ann and andy lawrenson

Sorry Janie, I don’t think we will make the Henty for the 13th Dec. Please drink a toast to us!

We have spent today looking at villages in the local mountains. It was yet another bank holiday, so everything was closed. The local estate agents seem to work very hard, being open from 10-30 to 1 and 5 to 7. We are going to be struggling to catch one open for long enough to rent anywhere. Initial impressions are that it would be easy to get a two bedroom apartment on the coast for the money we have available, but is going to be more difficult to find the sort of place we are looking for inland. We have also been surprised to find that it is very difficult to rent properties with internet connection, which is a real pain. Javea is 50 per cent English, so we would like to get away from it if possible.

Nights are turning a bit cooler but we can still sit outside until late in the evening. Unfortunately they are closing the swimming pool tomorrow, so we will have to start swimming in the sea again.

If anyone from Worthing College is reading the blog, please could they post a comment so that I can send them an e-mail and find out whether my e-mails to various people are being blocked.

Andy.    

Hi All, We have finally moved. We got the car half-fixed and had a five hour drive yesterday down to Javea on the east coast north of Alicante. Hi-rise ribbon development all along the coast on the way down but Javea itself isn’t too bad at all. The campsite has a decent pool and clean facilities. Unlike the last place it is full of Brits, mostly wrinkly and from Essex. We had a fantastic meal at a sea-front restaurant last night. The sun was setting over the mountains, the weather was warm and the tapas were very fine. Ann particularly liked the garlic prawns washed down with copious quantities of vino. Suffice it to say the walk back to the campsite was a great deal longer than the one going there, mainly because we were going from side to side rather a lot. We will now spend a couple of weeks trying to find somewhere comfortable to live for the winter so that people can start visiting us. We are having a great time but both missing family and friends.

As those of you who have camped in France will know, the cheaper campsites do not supply loo paper. Herewith a little verse that I wrote on the day that I was reminded of this!

                                                                Ou est le papier?

I hobbled across the campsite quite desperate for the loo

We can wee inside the caravan but I needed a poo.

I sat upon the plastic throne and did my number one

Then suddenly I had the thought:- “Oh Hell, what have I done?”

“Ou est le papier?” I cried. But answer was there none.

I sat there some time, thinking what to do about my plight.

If something didn’t turn up soon I could be there all night!

And then at last- hope was at hand. Someone came in next door.

I could hear the sounds of shuffling and see feet on the floor.

Better be conservative. Ask for two sheets, not four!

“Could I borrow some paper, please.” I shyly made the call.

I thought I’d better get in quick before he used it all.

A thoughtful pause, a tearing sound -three precious sheets slid under.

A passing ship, reluctantly, had saved me from my blunder.

“I want to make it clear,” he said. This is a GIFT to you.

I DO NOT want it back again, just flush it when you’re through.

And next time please remember

YOU NEED PAPIER WHEN YOU POO!

All the best, Andy.

Hi All, we’re still stuck near Tarragona as the garage let us down yet again yesterday. We are now hoping to get the car fixed today or tomorrow. I have a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday and hopefully we can move on Thursday. Weather still pretty good although we had another downpour yesterday morning and the evenings are getting slightly cooler.

I think I mentioned going to the 12th century Cistercian monastery at Sante Creuse about ten days ago. We wandered through the cloisters and sat in the same rooms and gardens the monks had used over the centuries. There was nobody else around, and the atmosphere was very peaceful. I wrote this poem afterwards.

                                                                      Down through the years

You, who walked these cloistered paths through nine long centuries of change

Who sought to cleanse your souls through quiet contemplation

Prayed to find some solace in the love of God

And followed not the paths of greed or vaunted expectation

You, who lived your chaste and simple lives, produced the food you ate,

Gave shelter to the hungry, tired and lame

Who built your halls with love, care and humility

While striving to treat all men just the same..

You, whose names we’ll never hear, whose gentle deeds are lost

When those of violent men redound

Should know that you have left your mark; A spectral presence

In these vaulted rooms devoid of sound

Where we can sit in quiet and tranquillity,

Leave awhile our world of noise and stress and fears

And in some measure find a common link

Humanity

That passes down the years

All the best,

Andy       

10am Sunday morning, croissants and coffee, 24C and the sun is still shining. What’s new?

We were very sad to hear that Chloe’s half-sister Iona-May died this week. Our thoughts are with all those who were close to her but particularly Vicki who has showed such tremendous courage and determination in ensuring that Iona-May had the absolute best life she could have. We both have great respect for her and hope that she will take some small comfort from knowing that nobody could have done more than she has.

What else? Ann has become a regular blood donor and is also decorating the caravan. These two activities are often sequential. Between bed-time and 2am she donates a pint or two of blood mixed with white wine to the local mosquitoes. Then at about 2am she leaps out of bed cursing, grabs the fly-swatter and decorates the bedroom liberally with bright red splats. Not a style I like very much, but it does make her feel a little better. I got one small bite in Carcassonne about six weeks ago, but I think that was from a mosie with faulty radar.

I’d have won my bet about the car spares. I phoned on Friday to confirm that they would fit it that afternoon and I’m sure they hadn’t even ordered it. They’re supposed to be doing it on Monday but I’m still not holding my breath. I’ve also got a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday to get my ears sorted. Virtually completely deaf at present, which is awkward. We are beginning to be accepted by the Spanish people on the campsite and it is quite difficult to converse in a foreign language when you have to lip-read at the same time!

We are both doing quite a lot of exercise, which is just about balancing out the food and wine intake at the moment. We sent a fine curry odour right round the campsite the other night which caused a few raised eyebrows, but we are increasingly eating a Mediterranean diet. It is very difficult to cut down on the alcohol intake when you can get a decent bottle of red wine for 1.90 euros, but I expect we will get round to making the effort eventually.

If you are reading the blog please feel free to leave a comment. It’s good to feel that people know we’re still alive!  Hasta la vista. Andy.

We are still on the Tamarit Park campsite near Tarragona waiting for an exhaust for ‘the Beast’. No real hardship but I think we would both like to move on and find somewhere more permanent for the winter. I have picked up an ear problem again and can’t hear anything, so I’m not allowed to swim at present. Went to the doctor this morning, two hours wait for a two minute ‘consultation,’ then told to use the drops I was already using for a week before coming back, and dismissed before I could get a word in. Formidable! as the French would say.

We had a train trip to Barcelona and stayed overnight in a hotel in the Old City on Tuesday/Wednesday. A lot of very beautiful buildings and beautiful people, and an absolutely brilliant mezzo singing outside the Cathedral.  We walked for miles and got a good feel of the place, but much more Ann’s cup of tea than mine. I hate crowds, they make you feel like an ant! We walked around the outside of the Sagrida de la Familia, but there was an hour and a half queue to get in so we didn’t bother to go inside. It’s supposed to be finished by 2026, but I reckon 2526 is more likely. It’s a huge project and doesn’t look anywhere near finished. Any thoughts on whether Gaudi was a genius or a raving nutcase?  

I was glad to get back to the caravan, as we were both exhausted. Speaking of exhausts we are hoping to get it fitted tomorrow, but I would be prepared to bet that it won’t be until the middle of the following week. Sun is still shining, but We are ready to move on so I hope I’m wrong. Saw Gavin’s of Ollie on Facebook, which makes one a bit homesick. So glad they’ve at last got somewhere decent to live. It should make so much difference to them all. Andy. 

The beast has blown his exhaust! We took it into a garage where they said they couldn’t get the spares till Friday. Andy did incredibly well with his Spanish.

So we are stuck here on the Tamarit campsite for another week. Shame! We are one minute walk from the beach, close to the pool and several nice restaurants and tapas bars. The sun is shining and the sea is blue.  We have booked an overnight trip to Barcelona for tomorrow.

We had a fabulous day out in Reus. Reus is another lovely town and the birth place of Gaudi the architect. We visited the Gaudi exhibition centre. Really interesting and now we need to see the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

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It was hard yesterday…… we had to decide whether to swim in the pool or the sea!

We both had a bad night. (heat, mossies and snoring) so we abandoned our plan to go into Barcelona by train for the day and decided to chill out. So in the morning we swam and rested in the pool and in the afternoon had a siesta. At four o’clock we swam in the sea with snorkels. The sea was warmer than the pool. So we did both.

In the evening we walked along the beach to a tapas restaurant and sat outside. Lovely.

We both chose mixed tapas for starter. When it came  there was mussels. patatas bravas, croquettes and something else very nice. We asked the waiter what it was. Octopus! I can’t believe I liked octopus!

This was the most amazing day! There was a festival of human castles in Tarragona. There were four groups who took it in turns to make these fantastic towers. Little children of 6 or 7 scrambled up to the top and down the other side. Check out the videos we managed to take.

Had a lovely tapas lunch and a swim in the pool afterwards. PERFECT!