It’s a new year!  Another one.  Another one where we stayed at home to see in the New Year because of the fireworks that freak out the animals, this year mercifully short-lived.  Seriously, it went on for 30 seconds.  It was surprisingly okay.

The start of 2026 has, after finally having an extended break from work, given us a feeling of the fleeting nature of some of our relationships and of wishing that we could be a bit more active in renewing some of them or at least being more pro-active in them, especially on my part.

Look, it’s not easy being a misanthrope.  I try to hide it with my endless and boundless energy for being with people and having lots of fun but it’s just an act.  I know, it’s difficult to believe, but it’s true.

But I, indeed we, do miss people.  We saw my mum this Christmas and she looks great.  She’s going to the gym three days per week and you can see the difference in her that it has made.  She’s doing weights!  At 81 years of age!

We think she enjoyed her time here in Andalucia despite the cold and the rain; yes, she brought the weather with her.  Part of us doesn’t mind it though because we know that by June we’ll be missing that feeling of having to wrap up and instead try desperately to attain some kind of normal body temperature when it’s 43 degrees outside. 

But, I digress…

The holiday was our first chance to really stop worrying about unimportant things like work and to instead ponder our lives without Dante and Sparky and how much we miss them.  And we do miss them, as do the rest of our pack. 

I still see them both in the photos that we have on our wall but also in the places in our home that they used to occupy so contentedly.  When we’re out walking I still turn around expecting Dante to be waddling along behind me as had done so for seven years since moving from Sri Lanka.

And I go onto our terrace still thinking that Sparky will be there sunbathing and making that sound of being annoyed that his sleep had been disturbed.  I guess it will take time for those thoughts to dissipate entirely.

But Sonalee and I also discussed just how much we miss all of our friends from all of our adventures from Asia and Europe that we only really get to see on social media or through messaging.  There just doesn’t seem to ever be enough time to actually see them in the flesh and be with them in the real world and it’s really frustrating in so many ways.

Some of our friends have had recent events in their lives that have been great and wonderful and we want to go to see them to go out and share their happiness with them.  Others have had the opposite type of events and we want to go to them to comfort them and tell them that it will get better.

But we can’t.  The world is too big for us to be able to do that.

And that’s the price you pay when you leave the embrace of your home town or city and move away.  You meet lots of interesting people and you forge a relationship with them and then they or you move again and you repeat it always enjoying the company of your new friends but always missing that of your old ones.

On the flipside, you also meet some absolute twats but this blog isn’t about them and it never will be.  This is about all of the people that we have met that we genuinely like and genuinely miss.

This age of social media, despite it becoming a depressing cesspit in many ways, has at least given us some clues as to how our friends and family are doing and what they’re doing but it’s social media.  You don’t post your real life on social media, you only post the good stuff for the most part.  We miss hearing about those great bits but also the other side of what life is.  Because that’s what friends and loved ones do; you share the beautiful and the ugly parts.

And this is what we discussed many times during  our very overdue break from work.  Having that time off was great.  It enabled me to try in vain to correct some of the physical  failings of our old house (mainly dealing with water damage it has to be said) and reminded us of the joy in the simplicity of living in an uncomplicated village where people, for the most part, are very happy to see us.

We walked with our dogs every day in the campo that Luna knows as her home and where the bunnies to chase are plentiful; a very simple lifestyle.  We talked often of the people that we’ve known, much more so than usual.    I’ve no idea why that was; perhaps it was because of our narrow escape from that awful crash or perhaps it was because of the loss of two of our pets or perhaps it was because of anniversary of Maeve’s death five years ago. 

I don’t know.  But, looking back and as we return to the daily grind of work (it’s really not that bad actually, except for driving there in the dark) it was so nice to just walk every day and then do nothing for the rest except eat nice food and sit on the sofa with three contented dogs and a cat who has taken over the brand new armchair that sits by the fireplace.

Are these thoughts somewhat over-romanticising a short period of time away from the rigours of reality?  Perhaps.  But during what other time of year do we all, all of us, take stock of what we are and where we are?  When else do we consider the bigger questions in life?   And I don’t mean whether it should be brown sauce or red sauce on your chips. 

This is what we concluded; We miss you.  All of you.  Have a 2026 where you stay healthy and safe.

Ayubowan

Hasta Luego, inshallah

Ciao

Paul

PS Saw a tribute band the other night here in Cordoba. They’re Bowie was very good. And their Franz Ferdinand.