Well, Friday we finished packing the bungelow. We managed at last to get the Rug Doctor from teh Co-op (there was a run on Rug Doctor usage pre Christmas) and the carpets came up fine. We decamped over to Jim and Vivs. Our six dogs, their three labs, and 5 adults! We left Davy in the bungelow and will get him later.
Yesterday all the family came round and a good day was had by all, but Ian and I veered between excitment and nerves. The van is packed and has only had to be un packed once because my passport was hidden in a box half way down. In fairness to me, the box it was in was one which I had specifically said to Ian was to be kept out, but looking inside it at the contents he over ruled me. Hmmmm is all I can say to that.
We will leave here about 10, go to get Davy and then head to Dover. We plan to drive a bit tonight and then do the bulk of the driving tomorrow and Weds.
If I get a chance I will update the BLOG en route, if not - keep an eye open for the next one, hopefully from Spain!
Monday, December 26, 2005
Friday, December 23, 2005
Getting closer..
I am writing this in the library whilst we wait for our change of address letters to print. These will go in the post today and hopefully will not get lost before businesses open up again in the new year.
Wednesday was Susans wedding, and I think a little tear was shed by all when S & Dad came up the gangplank of the SS Great Britain. I am not sure if it was seeing S as a lady (no black, no denim, no trainers and rumour has it even with her phone turned off...) or whether it was seeing Dad enjoying the day. Amazing to think of what he has been through over the 4 months, and with the family there it was great for them to see him too. I have a couple of pics on my phone, just need to work out how to upload them.
Ian and I were working to slightly different time agendas whilst getting ready for S#s wedding. Hence Ian hovering and making that look he makes when he is annoyed. Knowing that I had plenty of time I was happily mooching around, putting his Look down to wind. Only when he exploded as I was happily checking my emails did it become apparent that we were carryng out different plance, hence 30 seconds later, I found myself in the car putting on makeup and leaving behind basically everything I was supposed to take. Luckily we remembered the food, but as everyone was pretty full from the food on the boat, I would have been better off to have remembered the presents! A quick run back later for Ian and we were able to do our Father Christmas bit too, phew.
Mum and Dad looked very smart and were colour co-ordinated with dad wearing red socks and mum having red in her dress. When mum said she was wearing a red and green dress, I was a tad concerned as christmas tree sprang to mind, however it was a rather tasteful ensemble, and she looked a very proud and happy mother of the bride, and any rumour that she was heard to mutter 'at last all three of my hands' is strictly unfounded.
Oooops, Ian is hovering so better go - don't want any repeats of Weds....
PS UPDATE - in case anyone was worried that S had been taken over by lady aliens, I can report that last seen she was in trainers, cords and tiara was strictly out of view.
Wednesday was Susans wedding, and I think a little tear was shed by all when S & Dad came up the gangplank of the SS Great Britain. I am not sure if it was seeing S as a lady (no black, no denim, no trainers and rumour has it even with her phone turned off...) or whether it was seeing Dad enjoying the day. Amazing to think of what he has been through over the 4 months, and with the family there it was great for them to see him too. I have a couple of pics on my phone, just need to work out how to upload them.
Ian and I were working to slightly different time agendas whilst getting ready for S#s wedding. Hence Ian hovering and making that look he makes when he is annoyed. Knowing that I had plenty of time I was happily mooching around, putting his Look down to wind. Only when he exploded as I was happily checking my emails did it become apparent that we were carryng out different plance, hence 30 seconds later, I found myself in the car putting on makeup and leaving behind basically everything I was supposed to take. Luckily we remembered the food, but as everyone was pretty full from the food on the boat, I would have been better off to have remembered the presents! A quick run back later for Ian and we were able to do our Father Christmas bit too, phew.
Mum and Dad looked very smart and were colour co-ordinated with dad wearing red socks and mum having red in her dress. When mum said she was wearing a red and green dress, I was a tad concerned as christmas tree sprang to mind, however it was a rather tasteful ensemble, and she looked a very proud and happy mother of the bride, and any rumour that she was heard to mutter 'at last all three of my hands' is strictly unfounded.
Oooops, Ian is hovering so better go - don't want any repeats of Weds....
PS UPDATE - in case anyone was worried that S had been taken over by lady aliens, I can report that last seen she was in trainers, cords and tiara was strictly out of view.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
The Big Countdown
We've started counting down to our move 'this time next week...'. Sadly so far the answer to this time next week generally forecasts our driving round France looking for Spain. 'Heading South' is just not going to be good enough. Ian is the man who can get lost getting out a supermarket carpark and does so frequently.
We've also been thinking of the things that we probably won't be able to get ie crumpets, and making sure we eat them before we go. This has resulted in some strange meals.
Last night we put the first load of stuff in the van and took it to J&V's. This is so we can start to clear up here and get a Rug Doctor from the Co-op tomorrow to give the floors a good clean. The van will be ideal for our puropse and as long as we secure things well, should give us enough room too to sleep with relative comfort. 'Luckily' Ian has found two of our tents just in case...
Bob is currently staring at the cooker as we are cooking a load of sausages for Susans wedding today. Well not for the wedding itself obvioulsy but for the wedding party at their house later.
Susan and Andy have asked if I will read a poem at their wedding. It is 'Foxtrot to a play' and is the second most popular poem read at non-church weddings. The first is a poem by Pam Ayres, so I am glad that they did not chose that in case people thought I was putting on the accent. The poem is just CRYING out for a new verse. Ian and I have had great fun coming up with new verses, and whilst most of them are unsuitable for putting in a BLOG let alone reading at a wedding - we have come up with one we quite like. I can type this now, knowing that I am safe from Mum reading this and getting a stern mother to daughter call.
The poem is as follows
The soldier loves his rifle
The scholar loves his books,
The farmer loves his horses.
The film star loves her looks,
There's love the whole world over
Wherever you may be;
Some lose their rest for Mae West,
But you're my cup of tea
Some talk of Alexander
And some of Fred Astaire,
Some like their heroes hairy
Some like them debonair,
Some prefer a curateAnd some an A. D. C,
Some like a tough to treat em rough,
But you're my cup of tea
Some are mad on Airedales
And some on Pekinese,
On tabby cats or parrots
Or guinea pigs or geese.
There are patients in asylums
Who think that they're a tree,
I had an aunt who loved a plant,
But you're my cup of tea.
Some have sagging waistlines
And some a bulbous nose
And some a floating kidney
And some have hammer toes,
Some have tennis elbow
And some have housemaid's knee,
And some I know have got B.O.,
But you're my cup of tea.
The blackbird loves the earth worm,
The adder loves the sun,
The polar bear an iceberg,
The elephant a bun,
The trout enjoys the river;
The whale enjoys the sea,
And dogs love most an old lamppost,
But you're my cup of tea.
Both S&A are great tea drinkers so this is very apt.
Now - assuming that I don't chicken out under the threat of parental or sisterly wrath, the verse that we have written which I might slip in at the end is as follows;
Susan loves her Andy
Andy loves his Sue
and we've gathered here today
for them to say I Do
They know about the birds
Roy will tell them about the bees
and when the newly weds are in their bed
they'll forget their cup of tea
or
they'll say “Your my Cup of Tea” (depending if the other version seems a bit 'carry on' for the day)
I don't think that it is too bad - certainly not compared with some of Ians more creative ideas.
We've kept the theme going with the Xmas Tree decoration that we have made S&A. They have asked that everyone going brings a tree decoration, and we've made a couple out of glitter and old tea bags. Strangely they look, well, strange.
We've also been thinking of the things that we probably won't be able to get ie crumpets, and making sure we eat them before we go. This has resulted in some strange meals.
Last night we put the first load of stuff in the van and took it to J&V's. This is so we can start to clear up here and get a Rug Doctor from the Co-op tomorrow to give the floors a good clean. The van will be ideal for our puropse and as long as we secure things well, should give us enough room too to sleep with relative comfort. 'Luckily' Ian has found two of our tents just in case...
Bob is currently staring at the cooker as we are cooking a load of sausages for Susans wedding today. Well not for the wedding itself obvioulsy but for the wedding party at their house later.
Susan and Andy have asked if I will read a poem at their wedding. It is 'Foxtrot to a play' and is the second most popular poem read at non-church weddings. The first is a poem by Pam Ayres, so I am glad that they did not chose that in case people thought I was putting on the accent. The poem is just CRYING out for a new verse. Ian and I have had great fun coming up with new verses, and whilst most of them are unsuitable for putting in a BLOG let alone reading at a wedding - we have come up with one we quite like. I can type this now, knowing that I am safe from Mum reading this and getting a stern mother to daughter call.
The poem is as follows
The soldier loves his rifle
The scholar loves his books,
The farmer loves his horses.
The film star loves her looks,
There's love the whole world over
Wherever you may be;
Some lose their rest for Mae West,
But you're my cup of tea
Some talk of Alexander
And some of Fred Astaire,
Some like their heroes hairy
Some like them debonair,
Some prefer a curateAnd some an A. D. C,
Some like a tough to treat em rough,
But you're my cup of tea
Some are mad on Airedales
And some on Pekinese,
On tabby cats or parrots
Or guinea pigs or geese.
There are patients in asylums
Who think that they're a tree,
I had an aunt who loved a plant,
But you're my cup of tea.
Some have sagging waistlines
And some a bulbous nose
And some a floating kidney
And some have hammer toes,
Some have tennis elbow
And some have housemaid's knee,
And some I know have got B.O.,
But you're my cup of tea.
The blackbird loves the earth worm,
The adder loves the sun,
The polar bear an iceberg,
The elephant a bun,
The trout enjoys the river;
The whale enjoys the sea,
And dogs love most an old lamppost,
But you're my cup of tea.
Both S&A are great tea drinkers so this is very apt.
Now - assuming that I don't chicken out under the threat of parental or sisterly wrath, the verse that we have written which I might slip in at the end is as follows;
Susan loves her Andy
Andy loves his Sue
and we've gathered here today
for them to say I Do
They know about the birds
Roy will tell them about the bees
and when the newly weds are in their bed
they'll forget their cup of tea
or
they'll say “Your my Cup of Tea” (depending if the other version seems a bit 'carry on' for the day)
I don't think that it is too bad - certainly not compared with some of Ians more creative ideas.
We've kept the theme going with the Xmas Tree decoration that we have made S&A. They have asked that everyone going brings a tree decoration, and we've made a couple out of glitter and old tea bags. Strangely they look, well, strange.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Christmas in Spain
http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/spanish-festivals/christmas-in-spain.htm
http://www.santas.net/spanishchristmas.htm
So instead of carrot for the raindeer it is straw for the camel.
http://www.santas.net/spanishchristmas.htm
So instead of carrot for the raindeer it is straw for the camel.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Oh a most amusing blog name...
...however she doesn't know a short wheelbase, long bodied Transit 100 when she sees one!
And if she still thinks we're going to paint pink flowers down the side she's another thing coming.
And if she still thinks we're going to paint pink flowers down the side she's another thing coming.
So, in a nutshell...
.... we are about to move. At the end of August just before we sold Mineral House,we were shortlisting what we were looking for in our house in Spain and were convinced that a farmhouse, with a few acres, near to a village etc etc was what we were going to look for. So it with a little suprise that on the 18th August I found myself in Spain looking at two houses, which were patently extremely different to what we were certain we were looking for - and it is one of these that we are now moving to. A large town house, well village house I suppose. It has 5 out buildings which are going to be turned into work shops.
The new house is in Villagarcia De La Torre www.villagarciadelatorre.com. To translate this try http://babelfish.altavista.com/ stick the entire web address after the http:// (where it says translate web page) select 'Spanish to English' and away you go! Some pics are here www.kaffi.co.uk/spain.
After a couple of false starts we are heading off, and our plans are beginning to fall into place.
Last week, we bought a van. It is a transit van and as of Thursday is still running. We have taken out RAC cover so all we need to ensure is that it gets us to Spain and if it turns up its wheels then we are covered for onward travel (last thing we would want would be the nice RAC man to take us, dogs and Davy back top the UK trailing the broken van). The van is a transit long wheel base on a short wheel thing - well something like that anyway. But hey, it's blue.
We're heading off on Boxing Day. We've had to get a crossing from Dover to Calias. A bit of a pain in the neck as we had hoped for a longer corssing, but there are limited animal places available on these, so we were very limited. We need to be there for the 30th as everything shuts the following week. So although it is a shorter crossing, we'll be able to drive part of the way on Monday and will probably sleep better in the van than we would on the ferry anyway. The dogs will probably appreciate the shorter crossing.
The furniture is there - Ian went over 2/12th to take delivery of our furniture, so we are only taking basics and the things we have amassed over the last few months. As we both exhibited self control in not buying a floor loom we saw on Ebay, this is a lot less than it could have been.
So what is left to do? We need to get the phone unlocked so we can put a Spanish network card in, we need to get post redirected (although why we are bothering escapes me - the Post Office have taken it on themselves to ignore our last redirection request, which is bad enough, but they now randomly sending us post from people in Carlisle, we thought perhaps we'd just leave it up to them to distribute our post where they like). The Volvo went this morning, it went 'free to collector' which is a bit sad as we had a brand new tow bar put on it.
We will have to spend another evening in the dark, hiding behind the sofa. We are experiencing somehting we've not before - carol singers! They never bothered before, but even Basil joining in doesn't seem to put them off...
The new house is in Villagarcia De La Torre www.villagarciadelatorre.com. To translate this try http://babelfish.altavista.com/ stick the entire web address after the http:// (where it says translate web page) select 'Spanish to English' and away you go! Some pics are here www.kaffi.co.uk/spain.
After a couple of false starts we are heading off, and our plans are beginning to fall into place.
Last week, we bought a van. It is a transit van and as of Thursday is still running. We have taken out RAC cover so all we need to ensure is that it gets us to Spain and if it turns up its wheels then we are covered for onward travel (last thing we would want would be the nice RAC man to take us, dogs and Davy back top the UK trailing the broken van). The van is a transit long wheel base on a short wheel thing - well something like that anyway. But hey, it's blue.
We're heading off on Boxing Day. We've had to get a crossing from Dover to Calias. A bit of a pain in the neck as we had hoped for a longer corssing, but there are limited animal places available on these, so we were very limited. We need to be there for the 30th as everything shuts the following week. So although it is a shorter crossing, we'll be able to drive part of the way on Monday and will probably sleep better in the van than we would on the ferry anyway. The dogs will probably appreciate the shorter crossing.
The furniture is there - Ian went over 2/12th to take delivery of our furniture, so we are only taking basics and the things we have amassed over the last few months. As we both exhibited self control in not buying a floor loom we saw on Ebay, this is a lot less than it could have been.
So what is left to do? We need to get the phone unlocked so we can put a Spanish network card in, we need to get post redirected (although why we are bothering escapes me - the Post Office have taken it on themselves to ignore our last redirection request, which is bad enough, but they now randomly sending us post from people in Carlisle, we thought perhaps we'd just leave it up to them to distribute our post where they like). The Volvo went this morning, it went 'free to collector' which is a bit sad as we had a brand new tow bar put on it.
We will have to spend another evening in the dark, hiding behind the sofa. We are experiencing somehting we've not before - carol singers! They never bothered before, but even Basil joining in doesn't seem to put them off...