Well, I think we both thought that life had been treating us pretty well lately, but it certainly turned an bit us in the arse today! We had spent most of the day packing, loading the caravan and planning, with an increasing sense of anticipation about leaving here on Sunday. Early evening we decided to go to Calpe for an early evening drink, and unfortunately, while trying to guide me in to a narrow parking space, Ann took a horrible fall off the kerb. We went straight to the health centre where we discovered that Ann’s medical card had gone missing, so we had to pay 190 euros up front to get her seen. She was immediately referred to Denia hospital, and to cut a long story short (I will relate the full horrendous version some other time) she emerged six hours later with both legs in plaster up to the knees. Both ankles are very badly sprained and swollen, and the doctor insisted on immobilising them completely for at least two weeks. I reckon it will be six to eight weeks before she is walking properly, and then only if she does some serious rehab. She is also very shaken up. We will find out tomorrow whether we can stay in the house we are in for another few weeks. If not, things look like being fairly challenging for a while, and our plans to hit the south of Spain and Portugal may have to go on the back burner. I feel rather as if the gremlin who ripped the window out of the caravan on day two last August has been watching us and decided to pour a little rain on our parade. Still, we’ve been through worse and will probably survive another setback. All the best, Andy.     

Good to catch up with family.

Hi All, we have just got back from a two day trip to Mula in Murcia visiting John and Penny Wakefield. It should have been relatively uncomplicated, but of course it didn’t turn out that way. Our satnav didn’t like the address of the hotel so we decided to drive to Mula and try again. At the second time of asking it dumped us in the middle of a scruffy industrial estate and gave up the ghost completely. It was at this point that one of those incidents that make this trip such a pleasure occurred. Three middle-aged blokes were loading up a van from a garage when we pulled up alongside them and asked whether they knew where the hotel was. This immediately led to a voluble and lengthy discussion. Finally, just as I was about to thank them and try elsewhere one of them said “We all know where it is, but none of us can agree the way there. Follow us and we’ll take you there.”

Without more ado they shut the garage door, piled into the van, and lead us right through the town, out the other side, and into the mountains. We wound along an increasingly narrow track for a couple of miles, and eventually the driver pulled up and climbed out. He pointed at a yellow sign which indicated that we should go over a narrow bridge without barriers and not much wider than the car. “Cross that and follow the track for about three kilometres. Un poco peligroso, pero muy hermosa.” And with that, they gave a cheery wave and shot off back the way we had come.

He was only partly right. It was certainly hermosa, (beautiful), but more than a little peligroso (dangerous), being extremely narrow and with several sheer drops. Anyway, we eventually found the hotel, which was brilliant and ridiculously cheap, and having booked in, we went out for lunch. On the way back, the car alarm suddenly went off, and the steering lock began to partially engage. Then the horn went off! We limped the short distance back to the hotel, and having checked all the obvious stuff asked the owner to see if he could get a mechanic out to come and have a look at it, as it was clearly undriveable.  I think something may have been lost in translation, because within half an hour a massive great tow truck arrived, loaded the Beast onto the back and disappeared down the mountain leaving us carless and with no idea where it had gone. We waited for about an hour and eventually phoned John, who kindly agreed to come and pick us up. Two minutes after we had spoken to him, the mechanic phoned from the garage to say he could find nothing wrong with the car and he was bringing it back, so we had to phone John to cancel plan B. Bearing in mind it had taken the best part of six months to find a convenient time to meet, things were beginning to deteriorate like a Brian Rix farce. The car eventually turned up with two grinning mechanics on board who needed a lift back to the garage in our unrepaired but now smoothly running car. We cringed at what it was likely to cost. I couldn’t believe it when they asked for fifteen euros!

We eventually arrived at John’s an hour late, and from then on the day improved vastly. We had a really good meal, caught up on ten years of conversation, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Today we explored Mula town, which is very Spanish with lots of narrow streets and beautiful ironwork, met John and Penny for coffee, and then decided to drive across country on the way back. This was a bit of an eye-opener. Some of the small country towns are  severely impoverished with lots of empty shops and derelict housing. With the recession we were not that surprised. However, what was disturbing was that so much of the landscape in what is usually a highly productive area looks like the surface of the moon. (see photos) They have had virtually no rain for over a year, this year’s soft fruit and grape crops are already looking like a write-off, and fruit and veg prices are rising substantially. There is no end in sight, and for the agricultural community it is a complete disaster.

Only another ten days in our house. We have started packing and are looking forward to moving on. Andy.

Found it!

Beautiful gardens!

It was worth the search!

Another wonderful restaurant up in the mountains, surrounded by vineyards and sunshine. This is Susie’s. Brilliant food, lovely service and fabulous company. After, we got back home for a swim and a nice cup of tea. I think we’re going to miss this place and our new friends when we move on in two weeks time.

There was a fabulous food festival in our village this weekend. The council closed off four streets, laid out tables and chairs, built a stage and the local businesses set up stalls for tasting loads of tapas and wine. It went on all day and all night! We could still hear the band from our house at 4am. It was a very Spanish occasion and good fun!

Well, I’ve been worried for some time that the wheels were coming off. The past few days seems to confirm it. Spent two days combing the house and car for my wallet, and eventually admitted defeat and cancelled all my cards, which I can’t replace until we get back to England at the end of July unless someone comes out for a quick break and brings them with them. The following morning I picked up the box of tissues in the car and noticed it felt a bit heavy. Lo and behold, my wallet was in the box, right at the bottom beneath the tissues. Too late to be any use. However, the worrying thing is that there is no way that they could have got there accidentally. I must have hidden it there at some time in the previous three days when I got out of the car, but I have no recollection whatsoever of having done so. Add to that the sudden reappearance of Ann’s keys six weeks after they disappeared and the spare set of house keys turning up in Jan’s handbag in London long after we had given up on them, and it becomes obvious that we are in urgent need of more mental stimulation and less vino tinto!

We have made some firm decisions in the past couple of days, and have decided to come back to this house from 1st October 2014 until the end of March 2015 (if we can remember the way). It is by no means luxurious, but the landlady has promised to make a few improvements, we have wifi set up here and we can store stuff over the summer, so all in all it will save us some hassle. Really looking forward to getting on the road again soon, but have one more concert on 2nd May and a visit to John Wakefield in Mula to look forward to before we go. All the best, Andy.     

We had another great day driving out to the mountains and wandering around pretty Spanish villages. The scenery is stunning and we love finding a little bar for a cerveza and a bocadillo. (beer and sandwich)

Mucho estresado ahora! As we are hitting the road shortly we wanted to get the car thoroughly serviced, which needed paying for. No sign of my wallet which contained all my debit and credit cards, and which I hadn´t used for a week. No sign of the accounts being used either, so presumably it has fallen out of my pocket somewhere. We turned out every room in the house, every cupboard, drawer and piece of furniture, but still no sign of it, so I have had to cancel all my cards which can´t be replaced until we return to England. Trying to look on the bright side, the house has never been cleaner and Ann will be forced to get her brain working on full power again so that she doesn´t lose hers as well, leaving us stranded in a foreign land without funds! The other bonus was that we virtually stripped the inside of the car to bare metal, and in the process found Ann´s bunch of keys carefully tucked into a hidden pocket behind the driver´s seat. I wonder how they got there? A certain nameless young man with a  bit of previous in the key hiding department happened to be sitting in the seat nearest to this pocket on the way back from the Verd y Vent a few weeks ago, which was the last time we saw them, but we both feel sure that this is pure coincidence. Hmm. Incidentally, the garage worked on the car for six hours solid and charged us twenty Euros for labour with parts at cost. I don’t understand the economics of that at all.

Delighted to see Lawrenson Mews in Billingshurst. This is not the first time a family member has had a road named after them. George Morth, who was a builder in Horsham and was my great great great great grandfather had Morth Gardens which are off the Causeway near the museum named after him. There are three lovely and completely original Georgian cottages still there which he built for his three daughters. Bet everyone really wanted to know that! I expect Wakefield was named after a distant relative as well!

Weather is still lovely and we are swimming several times a day, when we can be bothered to rouse ourselves from a state of torpor. Ann has just completed a really good big picture of the mountains near Granada. I will get her to post it in her Art file. I am chipping away at a very large monster which I’m hoping to finish before we move on. It’s quite hard on the hands using a hammer and chisel all day, but good to be doing something physical.

We are leaving here on 18th May, so if anyone fancies a quick break in the next three weeks get in touch asap. We would love to have guests. 

Off for three courses and a bottle of vino with friends now. All the best, Andy