A week at home

We have just had a week at home to do all the things that needed tidying up, check all the bills were ok and catch up with the agent who is looking after the rental our house in the UK. What should have been a relaxing week catching up with family and friends, and putting the finances in order, turned out to a lot busier than we thought. It was amazing how quick the time went, and it was a struggle to fit everything in, but we eventually managed to, and I even managed a few hours in Manchester with a friend to grab some Sushi and a few beers. Linda, of course, found time to go shopping for those ‘must have’ items of clothing that she could not live without! Packing to go back will require some ingenuity to say the least, thankfully Linda’s father is coming out with us this trip, let’s just say there won’t be any spare room in his case either.

There has been some time to reflect on the issue of buying a property in Spain. The wheels have turned, and now my ‘stupid idea’, has become a good idea. So, we going to see if we can rent one of the smaller houses to see if it really does suit our needs, buying a house is not a problem, selling it again if we don’t like it is another matter, and the cost involved is not small. I can see the potential in a smaller house, in particular the type we looked at, and out growing it would not really be an issue, and the Spanish just go up when they need more space. Some of these single story houses now have three floors and a sun terrace, and the variety of ‘looks’ and options are only limited by your own imagination. A trial run would definitely confirm or trash the ideas that are now floating about in my head, and since I did not actually take any measurements, I am relying totally on memory and a few dodgy photographs which I took myself. Most of the apartments we looked at didn’t really work for us, not enough flexibility or scope to put our stamp on them. One was only four years old and the owners had only ever stayed one night, the day they signed the papers, the plastic coverings were still on the furniture that came with the property. The hunt continues.

Linda’s eighty-two year old father has come out with us for a couple of weeks, his first passport, and being a true Yorkshireman, he intends to use it a lot, just because it cost him ‘nowt’. The weather is not as good as I would have liked for him, but having said that, a least he won’t look like a lobster from falling asleep in the sun, which he is known for doing at home. He has got used to being told to go inside and get out of it for a bit, and being handed the factor thirty before going out again, and has now grasped the fact that even cloudy days here can get you sun burn. As dark mild is not on the menu out here, he’s on the bitter, and making his nightly two pints last longer, strong beer and sun do not mix well at his age. He has really got to like it here, and can see why we do, but is still in meat and three veg mode, we have yet to introduce him to prawns, squid and the like, but there is time yet. He has occasionally been persuaded to swap a pint for a glass of ‘tinto’, and enjoyed it. He’s eating a lot more healthy food as well, and has gone mad on the strawberries, the Spanish must send all the rejects to the UK, they are sweeter here, not the acidic rubbish we get at home, and not needing any sugar on is good for a diabetic. We’ll see how Linda copes with him on the return flight, coming out was ok, despite some hold-ups at the airports both ends. Spain may yet have to put up with him yet again, I think that he may be considering using his depleted winter fuel allowance out here, it goes a lot further. Time will tell. We will just have to take it in turns playing chaperone to him on a plane, unless he wants to go to Benidorm for the tea dances and bingo, not really us that. But watch the next TV series; he might be one of those people on a ‘Madgemobile’ running people over having got a drive on part!