2 January Our Last Day And A Walk Round The Port

Woke up early, but Zorro had already left, he had texted from the airport to say all had gone well with his trip to the airport apart from his case nearly getting squashed in the lift. No sign of Brian so had breakfast and did some cleaning in the kitchen, this was when I discovered my charger for the tablet was missing, I searched everywhere I could think of in my bedroom and the main room with no success, I had a special battery pack that was supposed to provide a charge in emergency, the only problem was it did not seem to be working the only time I needed it. I e mailed Zorro just in case he had picked it up by mistake. Then got on with some packing.

Brian got up had breakfast and we did some sorting out and cleaning in the flat, then decided to have a good walk down to the port before returning to the flat for the last time. We had a mixture of food left so decided we would use this up if possible at lunchtime, unfortunately my cold was taking more effect as the morning went on so I was not feeling that well but did not want to spend the last day inside.

So off we went, unfortunately the weather was cool and overcast, the streets were quieter today as we walked, and there was the odd drop of rain. The port had looked very impressive yesterday from up the hill but not so this morning, maybe it was all the clouds, there were plenty of small boats at the marina but no sign of life on them, the ferry was loading lots trailers on, there was an attractive roof which created an effect of waves, when we reached near the end of the harbour Brian noticed the sea was clear enough to see fish by the harbour wall, from small to at least three foot long in a range of colours,

We had planned on stopping for a drink or snack but suddenly there was the odd drop of rain, the area was very open and I had nothing to protect me from the weather so we decided to walk back, there rain never started although it did get cooler, when we got to the front door we struggled with opening the front door, eventually we managed, at least it was to be the final time we would have to do this.

For lunch I put together an unusual combination of food based on what we had left, which comprised of an omelette, accompanied by sardines and tomatoes with a banana and apple to follow, we finished off cleaning up the flat I went and had a bath to help with my cold then went to bed after searching again for the charger, we had heard back from Zorro to say all had gone well on his trip to the airport and he was relaxing in the lounge.

Brian rested until I got up, we discussed the holiday and things that had happened, felt that I had learnt some things about what I wanted from holidays but part of this was different to the others, From my understanding Brian preferred a more leisurely approach, whereas I wanted to see as much as possible in the time we had. We talked about the fact they wanted to talk about the Spanish language watch TV particularly the news and discuss this and also the culture of the country. I said my holidays were a mixture of wanting to see different places and record what I saw to look back on in the future. I did say I had surprised at how often we had spent eating pizza rather than native food, maybe some of that was down to being in a self catering accommodation.

We finished all our packing and waited for the arrival of the owners daughter, unfortunately she had not arrived at 5 as promised so rang brother who said she would be with us shortly, she came we presumed she would want to inspect the property, but just returned our deposit, we then left, only to remember after we had left some food in the kitchen but it was to late to do anything about it, we walked to the station, bought tickets for the last time and boarded the train.

At the airport it was a fair walk to the check in Brian mentioned how long we had to wait, we found the counter for the baggage drop, but there seemed to be only one desk for two flights, so it took quite time before we reached the front, I do wonder what it is that takes some do long to sort out, we decided to find somewhere to have a snack, unfortunately we discovered that the only place was Burger King which wad quite ironic after the discussions we had had about using fast food places. I joined the queue, but there seemed to be an issue about payment by the people at the front of the queue, time wad passing, also one counter closed so again there was a delay before we were served, finally we had our Whopper meal. When we finished I checked and it was time to proceed to the boarding gate.

When we got there it looked like we were at the end of the queue, but at least it was moving forward, Ryanair had recently announced that passengers could now bring an extra small bag on board, this was interesting because when we reached the boarding gate others before us and myself were told at the last minute that our hand luggage wad to go in the hold so we needed to remove any valuables from it, well I had all my papers money and large camera, luckily I had carrier bags but the indignity of having to sort it out did not help. I will be writing into complain, both to them and Travel Which on my return, what was odder wad that they did not bother with Brian.

The plane was full but we found aisle seats which are better for me and settled in for the flight. This was uneventful until shortly before we landed when the plane was buffeted by the high winds, but we landed and proceeded to collect our luggage, the only issue was that the screens were not working do we did not know where to expect our luggage, a little later it finally arrived and we went to seek out our taxi. There he was waiting so off we set, there was a pleasant surprise in that Kate our friend who is his neighbour had kindly given him two lots of bread rolls and milk for us, what a lovely person, first Brian was dropped off then myself.
It was now gone midnight we had left the flat 6 hours ago, I was not tired so decided to sort out my case and letters, my cold was much worse by now, I did not sleep well despite painkillers, the next morning back to reality, sorted out washing and other tasks, but also a lot of the day in bed, the weather is cold wet and miserable, a long way from that left behind. I sadly being addicted to Emmerdale and Corrie have been trying to watch this whilst falling asleep in the chair, hopefully I will soon be over this cold and back to normal.

1 January 2014 A Trip Up To The Castle

Well readers thats the end of 2013 a very mixed year with a very long different ending to that which I expected, but back to the plot and the latest episode of our trip to Malaga. When I eventually awoke nothing was different, Zorro was sat at his computer Brian in bed, so made my breakfast and discussed plans for today and tomorrow, because he leaves early tomorrow morning for a month in Tenerife. He said he had things he wanted to do today, so would not be joining us when we went out. Heard a noise outside, it was a small group of young people making their way home, they must of been to somewhere formal and the men were dressed in dinner suits but by the look of them still recovering from the night before. Checked Brian ok and eventually he appeared had breakfast, he was still not right with his cold or virus, but wanted to go out.

I was going to charge my mobile phone but the charger has disappeared despite looking everywhere it seems to of gone, so was unable to chance texting or phoning people to wish them a happy new year, because I felt it best to conserve the battery for emergencies, but where is it I have used it whilst on holiday, lets hope it turns up bego5re I go home or I will have to buy a replacement, maybe I can order one online when finished tonight so I will not be stuck
We decided to see if we could find the path up to the castle as it would give very good views and photo opportunities, so off we set. I noticed that the streets had all been cleaned quite different to back home also that the rubbish was being collected from the bins, so different to back home on a bank holiday.

It seemed a long walk to get there but it was a warm pleasant day. eventually we reached the path and started to climb, Brian mentioned that the last time we were here I was reluctant to try the trip up, I did say since then I had had a stent to help with breathing but also this morning a strong painkiller to help with my back pain. He was struggling but I think it was down to the infection he had, so we had frequent rests on the way up but also took plenty of photos on the way.
The views were great at each place we stopped and there were plentiful viewing areas and seats to rest, plus a mixture of people from different countries, we could see the port, the bullring and the bays we had walked along on previous days.

Eventually we reached the top and castle, after discussion we decided to go in, one if the joys of being pensioners was that we paid a much lower price. I forgot to say earlier I had realised very unusually for me I had forgotten my water bottle but was needing a drink with the heat, there was no facility to buy on site, the only water was a dribbling water fountain, today they would of made a lot of money selling soft drinks. We again took lots of photos before deciding to go back, my suggestion was to take the bus but Brian wanted to walk, we reached a compromise and went down the road rather than the path back to the main road.

We then set off towards the botanical gardens, we found a small supermarket and Brian kindly bought me a bottle of water and a Magnum ice cream, so I could take a further pain killer, to help me on the walk back to the flat. We came across 2 sets of cyclists, as at home they were totally oblivious to pedestrians although I felt it wad not an area they should be riding particularly in such large groups.

Eventually we reached the flat I had a sandwich, then a bath as I was exhausted and went to bed for a rest, when I woke Zorro was doing e mail I think whilst Brian cooked us a pleasant stew to use up some of the food we had left then I did another omelette for Brian and I Zorro settled for salmon sandwiches instead. After we say for a while the others watched TV whilst I caught up with things on the Internet. Shortly after Zorro said good night and good bye as he will be leaving before we get up in the morning. Then Brian said he was having an early night also leaving me on my own yet again, never mind, had a couple of e mails from Andy to day he is following my Blog, do that makes at least one reader LOL.

So here I am sat in the living area at the tablet, tonight listening to Nat King Cole as I one figured type this, its coming up to 11 here and there is nothing I can make sense of on the TV so I think shortly I will have an early night, as usual readers thanks for taking the time to read the story.

I must apologise readers for the delay in posting the end of the story, this is down to the fact that somehow I managed to mislay my charger for the tablet, I searched everywhere for it on the last day and again when I got home, plus my friends have checked they did not pick it up, also I did not have a spare charger or connection cable. Also I had acquired a full blown cold possibly the one Brian had and am finally feeling up to the task of writing up the end in the early hours of Sunday morning.

31 December 2013 New Years Eve A Different Beach To Explore

I will start at the end for a change today as its new years eve, I do realise when I am typing this its still not midnight back home, but here its 29 minutes past and I am sat here all on my own, bangers keep going off outside, the good news is that although its a quiet area there are two police cars outside a little down the street.
My two friends retired to bed earlier, I am not into Spanish TV and all my friends seem to of disappeared from the various websites. I would of gone out to see what the crowds are up to but we are still having issues with the lock on the outside door, so here I am sat at the table, at least its warm in here and I am listening to Burt Bacharach as I type.

Earlier I rang my friend Anne back in UK for a chat,(its times like these I really appreciate mobile phones) update and a bit of company, she unlike me wanted to be on her own over the holiday period, we talked about back in the 70s when we first knew each other and rang each other to cope with being on our own and how different it would be one day in the future, well here we both are 40 years on both on our own with nobody for company, well not quite true I suppose she has sleeping cats and I have sleeping friends LOL, where did I go wrong, or maybe this is as good as it gets, at least I am warm and health is not to bad, apart from the pain killers for my bad back

Back to the plot Zorro and I had a lie in no sign of Brian when we got up, had breakfast then checked at 10 he was ok, which resulted in him getting up, we decided to walk down to the port and have a walk along the front, since I was last here they have extended the port do was a longer distance before we reached the promenade.
I walked a little by the sea, it was so quiet without the traffic noise, eventually we came to an area for us oldies to exercise,

I should of used tablet to take photos of us children playing instead you will have to wait until I return home readers. Near to there was a very large high chimney, with an even larger one in the distance, we later learnt these were all that was left of a factory, the larger one had a device for measuring time inside.

The others felt they had walked long enough, plus they resisted my suggestion of a trip to the nearby Burger King for a Gigantic Whopper so we wandered down the backstreets seeking somewhere for a sandwich. By good luck we came across a small cafe that seemed to fit the bill, the young lady waitress spoke no English so between my sign language and Zorros Spanish we enjoyed drinks and sandwiches. From there I suggested we find somewhere that do cakes to finish off and or an ice-cream.

Zorro led us to the main supermarket where we stocked up with more food for tonight and possibly the rest of our stay, unfortunately we did not find cakes or ice-cream unless we bought a number. As we walked along we noticed a number of people lay down by one of the offices, Zorro mentioned the fact that none seemed to have alcohol, rather water milk or juice we carried on and eventually found a place, we each chose a different one, again there was a strange group of people near one of the churches, going by the mixture and clothing we wondered if they were waiting for some sort of food or other hand out, a sad sign of the times, as we were now tired we went back to the flat, I had a bath then a sleep, whilst the others did tasks on their computers. When I got up I assisted Brian with preparing the meal, which turned out a great success followed by our cream cakes, we then relaxed for a while before as already said they went to bed.

Its now 1.30 and bangers are going off still, its odd there seem to be no pretty fireworks lighting up the sky, I am not sure if we are over the worst or it will get noisier, so going to have a quick look at other sites before I try to sleep

I hope you are enjoying the read and I wish you all
A Happy New Year

29 December 2013 Another Wander Round The Sights Of Malaga

Got up late this morning, yet again air con man did not arrive, others still not up so first task breakfast, eventually they appeared, suggested that maybe Brian should be accommodated so asked what he wanted to do, seemed he wished an easy day, so relaxed in the morning, apart for brief trip by the other two to supermarket next door, decision eventually was to go out for walk possibly have sandwich for lunch, then meal later, many families yet again out today, more shops open than would of thought.

Seemed to be a problem finding place to eat so continued walking, had a look at cathedral heard woman’s voice singing wad not sure of location, eventually discovered was elderly lady near cathedral, she had a beautiful voice, shame we did not stop to listen, had a look round inside cathedral seems took over 2 centuries to build(sounds like typical British builders) then went to site of ancient ruins, wandered round, took photos, seemed very popular, the others decided to have a closer look, before that listened briefly to man playing his harp, whilst waiting people watched, back hurting so went for walk to ease it, noticed pleasant walk up hill so may go back and explore another day.
When others appeared carried on looking for elusive cafe in the end decision was to go to usual cafe, on arrival owner not there but pleasant young woman, seemed uncertain if would be open in the evening so pizza it was again with idea that we have something light in the evening
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I mentioned whilst waiting for meal how in my marriage, often we would find a good restaurant, shop etc that seamed to tick all the boxes but so often, then for reasons I have never figured, we then had to explore everywhere else in case, but then ended up back at first place, in terms of food it usually meant I was famished when finally resolved and that this was part of why these days often it is easier for me to go to fast food places such as McDonald's, as I know what they sell, its consistent and quick, obviously its a personal point of view and for some the search is part of the task.

I also mentioned that I had realised the difference in the three of us when on holiday, which i had never thought of in the past in that Zorro and Brian loved to soak up the whole culture, including the language and buildings, whereas, I personally, preferred to people watch and often see places more as a photography opportunity, not that either was wrong just different, maybe when planning my holidays in the future it is something to consider regarding priorities
The young woman made the pizzas much quicker but just as enjoyable to eat. After the meal we made our way back to the apartment, I went for a lie down and a painkiller, it wad over 2 hours before I woke, Zorro was watching a film on his computer, Brian was watching TV, we chatted for some time on a range of topics, was still feeling dopey from the effect of medication and for time after. Later decided we would have a sandwich to eat as was getting late in the day, Zorro, spent the evenin

g watching movies, whilst chatting I caught up with e mail etc, seems from Facebook grand daughter had broken down in her car but eventually rescued, must check tomorrow what happened, also noticed younger one seeking a flat for herself in the new year, its amazing how I know more about their life through it than have ever known previously.
Brian eventually went to bed and Zorro quickly followed, I was going to stay up but back started aching again, so here I am listening first to Anita Harris, singing one of my favourite but with a reminder of a time in my life when I was saddest the song Sam, which still has an effect 40 years on, then Barbra Streisand with quite a different mixture of songs. Well so far have not heard the bin men not sure if have not heard due to music or have yet to have the pleasure, oh dear spoke to soon, they have just arrived, oh dear, so will find more lively music to drown them out so maybe a good time to finish the blog, goodnight readers.

24 December Christmas Eve Exploring Malaga

For some reason had a very good sleep last night, so did not get up to early, others still fast asleep, so decided to have a relaxing bath did this rinsed some clothes through, by then Zorro awake so had breakfast, no sign of Brian for some time. Later discussed plans for day, decided we would go buy some more food and Brian would do Christmas lunch tomorrow.

So off to the shops, was much longer walk than thought, after lots of confusion I think we finally found all the ingredients we needed, not sure quite why but Brian seemed worried that we needed more water, we had agreed that we would buy from local supermarket rather than carry from across town, seemed an even longer walk back, got 2 lots of water so should be ok

After unpacking we had something light to eat, discussed plans for evening meal and decided we would return to cafe from last night.
Oh I forgot to say lock on door behaved itself but son of owner came with spare key which seemed better, I told others was tired so went to bed for a couple of hours, when got up the others were practising their computer skills, we chatted until went out.

It was quite dark so could see the Christmas lights which were pleasant so we spent time taking photos as we walked, all was well until Brian informed us we were lost, retraced our steps, only to find cafe as so many others was closed, owners son had mentioned that they owned a bar so we walked along to there hoping to find somewhere to eat, but without success. Reached bar but was packed out so decided we would try for Burger King on the main street.

Just before this we came across a statue of Hans Christian Anderson so posed for photos, then Zorro noticed, a McDonald's so we went to go in, sob, sob, they had just closed as had Burger King so we decided to return and make a meal back at the apartment.

I volunteered to do us an omelette so back we went.
Well theres nothing worse than when in a strange kitchen having a helpful person such as Brian, so banned him, eventually I worked out how to get everything working and found pans etc, outcome seemed to be suitable for the others but could just of them not wanting to upset me.

After we chatted until gone midnight, then off to bed for me to catch up with blog and e mails and wish friends a happy Christmas, bearing in mind they are an hour behind us here, listened to some music whilst typing
Well readers I suppose this is a good time to wish you all a happy Christmas and that you receive all you are hoping for when you wake in the morning

Our Christmas trip to Malaga 2013

Our Christmas trip to Malaga 2013
Early on this year the three of us met that is to say myself Brian and Zorro not long after the Christmas and new year celebrations and all agreed that in 2013 we wanted to do something different this year over the Christmas and New Year period. We talked about options and decided we wanted to go to somewhere warm but not to far away or expensive over the whole 10 day period.

After some discussion and research we finally settled on Malaga in Spain, the next task was to find accommodation, hotels were very expensive for the time of year, so we looked at hostels their equivalent to our guest houses. Eventually I found one that seemed to tick all the boxes, because we all wanted single rooms in a pleasant setting.
Just before booking I noticed the company also had a range of apartments, including one in the city centre, it had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and from the photos looked like it would suit our needs and the price seemed quite reasonable compared to anything else.

So I e mailed to the others who were happy with it. I e mailed the owner who confirmed it was free, so we booked it, there seemed to be some confusion with communication so I passed to Zorro as he is competent in written and spoken Spanish and all was solved, all they wanted was a small deposit which was sent to them
Next was to find a flight for myself and Brian as Zorro was making his own arrangements, I looked at a range of airlines and then came the shock, the prices were way more than some of the holidays we had been on, also I could not find a single company that would do the return trip for our dates, so have therefore had to book with two low cost(but not in this instance) airlines, the times of flights are not the best either, but it should be a pleasant break in reasonable weather.

Zorro kindly made contact with the owners the other day and all is well for our booking, the hotel was outside Malaga and up a hill so as well we are placed in the centre, the only problems at present are that we still do not have information on how to gain access to the apartment and, wet weather may occur so unsure what sort of clothes to take for the trip, I now have my money for share of accomodation and some spending money, next task is how to get to the airport, whether due to time of flight and need to be there at 5am, to use a taxi or pay for car parking near to the airport, I have obtained our boarding cards for flight out, must remember to do the ones for return journey tomorrow
Well all boarding cards sorted, we have decided to book a taxi and that is all done despite fact initially I gave the wrong date, now waiting to hear from Zorro, discussed luggage allowance, hopefully will only need light clothing, but from weather outside here at present is a good time to get away, we have high winds and heavy rain. I need to sort out my porridge for the trip LOL.

20 December 2013
heard again from Zorro, he has sorted out access to the apartment, weather fine, only issue is that lift at station not working so he will come and meet us at airport. Bad news at present is that back is playing up, wonder why it always seems to be just before a holiday, am charging up batteries for devices, what change these days with all this technology, that need chargers as a priority, together with various medication, just in case.

A Funny Old Year 10 December 2013

As we are approaching the end of the year and its early morning and I cannot sleep, it seemed a good time to give you readers an update on my thoughts and experiances over this last 12 months.

Where to start, maybe a reminder of a couple of good things such as my trip to Scandinavia where I went to Copenhagen with Brian,  then on to my holiday of a lifetime with Mykle and Jean in Norway,  not only did i have a holiday with them but found them to be two lovely kind people who had created a beautiful home out of nothing in such a beautiful setting. It was also a reminder of what i could achieve despite my bad back and other health issues.

The next good thing was that at last I had my TURP operation to help with my waterworks which will help in a number of ways for the future, the other good thong was that the doctors told me there was no underlying cancer which was a relief. Another bonus hopefully out of this was that, due to my complaint to the hospital the quality of the toilet paper will improve on the ward.

For some years I have been looking for different ways to spend my time that are more pleasurable,  I had been aware of the U3A organisation for some time and finally made an effort,  joining earlier in the year, I think I will write briefly now and maybe do a longer blog of my experiances with them another time.

I have been to a number of the main meetings and talks at U3A, which have been enjoyable, meeting new people in a social setting, plus I have joined a recently formed photography group within the branch, which is a pleasant mixture of people and skill levels. I also briefly joined a beginners group with them for Spanish,  but found I did not enjoy the style of tuition, I wanted to order a drink or meal not to know the waiters name, so gave it up.

Updated 12 December

As part of this I have become involved in creating a new database of members to more easily track the membership and their interests using a product called Cardbox, again more of this maybe in a future blog, si seems it was a positive move and has widened the circle social contacts I have.

Out of the blue earlier this year I started with nose bleeds in my right nostril which I have not had for many years. They seemed to get worse over about 10 days ending up in a trip to A & E when it would not stop eventually 3 hours later it stopped at the time we were in the middle of a heat wave. I got outside waited for my lift as it arrived, off it set again, this time they admittef me, put a plug up my nose and kept me overnight, the next day cauterised it and sent me home. Within an hour it was off again so back in for a further four days, I was amazed how many people came in during this time but unlike me were quiclky discharged. Finally they took the bung out and cauterised again, so far no more problems.

I forgot to say earlier in the year I finally bought this tablet which was a great buy, as I can read e mail when have access to Wi Fi, search the internet and do many other things when away from home including listening to my music and doing tasks such as my blog, which am doing in bed again as cannot sleep, oh I forgot I can also read,  I have plenty of reading material on it in fact I would imagine sufficient to last me the rest of my life

I went away with Andy and Brian to Newquay as recorded earlier, think I will look carefully at the length of trips in the future if on a coach or other forms of transport.

One of the things I wanted to do was to see Chorus Line the musical in London, again as I recorded on here I managed that plus to meet up with ex saga friends for a trip down the thames and then across it on the new cable car.

I asked my son what he wanted for his 40th birthday, he said a trip to the Grand Canyon it looks like finally next year we will manage this, together with a brief visit to New York and Las Vegas, I am advised that this will be best carried out in November, since then I have devifef to extend the trip for me after he returns from Vegas,  and then depending on whether my friend in Hawaii is available to visit there, otherwise to go to Australia and finally see Sydney and other places, before travelling on to Penang to meet with my friend from childhood, then possibly to visit Singapore and see the lights before returning home.

The trip may be the last long distance one other than possibly if I finally get to my safari which I have talked about for years, the sad thing for me is that at present I will be on my own, which will be enjoyable but I dont think quite so good as having someone to share the experiences but who knows whats round the corner

Over this year our ME group has created more social activities which I have enjoyed plus I now am assisting on the committee and am an active member of the Facebook group we have,  which has helped people cope with the isolation which is so often part of this condition.

The flat has finally had a coat of paint on all ceilings and woodwork and hopefully in the new year the living room will be decorated, it would of been done much sooner but for the problem of finding someone to fo the work, its odd that when so many are looking for work my trying to find someone to carry out the task has been so hard

Earlier this year I changed my computer and decided to use voice recognition more, its bern a mixed thing due to a number of reasons, I do know it is helpfil and encourages me to sit bettet on my seat improving posture and lessening back pain,  what I should of done was to have further training so I could do even more with it  and lessening the the effects of typing on my hands and arms, one of my resolutioms is to do this in the new year.

One of the other issues, has been the fact that I have been transferring my LPS,  (for those to young to know these are the large vinyl records we all used to listen to our music on in the past, ) onto my computer, part of the problem is that I cannot use both the microphone and input from the record deck at the same time, so have to disconnect the leads and alter the settings on the computer. The task is still not complete, but I am getting there, so far nearly 300 done.  The hope is that I will be more likely to switch off the tv and listen to the music and maybe do more reading instead
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A couple of months ago I joined a course to help people who have long term health or disability issues to cope with the symptoms and pain not as a cure more in becoming better at dealing with it, its run by an organisation called Breathworks and is based on Buddhist teachings but without thr religious aspect, I found it helpful and feel that it will help me to move on in how I deal not only with health issues but also generally in life

So a busy year of such contrasts, some of the things I hoped to achieve have fallen by the wayside but also other doors have opened that I did not expect.

An Update on My Blog and Life September 2013

I have just been looking back at some of the statistics to do with my blog, I had forgotten that I first started it back in 2006, it was a way to share some of my life with family and friends and also to talk about subjects that I felt may be of interest to others, such as my holidays. From reading the statistics I was quite surprised to see I had posted 109 posts and that the post had been viewed over 5000 times by people in different parts of the world. So I would like to thank all you readers for the time you have taken reading the blog and your comments, by the way I have now opened comments up to anybody on the blog, but I am also pleased when people email me to say they have just enjoyed it also.

This year I seem to have had a fair bit of time in hospital, first to do with my prostate, then my nosebleeds, let’s hope that’s the end of these, in a couple of weeks I am trying a course called breath works that is supposed to help me make the most of my health it will be interesting to see what happens with this. My physio also tells me that if I really wanted to, more could be achieved with my neck and spine to stop the deterioration, the only problem would be that I would have to have intensive work for at least three months and spend much more time in maintaining my health. At present I am unsure whether or not I am that committed and with all that is going on in my life, unable to decide whether I would go without the lifestyle I have now in the chance that my posture would improve.

More by coincidence than anything else, this year seems to of been filled with holidays and short breaks, plus a range of other activities that have included joining U3A which is opening up a whole range of other interests and activities. The latest of these is joining a photography group and attending the general meeting once a month, with talks by a female racing driver, about how the ability to laugh can help us to maintain our health, I look forward to the future meetings with great interest. The local branch is doing work to keep better records of the membership, so I have become involved in creating a database for this very task, it is a reminder that we can always change our direction and develop new skills.

Unfortunately the case I have been involved in for over two years, was lost but some useful things have come out of it and hopefully other people in the future or benefit from the lessons learnt. I am still acting as advocate in the same case regarding the funding by the NHS for continuing care, I am hopeful of a positive outcome eventually, but so far I do worry about the obstacles placed by the NHS in the way of people who seek continuing care funding from the NHS, even more worrying is the shortage of agencies who can advise and support people on this path, when they other people who are being cared are coping with serious illness or disability and find they have this huge amount of stress to obtain resources that should be made much simpler to obtain at the time when people are in the greatest need, rather than a process which appears designed to protect the budget rather than the individual and their nursing needs.

On a brighter note this year I am planning to go to Malaga with two friends over the Christmas new year period as a change from the usual routine, am hoping that the weather is kind to us and there is no rain, I will be taking my tablet and hopefully recording our adventures, at present there is discussion about a trip to Madrid and/or North Africa within the time we have.

3 Togs Adventures On The Costa Del Sol

18 March 2007

Today we started on our adventure, first dropped the car off then on to the airport, of course needed to make sure we had passports tickets, luggage labels & luggage,

Got to check-in young lady did new computerised check-in through machine sent us to put luggage in , then person at desk decided to go through all off process again, despite the fact we already had boarding cards.

Went back to first young lady who was equally amazed, but then to security, joined longest queue I had ever seen, but finally we made it, in time to waste lots of time doing nothing whilst waiting for our flight.

Flight okay luckily Brian adjusted very well to the situation, when we arrived in Malaga nice & warm, no problems with baggage, went outside only to find no coach & lots of disgruntled travellers all waiting for the coaches which unfortunately did not come for an hour, worst complaint was lack of information about what was causing the delay.

Got to hotel much better than I thought for price, 2 bedrooms but also 2 bathrooms!!!! They must of thought we were very dirty travellers. Now both tired so both went to bed & left unpacking until morning.

19 March 2007

I woke up early & made the worst decision of the whole holiday that of going out to get water & breakfast provisions, asked at desk & informed by reception supermarket nearby not open until 10.30, so set off to find another.

Saw people with bags of shopping but because I was to stupid did not ask where they got them from, kept on walking ( as the old song tells of Felix the cat, if you remember the song you must be old) finally got to a supermarket but still not properly opened so carried on although legs & feet now aching.

Finally totally exhausted got to Lidl of all places, picked up goods and started walk back, saw bus stop but did not know how to tell them where I was going so carried on.
On the way back passed 3 supermarkets that I had not seen all close to the hotel, but at least we could have breakfast.

Well that was the start of excruciating pain from the blisters on my feet but then again never mind I could relax round the pool for the rest of the week. Not quite it was nice & warm so we went to the welcome party, a load of rubbish, but then decided we would go to Fuengerola, by bus & train.

Bus good , as was the train, Brian practised his skills in Spanish, when we got there this was not the place I remembered , I had forgotten to bring a hat & it was very hot so part of the time was finding a suitable hat for me, we spent some time there but my feet were hurting much worse now, so we made our way back, Later went out for meal & had Spanish omelette, so Brian could have local food. That evening saw on TV that parts of Spain having deep snow what a contrast.

20 March 2007

Early breakfast, still very windy but sunny, feet still very painful, went with Brian to meet Zorro on the train, which worked well, so then travelled to Malaga, where Zorro showed us the local sites including a visit to a local tapas bar, the calamari was the best I have tasted, eventually was time to go back, so we parted agreeing to meet the next day for a paella.

Problem with pain in feet getting worse, so agreed I would return to hotel & Brian would continue exploring. Later Brian cooked our evening meal & we relaxed.


21 March 2007

Sad to say still problems with feet, Brian up early & out, I went to shops then sunbathed on & off for rest of Day. Later Brian returned after trip walking to Fuengerola, this was in time for us to get ready for evening with Zorro again. Met as planned finally we went to farmacia for ointment for feet & plasters, then sought shop for maps for Brian.

Finally went for paella which we all enjoyed, then parted from Zorro, I caught the bus & Brian went for another walk

22 March 2007

Had another relaxing day sunbathing Brian off out on another trip this time to Malaga, in the evening went out for further meal.

23March 2007

Still having problems walking so went sunbathing today, Brian went for walk to local park took photos of various animals & birds, later went evening meal.

24 March 2007

Today went to Ronda for the day by bus, it was an interesting drive up the hairpin bends, a number of motorcyclists roared past, but a little later there were problems because one of the riders had collided with a car, some of the people on the bus must of felt it was the highlight of their trip they were happily taking photos of the scene.
We spent some time taking photos of the various scenes in Ronda.

Then as a special treat we went for a McDonalds which has now given me inspiration to create a new Blog based on Fast Food Joints I & others have visited around the world. Finally it was time to return back to the hotel, we went to our last meal out before our trip back. Tonight the Clocks went forward 1 hour.




25 March 2007

Last day, unfortunately we had to leave the room at 10. 30am so went for a walk with Brian to the park, took series of photos then managed to lose him, eventually made way back to hotel & sunbathed, eventually found Brian & we spent time waiting for coach to airport.

Plane was an hour & half late we all queued patiently but nobody explained why until we boarded the plane, now quite late, eventually landed back home after I had problems with horrible child sat in seat in front whose idea of fun was to bounce on the back of the seat which created problems for me & my spinal pain. When I tried to explain the mother had no sympathy neither did the trolley dolly, until later when the child spilt its food all over their seat.

26 March 2007

Finally got home quite late on Monday morning, I had the presence to of taken the day off so spent most of it sleeping.

Well now have to start serious plans for new Blog & my birthday