Category: Uncategorized

  • Esto Es Un Horno – It’s like an oven.

    So, we’ve had a heatwave hit us for the past three days – one more to go.  The temperatures have been in the mid 40’s and the night time ones have been in the high twenties.  The dogs have suffered, the cat has suffered just as much and I think Sonalee and I have managed…

  • Vacaciones!

    So, at last, we were on the way to the north east of Spain, to a place that wouldn’t  be described as our  cup of tea but somewhere that is very important to the both of us.  We were going to Oropesa Del Mar, a very very Spanish beach resort town – think Benidorm for…

  • Home at Last

    Well, my year (actually ten months) of isolation is now officially at an end.  My wife is finally home!   Hurrah! And I have been out more in the past week than I have in the past ten months as well, which is a bit weird but does confirm my status as the ultimate misanthrope.  Anyway,…

  • Summer is here

    So, a few weeks ago, I made cheese on toast.  Lovely!  The next day I decided to do the same but this time add Worcestershire Sauce that had been in the fridge a while.  An hour later we were on the Mirador.  It’s a plateau that overlooks the village and you can see for miles…

  • It’s a Low

    I did a few plumbing courses many years ago in Bristol.  The first thing the very much old-school instructor told us was his number one rule; never encase your pipes in concrete.  He was scathing about those who think it is a good idea.  God only knows what he would have thought of the plumbing…

  • Spring Steps

    A big few weeks for the Byatt/Abeyawardene household during March, the main one being that Sonalee is back here in Spain!  She told me that she would only be here for a week but took something called ‘Recruitment Leave’ (we hadn’t heard of it either) so that she could be here for a whole fortnight! …

  • Virtual Lisbon

    I continue to miss my wife immensely.  I cannot help it.  For Valentine’ day last year, I arranged an evening meal on the terrace of our home in Morocco.  I’ve no idea what we ate because there were several bottles of red wine involved but I do recall a lovely evening just talking  as the…

  • Nobody wants my lemons

    It is harvest time in our patio.  Our tree has outdone itself this winter and produced a veritable orchard’s worth of lemons.  But the only thing is, what do you do with hundreds and hundreds of lemons?   I have daily lemon drinks, I squeeze lemon juice on a lot of my food, I use lemon…

  • It was the best of times and the worst of times

    She’s gone again Aiyeo.  What to do?  Que hace?  The love of my life has had to return to Morocco to begin the next term of her work, to look after Bibi who is one of the sweetest dogs you could ever wish to meet and to oversee the chopping off of the balls of…

  • Great Expectations

    Well, here we are.  We have four days until Sonalee is supposed to return home for a few weeks.  The fridge is, finally, cleaned.  The last of the not-great DIY is finished, for now.  The hunt for Sonalee’s new passport continues.  It has been either lost or stolen.  I suspect the latter.   She’s having to…