June 2015 - The Wedding

Kathie's brother John married his partner Jackie last February on his birthday. This was by way of a reaffirmation of their personal vows and a celebration for the family and the village where they have made their home.

They only met late in 2014. Jackie is part of the Folk Scene in Cornwall and the thunderbolt struck when John visited a show at which she was playing, and they decided within weeks that they were made for each other.

Kathie made a Wedding Cake and we also brought some wine from Spain so it meant a drive down from Yorkshire for the grand event.

The wedding cake in the form of a Country Hat

 

When we arrived we met the rest of the family in Jacky's café in Treem.

Followed by a little sight seeing.

We had a fabulous celebration held in St. Just Town Hall. It was organised by the Fete Committee. They laid on a bar with very reasonable prices, and decorated the hall. All of the chairs and tables were covered and for the start the chairs were laid out in a circle, in the middle of which Jacky and John restated their personally written vows. There were more than a few tears from the ladies.

We had Barn Dance followed by Cornish Pasties and a Cream Tea. When the tables were cleared once more the disco began. A fabulous time was had by all.

The reading of the vows

Jacky sang a song which she had composed for John



Four Mrs Garratts

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May 2015 - What a month....................

We had originally planned to leave Spain for our summer retreat to the UK in June, in time for Kathie's brother's wedding in June. However with the weather suddenly getting hotter, and with wedding details still to complete, we brought our leaving date forward to the end of May.

Things started in quite a relaxed way with a visit to The International Falconry School, situated just a few miles from us. A blisteringly hot day but it was great to see the birds of prey and even be able to handle some and see them at very close quarters.

Kathie holding the tiny American Kestrel (Colin) whilst it feeds on chicken

The Eagle Owl being given a cold-water shower.

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Shortly after this we travelled to Lamansa, a town about 2 hours away, and the scene in the early eighteenth century of a major battle of the Spanish Succession. This was a combined trip with the U3A of Kathie's Art Appreciation Group, and the Military History Group of which I am a member.

The story of the battle is available elsewhere so will not be repeated here except to say that it was a major turning point in the Spanish War of Succession.

We chose not to travel in convoy so as to be able to call in for coffee without overwhelming the chosen café. On arrival in Almansa we visited the museum and interest point for the Battle. Our guide talked us through the origins of the War of Succession and explained the timetable of the battle which was over and done with in just a few hours. There is a huge painting depicting the battle which is housed in the museum of Valencia. Two full size copies may be seen in the town, one in the museum and one in the council-chamber in the town hall.

We also paid a short visit to the beautiful church in the town centre.

A few pictures from the visit:-

 

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Somebody has it in for us

 

 

We are now half way through the month and things begin to get stressful. The car had been booked in for its ITV but the garage could not do it for me until the third week of the month. The lady doing the transfer (Amanda) took over after the car had passed, and requested further paperwork from me in order to prove to Trafico my address in Spain. She returned requesting more proof on the Thursday, only seven days before we were due to leave for the UK.

 

We required a new Padron (a document which shows you have a residence in Spain) which can only be obtained from the town hall.

 

On the Friday we travelled to Orihuela only to find that the town hall was closed for a fiesta. A day lost. Town Hall not open until Monday.

 

Two more days lost over the weekend but on Monday I obtained the Padron.

 

We also learned on the Monday that our Spanish Will does not cover us properly and requires to be changed to conform with what we require. We made an appointment to visit a Spanish Notary on Tuesday to have our Wills altered.

 

We then went to Amanda's office to deliver the Padron, after arranging to meet our friends in another town to have lunch by the sea. The Padron was duly handed over but when we got back to the Clio it wouldn't start. We called our friends on the mobile and they came back (10 miles) to help. We arranged for the breakdown service to come out. Now as luck would have it the car started when he arrived but on advice from the breakdown guy we arranged to have the car checked out. Drove to our garage. Our friends took us home to collect the Audi.

 

Tuesday - the day before we are due to leave for the UK. Busy day. Amanda phoned us to say all was OK with Trafico and gave us our new car registration number.

 

We drove to the Notary and rearranged our Wills. The garage phoned us to say that the problem with the Clio was the battery, they fitted a new one for us. On to the Insurance Broker and arranged to insure the Audi in Spain. Finally to Amanda for one last time to collect my new number plates.

 

Later in the afternoon, Kathie took Timmy for his check up and medication before the trip home, and I took the Audi to our friend Martin who was going to store the Audi whilst we were away. The little devil  was still after us as Kathie's spare car keys, which I had in my pocket had fallen out in the Audi and I had to go all the way back to Martin's to get them.

 

Tuesday evening, all done, big sigh of relief, out for a meal at the Orange Tree then an early night ready for an early start.

 

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And so we set off. Another 1500 miles to go so I will not detail the whole journey but day one was beautiful. Quite a long ride to Jaca in the Pyrenees.

 



One night in the beautiful Hotel and Spa Real then off on the road through the final mountain pass to France.

A beautiful and restful route home!

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April 2015 - Changeable weather

The winter months of early 2015 have been the worst we have had in five years with often over a week of bad weather before a few days of sunshine. The one continuing factor has been the constant strong winds.

 

 March turned into April then things suddenly changed. The wind dropped, the blossoms sparkled, and out came the council workers to repair the beaches, a sure sign of a good spell ahead.

Perhaps the good weather was back?

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March 2015 - The wrong headlights

In preparation for the transfer of my Audi on to Spanish plates I needed to buy "Right Hand Drive" lights in order to meet the requirements of the Spanish road test (ITV).

I was given advice from a mechanic who had rented the apartment below us and he gave me the necessary part numbers. The lights were on sale in Poland and could be had, including delivery, for only €50 each.

I duly ordered them and took them to my favourite garage to be fitted. This proved impossible as the lights, despite being advertised on the website as for my car, had the lugs in the wrong place and the adjusters for raising and lowering them were missing.

Back to the drawing board.

The only ones we could now find with the correct serial number were €1200 each so it looked like the car would be brought back to the UK to be disposed of. The lights were returned to Poland for a refund. Prices given for their delivery by courier ranged from over €100 down to €30 so had I not found the cheapest courier I would have been stuck with them.

The auto electrician in the garage, Top Car in San Miguel, then closely examined the old lights and found that they were adjustable to a small degree. Previous research with Audi had resulted in the requirement for new lights in order to dip to the right, and the advice that they were not adjustable.

So he adjusted the lights until they looked good on their beam tester, and fixed my rear high-visibility lights so that I had one on each side. Top Car promised that the car would now pass the ITV as far as the lights went.

I now handed the situation over to an expert in car transfers as this job is not for the faint hearted in Spain.

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February 2015 - Kathie is 65

26th February 2015, Kathie's 65th birthday.

Once again we had no camera with us so the above is from a little earlier.

We had a party for a dozen of our friends at our favourite restaurant, The Orange Tree. They really looked after us with a lovely Afternoon Tea and birthday cake.

For somebody who told me she was unlikely to reach the age of 60 Kathie is not doing bad!

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January 2015 - A trip to Granada and Nerja.

We had promised ourselves a trip to Granada along with our good friends Linda and Pete. We had to cancel it last year as I had injured my back and could not face the long drive. No problem this time.

We booked a hotel right opposite The Alhambra Palace and the necessary tickets to allow entry to the Royal Palace. The weather played very fair and we had four glorious days of unbroken sunshine.

The hotel lived up to our expectations. It was Four Star but very reasonably priced. The reception staff greeted us warmly (in English) and took our car safely to their underground garage.

The back of the hotel lets on to an orchard from where one can look over the whole of Granada in one direction and up at the Sierra Nevada in the other. The mountains were snow-capped and made for a beautiful view.

After a good lunch we all retired for a siesta as we were booked in that night for the Flamenco Show in the Albercin area of Granada. The show takes place in a cave:-

After the show we were taken to a viewing point where could overlook the beautifully floodlit Alhambra. Here our guide explained to us the different areas and build dates of the edifice.

Our visit to The Alhambra started at about noon the next day as tickets had been difficult to obtain and the earliest we could get in was 12:30pm. You quickly realise that without the Palace visit the day would be quite incomplete. As usual we took many pictures in and around the Palace.

A walk up hill takes us to the Generalife Palace, the scene of the famous fountains and inspiration for the tune Recuerdos de la Alhambra.

 

In the evening we went into Granada Old Town and enjoyed the hospitality of the bars where they serve you with tapas with your drinks. We visited four bars and had a glass of wine and some tapas in each. The tapas ranged from mini-burgers through to a dish of lamb in a delicious sauce.

To complete the short holiday we went downhill from Granada to the coast and travelled slightly west to Nerja.

Here we stayed one night in the Perla Marina Hotel after enjoying a walk along the beach, the Balcon de Europa, and through the shops followed by a delicious meal in one of the many cafes.

Kathie and I have visited these places on previous holidays and we find it great to re-enjoy them through our friends' eyes. Where to go next time?

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