General Chat

Good afternoon all,

Really good news about your daughter Bridget, am very happy for you both. Hope your son is also doing well.

I am really late to-day, a friend called round this morning and then took us out for lunch said it would do Jimmy good, but he was absolutely exhausted when we got back and just fell onto the bed! We had a lovely lunch and a glass of wine.

To-day the sea looks cruel, dark and very choppy because of the wind which is blowing again to-day.

Your festivals sound very interesting I must say.

That's all for now.



Val in SA.

Bridget, wonderful news about your daughter, I am so pleased for her, and for you. What lovely parents to have supported her all this time, you have my admiration.

Ann
Glos

Good afternoon Bridget,
What wonderful news about your daughter, you and she must be over the moon.
I expect there will be quite a few late mornings for you now that the fiesta is up and running! You are so lucky that the music stops at midnight, round here it goes on until at least 4 00am. and most of it is awful. Luckily this year we were away when the main fiesta was taking place, we have another smaller one at the end of August but the music there was really quite acceptable.
We went to see the Moors and Christians parade in Calpe on a couple of occasions, fabulous, there is also a museum where you can see the costumes. The one thing I miss is the cigar smoking, all the men used to smoke, or pretend to, big fat cigars but that seems to have gone by the board now.
Enjoy the rest of the day
Frances

I am Late today and see that everyone else seems to be the same.
Today the sun is shining and at the moment no sign of anymore rain, but everywhere looks cleaner and the air is fresh. The temp now around 25c so very comfortable.The sky is pale blue with quite a lot of cloud and all around us is very quiet and peaceful. However I think that is because the firework were going off last night until around 00.30 this morning and the bands were playing for about another 45 mins. Living up the mountain meean we can hear it very clearly...it doesn't happen too often though.

OH is out helping a friend with his garden, friend has very arthritic knees so needs the help and i guess that they will call in for a beer on the way home!!

Must do some real house work today not just skimming over the top!!!

Had good news yesterday from my daughter who had a brief traumatic marriage with far reached consequences....that having stayed at home with her children to give them all the support they needed she has after nearly 9 years decided that she can go back to work.
We as a family have supported her through this period so she did not rely on the State.
Well she returns to work next week and she is so excited. It is about 200 metres from the school her daughter goes to and her son can walk home from school with some friends. The mother of one will look after him for about an hour each day. For my daughter this is equivalent to landing on the moon!!

So for anyone out there with very difficult situations, or for those who feel that a situation will never change, please do not lose hope....life can improve, we have to be patient.

Not much else to say at the moment as I feel rather emotional about this BUT I will still have my contemplation and quiet minutes with my coffee.

Bye for now

A few days ago I said that I would make an entry re the festivities in Peniscola.

So here we are.

Patron Saint's Festival in Honour or The Mare de Deu DeL'Ermitana.

As I mentioned previously near the Castle Papa Luna, is the church of the Virgen de la Ermitana, where the Moors and Christians dances will be performed every evening in September in commemoration of the fighting between them in hundreds aof years ago. It all starts at he church which has an image of the virgin Mary which is claimed to have belonged to the Apostle St James.

Having been declared as a National Tourist Interst the festival starts on the 7th of September and lasts up to the last Sunday of the month.

On the last Saturday in September the dance representing the battle takes place, the costumes are amazing and they are always embelished with gold and silver, in magnificent colours and they cannot be the same as those worn on the previous year, so as the festival draws to a close so the families start to design and make the costumes for the following year.

Between now and the last Saturday there will be bull runs, concerts, both in the new concert hall and in the open, traditional songs will be sung in the bars and restaurants. Farmers dances take place , gypsy dancing, childrends dancing. etc and these go on at various times, not always as advertised, street stalls, fire works etc all leading up to the last day which I think is on Sunday week.
This will be through the streets, all the seating has already been booked, we shall be there!! It is a time of fun,laughter, good food and wine with friends both old and new and all ending with yet another amazing firewairk display.
All the local schools will be represented with every type of band imaginable, but not Rock etc!
In this area all children who go to school learn how to play a musical instument and they seem to enjoy doing so.

The last parade takes about 3 hours. My favourite time is when the Moors arrive on their horses, the men are so proud and thoroughly enjoy all the magnificent cantering etc. they also enjoy having there photo taken!

As it draws to a close around midnight the newly crowned Queen arrives with her maids and the dresses again are fantastic. So importnat is this role that girls can put it in their CV.

I expect we will hear music most evenings now until the end of the month and also more fireworjk displays, but they are no longer allowed to have the music after midnight, thank goodness because it used to be until 4 or 5 in the morning!!!

Our two dogs, Jet and Joe will go inland to kennels for the night because they HATE fireworks and we will not be there to look after them because we shall be joining in all the fun.


Bye for now


bridget

Hello all,

Glad you have rain at last Bridget. I know what it's like waiting for rain which never comes. There is nothing like rain for the garden one can almost see the grass grow when it rains after a long dry spell!!!

The weather to-day is lovely and the days are getting longer now.

The electricity going off sounds like home! It happens here frequently.
In fact our electricity supplier is always asking us to use electricity sparingly because the demand exceeds the supply, and we keep having outages. Oh well that's life.

Take care.


Val in SA.

Dear Bridget and everybody,
I think you need to store your documents in an acid free environment. I have found a site you may want to look at.....I haven't had anything to do with these people I just saw their ad in Family Tree Magazine...www.cab-search.co.uk.
Today the weather is cool, cloudy and with the threat of rain though the sky towards the coast is lighter. Pleased that you got your rain, Bridget, everywhere feels so much cleaner doesn't it?
Very sad to-day as Terry Wogan has announced he will be leaving the breakfast show at the end of the year...boo-hoo.
Ah well enjoy the day
Frances.

Good morning everyone, It really is a good morning for around 01.00hrs it started to rain, I do not mean light rain or showers but REALLY RAINING!!! What a relief, the iar changed immediatley, we could breath easily again, infact I stood outside in the rain just to feel it and breat the cooler air.
It continued to rain all nigh, it stopped about 10 minutes ago, but has started again now,,,,

The plants in the garden are looking better already, no amount of watering plus water system does as much for plants as real rain,> Of course there is a downside as it is festival week but as prayers have been answered I guess everything will continue...

I therefore have not sat in the garden this morning, witha cup of coffee, Jet and Joe either sitting beside me or running around, rather I have been looking out of the windoe=w wondering if everyone will think I mad for enjoying the rain!

I have almost finished filing all the info on my family, but am becoming increasingky worried by some very old documents such as the origanal birth and marrige certs for my Ford family looking so old and some have been folded for most of their life and are now falling apart. I do feelpriveledged to have them and to be able to see the original handwriting some of which would put mine to shame. I also have quite a few of my grandfathers army records and need to know how to preserve them as well...

Now the word preserve has just reminded me that I promised to add a few recipes to the Culinary Delights thread so must do that this morning.


PLEASE if anyone knows how I should keep them or of any specialist who may be able to preserve them I would be most graetful.


OOPS, electricity went off. Another quirk when living in my part of Spain, without warning the electricity goes off, usually only for a few minutes as just now, but it has been known to be off for hours !

Whilst the elec was off I took time to think and contemplate so did not come straight back on here.

Keith I think of you and the the meetings you go to, I am sure that you must be an inspiration to others and also of course, or at least I hoe, for you to express you feelings in a safe way.

Well going to put those recipes on now so will sign off but will be back to check who else has been awake and available to write on here


Byee.....


Bridget

Morning Bridget and all,
The rain has gone and the air is fresher. We still have some cloud, quite a lot in fact so it may rain again. We have been clearing out underneath the house this morning, we don't have an attic or a loft but the underneath of the house, more like a crawl space is where we keep all our 'things that might come in useful'.....a lot have gone in the rubbish.
You are so lucky,Bridget to have the space to keep all those books and CDs, we would have to live in the shed if we had kept all our books!!
Must try the Aubergine dish as there are so many about at the moment.
As you say prices in Spain are going up....you would think the supermarkets would catch on to the fact that people have less money therefore they are more careful about where and how they spend it, and introduce a few offers, doesn't seem to work like that here.
Near us a landlord has doubled the rent he charges for a row of 6 shops, two of those shops have now ceased trading as they cannot afford the rise and another one is considering his position...what sense is there in putting up rents at this time. Still musn't spoil the day by moaning. Enjoy the rest of Sunday.
Frances.

Hello to you all,

It's another blustery day here although quite warm.

Nice to hear that you are having fun with your grandson Keith.
I think it is sad when grandparents have no contact with their grandchildren.
That said, I don't have any grandchildren as my only child - a daughter - has decided that marriage and children are not for her. I have, however, been fortunate enough to have my brother's grandchildren around and they have been like my own.

Talking of books, Bridget, my daughter is an avid reader and collector of books, and still has a couple of her children's books including her first Prayer Book which was so well-used. We started taking her to the library with us when she was still a baby and she started choosing her own books from the children's library when she was about 2 years old.
Sorry don't mean to bore you.

The Ginger Biscuits are really very nice allthough I too shouldn't eat too many of them - but oh dear.......... I have given up on losing weight.

I think we are all feeling the effect of increasing prices, over here it seems as though everytime I go shopping I get less for more money! I truly don't know how people receiving a state pension here survive.

Bridget, South Africa is a beautiful country, it is just a pity about the high crime rate which no-one seems to be able to do anything about.

Once again it is time to be thinking of lunch - seems I am always thinkin of food!!

Have a lovely day.



Val in SA.

Keith

delighted to hear that you have access to your grandson and it sounds as if you are having a great time. Sadly we do not have any contact with 3 of our grandchildren as the mother has changed the telephone number and returns all correspondence. OH whose son is the husband, and father of the children, has now decided to srep to one side and wait to see what happens.
Son now has only limited access according to wifes' mood. He did not take the advice we gave which was to seek legal advice asap and is now suffering some 10 months on and has finally accepted that he must do this!!!!


Enjoy every moment

Also remember that it is people like you who helps to make this thread successfull

Bye for now

Bridget

morning to one and all
i had a good day with my grandson at last now his mum lets us see him
i took him to feed the ducks and he loves it
He wants to go again today lol
the poor ducks will end up being fat
He wants to go fishing but it a bit cold for him So it looks like a trip to the farm which he always likes
Anyway ill be posting a bit more soon with updates

And i must say WELL DONE TO YOU ALL for a very good thread

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

Good morning everyone.


Delighted to say that it is a very pleasant cool day so far. Cool, as in weather is cool, not sure if I am "cool"!

Had a pleasant few hours out yesterday late afternoon and early evening, meeting a few friends we had not seen for a while. As I said on my previous message the English bar re/opened aftera summer break, but it was interesting to note that nubers of people there were considerable less than in previous yeras. I am convinced that the world economic climate has a lot to do with this. The English visitors were seriously down in numbers according to the local newspapers and many who have holiday homes here tried to rent them out instead of using them for their own holidays.

It is good to see some signs of improvement in the financial forecast for UK but sadly it is not the same here in Spain.

The price of everything has increased dramatically, with no signs yet of it abating. We know some people here who are very badly hit especially if they are relying on a basic UK pension, fortunately we are not in that situation, but still we have reduced the number of occassions that we eat out each week, we do not buy UK newspapers any more,. We used to buy to, the Daily Mail and the Times but that now would cost us the equivelent of three UK pounds per day! We miss the Sudokos etc but buy books now instead or do them online. We enetertain more at home, hence the idea of the Culinary Delights board, listen to music, I will not say how many CDs we have ranging from classical to heavy Metal and eveerything inbetween...oh well OK iw ill say. we have 1500, yes 1500, and have recently started to catalogue them! OH says we should now sell them of or give them away but many are evry special so I can't do that yet.

We are also avid first edition book collectors and have in excess of 1250 hard back books and about 40 paperback books also first editions before the authors started having hard back books produced. I even have the first book I can remember reading by myself, it is a hard back book called

Tommy Apple and his Adventures in Banana~land by James Laver and the pictures are by Henry Rox..
Inside there is a Christmas Sticker with the message To Brigid with all good wishes. Sadly it does not say who it is from and Brigid which is the Irish version of my name suggests that it from someone who knew me quite well.
I mus have read this so much because it is rather well thumbed but it is complete and all the amzing coloured pictures are inside. from my scribbles, yes it was naughty to do that. I would say I must have been about 4 or 5 when I got this. A couple of years ago my niece bought for me a 1st addition , I now keep them safely together and in the right condition as as with all our books

I have done it again, I have rambled on, hope you are not bored reading this...

The sky is a bluish grey and the air is very still, it is time for my walk around, for my special thoughts time, and maybe today a little contemplation...now why did I think of that??

Have a good day everyone and if you are feeling low, try to remember we will all think about you, if you are happy, then that is great and just let us know, if life is simply ambling on then may we all be content.

I am off to make my coffee to take with me as I walk around.

I will be back later today as it is a special day here and I will try to tell you all about it.


Take care everyone

Bridget

Val In SA

so glad you enjoyed the Auvbergines dish, we haven't had it for ages, so I must cook it again.

Which part of SA are you in, I understand it is a beautiful county, who knows I may get there one day, butOH hates travelling and I love it

bye for now as still filing years of research papers and also throwing a lot away...ooops.

I hope it isn't a mistake


Bridget

Hello everyone,,

Firstly I must tell you Bridget that we had the aubergine dish for lunch and it was delicious, I will definitely be making it again.

Enjoy the rain Frances like Bridget we could do with some here but it's rather scarce, we fall on the edge of the winter and summer rainfall areas so we miss out.

I must admit to not having been out of South Africa and at this stage of my life I doubt whether that will change. Although I would love to be able to go to Henley on Thames and Reading where my ancestors came from.

Hoooray!! No more injections, that is so good.

Enjoy the rest of the day.

..
Val. in SA.

Keith

Thanks for taking the time to tell us how well you are progressing. Glad to hear that you work place is not far from home, that must make life easier. You sound pleased with your change of role so I hope you enjoy it.

Frances

We moved here 6 years ago in December, before that we tried an apartment in Alcossebre but really it was just"the English abroad", hope you know what I mean.
You are correct of course about coaches atc at certain times of the year but we have to remember that the Castle is the second most visitied site in Spain...you should see the Japenese when they visit. ANd again yes there are coach loads of "pensionistas" coming to visit and to take advantage of the very low prices given to them for staying in the hotels across Spain. A very good idea in my view. We stayed at one some years ago just outside Barcelona and we simply could not keep up with them...we were the first to go to bed at around 02.30hrs. The word stamina comes to mind.

We out this afternoon around five as "English Bar" re opens and OH wants to watch the football, I am not sure who is playing but know it isn't our team West Ham, We will meet up with people we haven't seen for a few months as alot of them are only heare for the winter as they find the summer to hot.

Still no rain here but it is cooler.

Bye for now will be back tomorrow

bridget

Certainly will Keith, we desperately need it.
Frances.

Frances keep the rain please


thanks
keith

Morning Bridget and everyone,
IT IS RAINING!!!!!! and it isn't just the gentle stuff either, really quite heavy and soooo refreshing. Not so good for the cyclists in the Vuelta España though as it is a time trial today in Valencia. To-morrow they will be in our area but will watch it on the TV as you see more.
We visited Peñiscola about 5 years ago and stayed overnight. We went to look at the Ebro delta and just meandered our way up the coast. I remember it was very busy, probably September and there were a lot of coaches...Spanish pensionistas on one of their trips, more than likely.
I am reading a super book at the moment "Ghosts of Spain" by Giles Tremlett...a journey through the hidden past, fascinating.
Enjoy your day.
Frances

Morning to all
Just a update
As some of you may know i go back to the support group this week ,Which does help peeps who have had a brain hemorrhage
Its very good We all tell each other how we have been getting on after our ops
And last week i moved to a new base in work to help train other staff Its only 7 miles from home in St Helens so thats not to bad and it keeps me busy

ill update you all in the week to let you know how its going