Replacing English products with Spanish ones.

When we first moved to Spain we made sure we had planty of our normal pills and solutions that we use regularly. Over the year we have been here we have managed to find an equivalent for things such as Nurofens and Glucosamine from the chemist by taking our UK packet down and they check the ingredients on their computer and find what we need.

So that works well when you have the package, but what about when you don't?

Back in the UK we always had Corsodyl in the house so that if we felt any problems with our gums we could stop it before it got too bad. When I flew back last summer I brought some more back with me but of course, we are now at a stage where the bottle is empty and got thrown out - and we haven't got a clue what to buy or where.

So, last night I googled (never sure whether that deserves a capital G or not) Corsodyl and found their website. After a little searching around I found what the active ingredient was and how it was described (officially, as opposed to the way we describe it - that really strong mouthwash that taste's like.......). So armed with my bit of paper that had 2 words written on it - Chlorhexidine Digluconate.

I tootled off to the dentist as I needed to book an appointment to get my broken tooth fixed. Of course, the only receptionist in today was the girl who doesn't speak English, no problema I can speak Spanish, I learn it from a book (a la Manuel!). She told me I needed to go to a chemist so, as I was in Aguilas and there is a good chemist there, I thought I may as well do it straight away. Again, no English is spoken there but I managed to explain what I was after and passed over my bit of paper with the key ingredient - and a few minutes later I had a bottle of Perio.Aid in my hands, which has the exact ingredients in. It's a good bit more expansive than Corsodyl, which has surprised me as other similar medicine stuff is generally cheaper here than in the UK, but I've paid €7 for 500ml and on Asda website Corsodyl is £2.76 for 300ml, suppose we're outside Asda's delivery zone! I'll have to look in the supermarkets to see whether they sell it - now that I know what I'm looking for.

Still, it's great for my practicing my Spanish, having to do this a year ago would have been such a challenge, now I don't even ask if they speak English I just get stuck in with my Spanish and go for it.

So how do you keep cool in this heat?

After the recent heatwave in England I have had a few friends asking me how I keep cool in the heat of summer. Here we have week after week of high temperatures so we are more prepared for it than having the odd week in the middle of a cool wet summer.

The main thing is to wear as few clothes as possible and to move slowly, easier said than done if you have a job of work to do or a family of young children to look after.

If you can plan your day to suit, an early start is best - whether it's walking the dogs, housework or tidying the garden - getting an early start has two benefits, one is that you are doing them at the coolest part of the day (a must for dog walking) and secondly, it gets the chores out of the way so you can relax and enjoy the day, and if you need to - a little sleep at siesta time to recharge the batteries.

I lose track of the number of times I shower and change clothes in a day, at least the clothes dry very quickly so although there is more washing to do - it doesn't seem like it because it's washed, dried and away in a matter of hours. Ironing is an almost impossible task in this heat so the trick is buy clothes that don't need ironing where possible, and to put them away after washing in a way that will keep creasing to a minimum.

I know a lot of the Brits that come to Spain, either on holiday or to live, complain about the restaurants not serving the food piping hot and not warming the plates, but I must admit to doing things the Spanish way now - as I get so hot if I eat piping hot food or drink red hot coffee - instead, I allow my meals and drinks to cool a little now. I also find if I drink too many chilled drinks I seem to constantly want more - I find drinking coffee better, but then I have always been a huge coffee drinker.

Sleeping at night is a big issue in the heat of summer. There are cooling pads you can get to put under your pillows, which some of our friends have said help. We just use a floor standing fan and have it blowing across the bed. So far we have been able to sleep quite well. We have a cool shower before bed, and find this helps us get to sleep. Last summer we had the aircon on all night but this year haven't found we need - to so maybe we are acclimatising to the heat a little.

Finally, we have lots of fans in the rooms to keep the air circulating. We do have air conditioning but prefer to use the fans, have the doors and windows open and when we can - we enjoy the outdoor living this weather allows. There is often a breeze in the garden, a quiet corner in the shade, a good book, a G&T and a comfy chair - and we let other people run around in the heat of the day.

And where are the dogs in all this heat? Laid under the table, in the shade, infront of a fan - not daft are they?

Feeling sorry for myself today.

We've had Sophie overnight and after a peaceful night all the dogs were up early this morning, so I got up to take them all onto the Campo for a long walk before it got too hot.

Getting 3 dogs ready for a walk, getting them out of the door and through the gate is quite entertaining, especially when they all have extending leads - but I managed it and we headed up for the Campo, the entrance of which is literally a 2 minute walk. Once on the Campo I can let them all off their leads and they wander around together quite happily. It should be a stress free half an hour stroll around the Campo. Note those words - should be.....

I was happily strolling behind them all, enjoying the breeze that is coming in from the sea this morning when all of a sudden my foot slipped from under me and I fell heavily on my hands and knees, dog leads thrown in all directions and the next thing I know I have my two boys all over me trying to see if I am ok.

Now, I always struggle to get up from the floor because I cannot put any weight on my wrists. Normally I can manage it by getting on to my knees first - but both knees were incredibly sore from the fall and one had blood running from it and I was covered in brown dirt - front and back - so I sat there for some time wondering how an earth I was going to get back on my feet. It was too early in the morning for other dog walkers to be around and I was on the verge of ringing Neil to come and find me when I noticed a step in the path that I could shuffle down to and maybe get up from there.

It was a struggle, but I managed it and limped home with blood dripping from my knee and feeling very bruised and battered, but at least I had avoided the embarassment of other people watching me fall.

I have no idea what happened, I didn't trip, I definitely slipped somehow but I cannot blame the dogs as they were all off their leads and no where near me.

So, I am feeling very sorry for myself, but it was sweet how my boys came back to see if I was OK.

Not such a gentle stroll in the Campo after all.

Mi cabeza es más grande que antes.

This morning I was given this little ornament by Amelia, my Spanish teacher. It's a lovely little piece, about 3ins tall and has a very cute puppy on top that she thought was similar to Brandy & Brinkley.

It's a little trinket box that opens up and could store a ring, or a pair of earrings

I love it but didn't understand why I had been given it........

until I opened the card that was with it.

For those of you that haven't been studying Spanish all year Amelia has said it is for the student who has learned the most Spanish, best pronunciation and does lots of homework, and should continue to study with as much desire to learn in the coming year.

I got a prize for being top of the class this year. How good is that?

Shopping trip - a success.

I've been for breakfast with a number of friends who were all sales shopping yesterday, some in Lorca, some in Murcia and Lucy & I went to Aguilas. It would seem Lucy & I chose well. Murcia was manic, huge queues for the changing rooms and Amelia, who went with her sister, hardly got anything because it was so busy.

The ladies that went to Lorca did better but it was still reasonably busy whereas in Aguilas, it was really quiet. No queues for the changing rooms and we could happily shop, try things on and it was quite relaxing.

Lucy didn't have a successful day but I had a field day in C&A - yes, we have C&A here - and they had good bargains yesterday. So I topped up my summer wardrobe quite nicely with a number of tops and trousers.

I'm going back today with Neil so we can try and get some bargains for him.

The Sales start today.

The shops in Spain cannot hold sales as and when they would like, as they appear to do in the UK. Here there are specified sales periods twice a year - the 7th January after King's Day celebrations and the summer sales start today - July 1st.

The sales can last for a few weeks but cannot start earlier than July 1st, and many stores will have extra discounts on the first day - so Lucy & I are off shopping this afternoon - to see what's on offer. Hopefully, we'll grab a bargain!

I've finally cracked Aguilon Golf Course!

We've been playing golf at Aguilon for 12 months now and it's a tough course. Loads of ravines, loads and loads of bunkers and water in all the wrong places.

When we first started playing everyone told us we needed to add 4 to our UK handicaps to allow for the element fo difficulty. Neil & I chose to continue to play from our UK handicap and allow our play to amend it. I started on a handicap of 28 and on a good day would score 15-18 points.

Over the year my handicap has increased to 30 but I have improved enough to start scoring in the low 30's - my best score before today was 35 and that was several months ago. I really wanted to finally score 36 - to feel that I had been able to play to my handicap at least once, but there always seemed to be 3 or 4 holes that beat me every time I played. Normally I would lose 2 or 3 balls into ravines or lakes but I have managed a couple of rounds recently where I finished with the same ball I started with - and that's no mean feat on our course. But I just couldn't score that magic 36 points.

UNTIL TODAY!

But, I didn't just beat my previous best - I smashed it!

40 points.

Yep, that's right

40 POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I scored points on every hole except the 18th, even on the difficult 14th where I don't normally even get to the green before running out of shots.

And my reward for such a fantastic round of golf? My handicap is back down to 28.

And I am well pleased.

There is a link to Aguilon Golf website in my links at the side.