Spring has sprung!

After a week of high winds today it all calmed down. The sun was out, the sky was blue and it was warm enough to have the patio doors open, the dogs were outside most of the day and we are back in T-shirts and sandals!

29th January and our first spring day - wow! Now, this is what we moved to Spain for.

Don't get to jealous, it won't last, it's forecast rain at the weekend, but at least it will be warm rain!

We no longer have to cook by candle light!

Since we moved into this villa we have had a problem with the electrics in the kitchen and had got used to having to make sure we didn't have too many rings on at the same time or too many appliances on together. We were used to asking 'have you done with the kettle' before turning the microwave on and on having the candles on standby incase the electrics tripped.

Last Thursday the electrician came back to remove our hob, as the managing agent has the same hob as us and his wasn't using the same amount of power when it was turned on. Apparently with his hob it didn't trip the electrics and he runs on a 25amp breaker. Our fuse box was fixed now and no longer overheated but we still had the problem that the breaker was set to use 45 amps of power before tripping, an upgrade from the 25amp basic setting.
Without the kitchen equipment in use we were using about 6amps, including the hot tub - turn things on to cook a meal - wallop, the electrics tripped - huge power being used from the hob.

So,we spent Thursday without a hob, just a large hole in the work top. The elecrician came back with the managing agent. They said when they wired our hob up in their apartment, it still used the same amount so they put his hob back in and now his does as well! Ooops!

Anyway, they wired our hob back in and looked around the villa inside and out for alternatives to give us additional power. The first time we turned the hob on to check it, the main fuse tripped, then they realised they'd connected it up wrong and re-did it. This time we could have all 4 rings on, the oven on, the kettle on and only when we added the toaster as well did the fuse trip - and then only the sockets, not the whole house. We seem to have an improvement here.

The only difference being the hob has been re-wired so whether there was a fault in the wiring which has now been solved or whatever, I don't know - all I know is we can now cook a whole meal without having candles on standby.

We haven't had any problems since they left, we had our party on Saturday and there were no problems so maybe....just maybe......the problem is sorted!

I do hope so!

Let's Party - Burn's Night Part 3

By 8pm the Haggis was cooked, the guests were present and we were ready to party. There had been a slight panic with the Haggis as the skin had split towards the end of cooking. Fortunately, we had been checking it very frequently and so it was spotted almost as soon as it had happened and we were able to make sure that the water didn't get into the meat.

We paraded the Haggis in to slow handclapping, as is tradition and Paul kindly read the address to the Haggis during which it is his role to slice it open ready for serving. We had given him a large, very sharp knife and I was a little concerned how fierce he looked with a large knife in his hand!

Supper was a great success and soon it was my role to raise a toast to the immortal memory of Robert Burns. I checked everyone had a glass ready and read my bit of 'history of Robbie Burns' I had researched on the internet earlier that afternoon and don't worry, I'm not going to give you all a rendition - so much info is available on t'internet - you don't need me to tell you anything other than this year is the 250th celebration of the birth of Robert Burns and so there were a lot of events to celebrate Burn's night worldwide over the weekend.

Once everyone had finished eating the whisky's came out for a tasting session. Now, I dislike whisky so I was on my favourite cocktail - Champagne, Orange Juice & Cointreau and soon all the ladies were joining me and leaving the men to the whisky's.

Then it was time for a bit of scottish dancing:


And of course Paul & Neil couldn't help but demonstrate the Gay Gordons:
And after a lot of drinking, singing, dancing and general party chatter everyone weaved their way home about 1am.

And in the morning we had fried Clouty with a poached egg - yummy!

Our very 1st Burn's Night celebration!

The turnips are the wrong colour! Burns Night - Part 2

The traditional accompaniments to a Haggis are turnips and mash. That, along with the varied tastes, gives a pleasing look to the plate - the dark meat, the white potatoes and the orangey turnips. Only one problem then, in Spain the turnips are white. They taste the same but look like this:

Traditionally, we use these:

So, we needed to add something to give is the colour with out changing the taste too much. Someone suggested I add yams and so on Saturday I came back from the market in Aguilas with bags of white turnips and yams.

I cooked the yams and turnips seperately and then added them together before mashing. They soon mingled to make the correct colour and taste wise? well, surprisingly good. The only other problem I had is that white turnip is a very wet vegetable so after mashing and draining the juices that settled out, the full pan I started with was now only half a pan of mashed turnip - hopefully it would be enough.

Barbara & Lucy had offered to do the potatoes and would be bringing them later. Neil was doing an onion gravy and so we were all under control. So much so that when we had a call from some friends in the afternoon to say their Setanta wasn't working and they wanted to see the Rangers v Aberdeen fixture we told them to come round.

As we had decided to do a traditional Haggis supper and so we needed a traditional pudding for afterwards. There is only one thing that would do - we needed, without any doubt, a traditional Clouty Dumpling.

Now I have never made one and I don't think I've had dumpling since my mid-teens. My Scottish Grandpa used to make them. A Clouty is a steamed pudding done in muslin cloth and is a heavy fruit suet pudding - and it's great. If there was anything to bring back childhood memories for me - it's a Clouty! Our friend Sue was up for the challenge and got a traditional recipe, and a top tip from a relative - instead of muslin cloth used a cotton pillowcase - and so Sue made her first (and maybe only) Clouty.


And what a success it turned out to be - all the right flavours, the taste was spot on and it looked great! Well done Sue!

We had 15 people coming to supper so the furniture needed a bit of re-arranging, we had a CD of scottish music, we had bagpipe music to pipe in the Haggis, my Toast speech was written, the shortbread was on it's way and Neil had sorted all the Whisky out - time to get showered and changed and await the arrival of the guests.

Gales force winds batter Spain

The last couple of days have seen us battered with high winds, the worst we have had since we arrived. It's the first time we have seen structural damage - roof tiles smashed on the roads, garden furniture blown over fences into the road, trees blown down etc. We have been getting gusts in excess of 100mph and this is all across Spain and southern France. It is very sad that there have been deaths in parts of Spain including some children who had taken shelter in a sports centre when the roof collapsed.

These high winds are forecast through to Tuesday when they calm down for a few days and come back next weekend.

So far we have been lucky that nothing structural has been damaged at the villa but we have had lots of things in the garden moved around and the dogs have been barking like mad at carrier bags that fly across the garden in the winds.

Can't see us being on the golf course in the morning, it's not a course to play in strong winds.

Burn's Night - Part 1

Now, although we were planning to have an informal Burn's Night there are a number of formalities that need observing and so I spent quite a while on the internet yesterday researching Burn's Night's Supper formats (I wanted to put itinerary but couldn't work out how to spell it!)

Anyway, we needed the Selkirk Grace:

Some hae meat and cannot eat.
Some cannot eat that want it:
But we hae meat and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.


Then there was the parade of the Haggis, the address to the Haggis and then the best bit......
the eating of the Haggis.

I also printed off a few of the shorter Burns poems, and that's not a big selection as Burns was not known for his short writings, some of them go on for several pages.

And then there was the scary bit - the toast to the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns - hey ho, time for more research and some speach writing to be done.

And so to the Haggis. Now, where on earth are we to get a Haggis in Spain, and if we do get one - what will it taste like? No, it has to come from Scotland so, a few weeks ago I had found 'McKean's of Scotland - haggis makers since 1850' on the interenet. http://www.scottishhaggis.co.uk/
Their website said they delivered to Spain and I rang them to clarify a few details and then ordered on line. There was going to be about 15 of us so we ordered a Chieftain Haggis, all 2.5kg of it and also a Veggie Haggis for our vegetarian friends.

I ordered them on Monday 12th January and by last Monday I was beginning to panic about whether they would arrive in time so I gave them a quick ring to make sure they had processed the order ok. Yes, they assured me they had dispatched the order on the Thursday and it would arrive with us either that day or the next. 6 days for a delivery from Scotland to Spain, including a weekend? No, can't be right.

We had friends flying out on Friday so as a standby they could bring a small Haggis with them - but, it wasn't necessary. On the Tuesday as I was out walking with the dogs a UPS van drove onto the estate. I stopped him and asked if he had a delivery for our address and he said yes, so he got the package off the van and there it was, as promised - 2 Haggis. They were in a good sized polystyrene box with ice packs around them to keep them fresh. We opened the box to put the Haggis in the bottom of the fridge until yesterday and wow - 2.5 kilos is a lot of Haggis. Fortunately, we had a large pan to cook it in.

That's the veggie Haggis on the left.....ahhh, bless! The big Haggis would need to be cooked for 2 hours and the little one for 45 mins.

Now, everyone knows that along with Haggis you need turnips and mash - only one problem, you don't get yellow turnips in Spain!

Next: Planning and cooking the Haggis supper............

We're having a Burns Supper tonight!

Yes, I know it's a day early but some of our friends have to go back to the UK tomorrow so we're having it a day early. It's a house warming party and you know how we love to have a 'theme' so, with many of our friends being scottish or having scottish connections, and myself having a Scottish father, from Glasgow - it seemed logical to make it a Burns supper, it being the 250th anniversary of his birth - what a good excuse for a party!

Anyway, the Haggis is in, the scotch is out & the house is ready and we have a lull of an hour before mayhem descends.

I'll update this tomorrow with pictures and a report on tonights events. Oh, and last night we were at a Roman Night at Annie's Bistro so I have photos to post from that later on the week - look out for Neil in a skirt - not to be missed!

Enjoy your evening.

It's black, hairy and grows underground.

OK, I'm going to introduce you to a vegetable we'd never heard of, let alone eaten. We always have a look at the board outside Annie's Bistro to see what 'Menu del Dia' is. Today it was : Meatloaf Salsify Potatoes.

Now I'd never heard of salsify potatoes, but I assumes they were a way of doing the potatoes maybe in a sauce, but as we like Annika's meatloaf we decided to go in and treat ourselves to Menu del Dia.

When we received our meals there was the meatloaf and some boiled potatoes, nothing odd about the potatoes but we also had a heap of what looked like cheesey pasta. 'That's the Salsify ' we were told by Danny, 'we only eat it with meatloaf.'

So, we tried it and were surprised to find it wasn't pasta but actually a vegetable in a light cheese sauce. It was a root veg, and had a firm texture but was seemed as if it belonged to the Asparagus family. Not much flavour to it other than the sauce but a nice addition to the meal.

We asked Danny about the Salsify and he told us about it being a black root vegetable, not unlike a carrot - so, it goes without saying, as soon as I got home - I was on Google.

Firstly, here's a photo:

You peel them and cook them just the same as carrots,only cutting them into longer sections as they are thinner. They are white when they are peeled and need to be served in sauce as they are quite a bland taste.

Here's an extract about the plant from this site: http://www.ecomii.com/food/vegetables/salsify

A second salsify is commonly called black salsify (Scorzonera hispanica). As the name suggests, the roots have a black skin but white flesh within. They are long and blunt-ended, shaped rather like some carrots, but not as tapered. Native to a wide region of Europe and Asia, black salsify has a finer texture and more flavor than white-rooted salsify, and is worth looking for. There’s a suggestion of coconut and artichoke about its taste, and it’s sweeter than white salsify. The sweetness comes not from sugar but from inulin, the same compound that gives Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) their sweetness. Inulin, while tasting sweet, is safe for diabetics (although it can give rise to flatulence). Its roots are even more easily damaged than white salsify.

Now, about that little comment about giving rise to flatulence - oh boy, are they right on that one! Apparently inulin is the cause and you need to take small amounts and build up a tolerance to avoid having a problem with wind - and yes, having tried Salsify for the first (and possibly last) time - we can both vouch for the ability of it to give you wind - big style, so be warned - don't have Salsify for dinner the day before a big meeting or an important social gathering or you will not be popular.

Good Meatloaf though!

Would you like to see our Spa? Course you would!

And here it is - a rather large box that just fits onto the top of the drive.



It looks bigger than it did in the shop, but that always happens with settees and dining tables so nothing new there. It has a soft padded cover to keep the heat in when we're not using it but is light enough for me to remove on my own.


There are several seating areas all with different jets and they can be turned on and off or low to high. There is also an underwater light for atmosphere if we are using it at night and it's all at a lovely 35.5c and unlike a bath, the water never goes cold so you don't have to keep topping it up with hot water while you are in. It's supposed to be a 6 seater but I think any more than 4 and you would all have to be very good friends!

And so, bubbles on.....

Well, now it's all ready we may as well enjoy it.

Technical bit now for those interested: we have the Burlington Spa from the 680 series from Sundance Spa's in Mojacar. It's 78" square and 36" high with 2 steps to get into it. It has 25 jets and temperature can go from 16c to 40c so you can set it to be as cool or as warm as you want. It took about 2 hours to fill with water and 24 hours to reach temperature. It drops about 1 degree while being used as the heater doesn't work when the jets are turned on.

Infact, it all sounds so good - I'm going to go and make a cup of coffee, grab my book and jump into it right now!

And tomorrow I'm going to introduce you to a vegetable we'd never heard of, let alone eaten - it's black, it's hairy and it grows underground - and, apparently, it's popular in Belgium!

The joys and woes of moving into a new place!

OK, we've been living here just over a week now and over all we know it was a good move but boy have we had some fun.

On the first night, having moved all our stuff, taken delivery of our furniture and boxes from storage and got the place straight to be able to cook a meal and fall into bed - oh, hang on the bed needs building - it's in boxes and we don't have a mattress yet.

OK, so Neil decided to make something to eat while I made up the single beds downstairs. Then we'll make an action plan for tomorrow and a shopping list- now we are in an unfurnished place there are things we will need to buy - like a kettle - for the time being we have brought the one from the other villa round to use.

Once Neil had decided what we would be havng for dinner he tootled off into the kitchen to start cooking it - and that's when we discovered out first problem - we cannot have more than 2 rings on the hob plus the oven, or microwave without the electrics tripping - AND we cannot have the kettle on at the same time as doing 4 slices of toast in the toaster .....OK.

So, after wandering back and forth to the fuse box a few times to reset the fuses we finally had a meal on the table. During this episode with the fuse box we also learned that if we wanted to have the electric radiators on to heat downstairs, one of them had to be plugged into the kitchen other wise the fuses tripped. Anyway, enough done we decided to worry about it tomorrow.

The next day we asked the owners if they had ever had problems with the electrics and they said no, so we persevered on a while longer. But on Monday night we really had a bad night with the electrics tripping. It was already dark outside and when the electrics tripped it took the whole lot out. So, first thing was trying to find candles so we could see what we were doing. In the old place I knew exactly where they were but in this place - no, no idea. As it happened we'd had friends round the night before and they had brought us a scented candle as a house warming present and Neil remembered where I'd put it so we lit that and used it to look for the bigger candles I had bought incase of power cuts. The electrics must have tripped about 6 times in short succession and the fuse box was getting hotter and hotter and at one point the fuses wouldn't go back - so we called the management company and told him of the problem.

He asked if we could recreate the problem if he brought an electrician round and we said yes, no problem. The following day we had a sparky check the electrics and it turned out there was a problem with one of the breakers, it was getting too hot and not tripping when it should and needed replacing, and was actually dangerous and could catch a light - he would be back the following day to change. It also seems that the hob we have uses so much power, more than anything he'd come across before and that's why things were tripping when we were cooking. At least we know now and can work around it until the hob is changed for something less greedy on the electrics.

The house is full of very nice light fittings, sinks etc and when we went to IKEA to get some bedroom units we saw all of the items in IKEA, I seemed to walk around the place saying 'we've got that' 'that's like ours' etc. We got some good bedroom units and a couple of good storage bits for the bathrooms so, although it's a bit of a trek to IKEA in Murcia - once or twice a year, it's worth the trip. It tickled me in IKEA that we could pick up a catalogue in either Spanish or English, I'm not sure IKEA in the UK would have a catalogue in a second language.

We built our new bed which we had bought in last years sales in the UK and brought with us and then toddled off to get a mattress for it from Hannibals in Aguilas. It's a king sized bed and I expected to have to wait for the mattress to be delivered but no, Neil and the guy in the shop managed to push, pull and fold it into the back of our car and we man-handled it out of the car and up the stairs and onto the bed. That night we were able to sleep in our new bed for the first time - and we were back to an upstairs bedroom - lovely.

A week on we had sorted out where all the keys go, how everything works and have just about finished unpacking all our boxes, and so the final piece in the jigsaw of making this our home was the Hot Tub.

Before we had thought about moving to Spain we were considering getting a hot tub to help ease the pains and problems of my arthritis. When we decided we would move to Spain we continued to want a Hot Tub rather than a pool, then we could use it all year round and in summer cool the temperature down and use it as a plunge pool. Just before Christmas, Neil was up at Desert Springs for a game of golf and got talking to someone on the first tee. It turned out to be Charles from Sundance Spa's in Antas & Mojacar and they had a big sale on so Neil got details of where he was and we took a trip down to have a look at his Spa's

My only requirement was that there was a laying down seat as most of the problems from my arthristis are in my back. We decided on a lovely Spa that should have been over €12,000 and was reduced to under €7,000 - all we had to do was wait to be in our new place and it could be delivered. And so, as soon as we knew when we would be moving in we had phoned Charles to arranged a delivery date - last week we took delivery of it.

It's bigger than it looked in the shop, it's bubbly and it's wonderful.

New Year Arrives (ish)

OK, let's finish off 2008.

There was a slight problem in holding a New Years Eve Party in Spain at our place - we don't have Spanish TV, we don't have Spanish radio so technically we don't know when midnight officially arrives. We have our grapes - one grape for each 'dong' and so we elected Danny to be the official 'dong' person.

When the clock suggested mid-night had arrived Danny started his 'Dong-Donging' and we started eating grapes!



Now, abut the tradition of eating grapes - I found this article here: http://www.topics-mag.com/internatl/holidays/new-year/spain/12_grapes.htm



For a long time, Spanish people have had a traditional custom of celebrating New Year's Eve. On the last day of the year, the 31st of December, they wait until twelve p.m. Everybody has to have twelve grapes ready to eat when the clock starts to chime. It is traditional to eat them as you hear the clock from Puerta del Sol in Madrid chiming.


When it is midnight, each time the clock chimes, they put a grape in their mouth. By the time the clock has finished chiming, everybody has to have finished their grapes and the New Year starts, but nobody ever finishes eating the grapes on time.


Eating the grapes is very funny because everybody starts the New Year with a full mouthful of grapes. It's almost impossible to finish eating the grapes by the time the clock finishes chiming. Normally people still have all the grapes in their mouths, and they start looking at each other and have to laugh.


You can imagine what would happen if they laughed with all the grapes in their mouths. It's really difficult to have a second to swallow them. I think you can imagine the rest of the story.


This tradition started in Spain because one year when there was a big grape harvest, the king of Spain decided to give grapes to everybody to eat on New Year's Eve.



However, we had no problem eating our grapes - we had bought ready peeled, seeded grapes from our Mercadona Supermarket - they were in juice so slipped down very easy but were rather tasteless and a little slimy - I think next year we'll have the real things, it will be more fun and taste better.

Anyway dongs over, grapes eaten - it was time to check on the other Spanish New Year tradition - the wearing of red underwear. All the shops had been full of red underwear for the 2 weeks before New Year for both men & women. The tradition is that it must be bought for you and wearing it to see the New Year in brings you good luck!

Derek definitely took the prize for best undies:

By the time we had stopped laughing at Derek's pants and toasted the New Year in with Champagne - it was almost time for the UK to celebrate the New Year so we turned on the TV and watched the fireworks - goodness didn't they go on a long time. We all enjoyed them to start with but after a few minutes there were just too many going off for too long and we were all just waiting for it to end - I wonder how much it all cost, it would have been better if they'd only gone on for half the time.

Anyway, about half an hour later everyone started to wander home and we were left with a bit of clearing up to do. When we have parties of this size we have paper plates and table cloths, plastic cutlery and glasses and clearing up just means tipping it all into a large dustbin - it would wait until morning and we would be all back to normal within an hour.

We all had a fabulous night and I have to say that we have thoroughly enjoyed our first Christmas and New Year in Spain.

The Salty Sea Dog Inn - Part Deux!

Ok, so - we have a body, a murder victim, a guest with no further part to play?

No, he now becomes the hardest working guest around the table - he assumes the identity of Dirty Wiggins and works to uncover the murderer by closely examining the evidence, questioning the others at the Inn and using whatever means available to him to get to the truth.

Meanwhile, all the others are carrying out their own investigations, so who will uncover the murderer or will they get away with this dastardly deed?

Well, dinner over it was time to complete the evening by voting on the best Costume, the best Actor and uncovering who had bribed and cajoled their way to being the Richest Character as well as everyone disclosing who they thought had 'Dunnit!'

Best Costume went to Bill as Commodore Clearing,

Best Actor went to Danny as Cap'n Redbeard

Richest at the end of the evening was Neil as Gov'r Napier - who had been selling his daughters hand in marriage to anyone who would pay, basically

and the Murderer....

Ah well, can't tell you that incase someone else runs the same dinner party BUT I will say that Bill, as Commodore Clearing did identify the Murderer correctly - well done Bill.

The rest of you.............

...............time to walk the plank!

That's Cap'n Redbeard at the back with Commodore Clearing looking on. On the plank left to right is Sealegs Sam (Chris) Merciless Morgan - brought back to life (Derek) Gov'r Napier (Neil) Thumbless Jacky (Chrissie) and One Eyed Wanda (Annika).

What a great way to pass the evening waiting for Midnight to arrive,

Thanks everyone for joining in the fun.

I buy the Murder Mystery games from Night of Mystery http://www.nightofmystery.com/ . I like the fact that one of the guests is the victim halfway through the night, it adds to the fun. They are downloaded from the internet and you get all the info and a guide on running the evening - you just have a lot of printing to do to get all the character sheets, the invites etc - but it's a lot of fun.

Back to New Year's Eve and the Salty Sea Dog Inn.

Well, shiver me timbers and sharpen me sword!

After a voyage filled with pillaging and plundering, the Jaded Jewel-

-a pirate ship captained by Redbeard, an old but dangerous pirate-

-is docked in a cove near Port Royal. As the pirates head into town to celebrate their homecoming and spend their gold and goods, a night of turmoil and trouble is sure to transpire.

As the night quickly steers out of control, one guest meets a tragic demise and ends up in Davy Jones' Locker leaving the rest of the party goers to bring the guilty to the gallows.
Is the culprit the profiteering pirate organizing a mutiny? Or, the saucy sea mistress who wanted more than a casual commitment? The perpetrator could be the swashbuckling swordsman desperate to win the love of the governor's daughter, or possibly the treasure seeking seaperson incapable of sharing.

In a harbor village filled with backstabbers and buccaneers looking to get ahead, there is little reward for honesty and a high price to pay for deceit.

And so the scene was set. In attendance were:

Cap’n Redbeard—Pirate Captain. A fierce but fair pirate, this man runs a tight ship and won’t have anyone overthrowing it! A boisterous and commanding man.

Merciless Morgan—First mate. Found alone on an island, Redbeard took Morgan in and he quickly became one of the Cap’n’s favorites. Slimy and deceitful. He is always looking out for his own best interest.

One-eyed Wanda—Gunner. Raised as a boy on the pirate ship, Wanda was passed over by Merciless Morgan when it came to promotion. Wanda has a lot to prove if she is to earn her rightful place. Abrasive and boastful. She is capable and willing to fit in as “one of the guys”.

Thumbless Jacky—Crew member. A seasoned pirate, Thumbless Jacky has only been on the crew of The Jaded Jewel for a short while. A salty seaperson. Jacky has seen a lot in her days of pirating, including the loss of both of their thumbs.

Gurglin’ Uma Scarr—Galley wench. As a permanent underling on the ship, Uma has observed more than most. Often overlooked, Uma is a much more valuable asset than her title might suggest! Appears as a follower, but has a few secrets up her sleeve.

Governor Napier—Governor of Port Royal. As the governor of this seaside village, it is his job to keep it safe at all costs! He is reserved and aristocratic, yet he will resort to any means to accomplish his goals.

Breathless Betty Napier—Governor’s daughter. This faithful and dutiful daughter will do anything to help her father’s career advance. But is she willing to do it for the cost of her own happiness? Rebellious and out-of-control, Betty will do anything to get what she wants, including her independence.

Commodore Clearing—Commodore. In charge of the fleet that defends Port Royal, the commodore may lose his job and his arranged marriage if he can’t bring a pirate to justice. Sneaky and deceitful. The commodore will betray whomever in order to advance himself.

Mad Rose—Serving wench. A real spitfire, Rose will make anyone who crosses her regret their actions. Cunning and jaded, Mad Rose will hold a grudge for a very long time.

Sealegs Sam—Merchant sailor. A lowly merchant sailor, Sam wants nothing more than to be married to his true love, Breathless Betty. Cunning, clever and secretive. Sam is very in love with Betty.

Dirty Wiggins—Gallows master. For many, justice in this seaside town means the gallows and Dirty is often the one responsible for putting the guilty there.

And here they all are:

Well, the evening got off to a great start - Carribean Cocktails - Champagne, Cointreau and Fresh Orange Juice. And then as the evening unfolded everyone had tasks to complete, people to corrupt and bribe and plots to hatch and thicken.

It wasn't long before everyone was well into their character and having fun:

Suddenly, it all went pitch black - all the lights went out at once - and when we finally got them all back on.........

There'd bin a Murrrderrr!

There was nothing else to be done but .......

............... to outline the body and.........

.... tuck in!

Will anyone be caught for this evil act? Check-in later!

(And I promise - we did feed the corpse)

The new place.

I have now experienced moving house at both extremes - last year we moved countries, this year we moved to the next street. Both types of move involves a lot of boxes and a lot of debate over where to put things in the new place. At least this time we are gaining an extra room so finding a place for things has been a little bit easier.

So, welcome to our new home for the next year or so:

Have a look around:

Firstly, we now have a kitchen big enough for both of us to be in at the same time, in fact yesterday I think we were going for a record - 4 adults and 2 dogs all in the kitchen at the same time.

The lounge:

Downstairs there are 2 bedrooms and a bathroom:

Upstairs we have our own space - bedroom,

changing room and bathroom:

The patio doors from the bedroom lead onto a lovely terrace with a nice sea-view - and we get the early morning sun on our terrace - can't wait for the warmer mornings when I can sit out there in my PJ's with a cup of coffee and a good book - roll on Spring!

And so much garden for the dogs to play they don't want to come indoors - they were very unsettled for the first couple of days but now they really seem to enjoy being here and are always outside playing in the garden - they now have some grass to lay on, which is a novelty for them.

And as for not having a pool in summer, as Brinkley rightly suspects on his blog - Yes, Mum does have a plan.

More on that later........

......Tomorrow, New Year's Eve pirates!

We have moved into our home for the next year.

OK, you will have to wait a while longer for the Pirate piccies, we have been moving home.

After our decision not to buy on Calas del Pinar, we wanted to find somewhere to live for a year while the property market settles down (or bottoms out) and the Euro has a chance to recover, and it's making a decent effort already this year - from £1=€1 we are already up 10%. We wanted more room and a bigger kitchen as, although we have enjoyed living in the last place, we did find it a little too small for us - but as a holiday let - it's perfect.

So, we were lucky to find a 3 bed villa just one street away, this time without a pool. We wanted somewhere without a pool so that we had more garden space for the dogs to run and play and also because we have ordered the hot tub (which is being delivered either this afternoon or tomorrow - how exciting is that?) and needed space for that. We can use a hot tub all year round whereas the pool can only be used for 3-4 months a year and the rest of te time it takes up a lot of space and needs looking after.

So, over the last week we have been moving boxes and boxes and boxes. The new villa is unfurnished and last Wednesday we had all our belongings brought from storage and it has been like Christmas all over again. It's been 9 months since it was all packed away and we had forgotten what we had brought with us - it's been lovely opening all the boxes.

We spent several hours in IKEA in Murcia on Friday as we needed bedroom furniture and a bookcase for downstairs plus some curtains and we managed to get everything we needed.

As soon as I can find my camera I'll post some photos and I'll let Brinkley tell you how they have found moving to the new house on his blog later today - but first, I need to go move some more boxes.

More soon.........

Preparations for New Years Eve!

The week between Christmas and New Year flew by full of doing nothing particular. We managed another round of golf with Andrew, this time in much warmer sunnier weather, we went into Aguilas at night to see the square all lit up and the Christmas lights along the streets and while we were there we took Andrew to Randy & Michelle's for Fish & Chips - and they were good.

All too soon it was time to start thinking about New Years Eve's plans. Terreros closes at 5.00pm on New Years Eve. A couple of the english bars were having parties but we had decided to have our own party at the villa. What had started out as a group of friends, a few drinks and a few games on the Wii took off along a complete tangent one evening in mid-December and we were now hosting a Pirate Murder Mystery Dinner.

I had done all the planning before Christmas, we had decided to do curry and our guests were all bringing something towards the meal and drink. One thing we did need to do was sort out our costumes. There is a new Shopping Centre opened about half an hour away in Lorca and we had been told there was a good costume shop there so, one afternoon we took a drive up there.

The new shopping centre is really very good, and I look forward to having a shopping day there with some of the ladies but we were on a mission, no time for window shopping today. After walking through the centre for a while we suddenly found the shop in question - and it's great for fancy dress and themed parties. It's called Megumi (http://www.megumifiestas.com/ )and is packed with costumes, hats, wigs and all kinds of accessories - we were like kids in a sweet shop.

When we have done themed dinners in the UK we have always hired our costumes and generally pay about £25 for the nights hire. In this shop you can buy outfits for as little as €15 and they are better quality than some of the outfits I have hired before. Both Neil & I got our pirate outfits sorted fairly quickly and a quick rummage through the shelves and we had some pirate accessories for the dinner as well - tablecloths, napkins etc.

So, we were just about ready for New Years Eve - all we needed to do now was work out how to seat 11 people for dinner.

And so to Christmas Day

I had always wanted to walk along the beach on Christmas morning with the dogs in the warm Spanish sunshine - just because I could.

BUT......

Christmas morning dawned cool and overcast and so it was a normal walk around the Campo before breakfast. Trust me, the dogs would probably prefer to be on the Campo as they can be off the lead and they enjoy their freedom.

So, once back at home and breakfast over we got down to the serious stuff - opening the pups pressies - and for more on that see Brinkley's blog http://www.2littlepuppies.blogspot.com/

We were due to have Christmas dinner round at Annie's Bistro. She had done a trial run on Christmas dinner for the ladies group and made a good effort at a traditional english christmas dinner considering Anika is Belgian. However, there were a couple of things missing that were important. So, we had been shopping a couple of days earlier and bought Cranberry Sauce and Apple Sauce. I had order Christmas Crackers to be delivered along with some of the gifts I had ordered from Hawkins Bazaar (I love that shop). http://www.hawkin.com/ which had arrived without problem through the post.

Our crackers had little mechanical sprouts in them

so we could have sprout races after dinner - doesn't everyone?

But the main thing missing was Sage & Onion stuffing. Now, we had tried to describe this to Anika but she couldn't understand the concept of making stuffing from breadcrumbs and so I had offered to make enough stuffing balls for everyone for Christmas Day. Now, what I hadn't realised until Neil worked it out, was just how much breadcrumbs, chopped onions and Sage we would need to make enough for 40 people.

We struggled to find dried Sage initially and so Andrew and Chris both brought some with them from the UK ( since then we have found somewhere locally). So, on Christmas Eve I had peeled and chopped 10 onions ( needless to say there were loads and loads of tears), removed the crusts and crumbed 3 loaves and left it to be put together by Neil ready for cooking on Christmas morning.

So, after pressie opening, we were back to making stuffing balls. And trust me 40 balls is a lot of balls.

At 1.30pm we tootled off to Annie's armed with stuffing balls and crackers when, halfway there, I remembered we had forgotten the Cranberry - so Neil had to go back for it.

There were hors d'oevres when we arrived along with Champagne and then the Christmas menu was Prawn Cocktail, Asparagus Soup, Turkey and all the trimmings follows by Chocolate Mousse. Annie's Bistro is a small place and 40 people is a lot to feed from a small kitchen but Anika and Danny did a great job. However, when we received our main course we were a little surprised to see there was a certain lack of stuffing balls. Had there been a crisis in the kitchen? No, we were the first table to be served and they had forgotten to put them on, not a problem though, the were soon brought to be added to the plate.

I have to say we had a really good time on Christmas Day, we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and as we were sat eating it we could look out through the Bistro doors towards the sea. By early afternoon the sky had cleared and we had a beautiful blue sky and equally blue sea, the sun was shining and it was how I had imagined Christmas Day in the south of Spain would be. Unfortunately, an excess of Champagne meant I really wasn't upto that Christmas Day walk on the beach - hey ho, there's always next year!

Happy Christmas!

Golf on Christmas Eve......

........ was freezing! Well, in Spanish terms it was.

Our golf course is generally cooler than down in Terreros because it is in the mountains. It's also a lot cooler when there is a wind coming from inland because it brings the cooler mountain air down towards the coast, bearing in mind there will be snow on the mountain tops. When we have winds from the sea it's coming from Africa - hence the warmer winds from the south.

So, having had a few warm days in Spain, Andrew had adjusted to the warmer temperatures and wallop - we get onto the golf course, the wind gets up from inland and it's incredibly cold. We were buggying rather than walking which meant we weren't even getting warm from walking the course.

After 9 holes we went in to the club house for a coffee break, and a warm. I considered whether we should call it a day at that and head home, but as we set out onto the back 9 the wind dropped, the sun made an effort to come through the clouds and although it couldn't be said to warm up at least the chill from the wind had gone and the back 9 was much more pleasant than the front. It was a pity that Andrews first visit to the course couldn't have been in nicer weather but he made a valiant effort on a difficult course.

Sorry Andrew, but even in the south of Spain we have some cold cold days!

However, on a positive note I scored my best score ever at Aguilon, 34 points - so, not a bad day overall.

¡Feliz Año Nuevo y 2009 próspero!

Where did Christmas go? We've had a great Christmas fortnight and had so much fun and it's been helped by having some sunshine and temperatures above zero - unlike our friends back in Sheffield.

I had an early Christmas present when my brother arrived on the 21st to spend the Christmas holiday with is. It was Andrews first stay with us in Spain and I was looking forward to showing him around the area we have chosen. We had already done all our shopping and we were eating out on Christmas day so the relaxing run up to Christmas was set to continue.

The first couple of days of Andrews visit were lovely and sunny and we enjoyed introducing him to some of our friends and some of our local favourite spots. He had seen everywhere by photo but he said it looked very different now he was here to see it for himself.

He had been busy with work in the run up to Christmas so it was going to take him a few days to wind down but we soon had him on a tourist day - a coffee in the square at Aguilas:

And of course every visitor has to be taken up to the castle for an obligatory photo:


We have a lovely bar in walking distance from the villa and needless to say we soon introduced Andrew to the local brew - well, actually the bar is run by a Belgian couple, Anika & Danny, and so the local brew to us is Belgian beer - Primus. We seemed to spend a reasonable amount of time in there while Andrew was with us and it was a good place to have a spot of lunch and meet a few of our friends.

The next tourist trip was to be up to our golf course. It's not exactly an easy course for a high handicapper and Andrew only plays a couple of rounds of golf a year but no matter, he would give it a go and I was looking forward to playing golf with my brother for the first time. I never got to play golf with Dad as he had stopped playing before we started but I was pleased to have the chance to play golf with Andrew - and show him what a beautiful course we play.

All set for Christmas Eve - golf shoes at the ready!