was a miserable evening weather-wise, we decided to go into Ronda for bite to eat at a very well known restaurant; the name of which I am forbidden to divulge, as I have been sworn to secrecy by my dear wife!!!

Alan…the mushrooms are now history!!

Since the beginning of November we have been rather pre-occupied with our olive harvest, which has demanded a lot of our time. The weather this winter has been very kind to us, so we have been making hay whilst the sun shines. To date, we have collected close to 3 metric tonnes of olives, which is our best yearly total by far and we still have a dozen or so trees to do.

We had a lovely time over Christmas with Eddie and Karen, who came over on Christmas Eve and stayed with us through to the New Year. It was really nice to spend sometime with them and due to the favourable weather conditions we were able to take a number of days walking in the mountainous areas of the Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park, including the ‘Puerta Verde de Marbella’ which is a restored network of cattle trails 43 kilometers long that weaves its way from Ronda through to Marbella.

Ed and Jack on a mission!!

Two birds eye views of the main Ronda to San Pedro Road

The remains of the Guardia Civil post that they maintained for hudreds of years to protect the merchants against bandits that terrorised the route....

An ancient collection point for water

Needless to say, Ed found some time helping us out with a number of jobs that needed doing around the place and also pitched in with the olive picking, prior to his return on the 14th January!

Can we take this opportunity of wishing all our friends back in the UK a belated Happy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year………

Some fantastic winter views from our house at sunrise!

The sunsets are not bad either...

LUCKY ESCAPE

2010-10-31T07:28:00.001-07:00

We had a very exciting Saturday morning….we decided to take the dogs for a walk in a local olive grove to us and collect some mushrooms, which we had seen growing there on a previous occasion.

As you can see, we had quite a success day, although we were in for a big surprise. We walked right into the middle of a local hunt and were suddenly surrounded by a pack of hunting dogs and a hunter brandishing a shotgun....

We really should have known better, as hunting is a regular pastime of the locals during most weekends of the hunting season…

Needless to say, we didn’t stick around for very long and made a hasty exit....

With winter closing in and the time for using our wood burning stove fast approaching, we thought you might like to see a photograph of our wood pile, which was created by Ed during his last visit, before it’s depleted!

This reminds me….last winter we inherited the Christmas tree of our dear friends Caroline and Robert, which we duly planted in our garden and as you can see it’s doing really well.

DAY TRIP TO GRAZALEMA

2010-10-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

Barrie and Jeanne came up for a couple of days, so we decided to have a trip out to Grazalema and have lunch at one of our favourite places, ‘Restaurante El Torreon’

On the way over we popped in Hotel Fuerte for coffee and it brought back so many fond memories. You’ll probably remember that this is where our ‘Spanish Adventure’ started back in Spring of 2004

After a delicious lunch we took the picturesque route back, with spectacular views of the mountains at Algodonales, which have become a mecca for both paragliders and hang gliders…..

The white village of Grazalema....

A charming village house

Enjoying 'Menu del Dia' at Restaurante El Torreon

Coffee on the terrace at Hotel Fuerte

The view of Grazalema from Hotel Fuerte

LIN'S BIRTHDAY

2010-10-12T05:17:00.001-07:00

We have had a couple of ‘topsy turvy’ weeks, so as it was Lin’s birthday on Monday we decided to take ourselves off to the lakes at Ardales for the day and what a wonderful day we had!

Although Nuri travels from car sickness, we decided to take the dogs and what an adventure they had. With exception of Sally, who hates water with a passion, the other three all took full advantage of the crystal clear water of the lakes.

The weather was absolutely perfect for walking and the views, as you can see, were spectacular. It is such a peaceful and serine setting; our only company throughout the day was a large flock of sea birds that had gathered on the lake, a cormorant and one huge heron of prehistoric proportions, that sadly the dogs disturbed as it was preparing to take lunch.

We walked for hours, without seeing another person, stopping only for a lakeside picnic and by the end of the day we were all exhausted, especially poor old Jack, who has not been used to any sort of exercise!

My beautiful wife............

Luna

Jack

Nuri

We love you Mum.....

Time to go home Dad......

It's been a very long day......

Sally

XXXVII GALA FOLKLORICA INTERNACIONAL

2010-08-31T03:30:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of our year is the Gala Folklorica Internacional de Ronda, which is held during the last few days of August or early September and is part of the Pedro Romero Feria.

Dance companies from all over the world are invited to perform at this prestigious event and this year featured groups from Martinique, Argentina, Ukraine, Poland, Turkey and Georgia! This Gala was formed in 1974 and is the oldest folk festival in Andalusia and during that time over 100 countries from all continents have taken part.

The location for this Gala is the Auditorio Blas Infante, an open air theatre situated on the edge of the Tajo that offers spectacular views of the valley.

The Gala is held over three days, starting at 10 o’clock each night and in addition to the featured countries, a group of dancers from the local Ronda school of flamenco perform at the start of each session.

It is also a tradition that representatives of each of the dance groups take part in the opening procession of the Ronda Feria, which starts at the bullring and travels slowly up La Bola to the Feria ground on the outskirts of town, where we are treated to a magnificent firework display, which signifies the opening of the Ronda Feria.

RONDA

ARGENTINA

The fantastic Argentinians who, along with Georgia, stole the show!

MARTINIQUE

A 'Cool Dude' from Martinique

GEORGIA

The principal dancers of Georgia

POLAND

UKRAINE

TURKEY

Whirling Dervish

AUGUST SUNSET

2010-08-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

After the thunder storms and heavy rain earlier in the week, we were left with this stunning sunset, which we would like to share with you…..

Very unusual to experience this type of weather here in August!!

OUR FIRST EGG.........

2010-08-16T05:19:00.000-07:00

How eggciting!! Sorry couldn’t resist it!

Saturday 14th August: After several attempts, one of the chickens produced our first egg! The first five or six that they laid had soft shells, but the one pictured was absolutely perfect.

We had it for breakfast on Sunday and it was absolutely delicious.

We’re off and running…three eggs today!!

Yesterday, our friends Glen and Michelle Wolstencroft, who are over here on holiday at the moment, came up for lunch. Glen was an old golfing buddy of mine and it was lovely to see them both again.

OUR TWELTH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

2010-08-12T05:24:00.000-07:00

When we moved to Spain back in 2007 one of our ambitions was to explore as much of the country as we could and the city we most wanted to see after Granada was Seville, the capital of Andalusia.

As Ed was staying with us at the time of our wedding anniversary, we decided to take advantage of the situation and arranged to spend a weekend there.

We found, what seemed to be a wonderful boutique hotel, which was well situated being only 10 minutes from the centre, and within easy reach of all of the places of interest and we were not disappointed. Hotel Amadeus is an old 18th century manor house that has been tastefully decorated and as the name suggests takes its inspiration from classical music. All fourteen rooms are named after famous composers and classical music was played in the lobby throughout the day. If you would like to see more photographs of the Hotel Amadeus take the following link to their website.. http://www.hotelamadeussevilla.com/

Although Seville is only an hour and a halfs’ drive from Ronda, we decided not to take the car, but travel up by bus, to avoid the parking problems in Seville. We were initially apprehensive, but it actually worked brilliantly and we would recommend it to anyone thinking of making the trip. The only thing to watch out for is that you are not guaranteed a seat on the bus from Ronda to Seville, as it starts its journey from the coast. As there is only one bus to Seville every morning, this could be a problem if you are only going for the day!

We arrived at the bus station of Seville at around 11:30 and even at that time it was unbearably hot; armed with our City street map we headed off to find the hotel, only to discover 10 minutes later that we had been walking in completely the wrong direction. By the time we eventually arrived in the vicinity of Hotel Amadeus, we were desperate for a drink and dived into the first available cafe!

Whilst we were there we got chatting to a lovely couple of Australian tourists from Brisbane who were sitting on the next table to us and who were struggling to order a coffee with skimmed milk; no mean task in Spanish! Gary and Jeanette were coming to the end of their European tour, so we persuaded them to visit Ronda and to look us up when they were there. Well, to our delight they did exactly that and we had the most wonderful evening with them at our place. Since their return down under we have kept in touch with them, with the hope that we will all meet up again one day in the future!

Jeanette and Gary

Stars of the World Wide Web

We had a really lovely weekend in Seville, although we didn’t visit too many of the principal sights, but it just gave us time to relax and enjoy each other’s company without the daily pressure of tending to the animals.

On the Saturday we did spend a lot of time at the Reales Alcazares, the Royal Palace in Seville, which was originally a Moorish fort. The extensive gardens of the Alcazares are quite spectacular; laid out with terraces, fountains and pavilions, they provide a delightful refuge from the heat and bustle of Seville.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the breakfast on the hotel’s roof terrace with a stunning view of the Cathedral across a jumble of terracotta roof tops. Sunday was the actual day of our anniversary, so we indulged ourselves with a leisurely breakfast and a bottle of champagne, which we shared with a charming American couple; Kathy and Bob Allen from Belmont, Massachusetts.

Lin on the roof terrace of Hotel Amadeus

On the Sunday afternoon we took the Guadalquivir River Cruise which sails along the river from where you get spectacular city views, including the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza (Seville’s 18th century bullring) and passes alongside the pavilions of the 1992 EXPO site.

Before we left for home, we managed to find Bar Europa, which is noted for its gourmet quality tapas! Although it is tucked away in the back streets of Seville it was well worth finding. The food and atmosphere were excellent and the goat cheese and apple gratinada was to die for.

Sadly, a weekend in Seville is clearing not enough time to appreciate all of the treasures of this intriguing city. We’ll just have to visit there again!

THE FIRST LADY VISITS RONDA...

2010-08-08T04:41:00.000-07:00

Michelle Obama and friends visit Ronda's famous bullring

Saturday 7th August 2010: We were in town having breakfast with our good friends Kathy and Ian, who told us that Michelle Obama, her youngest daughter Sasha and a group of family friends were visiting Ronda that very day.

After we had finished breakfast we joined the large street lined crowd of people all in the hope of getting a glimpse of the First Lady. Sadly, a glimpse was the best we could hope for! Admidst tight security a 15 car motorcade, consisting of two local police cars and the vast security escort of 13 4x4 bullet proof vehicles, sped the 250 metres from the Parador Hotel to Spain’s oldest bulling, Ronda’s Plaza de Toros! As the vehicle carrying the President's wife past us, the man in front of me raised his camera for a photograph and all I saw was her white gloved hand waving in a Queen like fashion!

It was an absolutely ludicrous situation and you felt the disappointment of all the people who had gathered to see her, some of whom, had been waiting for hours! Surely there has to be a better way....otherwise these high profile visits are pointless!

What sort of life is this for the wife of the American President anyway; quite clearly she is a First Lady who would delight in meeting and interacting with the people, but regretably is prevented from doing so for security reasons.

The same would apply to her journey up to Ronda from San Pedro through the Sierra Blanca mountains, which boast some of the most spectacular and picturesque views in the whole of Andalucia. Once you are high in the mountains you can look back and experience the most breathtaking views of coast and on a clear day one can see Gibraltar and the coast of Africa.

The question is, would she have been able to see them, sandwiched between bodyguards and secret service agents in an armoured vehicle racing up the narrow mountain road at high speeds, sirens wailing in fear of a terrorist attack! Probably not, which is really sad!

After visiting a number of the town's historic houses Mrs Obama stopped for lunch at the Restaurante Del Escudero, set in a 19th century villa that is located next to the bullring, before heading back to the five-star luxury Villa Padierna in Marbella, where the group are staying.

The First Lady and her entourage are due to attend a charity event hosted by actors Antonio Banderas and Eva Longoria on Saturday night and then lunch with Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia on the Sunday at their summer palace on the island of Majorca before flying home to Washington DC later in the week.

DEXTER GUY WOOLGROVE

2010-08-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce the birth of our new grandson, Dexter Guy Woolgrove born to Guy and Amanda at 1:42pm on Friday 30th July 2010 - Weight 6lbs 15ozs

Mother and baby both now back home and doing well….and Dad come to that!

We are absolutely thrilled….

Dexter with proud brother Ollie

ALL SAINTS CHURCH DATCHWORTH

2010-08-03T16:25:00.001-07:00

All Saints Church Datchworth

Just a small selection of photographs of our beloved All Saints Church in Datchworth, taken during the Open Gardens weekend.

As you can see the flower arrangements were quite spectacular.

'I am the light of the World'

Millennium Window

'I am the vine you are the branches'

This window designed by Maria Glenn has only recently been installed. It commemorates the foundation, in 2005, of the Welwyn Team Ministry, which incorporates the parishes of St Mary’s Welwyn, St Michael’s Woolmer Green, St Peter’s Tewin, Ayot St Peters’ and All Saints’ Datchworth.

OPEN GARDENS

2010-08-03T14:08:00.001-07:00

Just one of the many beautiful houses in Datchworth Village

Having only been back to the UK a few times since we moved to Spain over 3 years ago, we found ourselves going back again as many times in the space of a few weeks!

Originally, I went over for a long weekend to visit my daughters; I then went back a fortnight later for the 50th Anniversary Dinner and Dance of my old football club, Potters Bar Town (formerly Mount Grace Old Scholars) which was held at The Royal Chace Hotel in Enfield and was a truly memorable occasion that I will tell you all about at a later date!

Lin, along with her close friend Karen, then arranged a holiday in Cyprus to visit her daughter Lisa and her grandson Alex. Upon their return to the UK I met up with Lin for the weekend, so that we could attend a friend’s wedding in Central London. Our good friend Ed made this all possible by coming over to us and to look after the house and animals whilst we were away.

We stayed with June and Roger, our dear friends and old neighbours in Bragbury End and we had the most wonderful time. We had a great time at the wedding on the Saturday, but what we didn’t know, was that our old village of Datchworth were holding their Open Gardens and Scarecrow Festival on the Sunday, which was an unexpected treat for us.

Having been on the All Saints fundraising committee for many years, we thought how wonderful it would be to enjoy the Open Gardens as a visitor for once. However, following the Eucharist service at our beloved All Saints church, which is probably the one thing that is irreplaceable in our new life in Spain, we all gathered in the churchyard in preparation for the afternoon’s events. After 5 minutes, it felt like we had never been away, as we were coerced into manning the bric-a-brac stall, which we did for the next 3 hours!!

We did eventually manage to slip away, which gave us the opportunity of visiting a number of the gardens and meeting so many of our old friends from the church and village, who welcomed us back with so much warmth and love that it became a very emotional time for us.

After the Open Gardens we attended a Songs of Praise back at the church, led by our old vicar Coralie, which was the most perfect end to a perfect day.

On the Bank Holiday Monday we met up with Lin’s son Guy, an expectant Amanda and Grandson Ollie and we had a pub lunch at The Horns Pub in Bulls Green, where we had been the previous night with a few of our closest friends. The Horns Pub has quite an interesting history, of which full details can be found on their website by taking the following link:- www.thehornsdatchworth.co.uk

Although we were only in the UK for a short time, we managed to fit in most of the things that we miss the most…namely fish and chips, a good curry and a pint of real ale!!

Anne, Tony, Andree and Paul working hard...

Our dear friends from church Clive, Doreen and June

Two of the entries in the Scarecrow Competition...

Very British.... Cricket on Datchworth Green

DONKEY UPDATE

2010-08-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

Lin and Sophie get to grips with the grooming!!

Since Jote’s traumatic arrival here at the end of last year, he was extremely nervous and frightened of us and very stand-offish and it took us many months to gain his confidence.

Linda has done a remarkable job on him and Hector, through hard work and perseverance. She is now able to halter both of them easily and grooms them virtually every day. She clearly loves working with them and they have given both of us so much pleasure and enjoyment since they have been with us.

They live quite happily with the alpaca boys and quite often we will find them all eating together, although if there is any disagreement it’s the donkeys that wear the trousers.

We noticed recently that both needed their hooves trimmed and balanced, so we had to call in a farrier. We contacted Klaus Stadler, a young German farrier who lives in the white village of Villa Martin, who had been highly recommended and who I have to say, did an excellent job and clearly loves his work.

Lin was awfully worried how Jote and Hector would behave for the farrier, but they both did so impeccably and were a real credit her. All of her efforts and hard work had paid off.

A SPECIAL MOMENT

2010-07-26T04:55:00.000-07:00

This wonderful shot was captured by our dear friend Lorna of Alpacas del Sol, taken during a recent alpaca meeting at David and Di’s beautiful farmhouse ‘Cortijo la Solana’ in Villanueva de la Concepcion, near Antequera.

The Alpaca in the photograph is young Paco that was bred by Torcal Alpacas and is considered to be the best alpaca in Spain. He has all the qualities of a show winning alpaca with the potential to become a valued stud male. He has a fabulous personality, full of character and really is a very nice boy.

ANDALUCIAN BLUES

2010-07-25T09:11:00.001-07:00

After much deliberation we finally decided to have chickens.

Although we had always wanted chickens we were reluctant to do so, as we had heard that they would attract the local red foxes, which are known to carry Tuberculosis (TB) and therefore potentially harmful to the welfare of our alpacas.

However, we came to the realization that all of our neighbours have chickens, so a few more are obviously not going to make much of a difference.

We bought 4 Andalucian Blues from the Agricentro, all of which are around a month old. We have named them Carmen, Maria, Dolores and Juanita, but at this moment in time we have no idea who is who, but no doubt we will be able to identify them in time.

We are so pleased that we got them now, as we are having so much fun with them. They are quite amazing; they appear to have no fear of us and very little of the dogs and when we are up in the top paddock feeding the alpacas, they just follow us around.

We are also hoping for a Cockerel, which was promised to us by a Spanish family, who we met recently at a party at our friends Norman and Viv’s house in Algodonales.

We understand that they will start producing eggs when they are 5-6 months old, so if our calculations are correct that should be around October time. We’ll keep you posted on both counts!

Wherever you go...we go!!!

The Hilton of Chicken Coops....

UNWELCOME GUEST

2010-07-25T08:01:00.001-07:00

Ladder Snake........

Last night we were all getting ready to go to a performance of Flamenco in the Patio Convento de Santo Domingo’ when my daughter Sophie, who is spending a couple of weeks with us, calmly reported a snake in her bathroom.

As the so called man of the house, the onus was on me to get it out and as I am not totally comfortable with snakes I was a real wuss about it…..

Having failed miserably to encourage it to leave with the use of the barbecue utensils, Lin suggested that we use a pillowcase. The moment we laid the pillowcase in the bath the snake, to my relief, slithered into it and I managed to get it out into the garden…..

….with my ‘roughie toughie’ reputation in tatters!!!

The ‘Cuadro de Baile de paqui de Ronda’ was absolutely fantastic and probably the best performance of Flamenco we have seen to date.

Late night drinks in local Ronda Bar...

JACK

2010-07-23T15:49:00.001-07:00

I would like to tell you the story of Jack a Golden Labrador. He was a rescue dog that was originally owned by an ex-pat that lived in Ronda La Vieja. When she suddenly decided to move back to the UK, she had to try and re-house her SEVEN dogs, failing which they would have had to have been destroyed.

Alvaro, who was the builder of our house, heard of her plight and agreed to have Jack. To put your minds at rest, she was successful in finding good homes for the other six. At that time Alvaro already had three dogs, two German Shepherds, Gorky and Kira and Sally, a spirited Jack Russell.

Although Alvaro owned the house next to ours, he didn’t take up residency, so all four dogs lived together in the grounds of the house and whilst this wasn’t an ideal situation, it was better than being chained to a post 24 hours a day, which sadly is the case for many dogs here in Spain.

Anyway, within a year Gorky passed away and as you will probably remember from a previous blog, Sally decided to adopt us one day last year and has been living with us ever since, which just left Jack and Kira.

During the summer of last year Alvaro moved down to Malaga and only came to the house at weekends, so we agreed to feed the dogs for him during the week.

We had noticed that Kira had become quite poorly over recent months and Jack proved to be a wonderful companion to her; he was never far from Kira’s side and was clearly concerned for her. Every day I would put out two bowls of food for them, but due to her deteriorating condition, Kira would hardly eat anything, but Jack would never eat from her bowl, which is quite amazing.

We feared the worst and sadly, last Wednesday when we went up to feed them, we found that she had died at the back of the house, but thankfully it looked as if she had passed away peacefully in her sleep.

Poor Jack was now left on his own and he looked so upset and was obviously grieving the death of Kira. The next morning we heard him howling from first light, which was heartbreaking, so needless to say he spent the day with us.

We have since spoken to Alvaro and have agreed to have Jack with us every day while he is not there and take him back for the night and feed him at the same time.

Jack is such a loyal and loving dog; he never leaves your side and when we are in the house, he just waits outside on the patio until we come out! We have become so attached to him over the past week and if I am to be honest, I don't think it will be very long before we have another member of our ever-growing family.... Watch this space!!

Can I stay please...........

THE NIGHT WE WON THE CUP!!!

2010-07-19T09:08:00.001-07:00

They take their football seriously in Spain....

Sorry for the long absence, but things ‘down on the farm’ have been fairly hectic over the past few months, as we have attempted to get on top of things before the heat of the summer months arrive, when working outside for long periods becomes impossible.

We have a lot to catch up on, but let’s start with the night we will all remember here for sometime to come! Sunday 11th July 2010 - The night that Spain won the Football World Cup for the first time in their history!

Having disowned England as early as the match against Algeria, we decided to follow our (tongue in cheek) Country of Residency…..

We watched the early group matches in the Bar Capri in Arriate, but for the semi-final and final matches we went to the Limbo Bar at the Plaza Carmen Abela in the centre of Ronda.

As you can imagine the atmosphere was electric and once the final whistle was blown on the Sunday, the town came alive. There were people everywhere supporting replica Spanish football shirts and flags and it wasn’t long before a group of teenagers were dancing in the fountain in Ronda’s main square the Plaza del Socorro.

The one thing that is very noticeable here is that whilst everyone lets their hair down and enjoys themselves on the occasions, there is rarely any trouble and it was refreshing to see supporters of both Spain and Holland watching the match together and genuinely enjoying one another’s company!

The Ex-Pat Football Supporters Club....

The Dutch fans rub shoulders with the Spanish supporters....

but are then conspicuous by their absence at the end of the match….

A night this young lad won't forget....

The customary drummer.....

Lin mingles with Spanish teenagers that have an excellent taste in players....

With the roads gridlocked, this was the only form of transport available....

unless you have a lorry that doubles up as a taxi.....

Teenagers stop cars outside the bullring matador style…

LORCA BECOMES A MAN.....

2010-02-21T06:11:00.001-08:00

That's my boy......

2pm Saturday 21st February 2010…..the time and date our boy lost his virginity!!

Although Lorca is not 2 years old until the 3rd May of this year, we thought we would attempt a mating with him and our Martina. We were not very hopeful because of his age, so we were rather surprised to see him rise to the occasion!!!
He lasted about 12 minutes, so for his first attempt this was very commendable. We will repeat the process in another 8 days and then keep our fingers crossed for a pregnancy.

Later this week, we will be mating our Lilly with Monty, one of the stud males owned by Nigel and Ginny Cobb of Andalucia Alapacas, so hopefully this time next year we will be looking forward to the birth of two new crias!

Watch this space……………………

Lorca takes to it like a fish to water...

...although Ginny had to lend a guiding hand!

Lilly offers some advice!

AN OPPORTUNE MEETING

2010-02-09T09:23:00.000-08:00

A selection of Conrad's fine wines

Last Wednesday we went for lunch with our friends Barrie & Liz, to one of our favourite fish restaurants in Ronda; Los Cazadores located at the top of the Calle Espinel (La Bola as it known locally)

To accompany our meal we decided to order a red wine that was produced locally and chose El Niño Leon from the Bodega Conrad, which was excellent.

Ronda is one of the fastest growing wine areas in Spain and produces some splendid wines. It is a perfect location for wine production as it has the advantage of being at an altitude that allows a cool period at night time, even if the temperatures during the day are high. This difference in temperatures is ideal for growing good quality grapes.

Anyway, another couple came into the restaurant and sat at the table next to ours, who were instantly recognized by our friends as Theo and Ana-Maria Conrad-Stauffer the owners of Bodega Conrad. They quickly spotted that we were drinking one of their wines and couldn’t resist asking us if we were enjoying it....to which we answered jokingly ‘No it’s rubbish’ Well, to cut a long story short, after a very pleasant conversation with them they invited us over to view their Bodega, which we immediately accepted and arranged to go on the following Friday. Theo and Ana-Maria are both Swiss, so as you can imagine their Bodega was spotlessly clean and very professionally run. They are both absolutely charming and their hospitality was second to none

Bodegas y Vinedos Conrad

The bodega is located on the El Burgo road approximately 4km from Ronda and only 6kms from us, as the crow flies! It has a total of 27 hectares within a beautiful natural place filled with oak, olive, almond and walnut trees, of which 6.5 hectares are dedicated to vineyards. Although they have lived in Spain for 20 years, they only started their wine business 10 years ago and today they produce 30,000 bottles per year; one for every vine.

Theo and Ana-Marie have exacting standards and are obsessive about every detail that go into making excellent wine. They are committed to making wine as naturally as possible and take particular care of every aspect in the vineyard.

The aging of the wine is carried out in barrels of French oak, which are stored in a beautifully designed cellar (shown above) with a capacity of up to 300 barrels. The majority of their wine is sold locally and can be found in most of the top restaurants, including Ronda’s famous Pedro Romero Restaurant located in the Calle Virgen de la Paz, but they also export to Switzerland and England.

The family crest

This wood carving was produced locally and given to the Conrads as a present

HECTOR

2010-02-09T00:07:00.000-08:00

Our Hector....

It was quite obvious from day one that Hote was going to bond with the alpacas, as he seemed quite happy to be in their company and vice versa, but there were times when he was left on his own and he looked very lonely. He had come from a herd of over fifteen, so he was obviously missing his family and friends.

We therefore decided to try and find him a companion and through our network of friends here we discovered that there was a donkey for sale at the stables of one Juan Jesus Guerrero Dominguez, situated in the valley below the Ronda Tajo.

Well can you guess what I got for my 60th birthday present……

The moment we saw him being ridden up the track by Juan Jesus, we knew he was for us.

He is fourteen years old, fully trained and has a lovely temperament. Sadly, he didn’t have a name so we have called him Hector.

Having arranged a moving certificate with the OCA office in Ronda, Hector arrived with us on the 27th October in a much more civilised way than poor Jote I’m pleased to say. Juan Jesus delivered him personally in his horse box and calmly led Hector over to our paddock where he met Hote for the first time.

Although we had a few problems initially with dominance issues, they now both get on very well together and Hector is the most perfect companion for Hote, who has come on leaps and bounds since his arrival.

I'm boss..........

.... and then sharing a hay net together!

DON QUIXOTE

2010-02-06T06:10:00.001-08:00

'Hote'

Lin had wanted a donkey from the very moment we arrived in Spain.

So guess what she got for her 60th birthday present……….

Through our network of friends here, we managed to find a donkey that was for sale locally. He was owned by a German family that live in Ronda el Viejo, close to Acinipo (the Roman Ruins) and having agreed a price for him, we arranged to collect him a few days before Lin’s birthday, with the loan of a friend’s trailer.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be very traumatic. When we arrived at the farm to collect him, he had broken free of his tether and was wandering about in aches of woodland with the rest of the herd there, trailing a long piece of rope behind.

It took half a dozen of us an hour or so to catch him and sadly when we were finally able to get hold of the rope to restrain him, it caught round his hind leg and he fell into a shallow valley, cutting his nose on a hawthorn like bush on the way down. By the time we were able to manhandle him into the trailer, needless to say he was completely stressed. To make matters worse, by the time we arrived back home it was late at night and we had no alternative but to offload him in total darkness, so he had no idea where he was until the following morning.

Anyway, we have named him donkey Hote after Don Quixote…a bit naff we know, but we always promised ourselves that if we ever did get a donkey he would be called Hote!

He is one year old and untrained and in view of his above noted ordeal we wondered if he would ever trust us. However, after a lot of time and patience we have managed to gain his confidence and he now comes to us for carrots, which allows us the opportunity of stroking him etc. Two weeks ago, Lin even managed to get a halter on him without any fuss, but at the moment he is not happy to be lead.

That is our next aim

LUCKY ESCAPE

2010-02-06T00:01:00.001-08:00

Don’t be alarmed…..it was only a joke! This is how I went dressed to the Christmas lunch, but it could have so easily had been reality. I was extremely lucky!

On the evening of the 23rd December we had been to a folk music concert at the Casino and Ciculo de Artistes building in Ronda’s Plaza del Socorro with two of our friends who own a wonderful house opposite the Mondragon Palace in the old town of Ronda.

We arrived home at around 1am to discover that water was coming through the ceiling in the third bedroom again, caused by the torrential rain and high winds that we experienced that fateful night. Anyway, although I had had a few glasses of wine throughout the evening and very little to eat, I decided to go up into the loft to investigate.

We have suspended ceilings in that part of the house, which are precarious at the best of times, so we have a builder’s shutter board up there which is balanced across the supporting frame to spread ones weight. Unfortunately, as I was working my way across the board on my stomach, the end of the board slipped off the frame, so all my weight was on one of the unsupported metal cross sections, which buckled and I came through the ceiling, surf like on the shutter board.

Lin was also very lucky, as she was in the bedroom below, but saw what was happening and quickly moved out of the way, otherwise I would have come down on top of her.

Miraculously, other than a bit of bruising on my thigh and Lin’s hand, neither of us was badly injured. However, you can imagine the mess, but that was only the start of the problems that we were going to experience over the next few days!

One of my friends said to me the next day ‘what made you decide to come through the ceiling this year and not down the chimney as normal’

The hole left in the ceiling!!

HOTEL MOLINO DEL PUENTE

2010-02-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

A flooded Hotel Molino del Puente

The Hotel Molino del Puente, where we planned to have Christmas Lunch and New Years Eve Party, was another casualty of the local flooding. All Christmas bookings had to be cancelled as the river burst its banks and two-metre high water levels wreaked havoc on their hotel.

The hotel is owned by English friends of ours, Ian and Elaine Love and they told us how their neighbours “waded up to their waists in mud” to help them clear-up. Whilst the damage is extensive they now hope to use the opportunity to give the hotel a face lift and re-open it in time for Valentine’s Day weekend.

Not for the first time, Nigel and Ginny Cobb stept into the breach and saved Christmas Day by inviting 25 of us to lunch at their house in Parchite, which included the Love family and a few of their guests and miraculously managed to get everything together in less than 24 hours notice.

Everything turned out superbly and it will be a Christmas that we will remember for a long time to come.

Table setting for Christmas lunch

The Love family during happier times

THE GREAT STORM

2010-02-04T23:22:00.001-08:00

The volume of water cascading through Ronda's famous Tajo Gorge.....

The weight of water created a mist in Ronda's town centre, similar to that of Niagra Falls!!!

As Jim from the Vicar of Dibley series once said ‘Do you remember the great winds of 1964’ Well we will certainly won’t forget the great Ronda storm of December 2009, the worst on record since 1947!

Around 100 litres of rain fell on the Serranía on Christmas Eve causing the mayor of Ronda, Antonio Marín, to invoke the municipal emergency plan to assist local residents.

The four major rivers in the area – the Guadiaro, Genal, Guadalevin and Guadalcobacín – all burst their banks and hundreds of homes were flooded. Local farmers who had been concerned about the effects of the drought on their crops now found their land underwater and drowned livestock floating in their fields.
Mudslides covered and washed away a large number of roads and on New Year’s Day a total of 18 roads in the region still remained closed and will be for the forseeable future. Some of the worst flooding was in Jerez where the Guadalete river burst its banks and the water authority confirmed that the river was at its highest level for “over 100 years”

In the early hours of Christmas Eve we were also hit by a mini tornado, which caused considerable damage to many of our neighbours with the loss of many mature trees and fences. We were fortunate that we were not in its direct path and although many items, including our wooden sun beds, were swept away, one landing in the swimming pool, the only real damage we suffered was the loss of a dozen or so roof tiles. Thank goodness this all happened in the early hours of the morning, as the next day we discovered large pieces of broken roof tiles half way up our drive, some 30 metres from the house.

Our dislodged roof tiles

The highest rainfall fell in Grazalema, which has the reputation of being the wettest town in Spain, where they saw over 700 litres per metre cubed fall in just four days, which is 60 per cent higher than the average for this time of year. Poor things! The Junta has confirmed it is now studying an action plan to pay for the damages to the region and the authorities of Malaga, Cadiz and Granada have appealed to central government for financial aid.

Nuri and Luna enjoying the flooding.....

A lizard that we rescued from a mudslide...he was a fiesty liitle thing!!

Our neighbour's olive grove.....

This ditch appeared from nowhere, following 24 hours of persistant rain....

and this is what happened to our track down to Arriate!

A NEW YEAR

2010-02-03T03:00:00.000-08:00

We scrub up well for sixty, don't you think!

Well, a belated Happy New Year to you all!

Apologies for the delay, but we have just experienced the worst weather conditions here in Andalusia since 1947. Having recently been smug about the fantastic weather we had throughout 2009, with virtually 9 months of clear blues skies, from the middle of December it changed dramatically.
We had the equivalent of an average year’s rainfall in one month, along with high winds and on the 23rd December we experienced a mini-tornado, which caused serious damage locally. We were fortunate in as much that we were not directly in its path, but even so we lost a number of roof tiles, many of which we found half way up our drive. Thank goodness the storm hit us in the early hours of the morning.
Anyway, we will tell you more about the storms in our next post.
Firstly, a quick review of 2009. It was the year when both Lin and I celebrated our 60th birthdays; Lin on the 11th October and mine on the 12th December.
Although we had intended for them both to be quiet affairs, to our surprise our friends Nigel & Ginny Cobb arranged a ‘Blazer & Bling’ Party for us at their wonderful house in Parchite, which was attended by the majority of our friends here. As you can see it turned out to be quite a night!

Our host and hostess..Ginny & Nigel Cobb

Lin with friends, Rita, Jill & Tom

Party in full swing......

Still life in the oldens......

What a fantastic house for a party.....

Group hug......

EQUESTRIAN LIFE

2009-12-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

Burghley Horse Trials here we come.........

Following Lin’s renewed interest in horse riding, she was invited to go riding by her good friend Kathy. She is riding Kathy’s horse named ‘Chimbi’ and as you can see she did rather well……

It was the most beautiful October evening in a wonderful location with a stunning sunset.......

Sunset over the mountains at Sierra de Grazalema

ESTACION DE GAUCIN

2009-12-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

The last guests of the season were Roger and June, our old neighbours and friends from back in the UK.

It’s always good to see them, because it gives us the opportunity of reminiscing about old times and catching up with the events and people of our delightful old village of Datchworth.

Whilst they were here, we decided to take one of Europe’s great short rail journeys from Ronda down to Estacion de Gaucin, which runs through the spectacular El Chorro Gorge.

Although it is named Estacion de Gaucin, in actual fact it is much nearer to El Colmenar. It is a very pretty village, with tree lined avenues, a charming plaza, pretty station and parts of the old town are lovely.

The fountain at Estacion de Gaucin

A stunning bougainvillia

We had a superb lunch in the 'Meson las Flores' restaurante directly opposite to the railway station.

Whilst exploring, we discovered Ancha del Carmen, a little side street that had won first prize in a contest for the prettiest street and corner. As you can see from the photographs below it was worthy of the title.

A couple of photographs of the water tower at Estacion de Gaucin preserved from the age of steam trains............

Another highlight of the summer was the visit of Pauline and her close friend Kathy. I had worked at Paper Moon with Pauline for over fifteen years, so it was lovely to see them. They were on holiday in Fuengirola and decided to come up for the day. Barrie and Jeanne brought them up and they went back on the local bus!

WE'RE BACK

2009-12-02T05:26:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone… After a break of 4 months we're back, although not exactly with a bang! We have had an extremely quiet summer, mainly due to the fantastic weather we have experienced here. Virtually every day throughout July, August and September we have enjoyed temperatures in the high 30’s and on more than one occasion it went to over 40!

The weather through October and now into November/ December has been almost as good with mostly clear skies and pleasant sunshine! However, this has been disastrous for this year’s olive harvest; the lack of rain and high winds has resulted in under ripened olives and huge premature losses.

We did have a few guests throughout the summer months. Becky came out for a week (5th - 11th August) followed almost immediately by Karen.

Whilst Becky was here we spent a day at the lakes at Ardales, officially known as the ‘Embalses’ of El Chorro, and also the ‘Pantanos del Conde del Guadalhorce’, although there are known more simply by the ‘ex-pats’ as the local Lake District! They are about an hours drive from us along peaceful country lanes with some marvelous open views from the Campillos area. The change of scenery from dry and arid to lush and green is startling. We had a super lunch at our favourite restaurant there ‘La Mirador’ which enjoys wonderful views across the turquoise lakes.

After lunch we decided to hire a pedalo for the afternoon to explore the inlets and hidden coves that surround the lakes. Whilst we were drifting around the lake, Becky spotted a group of teenagers that were diving into the lake from the cliffs! ‘I’d like to have a go at that’ she says and before I could say ‘Are you completely bonkers’ she had joined them and as you can see from the photographs, was also taking her life in her hands……………

Very brave or stupid.......

but she survived......

Sophie came over on the 14th September and stayed until the 21st and at the same time Lin traveled back to the UK to spend a week in Suffolk with Karen & Eddie. Sophie was starting Bournemouth University on the 5th October, so it was a great opportunity for her to chill out before the hard work commenced. As you can see Sophie has a great rapport with Luna and Nuri and they really missed her when she left.

Sophie with Luna.....

What's the matter with you?

Contentment!!

EL TORCAL

2009-07-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

El Torcal

Last week on our way to visiting our friends David and Di, who live at Antequera in the Province of Malaga, we took the opportunity of visiting ‘El Torcal’ which is virtually on their doorstep!

'El Torcal' is made up of silvery-grey limestone which was created underwater more than 100 million years ago and is a surreal landscape that has been thrust up from beneath the sea and forms an area now 1000 metres above sea level.

Over the years this Andalucian landscape has been further shaped by wind and rain into spectacular sculptures balancing at precarious angles. These sculptures stand alongside mysterious caves and crevasses and we plan to go back again soon to explore the area further.

This also a great place for bird watching, where there are regular sightings of Imperial Eagles and Griffin Vultures and even the occasional Peregrine Falcon.

The village of Villanueva de la Concepcion below El Torcal

GRAFFITI IN GRANADA

2009-07-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

An example of the graffiti found everywhere in Granada

As soon as you arrive in the centre of Granada you realise that there is a copious amount of graffiti everywhere, which I can only assume is due to the large student population there; Granada has the third largest university in Spain.

Like most places the graffiti in Granada ranges from ugly scrawls on buildings to high art. Whilst they are probably looked down upon by the majority of the general public, clearly there is no effort being made by the Town Hall to remove them, so one would assume that they condone there creation.

I found myself being upset and appalled and yet at the same time fascinated and admiring of some of the graffiti that was on virtually every available wall surface.

SWAN LAKE

2009-07-14T03:34:00.001-07:00

Foreward in the programme by the Prince of Wales (Clarence House)

‘I am delighted that the Royal Ballet is able to make its first visit to the Granada Festival this summer. I am sure that Spanish audiences will enjoy the beauty and drama of the Company’s definitive production of Swan Lake, which will undoubtedly be spectacular in the magnificent setting of the Generalife gardens. I hope very much that you will enjoy this special evening’

We had heard that The Royal Ballet Company were performing a production of ‘Swan Lake’ at the 58th Festival Internacionalde Musica y Danza de Granada.

As Granada is only a two and half hour car journey away from here, we decided it was too good an opportunity to miss. It was to be our first night away together since we moved to Spain, over two years ago and what a memorable couple of days it turned out to be. Our dear friends and nearest English neighbours Rosie and Jim kindly agreed to look after our ever-growing menagerie, which allowed us to leave early on the day of the ballet and to return home late the next day.

We were lucky enough to obtain some good seats near to the front of the outside theatre, set in the Generalife gardens of the Alhambra and reserve a room in the fabulous Alhambra Palace Hotel, which turned out to be the most perfect location, being only 5 minutes walk from the Generalife gardens.

The entrance to the Alhambra Palace Hotel

Views of Granada from our hotel room

We had a delicious dinner at the ‘Casa Lopez Correa’ restaurant in the arty district of Granada before the ballet, where we discovered later the cast of the Swan Lake were going to dine after the evening’s performance.

Restaurant Casa Lopez Correa

On the following day, after a hearty breakfast, we spent a few hours sightseeing in the city centre of Granada, which was the most perfect end to a most enjoyable couple of days.

Granada Cathedral

Plaza Isabel la Catolica

NOCHES DE RONDA

2009-07-14T03:25:00.000-07:00

Pilar Becerra

The summer months in Ronda are really exciting and eventful. There are numerous activities and social events taking place in many locations throughout the town centre. These are all organised by the cultural office of the Town Hall or to give them their correct title - La Delgacion de Cultura del Excmo. Ayuntamiento de Ronda

They include performances of traditional flamenco, music concerts and dance festivals and the entrance fees are usually just 3 euros or free.

Last Saturday, we saw a performance of flamenco by Pilar Becerra y Familia Nunez at the Convento de Santo Domingo, located on the side of Ronda’s famous Tajo Bridge.

Next week we have the annual ‘International Folklorica Gala’ which we are really looking forward to.

ED: THE MAN THAT CAN....

2009-06-30T05:32:00.000-07:00

Ed demonstrates the workings of his chicken coop design

It was great to have our dear friend Ed staying with us for the month; it was like having our own personal, resident handyman in the cupboard.

Although the month went very quickly, he achieved so much in the four weeks he was here, considering that one of the weeks we were shearing the alpacas, here, there and everywhere!

He fenced of the new alpaca paddock, using post and rail, he built us the most original ‘chicken coop’ in Andalucia, he replaced the door in our shower room, match boarded the communal dogs kennel, fitted electrical points in our new porch, mended a whole variety of broken items, plus much, much more…................... Thanks for everything old mate.. to the man that can; from the man that can't!!

'Hobbits House' designed by Edwin Bunn

The alpacas check out Ed's work...

Ed completes the new alpaca paddock!

RENFE: RONDA TO ALGERCIRAS

2009-06-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

Estación de Ronda

We had heard that one of the best train journeys in Andalucia is the line from Ronda to Algerciras, which takes you via Gaucin and past some of the most beautiful white villages in the whole of Andalucia.

Ed, who is a railway enthusiast, wanted to make the trip, so last Wednesday we bought some tickets and we were on our way!

Ed seems to be enjoying himself

The line was originally built between 1890-92 by the Algerciras (Gibraltar) Railway Company Ltd to enable British garrison officers and their families to escape from Gibraltar and enjoy the surrounding countryside. Nowadays, the Spanish railway network is run by the state owned company RENFE.

One of many storks nest on top of the pylons at La Linea de la Concepcion

Well I have to say that it was the most fantastic day trip, through mostly stunning scenery, picture postcard bridges and brilliant views of the dry river bed of the Rio Guadiaro, which has now been reduced to piles of boulders and a mere trickle of water after many years of drought. The train passes through 14 tunnels and beneath a viaduct several kilometres long - an incredible feat of engineering. It continues past Cortes de la Frontera with its huge sweeping mountain ranges and sheer ravines! Quite scary in places!

Restaurant/Bar at Gaucin Estación

All of the stations are beautifully looked after and well maintained and most have a bar and restaurant close by!

Spanish ladies wearing traditional dresses in Algerciras!

It took about 2 hours to reach Algerciras and whilst it is not the most beautiful city, it was unlike all the other Costa resorts we know and has a real port atmosphere! However, the old town around the Plaza Alta is very attractive and we found a very nice fish restaurant nearby, where we had lunch before returning.

Having now experienced this train journey first hand we can fully understand why it is so highly recommended!

Plaza Alta

Algerciras Port

TAKING IN THE RAYS

2009-06-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

From left to right: Nuri, Sally and Luna

When we first had our dogs, you probably remember us saying that they were not going to be allowed to live in the house, but outside in their kennels.

Not only do they now live permanently in the kitchen and have the freedom of the open plan lounge, but (as you can see) they now tomar el sol (sunbathe) on the best wooden sun beds!

Was there really any doubt that within a year they would rule the roost!

EARLY SUMMER VISITORS

2009-06-12T10:31:00.001-07:00

The fledglings in our roof tiles are preparing to take their first flight…..

The snake that lives in the rocks below our house makes an appearance on our terrace, much to Lin’s horror! It might be a viper!!

And early morning balloonists pays us a visit……

They quite often land in the valley just below us!

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY (SECOND CHAPTER)

2009-06-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

Our celebratory lunch with our close friends Ian and Kathy....

Following our morning at the ‘Romeria’ the five of us went to lunch at the Hotel la fuente de la Higuera, which is located on the opposite side of the valley to us!
It really is a lovely hotel with picturesque views; it’s where David Cameron and his family spent their holiday last year.

We had a splendid lunch and then returned to Ian and Kathy’s house to watch the final of The Apprentice!

A Wedding Anniversary to remember!

and with our old buddie Ed......

A photograph of our house taken from the Hotel Restaurant

My Beautiful Wife....

Ian and Kathy at the 'Romeria'

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

2009-06-09T23:15:00.001-07:00

A typical caravan of the 'Romeria'

Last Saturday 6th June was our 11th Wedding Anniversary. As we were busy with business matters concerning Finca La Cabra on the Saturday, we decided to celebrate on the Sunday.

We had heard that the ‘Romeria’ festival was being held on the Sunday, so we met up with our friends Ian and Kathy at the Barrio of San Francisco in the old town of Ronda to participate in this local tradition. We were joined by our dearest friend Ed, who is staying with us at the moment.

Ronda holds the “Romería” pilgrimage each year, which is in honour of the ‘Virgen de la Cabeza’ and is organised by the local Catholic brotherhood of the same name.

Caballeros of the 'Romeria'

The youngest of the Cabelleros

A young foal that never left his mother's side

The Virgen de la Cabeza at the City Gates

It dates back to the beginning of the 20th century and is a festival of folk music and bright colours and a procession that brings the “Virgin of the Head” statue from the la Merced Church, across the famous “Puente Nuevo” and out of town to the hermitage, where the celebrations go on throughout the day and into the night.

The Town of Ronda

TAKE ME HOME!

2009-06-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

From left to right: Zac, Martin, Mateo, Lilly, Lorca & Martina

As a little treat for our alpacas, we have created a new temporary paddock above the house, which gives them a different outlook and a bit of variety from the lower fields. They absolutely love it when we take them up there and for the first ten minutes they race around like mad things!

As we can get the hosepipe up to this new paddock it gives us the opportunity of spraying them with water, which they really adore especially during the summer months when the temperature can reach 40 degrees plus.

However, they obviously feel more comfortable and safe in their normal paddock as evening approaches, because (as you can see in the photograph) from around 7pm they all congregate at the gate asking to go home for the night!!

Shearing starts this Monday the 8th June, so we should have some interesting photographs to publish soon; so watch this space!!

CAMELIDYNAMICS

2009-06-06T05:16:00.001-07:00

Julie Taylor-Browne in action!

Last week we attended a 2-day Alpaca Camelidynamics course run by Julie Taylor-Browne of Cartvean Alpacas based in Cornwall, who is a qualified Camelidynamics Practioner and gives courses and advice to owners and breeders throughout the UK, Europe and Scandinavia

Alan and Lorna master the art of halter training

Lin assists in the leading process

Lin practicing her Tellington Touch technique

The purpose of the course was to learn how to handle alpacas in a relaxed, controlled, stress free fashion, with no more grabbing, wrestling, chasing, cushing or spitting.

We learnt how to perform the Tellington Touch (a form of massage) on our alpacas which helps relax them and in time gain confidence and trust in their handlers!

Lunch on the second day of the course at John and Jane's beautiful house in Gaucin

The course was held in Gaucin at the houses of our friends Juli Stevens and John and Jane Powell and was attended by Nigel and Ginny (Alpacas de Andalucia) Alan and Lorna (Alpacas de Sol) David & Di (Torcal Alpacas) and two potential alpaca owners from Galicia, Alison Boydon and her husband Ciano.

In addition to the above, we learnt about catch pens, raising babies, medical management, halter training plus much more. The course was invaluable to all that attended and it renewed our enthusiasm in the caring and breeding of our alpacas!

HOUSE & GARDEN

2009-05-10T23:16:00.000-07:00

We have both been really busy over the past few months; harvesting our olives and then pruning the trees, endless hours of strimming, mowing and weeding in an attempt to get on top of the land before it gets completely out of control. It's a bit like the Fourth Bridge; as soon as we finish it's time to start the whole process again!!

However, as you can see from the photographs, when it’s finished it looks fabulous and makes all of the hard work worthwhile.

The weather is now improving here and we are experiencing a wonderful Spring of long sunny days and cloudless skies and perfect temperatures.

Can you see Nuri?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOAN BAILLIE

2009-04-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

Joan Baillie Born 27th April 1920

Joan Baillie (the Mother of our good buddie Ian) is 89 years old today!

To celebrate her birthday a group of us had Sunday lunch at the Hotel Molino del Puente, which was originally a 17th century olive mill that has been beautifully renovated into a small family run hotel by the owners, Ian and Elaine Love.

Joan is one amazing lady; bright as a button, fun loving and you would never believe that she was 89 years of age!

It has been a privilege for us to have made her acquaintance and we will really miss her when she returns to the UK next week.

Joan, Ian and Lin at the Hotel Molino del Puente

MONTAR A CABALLO

2009-04-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

Lin with Chimbi

Today Ronda! Tomorrow the Burghley Horse Trials! At the age of nearly 60 Lin has discovered a new pastime! For the past couple of weeks, she and her good friend Kathy have been horse riding together. Lin rides Kathy’s horse named ‘Chimbi’ and Kathy rides 'El Duque' one of the horses belonging to a charming German gentleman called Axel, who owns a wonderful property with stables on the outskirts of Ronda and where ‘Chimbi’ boards.

Well today, following an invitation from Axel, the three of them went for a ride that took them into Ronda town centre via the Barrio de San Francisco, which is the old part of Ronda and where the horses can be watered.

Kathy on El Duque leads Lin on Chimbi and Axel on Capricciosa over the Tajo

They caused quite a stir with the day tripping sightseers when the three of them rode over The Tajo Gorge Bridge above the 100 metre ravine!

Ian, Kathy and El Duque

Axel - A true gentleman in every sense of the word!

Chimbi and El Duque enjoying a well deserved drink!!

Ian’s mother, who we have affectionately named ‘Abuela’ is currently over from the UK for a couple of weeks, so the three of us met up with Lin, Kathy and Axel for coffee at the Almocabar Gate in the Moorish wall by the magnificent Iglesia de Espritu Santo

The view of the incredible Tajo Gorge that Lin would have seen during the ride

WILD ASPARAGUS

2009-04-24T12:32:00.001-07:00

Lin's first 'wild asparagus'

Mike's first 'Wild Asparagus' complete with ant!!

During spring, many areas of countryside in southern Spain will be filled with Spanish out walking in a peculiar manner. They can be seen, eyes to the ground, knife in hand, walking through woods and undergrowth. Their walk will be interspersed with the occasional dive to the floor and grasp at illusive green shoots. Ask someone to explain this unusual behavior and the answer will be quite simple. They are wild asparagus picking.

How difficult can that be we thought! However, having spent many hours last year roaming the hedge rows and woodlands, we never found one! So you can imagine our delight when we were out today, walking the dogs in the Parque Periurbano ‘Dehesa del Mercadillo’ on the outskirts of Ronda, when we both found one. Sadly the photographs are slightly out of focus, but we just wanted a record of our first ‘wild asparagus’ find!!

Spanish families will have their own favoured areas for wild asparagus picking, and will return here week after week, year after year. Often the exact location of their favourite area will be a closely guarded secret.

Parque Periurbano 'Dehesa del Mercadillo'

COMPLIMENTS OF THE AYUNTAMIENTO

2009-04-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

One day last year, whilst we were taking coffee in the town centre of Ronda, we noticed that the gardener's of the Town Hall were replacing all of the plants in the public areas. The discarded plants were just being thrown onto the back of a lorry for disposal (we think)

Rather than see them go to waste, we helped ourselves to a few of the irises and planted them in the garden and a year later this is the result!!

LIN IN CYPRUS

2009-04-10T06:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday 12th April: Lin returned from her trip to Cyprus, where she had been visiting Guy and Amanda, Lisa and Grandchildren Ollie and Alex.

These photographs of Lin and Ollie were taken at the TOMBS OF THE KINGS in Paphos, which is a wide area containing underground tombs carved out of solid rock dating to 4th century BC, many decorated with Doric pillars. Whether Kings were buried here or not is not certain, but the magnificence of the tombs gave the locality its name.

PALM SUNDAY 2009 (RONDA)

2009-04-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday 5th April 2009

Easter week, known in Spain as Semana Santa, begins with the Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday) processions throughout Spain.

In Ronda the procession, known as 'La Pollinica’ starts from the popular quarter of La Dehesa and winds its way through the town centre, via the Tribuna waiting at the Plaza del Socorro, before returning to La Dehesa. It commemorates the triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. Huge numbers of people line the streets with their palms or branches of olive trees.

'La Pollinica' means the little donkey on whose back Jesus entered Jerusalem

The platforms carrying ‘The Throne of Christ’ and ‘The Throne of the Virgin’ were made at the Trade School of Ronda in 1995.

As last year, I met up with a group of friends and we all waited for the procession at the Café Colon, opposite the Santa Maria church in Calle Jerez. Unfortunately, Lin was unable to come with me this year as she is in Cyprus and was sadly missed.

WEEKEND IN WINCHESTER

2009-03-27T12:47:00.001-07:00

My beautiful daughters Sophie & Becky

I had to travel to London on a legal matter, so Lin and I thought it would be a good opportunity to spend the weekend with my daughters Sophie and Becky, having not seen them for sometime.

And what a lovely weekend it turned out to be. Following business meetings and a shopping trip to Oxford Street with my business partner Carole, during the day on Friday, I travelled up to Stevenage on the train and spent the evening with our old neighbours June & Roger. As a surprise, they had invited Anne and Tony Charles over for the evening (our old friends from church) and we all had a Chinese Meal together and reminisced on old times.

On the Saturday morning, I had an early haircut at my old barbers in Stevenage, before June ran me down to Welham Green, where my youngest daughter Becky lives, who then drove us down to Winchester, where Sophie (my eldest daughter) is at University. She is studying Textiles, Fashion and Fibre, specializing in Pathway Weave. Sophie is living on campus for the first year. Below is a photograph of her room!

Both Sophie and Becky are excellent drivers I’m pleased and relieved to say.

We stayed at a great bed and breakfast in a superb Georgian house at 58 Hyde Street in the centre of Winchester, run by a charming couple Julian and Guinevere Harvey. Highly recommended!

On the Saturday night we went 10 Pin Bowling in Southampton, which was great fun and on the Sunday we met up with Lin’s brother Barrie and his wife Jeanne for lunch in Bournemouth, where we were joined by Jeanne’s brother Geoff and his wife Kathy.

After lunch we went back to Barrie and Jeanne’s new apartment in Bournemouth which is really lovely; elegant, light and airy; interesting views from all sides and situated in a great location.

Becky then drove me back to June and Roger’s on the Sunday evening, where I stayed for the night. Well I say the night!! June, who is a real trooper, took me to the airport at 5am in the morning for the seven o’clock Monarch flight back to Malaga! Thank you June; you’re a star!

It was a very memorable and enjoyable weekend and it was a joy to see that my daughters have grown up into two beautiful young ladies!

MARCH SUNSET

2009-03-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 11th March 2009

I’m really sorry that I have not been able to update our BLOG for sometime, but we have been really busy, what with the olive harvest and one thing or another.

The olive harvest this year was disastrous, due to the unpresidented amount of rain we had here during December and January, which caused a number of problems for virtually all of the local olive groves. Normally the harvest would be completed by mid-January, but this year the olives where still being picked at the beginning of March. Although,we did as much as we could before the Co-operative closed for the season, we were about 150kgs down on last year.

On a happier note, Lin is traveling to Cyprus for 12 days at the beginning of April to visit her son Guy (who is now also working in Cyprus) and his wife Amanda, her daughter Lisa (who has now been residing in Cyprus for sometime) and Grandson Alex.

Lin is flying into Bournemouth on the 1st April, where she will spend a few days with her brother Barrie and his wife Jeanne in their new apartment there. Unfortunately, there has been some complications with Barrie's last heart operation, so he is going to be in hospital on the day of her arrival. However, hopefully, he will only be in the one day, so will be able to spend some time with Lin on the Thursday.

On the Friday 3rd April Lin is meeting her other grandson Oliver at Gatwick Airport and they will fly over to Paphos together, which will be nice for them both.

While Lin is away I will make a real effort to get up to date with our BLOG and tell you all about our recent adventures.

In the meantime, I have published a couple of photographs of the sunset we enjoyed earlier this month. Although, you can never captured the natural beauty of sunsets on film, I hope you like them.

NEW PORCH

2009-01-23T11:26:00.000-08:00

For sometime now we had discussed the possibility of building a porch on the kitchen side of the house. Not only would this be very practical, when dealing with the dogs after a muddy walk, but would also give us another dimension and perspective to that side of the house.

With the interest rate at a virtually all time low and due to the fact that Alvaro’s builders were between jobs and available to complete the work before the end of the month, we decided it would be a perfect time to go ahead with our plans.

Here are a small selection of photographs of the progress so far.

Day 4 - New porch is taking shape

Phase 1 completed....

Day 2 - The ready-mixed cement arrives

Paco (Master builder and our new friend)

Day 1 - The JCB has done an excellent job!

THREE KING'S DAY

2009-01-13T04:02:00.000-08:00

On the 5th January Spain celebrates the end of Christmas with a great party where everybody gives and receives presents. It is to celebrate the arrival of the Three Wise Men - Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar to the city where Jesus was born. In the same way that the Three Wise Men gave gifts to baby Christ, here they share out presents amongst children all over Spain. In fact, the Three Kings are more popular than Santa Claus.

There are lots of processions of the Three Wise Men in each town and city throughout Spain, where the children go along with their parents to see the kings and receive sweets from them. The atmosphere is electric.

Here are a few photographs of the procession in Ronda, which started at 9pm from the railway station and finished at the bottom of the Calle de la Bola, nearby to the ancient bullring.

NEW YEARS EVE PARTY

2009-01-02T13:20:00.001-08:00

May we take this opportunity of wishing all of our friends and family a Very Happy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year…..

We saw 2008 out with a blast, but we will let our photographs tell the story…..

Too close for comfort......

Don't even go there!!

Ian's superb impersonation of Johnny Vegas!!!

Lin has just noticed the arrival of the male stripper.....

and his departure..........

Michelle Pfeiffer eat your heart out!!

We should have never taught Ed to text......

Our chauffeur......

My beautiful wife.....

Kathy, Barrie and Karen letting their hair down!!!

CHRISTMAS DAY

2008-12-28T12:03:00.001-08:00

Host & Party Games Organiser

From left to right: Ian, Lin, Kathy, Karen, Ginny, Me, Alec, Mary, Ed, Marget & Udo

Christmas Eve - It was my eldest daughter Sophie’s 20th Birthday! My little baby has suddenly become a young woman! Where have all the years gone?

We also picked up our close friends Karen & Eddie, who are staying with us over Christmas, from Jerez Airport following their morning flight from Stansted.

Christmas Day - We were invited to join our newly found friends Ian and Kathy for Christmas Lunch at the Hotel Molino del Puente, located on the outskirts of Ronda. This Hotel is owned by an English couple, Elaine and Ian who have converted a derelict 18th Century Olive Oil and Flour Mill into a beautiful Country House Hotel. Website address: http://www.hotelmolinodelpuente.com/

We were a party of twelve, Ian and Kathy, their son Alex, Ian’s stepmother Mary, Nigel & Ginny Cobb, Udo and Marget (German friends of Ian & Kathy) and the four of us.

Nigel & Ian looking terribly gay!!

Upon arrival at the Hotel we were offered a champagne cocktail followed by the Christmas Day Lunch Menu as follows:-

Tomato and Coriander Soup
or
Roasted Red Pepper stuffed with minced lamb, served with mint yoghurt

Marinated Fresh Salmon

Roast Turkey with all the trimmings

Christmas Pudding and Mince Pies

Coffee & Chocolates

After lunch we all took part in a variety of party games organised by Ian and ‘all in all’ had a fantastic time and a very memorable day, as you can see from the photographs.

CHRISTMAS STREET DECORATIONS

2008-12-26T09:08:00.000-08:00

Church Santa Maria la Mayor in the Plaza Duquesa de Parcent

A selection of photographs featuring the Christmas Street Decorations in the City Centre of Ronda this winter, which are quite spectacular......

The famous Rondeño restaurant 'Pedro Romero' opposite the bull ring on the Virgen de la Paz. The walls are covered with memorabilia from the bull fights and include photographs of Orson Wells and Ernest Hemingway, who were frequent diners there.

A VISIT TO GIBRALTAR

2008-12-26T08:44:00.000-08:00

A view of Gibraltar from the Spanish mainland

One of the many tanker ships that can be seen on 'The Strait of Gibraltar' that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.

Who would have ever thought that ‘Supermarket Shopping’ would be considered a treat, but that is exactly what it turned out to be for us last week!

With the pound collapsing against the euro, we decided we would take a trip down to Gibraltar and take the opportunity of stocking up on our groceries that we were able to pay for in sterling.

It took us about an hour and half to get there and being the week before Christmas it was fairly busy. We headed straight for the ‘Morrisons’ super store that is located just on the outskirts of the city centre!

Well, we were like two kids in a candy store!! It had been the first time we had shopped in an English supermarket for nearly 2 years and it was so exciting to be able to buy so many of our favourite items, which obviously we can’t buy locally. Sharwoods sauces, Ambrosia Custard, Carrs Water Biscuits, Soreen Plum Loaf and English Pork Sausages just to name a few………

When we arrived at the check-out with our huge trolley laden with goodies, we had spent much more than we had intended and when we were offered ‘cash-back’ it was all too much for us!!! Petrol and Diesel is also much cheaper in Gibraltar than on mainland Spain, so we took the opportunity of filling up our Discovery before heading home.

On the way back, we popped into to see Barrie and Jeanne (Lin’s brother and sister-in-law) at their apartment in Mirafloras, where they are staying over Christmas, so it was a perfect end to a perfect day……….

WINTER COMETH

2008-12-04T14:20:00.000-08:00

The Sierra de Grazalema

The Sierra de Grazalema at sunrise

The 1st December and winter has arrived in Ronda with a dramatic drop in temperature and the first snowfalls of the year!

The stunning mountain range of Grazalema which is set in 52000 hectares of natural park and stands at 1654 metres above sea level

With winter approaching we decided to install two wood burning stoves! As you can see from the photographs, the installation wasn’t as easy as we first thought. We had to virtually demolish the entire fire breast to remove the open fire cassette, but the upheaval was all worthwhile as the new stove is working brilliantly. As it’s fully enclosed with two front opening doors, it allows us the opportunity of running it 24 hours a day, so the house is constantly heated!

Installation of new wood burning stove - November 2008

Original Fireplace - March 2006

THE MOON AT SUNRISE

2008-11-16T11:03:00.000-08:00

Sunday 16th November - I managed to capture these spectacular photographs of the moon at sunrise this morning, taken from our terrace..........

LORCA AND MATEO

2008-11-11T12:50:00.000-08:00

Lorca

Lilly, Lorca and Mateo

Lilly, Lorca,Mateo and Martin

Updated photographs of Lorca (now 6 months old) and Mateo (now 4 months old) Both are in good health......

Tuesday November 11th - Just wanted to share today’s sunset with you….

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

2008-11-11T05:32:00.000-08:00

The War Graves at the English Cemetery in Malaga

On Sunday we attended the service of Holy Communion for Remembrance Sunday at St George’s Church in Malaga and we are so pleased that we did. The church was filled to the rafters and there were at least 20 people standing outside. The service was attended by members of Her Majesty’s Forces stationed in Gibraltar, along with members of the Royal British Legion. It was the most moving service and we were both close to tears at the laying of the wreaths on the war graves.

The Lone Bugler

Members of Her Majesty's Forces stationed in Gibraltar

They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old.

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

A War Veteran

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The English Cemetery in Malaga, where St George’s Church stands, is the result of the inspiration of William Mark, who was British Consul in Malaga from 1824 until 1836 and due to his persistent efforts the first protestant cemetery in Spain was established in 1831 and today contains more than 1000 graves. The cemetery is also a botanical garden with a number of unusual specimens of trees and plants. With several well-known people buried there, it has become one of Malaga’s historical sites.

VOLVO MASTERS

2008-11-04T10:06:00.000-08:00

Soren Kjeldsen 'Volvo Masters Champion 2008'

Leader Board

We are having quite a year with regard to competitions. Having won a couple of tickets to see Deep Purple back in September, we entered another competition on the same Discover Ronda website and won a pair of tickets to the Volvo Masters Tournament at the Valderrama Golf Club.

Unfortunately, the weather for the first three days was awful and play had to be suspended on two occasions because the course was flooded. Due to the weather conditions, Lin couldn’t face the thought of walking around a golf course in the rain, so on the Sunday Ed and I decided to go along and what a great day we had. Although the day was mostly cloudy, there was very little rain and the tournament finished in beautiful sunshine.

Rubbing shoulders with Ken Brown & Howard Clarke

We arrived at the course at around 11am and followed Padraig Harrington, the Italian Francesco Molinari and Robert Karlsson, who became the first player from Sweden to win the European Tour Order of Merit, edging-out double ‘Major’ champion Padraig Harrington by €273,639.

We then picked up the group of the Swede Alexander Noren, Colin Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie, who we saw hole his second shot at the short Par 4 eighth hole named ‘El Bunker’

One of the most difficult Par 3's in Europe

The final group approach the seventeenth..

The tournament was won by the Dane Søren Kjeldsen at 8 under, followed closely by Anthony Wall at 6 under over the four days. The 33-year-old from Aalborg became the first Dane ever to win the Volvo Masters title and the 20th player to have his name on the iconic trophy. Sergio García continued a great record in the Volvo masters without winning it, his tie for fourth place, his seventh top-10 finish in 10 Volvo Masters starts.

This was the 21st and final Volvo Masters, so I am really pleased that we made the effort to attend.

European Tour's chief referee John Paramor

Sunday Pass

NEIGHBOURING BIRDS

2008-10-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

The European Bee-eater

We are extremely fortunate to have these two fantastic birds as our neighbours and we see them on a regular basis.

The European Bee-eater, which breeds in southern Europe, Africa and Western Asia. This species, like other bee-eaters, is a richly-coloured, slender bird. It has brown and yellow upper parts, whilst the wings are green and the beak is black. It can reach a length of 27-29 cm.

As the name suggests, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects,especially Bees, wasps and hornets, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. Before eating its meal, a European Bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface. It eats some 250 bees daily.

In the city of Cordoba, there is large colony of these birds, known locally as abejarrucos, living within the city on the south side of the river, and show no fear of people.

The Hoopoe

The Hoopoe has remarkable black and white tipped crest, when elevated like the headgear of a Red Indian, conspicuous barring of the back and broad wings, together with vinous head, neck and underparts make the bird unmistakable.

Searching for food on the ground the head bobs to and fro as it walks. On the wing the hoopoe provides a dazzling effect recalling an erratically flitting butterfly, wings alternately slowly spreading and closing, exposing and concealing black and white barring.

They are a very shy and nervous bird and it is virtually impossible to get close to them. Almost all migrate in autumn - usually at night - to winter in Africa, south of Sahara.

ASCARI RACING RESORT

2008-10-20T14:27:00.001-07:00

Sunday 19th October - Ascari ‘the world’s ultimate drivers’ club and luxury retreat, which is situated just 4kms from us, opened its gates to the public to celebrate the “Festival Automovilístico Ascari 2008”.

We were fortunate enough to be able to attend and saw some fantastic racing and great action. We managed to get into the grandstand at the top end of the circuit, which gave us a superb view of virtually the complete track.

The Ascari Racing Resort was inspired by and named after the Italian racing driver Alberto Ascari (1918-1955) the worlds first double world champion.

To find out more about Ascari visit their website at http://www.ascari.net

‘BLOOD AND LOVE IN THE SIERRA'

2008-10-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

Vina Cristina

Saturday 18th October - We had a truly memorable night! We were invited to Judith’s for dinner at her enchanting cottage ‘Vina Christina’ set in the mountains close to Grazalema, along with our friends Nigel and Ginny, Caroline and Robert, Pam and Chris, Kevin and Yvonne, Michael (our Spanish teacher) and Ed, who is currently over from the UK and staying with us for a while.

Judith lives in London for the most part, so her beautiful cottage is available for rental whilst she is in the UK at very competitive rates. Visit her website for further details - http://www.spanishmountaincottage.co.uk

A view of 'Acinipo' a Roman Amphitheatre

Robert & Caroline at the dinner party

After dinner we all went into Grazalema where they were recreating a weekend of the time of the bandits from the early nineteenth century, which they named ‘Blood and Love in the Sierra’ Probably the most famous bandit of them all was José Maria Hinojosa Cabacho better known as 'El Tempranillo'

He is believed to have killed his first man at the age of thirteen, possibly because of an attack on his family, possibly because of a slight against his mother. He acquired a Robin Hood-like reputation, redistributing his ill-gotten wealth among the poor. Not all bandits were so gallant, but El Tempranillo became a cult figure throughout Andalucía and beyond.

He married a young woman, María Gerónima Francés, from the village of Torre Alháquime in Cádiz region, but she died in childbirth in 1831.

El Tempranillo scandalised the authorities when, with the aid of fifty other horsemen, he rode into the mountain village of Grazalema to baptise their son in the village's Nuestra Señora de la Aurora church, thus the celebrations!

El Tempranillo?

Nearly five hundred residents of Grazalema and Benamahoma took part in this extravaganza all dressed in clothing in the style of 1832.....

A camp of the bandits set of this period of the nineteenth century was reproduced in the plaza and included taverns, shops, farmyards and chapels of the era. The evening finished with us all sitting around a camp fire and being spell bound by performances of flamenco and traditional music.

LIN AND FRIEND

2008-10-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

Just thought this was a beautiful photograph of Lin with one of our friend's 'deer hounds' along with a few photographs of their fantastic house.......

ST GEORGES CHURCH MALAGA

2008-10-10T03:24:00.000-07:00

Podeis ir en paz....

City of Malaga

As we have said previously, one of the few things we miss from our past life in the UK is attending church.

As our life has now been restored to some semblance of normality, after a whirlwind first year here and being labelled ‘slipped Christians’ by Roger, during his and June’s recent stay here, we decided it was time for action.

We researched ‘Anglican Churches in Andalucia’ on the internet and discovered 4 churches that were all located on the coast, where there is a much larger ex-pat community.

Well, last Sunday we attended the Holy Communion service at St Georges Church, situated in the English Cemetery in Malaga. We both found the service very uplifting and it was comforting to be back in direct contact with our faith.

It was the first time we had shared in the Eucharist since the Pilgrimage Service at St Albans Abbey on Easter Monday 2007 and it brought back so many beloved memories of our beloved All Saints Church in Datchworth Village and all of our dear friends of the congregation there!

The Revd Peter Wolfenden

The Chaplain at St Georges is The Revd Peter Wolfenden whom we both liked very much. He was down to earth, frank and his sermon was spoken from the heart, not read from notes and it reflected on current World issues and problems of the Third World

Enjoying wine and tapas after the service!

St Georges Church, Malaga

After the service on the ‘first Sunday’ of each month wine and tapas is served outside of the church! Makes a nice change from coffee and biscuits!

Ironically, on the morning of the 5th October we were listening to the Sunday Service on BBC Radio 4 and I (Mike) became very tearful listening to the hymn ‘I the Lord of sea and sky’ You can imagine our amazement when we arrived at St Georges to discover that the Final hymn of the service was ‘I the Lord of sea and sky’ It was all obviously meant to be…….

As it is a 5-6 hour round trip to attend church on a Sunday, the plan was to go to a service once a month. However, we enjoyed last Sunday so much that we are going again this week to the Harvest Thanksgiving service!

Collect of the Day: God, the giver of life, whose Holy Spirit wells up within your Church; by the Spirit's gifts equip us to live the gospel of Christ and make us eager to do your will, that we may share with the whole creation the joys of eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

CLASS OF 2008

2008-10-06T09:17:00.001-07:00

Welcome back Caroline............

and Annick from France..............

and Ollie.........

and Jill...

Rafael our Profesor

Rafael in action!!

Lin, Sharon and Julee

Tamara, Ilhem from Tunisia and Chris

June, Judith and Pam

Wolfgang and Rita from Germany; Galina from Russia

After the summer vacation, it’s back to school for the continuation of our Spanish Lessons at the Educación de Adultos in the centre of Ronda, which have been subsidised by the Ayuntamiento de Ronda.

The class has now grown to fifteen students and we are hoping more will join us during the term.

This year we are working from a Spanish text book, which has given the classes more structure and more conversational practise, more written work and even homework!!

The lessons are really good fun; we have made so many good friends. There is such a nice atmosphere in the classroom and a great sense of camaraderie between us all…….

Hopefully this year, with a more concerted effort, we will make better progress!

WORLD WIDE DAY OF THE BIRDS

2008-10-05T13:57:00.001-07:00

'Cueva del Gato'

To celebrate the worldwide day of birds, Juan Luis Munoz Roldan, the director of the ‘Consejeria de Agricultura y Pesca’ for the Junta de Andalucia based in Ronda, organized an ornithological walk along the Guadiaro River last Saturday 4th October.

Juan Luis was the person who originally inspected our land and accordingly granted us farm status for the breeding of our Alpacas. We have since become really good friends with him, so we were delighted to be invited to join his bird watching group.

We met at Benaojan Estacion at 10am and set of at around 10.30 along the river footpath in the direction of Ronda and walked to the Cueva del Gato and back, which took us around 4 hours. Nigel (Cobb) was going to join us, but his Smart car broke down on the way over!

Unfortunately, we didn’t see too many interesting birds, just the odd grey heron (Garza Real) but we did see a pair of Ronda Ibex on the cliff top. Sadly, these beautiful animals are hunted locally. The hunting season starts on the 10th October through to the 10 February in the Malaga Mountain area.

'Alfredo with Judith and Lin'

Juan Luis, Fernando, Inma and Children

We were only a small group, comprising of Juan Luis, his wife Inma and two sons, Alfredo and Fernando and their children (friends of Juan Luis) Judith (our friend from Grazelema) and yours truly.

'One of the many fantastic views in and around Benaojan'

Along the way we passed the Hotel Molino Cuatro Parabas which is owned by a friend of ours named Philip, with whom I have had a couple of rounds of golf.

'Hotel Molino Cuarto Parabas'

'The Terrace of the Hotel'

IN THE NICK OF TIME!!

2008-10-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

BEFORE

(Photograph taken in August)

AFTER

(Photograph taken in September)

We have spent the last two months clearly the land before the September rains and we managed to achieve it with only days to spare! The growth rate here is quite phenomenal and only hours after the first rainfall, you can see the new shoots appearing and within a day you have a complete ground cover, as you can see from the before and after photographs!!

Back in June we had an attempt at growing our own melons from seedlings, with quite an amazing result. We have managed to grow seven in total, which is not bad for our first attempt. Our aim is to be self sufficient in vegetables and fruit within the next three years!

We had a fantastic harvest of figs this year from one tree, so we are on our way!

100% DESIGN EXHIBITION

2008-10-02T11:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend saw my first trip back to the UK since permanently moving to Spain in the April of 2007. We (Paper Moon) had decided to launch the new Tres Tintas ‘Mariscal 9 Selvas’ wallpaper collection at the 100% Design Exhibition at Earls Court from the 18th-21st September!

I have to admit that the whole experience was quite a shock to the system! It had been ten years since we last participated in a major exhibition and whilst it was incredibly tiring, it proved to be very successful and all of the Tres Tintas collections were well received by all sectors of the Interior Design and Architectural markets.

I couldn’t believe the prices of everything in London! £4.00 to travel three stops on the underground, £7.80 for two coffees and two chocolate cookies! I can travel to Granada and back on the train for less than that!

However, I took full advantage of my trip back to England! I had an Indian Curry in Kensington, fish & chips from The Sea Shell restaurant in Lisson Grove, which has gained a great reputation with stars and celebrities alike. I also managed quite a few pints of real ale, which are not existent in Spain.

On the Sunday I had dinner at the Satay House Malaysian Restaurant in Paddington with my two daughters Sophie and Becky, my business partner Carole and her eldest son Robin, who I hadn’t seen for over ten years.

Before returning on the Monday morning, I spent a few hours in the Brent Cross branch of Waitrose filling my suitcase with a number of grocery items, which are virtually impossible to find in Spain! For example Loyd Grossman sauces, Yorkshire tea bags, creamy hot horseradish, pork sausages, curry powder and spices etc etc…