Spain Tourist figures down

Spain says the number of tourists visiting the country dropped in April coinciding with flight disruptions caused by an ash cloud released by an Icelandic volcano.
Tourism Ministry arrival figures released Friday show 3.9 million visitors landed in Spain that month, a 13.3 percent year-on-year drop.
The volcano in southern Iceland erupted for the first time in almost 200 years in late March, casting a plume of ash containing concentrations of potentially damaging silicates into much of western Europe's airspace, affecting many flight paths in April.
Routes from Britain and Germany, key tourism sources, were hard hit with British intake down 28 percent while German arrivals dropped 20 percent.

Weather in Spain - Week 24th May 2010 – 30th May 2010

Returning to Spain gives me chance to tell you about our Spanish weather. 

Monday: Hot and sunny. Temp of 24C. Overnight warm with a temp of 16C

Tuesday: Hot and sunny. Temp of 26C. Overnight warm with a temp of 15C

Wednesday: Hot and sunny. Temp of 29C. Overnight warm with a temp of 17C

Thursday: Hazy start that gave way to a hot and sunny day. Temp of 28C. Overnight clear with a temp of 16C.

Friday: Overcast and cloudy day but sill hot. Temp of 25C. Overnight heavy rain and thunderstorms with a temp of 14C.

Saturday: Back to hot and sunny. Temp of 24C. Overnight warm with a temp of 15C

Sunday: Hot and sunny. Temp of 28C. Overnight warm with a temp of 17C

For an advanced forecast in the area I live in see http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE/europe_forecast_7days.asp?locationID=3222 which is Mercia Airport, our nearest point on this site.

John Lennon Airport

This is a rant. But I would like to make it clear that in no way do I blame John Lennon for the state of the airport, the quality of staff, the organisation or the amenities of the airport that bears his name.

We used Liverpool Airport to come back to Spain and what an shambolic experience that was. In hindsight its the access and egress to the building that is wrong. Most airports are double deckers, one for arrivals and one for departures with separate access roads. LJL is a double decker but only one access road. Consequently you have to use stairs to get to the next level after booking in.
You wind you way around a building site saying “Making the airport for you’ or some such drivel. The improvement cost is £17 million and what are they improving – the shops! Having arrived at the first security check it was chaos, the previous days cancelled flights (because of the volcano in Iceland) passengers were being turned back because of ‘incorrect documents’, however as they were trying to explain, but to no avail, that was all the booking in people in the hall below were giving them. A case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand was doing.
Having shown our passports and boarding documentation were were put in a line that lead down the steps. This was very inconvenient as we had a wheel chair user with us! Finding the lift behind a hoarding we descended one flight. We were now on the same level as the booking hall!
We waited in the queue for one of the 5 x-ray machines, not complaining just following the jobs worth’s orders. Do not do so risked ejection from the airport, and boy did they look like they wanted to use it. The security hall must have been a night mare to work in, low ceilings, no real light, no air conditioning. I wanted out asap and I was only passing through. It was slow going, everybody had to remove shoes, empty pockets and remove belts and every seconded person was being hand searched as they set off the x-ray machine, In the meantime the bags were stacking up on the conveyor belt x-ray. It was appalling, hot and in some cases degrading as people dressed and undressed. God only knows what it is going to be like in the holiday period. Note to self- consider Manchester next time.
Having got through security we had a two hour wait. Oh Joy! Arriving at a vey large bar area and having managed to get 4 chairs for an empty table from people who were using the chairs to rest bags on! I went to the bar. It had 4 counters set out in a square with two people behind the bar it took ages to get the attention of the bar staff and only after I stopped two people from ‘jumping the queue’.
The bar staff spoke basic English, two pints yes understood, 2 apple juice no way, eventually pointing and directing the bar person got the job done. Food, no chance at this bar! Can’t we employ people who speak English in an English bar, can we not have more than two when without doubt the bar was built for 4 staff, never mind glass collectors and cleaners. The tables were littered with glasses paper plates etc. Awful.
Off I went and joined another queue at what I can only describe as a canteen. Selecting sandwiches (which were not too bad for the price) I came to the pay desk, “No price on this” she said, “Sorry” I said “I am a customer and did not label them”. She stared at me and I stared right back! No way was she moving and no way was I. Eventually she charged me the same price for each of the four, which was OK by me as three had prices on that were more than she charged.
Service – Its a joke - The John Lennon Airport motto. 

Traitor Prescott

 

Labour John Prescott was made a peer yesterday.

Traitor to your class, your union and your party.

Hypocrite!

Laws must go!

I would have thought the minimum that should happen is that he is SACKED from his role of Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Mr Laws last night apologised, so what. Any person who fiddled their expenses would be sacked as a minimum, in some cases prosecuted!
Laws, a millionaire former investment banker, had claimed up to £950 a month for five years to rent a room in two properties owned by Mr Lundie a person he had a ‘relationship with’ for nine years.
Parliamentary rules prohibit the payment of money claimed as expenses to a partner. The word partner is what Laws is hanging on to in the hope of keeping his job. “We had separate bank accounts and different social lives” he said. Come off it you have been together for 9 years living in  two homes one you helped get a mortgage. The DHSS would call that a partnership!
Go. Be sacked.
Under the terms of the agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, Laws cannot be sacked without Nick Clegg’s consent which should be a no brainer. Here we have a Liberal Democrat, the party that took the moral high ground on the expenses issue while it was taking place, on the fiddle.
Between 2004 and 2007, Mr Laws claimed between £700 and £950 a month to sub-let a room in a flat in Kennington, south London which was owned by Mr Lundie. The Inland Revenue should be investigating whether Mr Lundie put this in his tax form each year.
Sack one, prosecute the other if not put on his tax form.  Its all a no brainer.

Not Another Runner to Us

This might look like just another runner in the Manchester BUPA 10K run, but you are wrong.
This is the youngest daughter on her first 10k run.
Well done H!

Royal Yacht Britannia

So here we are looking at the Royal Yacht Britannia, what you cannot see is the big shopping centre to the right. You can only get to the ship by going through the shopping centre and entering via the top gantry in the picture.
Also as you pass through the ship when you egress each deck you see a Debenhams sign! Her Maj was so upset about the location she vowed never to return. Anyway on with the tour.

This a very crowded whell house with not a sailor in sight!        

 The Flag Locker

One of the Funnels with a Gym inside. Never saw it but we were told a small one was inside!

 The Queens Bedroom

The DOE bedroom.

Small bedrooms and very small beds!

    Promenade Deck

This is the Dining Room, now used for Corporate events.

The Quatermasters bedroom for six!

                                                                 The quatermasters Mess

The Ships Laundry

Here is the Engine Room it was sectioned off by glass partitions

Liver Bird Walk

The annual Liver Birds Midnight Walk took place on Friday, May 14. More than 800 women took part including the Lady of the Villa and the youngest daughter, raising £70,000 for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.
The 9km route starts and finishes at the Pier Head and takes in various city sites.
Well done both of you.

Northern Belle

This latest trip to the UK had been planned for six months. The Lady of the Villa’s brother had bought us each, for my 60th and for her 50th, a day out on the Northern Belle up to Edinburgh and a trip around the Royal Yacht Britannia that is berthed in Leith.
So when the day came we started out at Lime Street Station in Liverpool arriving there at the unearthly hour of 07:00. We must have been dressed for the part because as we entered the concourse a liveried gentleman approached us with the question “Northern Belle?” we nodded, “Platform 8 just about to come in”. We waited in a Costa Coffee and then once the train was in approached the platform. Doors to the carriages were open and attended, a red carpet was in place and we were ushered in. This is what awaited.
   
An extremely opulent interior with the most comfy chairs I have ever seen or used on any train.











This was our table for the round trip. We we given a very nice toy bear (since passed on to one of the grandkids) and a nice bottle of Champagne (Since passed on to Mr and Mrs Fixit).









Here is her Ladyship ensconced in her preferred position of luxury on the Northern Belle.











Off we went Northwards stopping in Preston to collect some more lucky passengers. On the way we were given a Northern Belle and a Britannia tour brochure to read and keep, a run down of the days events by the Train Manager and  lots of coffee and Danish to keep the body and soul together. Breakfast was lovely, Champagne to start, then smoked salmon wrapped around freshly made scrambled eggs on a base of English crumpet. Absolutely fantastic. This was followed by more Danish and English breakfast cakes and lots of tea or coffee.

We stopped at Carlisle, mostly, I think, to let the train spotters take pictures and videos and then we were off to Edinburgh through some lovely countryside with the sun shining all day.
At 12:30 we arrived in Edinburgh and were taken to Britannia by coach. More of the RYB trip in another post. Arriving back at the station in Edinburgh at 16:00 we embarked (nice nautical term there!) for our journey home.

The five course meal was superb with the only extra we paid for was the wines, which were excellent and from a large choice. The liveried staff provided one of the best food and wine service I have ever encountered and we were on a train!. That and some brandies with some nice conversation crowned a brilliant day out.

Thanks Mr and Mrs L for a great present.

Return to the UK

We returned to the UK recently, it was a planned return as we had to go on a birthday day out that had been bought for us by the Lady of the Villa’s brother – more of that in another post. We try to put as much into the trip as we can, seeing family, friends, bankers and accountants. Sometimes I think we put in too much.
This time I had to go and see my Uncle P, for a special reason. P is only a few years older than me and has been more of a elder brother. He had just been diagnosed with Cancer and it’s terminal.
He is now bedridden as the cancer has spread to his hip bones. It has all been sudden, not only to him but to all of the family. We spoke at great length of past times good and bad and the immediate future.
He wanted to put his affairs ‘in order’. He knew that I had done this for my mother a couple of years ago when she died and wanted me to act as his executor, but with a twist. That twist will have to remain a secret until the right time comes.
I know his pain is only under control with painkillers and I truly hope that it stays that way. His immediate family are making every effort to see he is comfortable and I hope they succeed.

Cajasur bail-out hits Spanish bank shares

Spain's banking sector has been hit by the decline in Spanish property prices. Shares in Spanish banks fell following the government bail-out of one lender over the weekend. On Saturday Spanish bank Cajasur - one of Spain's largest regional lenders - was taken over by Spanish authorities after running into trouble.

These Caja banks are heavily exposed to the collapse in Spain’s property market. The Spanish government are trying to get them to merge to become stronger. The action was taken after a planned merger between Cajasur and savings bank Unicaja fell though at the end of last week.

Cajasur becomes the latest victim of Spain's property market collapse, which has left the Caja (Savings Banks) banks saddled with debts worth 445bn euros.

Shares in Santander were down 1.25%, while lenders BBVA and Banco Popular were also down 2% and 1.3% respectively. The move also affected the currency markets, with the euro down against both the pound and the euro.

The single currency was down 0.6 cents against the dollar at $1.2512, and was down 0.8 cents against the pound, with a pound buying 1.16040 euros.

Analysts said the bail-out would raise fresh concerns among investors about the stability of the Spanish banking sector, and the ability of the Spanish government to repay its debts.

Last week Spain approved plans for a 15bn euro package of austerity measures designed to reduce its debts.

Just another crack in the dam!

Darwin Awards

I am a regular reader of the Darwin Awards website. www.darwinawards.com. I find the stories both sad and amusing. Here is one that I missed over the years but found recently. Its just like the old style cartoons that you no longer see!

Midnight Special
1992 Darwin Awards Winner
Confirmed True by Darwin

(21 December 1992, North Carolina)
Ken Charles Barger, 47, accidentally shot himself to death
in December in Newton, when, awakening to the sound of
a ringing telephone beside his bed, he reached for the phone
but grabbed instead a Smith & Wesson .38 Special,
which discharged when he drew it to his head.

Scouse Recipe

Being a Scouser I had to put up a Scouse recipe. Here is one we used on more than one occasion to keep us warm!

INGREDIENTS
Half a Pound of Stewing Steak
Half a Pound of Lambs Breast
A Large Onion
1lb of Carrots
5lb of Potatoes
2 Oxo Cubes
2 Teaspoons of Vegetable Oil
Worcester Sauce
Salt and Pepper
Water


HOW TO COOK

Takes 4 hours of slow cooking
Cut the meat into large cubes and fry in the vegetable oil until lightly browned all over. You may wish to add some Worcester sauce at this point for added flavour.
Transfer the meat to a large saucepan and add the onion that should have been chopped into large chunks. Follow this by chopping the carrot into medallions and place this on the meat. Peel and then finely dice 1lb of the potatoes and place on top of the carrots.
Fill the pan with cold water until it is half full. Break up the Oxo cubes and sprinkle into the water. Add salt and pepper for seasoning. Let the pan simmer gently, stirring occasionally. The large pieces of onion will start to break up and the potato will become soft and will make the final sauce thick.
Simmer for a total of two hours, and then add the remaining potatoes that should have been peeled and roughly chopped, along with a few splashes of Worcester sauce. Then simmer for another two hours.
Serve piping hot with red cabbage, beetroot, pickled onions and crusty bread. You may add Ketchup and HP sauce for flavouring.

Driving in Spain

What is it like to drive here?
With about 12,000 kilometres (7,456 miles) of highways across Spain and another 1,500 kilometres (932 miles) of new motorways commissioned this year, it should be a driver’s dream, but the impatience of Spanish drivers when they get behind the wheel brings frequent horn blowing and light flashing, and can seem threatening.
Outside the main exodus from the cities at the beginning and end of Spain’s frequent holidays, the roads between cities are largely traffic-free with a maximum speed of 120kph on the autopistas and toll roads.
Spain has the third largest network of toll roads in Europe after Italy and France, and they can prove expensive, especially along the Costas when the price increases during the holiday season. The one near us goes up from 1.75 euro to 3.25 euro
Despite recent campaigns to curb speeding Spanish drivers only no one speed “what will this car do today!” It is not unusual to be overtaken by small cars  with 4 passengers. As for indicating forget it even the ex-pats don’t indicate now.
Road deaths have consistently dropped in recent years, falling last year by 13 per cent with a total of 1,897 mortalities. Road tax, set by individual municipalities depending on the size of the vehicle, has increased over the past decade, much to the disgust of Spaniards, but still remains among the lowest in western Europe, averaging between €80 and €150 for a mid-size family car.
The most serious offences, driving more than 30kph over the speed limit, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, dangerous driving, or exceeding the number of passengers permitted to ride in a vehicle, are all punished with the highest fines, which are between €300 and €1,500.
There is no concept of Traffic Wardens it is all policed by the Local Policia so offences for parking in dangerous places may result in fines between €90 and €300 and suspension of the licence for up to one month, but only if the Police can be bothered. Minor infractions, such as using mobile phones while driving, failing to wear a seat belt (both of which I see every day) - hold a penalty of up to €90.
Licence holders start with 12 points. Deductions include six points for drunk driving or driving more than 50 per cent over the designated speed limit, to three points for using a mobile phone.
Driving infractions can result in temporary suspension of licence for up to three months in the most serious cases. A driver who is fined three times for the most serious infractions within a period of two years could have their licence revoked and have to undertake a course covering traffic awareness and driver re-education.
Police are empowered to collect fines of up to €300 on the spot and radar controls are in place along the highways to monitor speeding and they will take you to a cash machine for the money if in a town!.

The Bin And The Plasma Screen

In the last couple of months we had purchased a new Plasma screen. The old one, was 10 years old and unfortunately ‘passed away’. Being 10 years old it was a really heavy object and was attached to the wall by a heavy bracket and 10 bolts.
Because it was so heavy I needed more strength than The lady of the Villa could provide. As luck would have it, the visiting season had just opened and our good business partners and friends from Crewe had arrived.
CA and I took the old screen down and placed it near our refuse bin. In Spain you don’t have individual bins you have a communal one that is emptied every night (believe it or not) seven days a week. I had placed it next to the bin too see what happens. Within 20 minutes the screen had gone!
Best of luck to the guy who took it. It needs some special hardware boxes which I had not placed with it to get it to work, providing he can fix the screen.

Recession – Casino Closes

Here is surprising news, never thought I would see the day!
Owners of the Casino Mediterráneo in Villajoyosa have been forced to close their doors to the public and lay off 121 staff as the continuing crisis and online betting cause spiralling running costs and mounting debt.
Sources say the casino lost over 14 million euros in 2009 and the company could not continue running it. The news of the closure came as a complete surprise to staff, many of whom turned up for work as normal to find they had been shut out.
A company spokesman said each worker made redundant by the move will receive 20 days pay for each full year they worked for the company.

What is This?

During our travels around our area in Spain, we have seen this structure being built.
It is in a strange location, not in an urbanisation and not in a commercialisation, it just sits alone on a hill. There is a road near it, not a major road more a ‘rat run’.
For a long period all that stood was a concrete skeleton, however, recently there has been more activity to finish the building.
The lady of the Villa and I just cant make out what it is. To small for a villa, to remote to be a shop.
We await completion!

I Love Gadgets

I have always loved gadgets and will by anything that improves my life style. Here are some of the gadgets I own.

1. EBook - In my case it is a Sony PRS-505. I use it a lot. Most of my Christmas and birthday presents are now book vouchers so I can get the books online (Waterstones or Amazon) and read them via the eBook. For me it saves on storage space and is just as good as a book.
2. Sony Ericsson P900. I have had this phone for about 10 years. Did everything I needed when I was at work. Diary, Contacts, camera, access to the internet, it was more a PDA than a phone.
3. Fuji S600. Digital camera need I say more. Great for taking numerous photos and later picking the best!
4. Portable hard drive. Need this more and more. My current one is 500 gigabytes and I paid about £75. Used to back up as well as store all our files.
5. IPod Nano. I don’t subscribe to Apple I just copy all my CD’s to the IPod. Great when in the gym or a flight.
6. Accu-check nano. Helps me keep my blood sugar in check. This one has up to 90 days of history and can be connected to a pc to produce charts.
7. Wireless Surround Sound. Needed this for the villa. The floors are all tiled so trailing wires would have looked out of place.
8. Tom Tom. Used when travelling around Europe. Still needs a bit of common sense and a swift look at the old maps. Best for navigating around a city.
9. Blood Pressure tester. Helps me keep healthy
10. Heart rate monitor. Used in the gym to get heart rate up to the required level – it don’t take long these days
11. BaByliss hair cutter. Bought to keep my hair at the No2 level.
12. Net book. A ‘cut down’ laptop. Light enough to carry around and access the internet wirelessly.

The Drains

We had invited some people over for dinner last Saturday night and I had decided to cook a series of Curries with all the “trimmings”. No real issue with the food I had started to cook on the Thursday, some on the Friday and finish off on the Saturday.
During the Saturday I decided I needed more chicken so off to the supermarket I went, as I descended the stairs to the road level I caught a whiff of drains but ignored it. On the way back to the villa entrance I again caught a bad smell. Again I ignored it.
As I was busy “cheffing” as The Lady of the Villa calls it she went off on a tour of her garden to se how things were there. She had only been gone ten minutes when she called to me in the kitchen, “We have a problem!”.  My only problem was getting the Korma to the right consistency, so what was wrong?
Just below the steps to the road level a whole “pond” of effluent had appeared (no photographs to save the reader throwing up). Our drains were blocked and it was 5pm on a Saturday afternoon. we had no rods, no way of unblocking and the smell was… well you can imagine and as the washing machine and dishwasher were on the pool was getting bigger. Off went all the machines. Diving for a copy of the “yellow pages” I managed to get a company to come out on “Emergency” (it was a Saturday they explained).
They arrived an hour later and left 30 minutes later 150 euros richer the pool gone and the air smelling sweeter. Our guests never noticed a thing!

Recession - Spain tumbles out of top ten of World economies

The busted construction bubble, the international financial and economic crisis and lower revenues from tourism contribute to Spain falling out of the GDP top ten. The country will fall from an 8th place to 12th the coming years, in the process being passed by India and Brazil. That is the projection made public by the International Monetary Fund.
By 2014 Spain's Gross Domestic Product will decrease 2.1% according to the IMF. The shrinking of the Spanish economy is felt even harder by its´ citizens. On the per capita income ladder Spain occupies a 29th spot, behind amongst others it's EU-neighbours Italy and France.

Ohio Record Roller Coaster

Thanks to AP for his email and these pictures of the Ohio Roller Coaster. It is 420 Ft High, 120 MPH Down... and it looks vertical.

The Top Thrill Dragster delivers on its promise of thrilling riders this summer at Cedar Point, Ohio. Last picture says it all...

I cant see myself going to Ohio soon. How about you?

Correos

The Correos to anybody in the UK is the Royal Mail. The people who move the letters and parcels around Spain and if you are lucky deliver them to your Urbanisation.
There is no door delivery in Spain. Each urbanisation or apartment has its own set of mail boxes and the mail is delivered into them, in our case by men (or woman) on yellow scooters.
It has taken a lot of time and effort on the urbanisation committee and our Spanish Administrators to get  the post through. Due to some internal “cock-up” the local town hall and the builders provided the 75% of the residents with the wrong address, a road name was incorrect. Why this stopped the other 25% from getting through was a mystery.
Having got this correct we had to wait 6 months for a “blue sign” with numbers on to be erected by the council. Then the Correos lost the master key to the mail boxes (we have one at each end of the (Urbanisation). Once we got a locksmith to change the locks and provide the local Correos office with the key, they then found the original key and started to use that. Obviously it did not work and we spent some time getting the keys sorted out.
Eventually, we had agreement that all was well, however, test postings from the UK, Spain and the USA and our Spanish Administrators all failed. On making, through our Spanish administrators, an official complaint the post came through.
Asking about back post we were told that it all had been destroyed! Evidently a common occurrence in Spain. Saves having a backlog I suppose. We were told officially that all post was destroyed that could not be delivered as this saved the customer money as they would have to charge for storage!
Now that we have been down this long and winding road of attrition we have regular post. We do check deliveries on a monthly basis by having or Administrators send us post. That way we now its getting through.
You could not make this story up!

Recession – Unsold Homes

There are 95,000 unsold homes in the Valencian Community in which we live  and half of them are in the hands of the banks, primarily Bancaja and CAM, according to President of the Valencian Federation of Construction Entrepreneurs (Fevec), Juan Eloy Dura.
He went on to say that approximately 70 percent of properties held by savings banks and credit unions come from debt compensation agreements with developers or from individuals who couldn’t repay their mortgages.
Fortunately for the banks, there has been a slight increase in property prices over the past month. Dura says that homes are now at a “more or less fair price”. However, there are far fewer proposed building projects than previous years.

The Spanish NHS

I have only used the Spanish NHS once. Stupidly I managed to jam my finger between a wall and a large and very heavy planter last summer when I was installing an automatic watering system.
I did have my E111 card with me and was swept off to the local hospital with a large bandage wrapped around my finger. Once at the hospital, it was much the same as in the UK. My poor Spanish and the administrations people’s English together with a look at the bleeding finger soon got me registered, provided with a number on a card.
As I waited around for treatment, I was amazed to find posters in English asking (the English) not to get upset if the doctors and nurses did not speak English and asking them to bring a translator if they felt that they could not be understood or understand Spanish. What do we English want?
Other posters, in Spanish and English explained the Triage system. Basically the most serious cases handled first, minor once later, with the proviso that while you were waiting another patient may arrive with a more serious condition.
I was waiting for 30 minutes before my number came up and I entered through a secure door(!) the casualty department, meet by a nurse and shown to a room. In no time at all a doctor appeared and using a computer in the room accessed my details that I had given to the administrator on arrival.
At this point they undid my bandage and examined the wound (between cleaning off the blood spurts). By my poor Spanish, their English and good guessing I was told I was to be stitched after a local anesthetic was applied. Off they went stitching away. After which I was given an anti tetanus jab and a proper bandaging job. All this was entered in the computer. Just before leaving I was told to report to a local clinic once a week to have my bandage changed.
When I appeared at the local clinic they found my details using my name and date of birth so it was all linked up, just like the UK have been trying to do for years! Every time I went back to the clinic the details were updated by the nurses and when it was discovered that I had a slight infection in the wound a doctor was summoned immediately and I was given a prescription for antibiotics (which as in the UK you paid for). Eventually all was well and all that is left is a scar on my finger.
It was all very smooth and professional and as good as you would get in most UK hospitals and better than most.

Biorhythms

A Biorhythm is a hypothetical cycle in physiological, emotional, or intellectual well-being or prowess. "Bio-" pertains to life and “rhythm” pertains to the flow with regular movement. The theory has no more predictive power than chance, and has been labeled a pseudoscience by skeptics.
Having said all that I have been using biorhythm charts ever since I discovered them in the 1970’s and found them most useful.
The theory of biorhythms claims that one's life is affected by rhythmic biological cycles, and seeks to make predictions regarding these cycles and the personal ease of carrying out tasks related to the cycles. These inherent rhythms are said to be composed of three cyclic rhythms: the physical, (23 day), emotional (28 day) and the intellectual (33 day) cycles.
The three classical cycles of biorhythms are often represented graphically in a sinusoidal waveform. Each cycle oscillates between a positive phase [0%..100%] and a negative phase [-100%..0%], during which biorhythmic activity strengthens and weakens. The waveforms start at the neutral baseline (0%) at the time of birth of each individual. Each day that the waveform again crosses this baseline is dubbed a critical day, which means that tasks in the domain of the cycle are far more erratic than on other non-critical days. The purpose of mapping the biorhythmic cycles is to enable the calculation of critical days for performing or avoiding various activities.
Years ago I used to have a whole year printed out but now thanks to the internet I can see my biorhythms on a daily basis. Here is the site I use http://www.bio-chart.com/.

Little Britain

The area that we live in I call little Britain. And that is not just the Urbanisation we live on. We have 83 properties on the urbanisation with all but 10 owned by brits.
The surrounding area is mostly of the same percentage of ownership.
All the bars and restaurants for a five mile radius are mostly owned by brits. All the supermarkets (ALDI, Eroski, Carrafour, SupuValu) are local owned, however, all the staff speak English and are proud to show off their linguistic talents.
So much so that trying to use what Spanish we have proves more difficult than you think. It is possible not to speak Spanish at all! If you do need to go to hospital, the Town Hall, The Police Station or the doctors there are more than enough translators to go with you. At a cost, usually 15 – 25 euros an hour.
At weekends we can go to any number of bars and restaurants all owned by brits. In fact the local plaza has twenty bars or restaurants brat owned, 3 Indian, 2 German, and 2 Spanish restaurants.
The Shoe, hardware, paper, confectionary and clothes shops are all owned and operated by Brits.
We did not move here because it was ‘Little Britain’ it just suited us, near the sea, in the sun, the type of villa we wanted and could afford. having said that we could have got more for our money now than we did 5 years ago but we did not have 20/20 hindsight. LOL.  

Granada Trip – Day 3

After another sound sleep and another excellent breakfast we headed off to the Cathedral. Once we had paid our entrance fee and entered we were astounded by the size not just the height but the ground space. You could easily get a football field in the inside.

This is 6 stories up!

 This picture shortens the depth, its longer in real life.

 The Church organ!

The number of entrance doors and the size of them was another astounding feature.






We had enough time to do another bus tour as the tickets we purchased lasted 48 hours. After lunch we headed back to the hotel were our bus was waiting and soon we were off back home.

All in all we enjoyed the trip and will no doubt do another. Granada, apart from the Alhambra Palaces and the Cathedral was, for me, a bit of a disappointment, but the Lady of the Villa enjoyed every minute.

Granada Trip – Day 2

Having had a good nights sleep, an excellent breakfast at the hotel we headed off on a mini bus to the Alhambra Palace, the reason we were making the trip.

 Arriving at 11:15 and joining the queue for entrance tickets we found after a twenty minute queue that we could not enter until 14:00 and that our entry into the main palace was 18:00!

We headed back to town and decided to take the tourist bus around the city to see the rest of the sites.
I was stunned at the traffic in the city it was dog eat dog or mans inhumanity to man. No quarter was given any gap was big enough and the car horns were in use good style!

The motor scooters were the worst elbowing their way to the front and roaring off like demons to try and beat the next set of lights!
After the your we ended up at 14:15 in the Alhambra Palace gardens. The actual area contains many palaces, some in ruins some being restored and one the Kings Place the jewel in the Crown. The whole place was surrounded by thick walls and keeps. It really gave an idea of how big the Palaces (or mini town) was in the 9th Centaury.

The Lady of the Villa was well enamoured with the Wisteria that abounded around the Palaces.

We actually exhausted all the Palaces and grounds by 16:30 but we still had a 1:30 hour wait to gain entry to the Kings Palace so we waited outside and chatted to the other visitors. Eventually we got in at our elected time (you could not get in before as each ticket was electronically timed).




Here are some of the pictures I took. A really fabulous place now never mind in the 9th Centaury!

This last photo is a view over the city of Granada from the highest Keep in the Palace. The city has grown a bit since the 9th Centaury. 







We returned to our hotel, showered and changed and went off to the Moorish part of the town. We had found three restaurants that had been recommended in the tour books, but it was soon whittled down to one, the others did not serve alcohol! It was called the Kasbah and the food was excellent as was the service.
Back to the hotel were we swapped tourist stories with our fellow tourist in the hotel bar.