January 2015

Happy New Year 2015 to one and all.

We got back here to Casas Nuevas on Sunday 4^th January after our trip home. It was wonderful to spend time with family and I had a very special Christmas enjoying Christmas Day with Imogen and Amy. It was the first time for 6-7 years, they previously had gone to their respective partner’s parents, and we had a very relaxed day together.  Imogen and Phill parted company earlier this year and Amy and Carl separated in the autumn, changing plans.

Our trip home started with a speedy exit from the airport to be back in time to watch the final of Strictly Come Dancing. Keith W and Imogen hosted the evening and it was all very nice. To avoid any confusion Keith W is Imogen’s boyfriend and Keith H is her and Amy’s dad!! Keith W had organised scorecards and posters and bought masks for us to be judges. I was Bruno!!  We drank cava and he made us nachos and chilli, what a star!! It was a fabulous final Caroline and Pasha were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and worthy winners.

Sunday I managed to fit in the carol service in East Boldon followed by a visit to see Kevin and Gaynor and the family. They always host a pre-Christmas soiree, but this year it was a week later than normal, so I was able to go and it was in their new house.  Amy and I had a good time catching up. We also popped in to see our old neighbours Heather and the boys Dan and Alex. I also caught up with Annie and Frank and got all of their news.

Arriving back on 20^th December is not the best of plans but I managed to fit everything in. I stayed with Vicky, who on top of her usual hospitality let me use her house for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. For many years her and I have spent Christmas Eve together, usually with my girls and this year we were joined by Keith W. We had a nice relaxing meal and a few glasses of wine.  

Keith W went off for his manic family Christmas Day and I went to Imogen’s for breakfast, her and Amy did scrambled egg and smoked salmon and fizz, nice start to the day. We then went our separate ways for a few hours and met up again about 3 pm. Boxing Day was a big Christmas get together so we opted to avoid Christmas fare. I did lobster with garlic butter for starter, followed by fabulous lamb fillet and then puddings (sticky toffee or chocolate) with luxury vanilla custard.  Everything was designed to be easy, there were no leftovers and it was all very easy to cook. I cheated with the puds which were from M&S but time with people is better than endless hours in the kitchen. 

Chris spent Christmas day with his auntie Pat and his son Adam. He then popped over to Cumbria for a couple of days to see his “grandchildren” Abby and Chloe and his mate Robin.

Chris and I got together on Boxing Day and had a “Christmas “meal with Imogen and Keith W, Amy, Keith H and his partner Anne. Imogen had been Chief Elf and used an online tool called Elfster to organise secret Santa and everyone seemed pleased with the outcome. The work for the meal was shared out; Amy did the nibbles and Kir Royale, Keith W did a lovely starter of caramelised red onion bruschetta. Main course was Keith H's domain and he did rib of beef, Yorkshires and gravy; I was on vegetables (if you want an easy and delicious potato dish try Marcus Waring’s potatoes en papillote-no washing up either). Thankfully Vicky has a dishwasher as it was filled several times. Dessert was hazelnut torte, thanks to Imogen spending hours shelling hazelnuts and everyone contributed to the cheeseboard. We started the day with loads of wine and beer but made a good fist of drinking most of it!!

On Saturday Newcastle Falcons were playing Saracens, there was a crowd of over 9,000 people but it was still freezing. I managed 15 minutes in the pub with Julie and her lovely girls before the game. We lost by a small margin and the performance was the best I have seen for a few years, maybe we have turned a corner. 

Skip forward to New Year and Chris and I went to Caldbeck in the Lake District and stayed in the Oddfellow Arms.  The hospitality industry in the UK never ceases to amaze me. We had booked a table for dinner and were told this was fine but the kitchen was closing at 8pm!! So much for our plans for a late dinner and then seeing in the New Year!! The weather put paid to our hope of a walk the next day too. I spent New Year’s Day with the girls and Keith W, with Vicki joining us in the middle.

Saturday I stayed with Chris and had a lovely meal with Pat and then it was time to head off for the airport on Sunday morning. At 7.45 it was minus four and the car was totally white, seven hours later we were back in sunny Spain.

I love to spend time with my girls but at this time of year find the UK quite depressing. The days are short and often grey; New Years day was cold, blustery and raining hard.  We have already enjoyed going out walking for two days and might go cycling tomorrow. We know we are very lucky to enjoy this lifestyle. Yesterday the 3 kings arrived and we ate cake and drank fizzy cider outside the church and today the children in the village have their presents. 

We have just had a lovely week with Chris’ son Adam; the weather has been dry and warm. The two of them have done a bit of cycling, he and I went walking on Sunday and Chris and Adam spent a whole day cleaning and polishing our campervan. It is gleaming. He is going back today and the UK weather looks awful.

So what is in store for 2015??  In February Imogen and Amy are coming out for my birthday, we have a house booked near Altea above Benidorm. The next day Chris’ school friend Alan is visiting for a few days. We will probably head off in the camper for a few days too.

At the minute we plan to set off early March heading north towards Santander for the ferry back to the UK. Our China trip starts 9^th April. More adventures to come............

So again best wishes for 2015

Love

Norma x

My fellow strictly judges xx

Francisco-growing up fast

Nearlt time for coming home........

Hello everyone and greetings from Spain. 

This is double whammy today, a blog and Christmas Greeting all rolled into one.

 So let’s start with the latter. To friends far and wide, most of whom I will not see personally, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2015. To people who read this in the North East I am home 20^th December till 4^th January and would love a chance to catch up.

Our trip to Isla Plana lasted three nights, the campsite Los Madriles ticked lots of boxes for me and only 16 Euros per night. The only negative was the lack of any real action in the bar, no food and closed Sunday and Monday and wine at 2.50 Euros a glass. On the positive side it was a tiered site, which makes for nicer pitches, we had a sea view, well maintained with hedges dividing off pitches. It was spotlessly cleaning and there were a lot of German campers, not sure which comes first clean campsite or demanding customers!! There was plenty of hot water in the showers, laundry and wash up area and a system of recycling and add to that two swimming pools and what more do you need?? It was a 1k walk to the town of Isla Plana, quite a lively little place.

Saturday 6^th we headed off on the bikes further round the bay to La Azohia, it was very fresh and although sunny, very breezy. Some people were wild camping right near the beach, the views were fabulous. We had a coffee in a shaded spot in the sun and set off to ride back, past the campsite and on to Isla Plana. We needed some food for the weekend and I spotted a little butcher's, but as I walked down there was also a fishmonger. I bought a whole “Bonita” a small fish of the tuna family and he filleted it for me. Then in the butchers, as often is the case in Spain there wasn’t very much in the fridge, I asked if they had lamb and she did me six chops. Perfect meals for the weekend. 

On the front at Isla Plana is the Centro Social, the local meeting place but also run as a cafe and we had drinks in the little harbour. A cycle back to the campsite and we ate outside in the sun, Chris barbequed the fish and we ate it with salad. We walked into town in the evening and had a couple of glasses of wine to round off a lovely day.

Sunday we decided to cycle to Mazarron but the wind was even wilder so plan B, get the bus to Mazarron and walk the 7k back. The timetable said the bus was 11.05; the stop was outside the campsite so we got there at 10.55, in case it was early. About 11.15 an elderly lady asked if we wanted a lift, for some reason Chris wasn’t keen so we waited and finally at 11.25 the bus arrived.

In Mazarron there is a little enclave near the supermarket , Mercadona, where you can get an English newspaper, a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich, scone or toasted teacake. We walked up there and it was closed!! I did get a Sunday Times in the Spar, so not a wasted walk. On the seafront, in the harbour, we had Spanish sausage sandwiches and did a bit of people watching. When we have visited previously during the week there are a lot of tourists and ex-pats but this was a holiday weekend and there were lots of Spanish families. We walked back to Isla Plana, some of it on the promenade, some on pavement and some on the beach. Our hoped for halfway coffee didn’t materialise and we stopped in Isla Plana where it was fiesta. The front was mobbed and the singing on the stage was pretty ropey so we found another bar and had coffee.

I went and had a lounge in the pool for a short while, hoping to avert a painful knee in the night. It is six months since the incident in Istanbul and it is never painful when I exercise but it does get achy when I go to bed, a rub of Ibuprofen gel usually eases it. Chris was on barbie duty again and cooked the lamb, this time too cold to eat outside. The mountain backdrop to the campsite meant that once the sun went down it was pretty cold.

Monday we packed up and headed north to La Manga, on the Mar Menor. The campsite, Caravanning La Manga, was huge with more than 2,000 places. We stayed two nights and although it was the same price as Isla Plana, 16 Euros, it was not as good. The shower block was okay, the dishwashing and laundry was only cold water and there was hardly any lighting in the area we were in. On the positive side the bar and restaurant were busy with nice food and reasonably priced drinks and right on the beach. Tuesday we got on our bikes to ride up La Manga, if you look at the map you will see it has the Mediterranean on one side and the Mar Menor on the other. Cycling was great, totally flat and most of the time in cycle lanes. A lot was closed and afterwards Chris said it felt like we were riding through deserted Army barracks, which tells you a bit about the charm of the place.  We did about 20k in total, had a coffee stop then a cake stop. Spain is a very good place to eat unless you want nice cake or pastries, they don’t really do coffee and cakes.  A Belgian lady had a cafe with gorgeous pastries, yummy; I had prune tart with gorgeous crisp sweet pastry. Made the cycle worthwhile. 

Wednesday we set off, again driving north to visit our fellow travellers Steve and Glen. They were staying in Torrevieja and whilst I was looking forward to catching up with them Torrevieja is the biggest urbanisation in Europe. Predominantly they are built to attract foreigners to buy a house in the sun, many of which are on “estates” with no charm whatever. However I was pleasantly surprised, Steve and Glen were in a block in Cabo Severa with sea views and we had a lovely coastal walk finishing off in a little sunny square for coffee. In the evening we went off to a quiz and were a bit embarrassed when we won, the prize was 3 bottles of wine. It was a great team effort with four people with differing interests and knowledge. We also were drawn to answer the snowball question, worth 95 Euros which I got wrong!!! 

Thursday we set off in the car and walked at Cabo Roig, a lovely cliff top walk and sat in glorious sun drinking coffee looking at a very calm Med. Lunch was a real treat, we went for Chinese buffet, an advantage of being in an area with lots of foreign visitors and residents. The food was delicious, cooked fresh how you wanted it. We then had a quick visit to Iceland, the shop not the country, to stock up with a few treats from Blighty. Normally we shop and cook with local food and make a range of different meals, we have goat for tonight, but just occasionally it is nice to have a treat from home-for Chris a loaf of Soreen, for me some bacon.

We had a lovely time and it is good to be with like-minded souls, Steve and Glen travelled constantly for about 15 years till Steve’s illness. So they are way ahead of us. It is interesting too that Steve and Chris are both pretty laid back people and Glen and I are the two verging on OCD with the coloured stickers and the need for order!! Thanks for a lovely catch up.

We drove back to the house on Friday, got back in time for veggies in the market and have not done much since due to the inclement weather!!  I know people get fed up with me saying how sunny it is so this is retribution.

Yep the sun is shining today for the first time since Saturday and whilst for us it stops our normal outdoor life the fields and trees look so much better for the 3-4 episodes of rain we have had.

We have a few more days before we head home on Saturday for Christmas to spend time with our respective families. Just when you think things are quiet the unexpected, on our way back from lunch at the bar our neighbour Juana Maria said they were about to kill their pig!! Sure enough out came the table and lots of strong men and a rope and after lots of squealing the deed was done and eventually it was slung up on the tractor for its innards to be taken out. Chris watched some of it but I know meat equals killing animals I don’t really want to see and hear it in the street. They also killed a little black pig too. We were watching the third Lord of the Rings so much the same !!

 I am looking forward to meeting up with friends and of course my two lovely daughters.  Imogen seems incredibly happy with her new boyfriend Keith, but despite a new role at work Amy has had a hard time recently so it will be good to have two weeks together. 

Looking forward we have my Jubilee year to look forward to and the first “event” is the girls coming out to Spain for my birthday.

Best wishes

Norma xx

Touring

Hello everyone,

Greetings from Spain, we are on tour again!!

Playing silly buggers with letters outside museum !!

Ditto

Last week we had Glen and Steve to stay for a few days. It was fabulous to finally catch up as our paths last crossed in India in 2011. We are kindred spirits as we love to roam but sadly due to changes in the health of both of them their wandering has been curtailed in the last few years. Things seem to e booking up for them and they have lots of plans for the future, albeit at maybe a slower pace than previously. We managed a bit of a potter in Mula and then had a menu Del dia in Pliego. The next day we went up into the Sierra Espuna to visit the icehouses. A complete contrast to the place they are staying in at the coast. We saw some local Espuna mountain goats on the way down. The ice houses were used to produce ice for use at the coast in the days before refrigeration. It was a pretty hard life, months were spent packing down the ice and then an equal amount of time cutting the ice blocks.

Sunday we went up to Ceheghin for the artisan market and had a very nice tapas lunch, albeit much more expensive than we are sued to paying. It spurred us on to think about getting out again in the van and I have always wanted to visit Cartagena. This is a coastal city with a huge history, first invaded by Carthage, then the Romans then it was Islamic before becoming part of Hispania. Lots of the city has architecture which encompasses all of this. 

We arrived at an “aire” on the outskirts of Cartagena, usually aires have limited facilities but this one had electricity, showers, toilet and Wi-Fi all for 12 Euros per night and a short bus ride to the centre of town. We had an evening trip into the city and it has some fabulous modernista buildings. We enjoyed the wander and then had tapas and wine in tow different bars and got our no 7 bus back to the van.

Pork on tortilla !!

Modernista!

Wednesday we had a full day in Cartagena, visiting the Casa de Fortuna, the Punic wall and the fabulous Roman forum and then in the afternoon the Underwater Archaeology museum.

Roman tyre tracks!!

 A wonderful time and lovely weather and we got back to the van and had a nice meal and watched “Gravity”.

In the night it started to rain and we had thunder and lightning.......pretty scary in a camper van. The next morning was fine and we set off to complete our Roman tour. First we had coffee in a little local bar, NO TOURISTS! and then had a quick side trip into the City Hall. This is a modernista building which was built to show off Cartagena’s wealth, but about 20 years ago it was falling down, the wooden foundations were struggling to cope with a building made of marble. Thankfully it has been restored and our free guided tour was great and it is stunning. We had saved the teatro Romano till last, but it was a bit of a disappointment. The museum is fabulous and wonderfully laid out, telling the story as you travel towards the Roman theatre. However it claims to be the best in Spain, nah Merida is so much better!!

We then went and had fabulous tapas in our “local” bar. Only Spaniards, good prices and tasty food and friendly staff.....all washed down with some local wine!!

Today we are in Isla de Plana on a campsite which is full of snowbirds........retired people escaping cold weather. There are lots of German, Dutch and French people. We pitched up, in the sun, and had a lovely outside lunch and then a swim and now at 4.30pm it is still warm and the rose wine is chilled!! We plan to stay a few days and hope to cycle around the bay.

 Till next time 

Norma xx

Life in Spain

Hi everyone,

Now that we are settled at the house I will probably pen a monthly blog.

When I last wrote we had just got back here in lovely Casas Nuevas. Our first task was to find out how to sort the termite problem. Last year Chris had all of the door frames removed, treated and we painstakingly sanded them and applied undercoat and gloss paint. It was so disappointing to find that the little vermin were back. As with anything in Spain finding the best way forward isn’t always easy, the locals all just said go to a hardware shop and treat the problem, usually with some noxious substance. Chris was keen to make sure this was a definitive solution. We were in the builder’s merchants in Mula for guttering and while Chris was out the back finding the right bit I asked one of the helpful staff if they knew any specialist people who would come and assess the problem. One of the lads rang someone, with no success and then said he would look online for us. He found a company called Higienista and later I looked them up on line and they were a big company with a lots of experience. 

Getting things sorted in Spain is one thing when you are face to face and can try mime, drawing etc and can see the person and understand the non-verbals. I hate having to telephone but I prepared my key technical phrases and rang the company, thankfully I eventually got someone who spoke good English and a couple of days later Ivan came to check out the house. We have eight wooden doors and three of the frames had been attacked and he said it looked very much like termites. He got out his stethoscope and sure enough he could hear munching and thankfully the other five door frames were termite free. He did a bit of rooting around outside and showed us some termite activity in wood outside in the field directly behind the house. They look just like big maggots YUK....... He said the problem is that they live underground and have a complex tunnelling system and at the centre of the nest is the queen and they had to keep her well supplied with chewed up wood. They come into the house through the floor up into the wall and then into the frames and treating the wood won’t get rid of them permanently. The next day we got two pdf files with plans on termite extinction, one a chemical/fumigation process and the other an eco-friendly 9-12 months of gradually killing off the nest. Both costs were high but the latter was 1,100 Euros more and seemed like a lengthy process. We opted for the former and booked to have it done on 5^th November.

Idg came to spend a week with us in October, I met her at Alicante and we picked up a hire car and drove back to the house. She had been in Barcelona for a couple of days of city sightseeing. It was Sunday and we had booked a table in the village for lunch. For starters we had fried fresh little squid, baked octopus and mussels, main courses were swordfish, lamb and chicken and then dessert was flan de cafe, home made by our neighbour. Sunday lunch is now in the new “salon” which is just a little bit up from the house and they have done a very good job of converting it and the food is good but it lacks the village feel. It had plenty of atmosphere, as a group of about 40 local walkers were also having lunch. 

We had a good week, the weather was unseasonably hot and Monday we went for a wander round Caravaca de la Cruz on market day. Tuesday we decided to walk from the house, we left about 10am and walked for 4 hours and the last hour was a killer it was 33 degrees by we got back to the bar. 

On Wednesday Imogen and I went on our own to Banos la Fortuna a place with thermal baths.  It has two distinct parts, a “complex” with nice hotels and a set of thermal pools and treatment areas and a campsite.  We did see a man in his white dressing gown wandering around with a bag that looked like a colonic irrigation tube!! We had coffee on the terrace of the posh bit and then wandered across to the other part which is about half a mile away and is a pool in the campsite and is a better option on all levels, the price, the availability of shade in the pool and the fact you don’t have to wear a swimming cap, unlike at the posh place!! For 15 Euros you get access to the pool and menu del dia, for which I had quite low expectations but it was good and included a bottle of crisp, dry, cold rose wine. 

As we had a car for a week Chris wanted to go to the DIY shop near Murcia, it is a pain going in the campervan so he went to Leroy and Merlin and we wandered around the shops in Nueva Condimina; an out of town shopping complex. It is pretty soulless and has the standard fare but it is air-conditioned and has a couple of decent shops, including C&A, long gone from the UK but a must if you want to buy a simple cotton tee shirt as the Spanish seem to wear patterns, logos etc. We then got the tamvia (tram) into Murcia and had a stop off under the massive fig tree in one of the squares for a glass of cold rose........bit of a theme!! We wandered to the cathedral square and eventually stopped for lunch and sat outside at the boulevard cafe. For 12 Euros we had a pretty upmarket menu del dia, all beautifully cooked and presented and the place was packed with local Spanish people, always a good sign.

The good weather continued so Friday we headed for the coast and had coffee in Mazarron and then had a few hours on the beach before heading to the marina for lunch.  This area is much more touristy and there are lots of expats living on the coast, this keeps prices competitive but changes the atmosphere a bit. All in all it was a good day. 

Saturday we had a quiet time, Idg and I went for a mooch around the market in Mula.  We got the disappointing news that our application for tickets for the Rugby World Cup final had been unsuccessful , which called for a glass of rose!!  A final meal in the salon, this time eating the local speciality cabrito, which is goat.

On Sunday I drove with Imogen back to 

Alicante and she got her direct flight to Newcastle and I flew first to Bristol and then to Newcastle for an impromptu one week visit. I spent time with the girls and caught up with friends too. I managed to get a chance to visit my friend Anne to see her so happy in her new bungalow, moving after 50 years in the same house. The good weather followed me and the autumn colours were stunning, Amy and I walked at Gibside and it was magnificent. 

The week was soon over and I flew back into Murcia on the last flight from Newcastle till next Spring and Chris picked me up in the van. No chance of a rest as I had a 10 am appointment at the dentist the next day, he doesn’t have a hygienist so he does the cleaning himself. It was the usual ultrasonic cleaning but then he uses a bicarb spray before the final polish, he was very methodical and careful and my teeth felt brilliant afterwards. He speaks good English and had just popped to Rome at the weekend to take his mother-in –law and wife over so they could see St Peter’s and then attend the Wednesday mass, usually his trips involve a bit of opera but not this time.

Next day was D day for the termites, our guys arrived on time and explained that it would take 3-4 hours and we couldn’t go back in the house for at least 48 hours. We had already packed Henry ready but the van had developed a problem with the radiator overheating and leaking so we didn’t want to go far. So we parked up on a flat piece of land at the entrance to the village and spent the night there. Our neighbour had said he would look at the van but didn’t turn up.......manana. 

The next day we checked on the house which had a keep out notice on the door!!

We drove to a garage in Pliego, where we had previously had some work done on Ruby, but it hadn’t overheated or leaked and the van was too big to take into the workshop. We decided as it seemed okay to go the campsite at Bullas, 30 minutes away. We just got hooked up pottered around enjoyed eating in the sun and chilling. Next day we got back and opened all of the doors and windows to ventilate the place. Around each door frame there are about half a dozen injection points where they drilled into the wall and put in a small plastic valve and injected chemicals and repeated this into the floor. Likewise they have drilled outside the house, front and back. They had set off four fumigation bombs that had burnt slowly. They had cleaned up after themselves but we swept through and mopped and settled back in the house. Hopefully that is that!!

Chris is in charge of the mechanics of the van and he had brought out some front brake discs and we found a garage in Mula who have enough space to take the van and we have hired a car locally to give us the chance to get the brakes done. Unlike the hugely expensive work in Cork we were only charged 22 euros an hour and they were very efficient. Henry is there at the minute getting the radio sorted out.

Chris’ house always requires some maintenance etc so he has been pottering replacing light switches and sockets, putting up new lamps in the bedrooms. The hall has been decorated and looks so much brighter. After getting new windows last year the finishing touch would be some curtains so we went into a shop in Mula and got a quote for simple lightweight curtains and when he said 220 euros I nearly fell over and needless to say we didn’t order them!! For 32 euros we got some ready-made white ones with a little bit of purple for the living room and brown for our room. Nice silver poles from the Chinese supermarket (they sell everything!!) and the room looks so much better.

We had a delivery of a tonne of wood last week, it looks an enormous quantity but as it is now November we will need it. It is pretty cold overnight the forecast is for it to be 2 degrees. It took a while to move it all and there is still some out the front as the storage we use for the wood is full. The wood burner is so much better this year, the new straight chimney makes it more manageable.

Last weekend we opted to have a tapas Sunday lunch down in the bar and it made me realise what we miss by having a proper meal in the new salon. The bar was pretty full of locals and the salon is usually full of visitors.  Chris managed to chat to the “alcalde”, the mayor, about who owns the land behind the house and was advised he is unlikely to be able to buy any of it!!

We have a few visitors booked in too, on Monday Glen and Steve are coming over. They are near Torrevieja for two months. We met in India in 2011 and planned to meet up about this time of year in Spain but sadly Steve developed leukaemia and has had a pretty rough time but is now able to travel again. It will be great to catch up with them. Chris’ son Adam is coming for a week in January and Chris’ old school friend Alan in February. In between we are hoping to have a trip to see Jaen and Almeria and I have worked out a route north for our return in March.