Soooo...... our blog is back by popular demand which took me by surprise! But many thanks to those who have been kind enough to ask me to resume activities so here we are! We're still here 3 years in now and we're the middle of a very long, hot summer. It hasn't rained for two months and water supplies are running low on the island. Never thought I'd say this but I'm actually looking forward to rain but definitely not the 'dirty rain' which comes from the south and is full of sand and dust from the Sahara. It makes cars, patios, garden furniture etc absolutely filthy and naturally 'dirty rain' always happens directly after you've washed your car. The Mallorquins seem certain that we have another couple of weeks to go before the heat finally abates - here's hoping!
The heat has been pretty full-on this year which temperatures regularly in the late 30's! The humidity has been extremely high and even the simplest of tasks leaves you dripping with sweat - always attractive lol. On the basis of needing sleep we've treated ourselves to putting on the air-conditioning in our bedroom overnight which we barely used in previous years. But we've done the sums and worked out that it costs us around 1€ per night using it on economy and that'll do nicely thanks. For maximum effect we keep the door to the en- suite shut - the downside to this is that if you need, shall we say the facilities, in the night it's like walking into an oven. And on return it's like entering a fridge. Livens up most nights a treat!
For those of us lucky enough to be living in warmer climes abroad this is not the only issue relating to the summer season. Another is the horror that is supermarket shopping while families from holiday villas/apartments wander happily around Lidl discussing in wonderment the fact that ketchup seems to be a universally available product or wondering out loud what is the different between 'pavo' and 'pollo' (turkey and chicken since you ask) despite the fact that there are helpful pictures on all their meat products. They seem to do all this in slow motion and moreover in large groups. Surely it doesn't take parties of several adults complete with shrieking and over excited children to do the shopping? All the while those of us who live here are trying to navigate around them and get in and out as quickly as possible. The best bit though is when you're in a queue at a till and then hear "Abrimos caja dos" (for example) and make the lightning move to till 2 ahead of those who only thereafter hear the English "we are opening till 2" - is it wrong to really love it when that happens? Sorry......not sorry. This pales into insignificance though when faced with a long queue at Eroski with holidaying families and huge trollies laden with holiday goodies in front of you only to realise that yep, they've been despatched back to the fruit and veg area to weigh and price all the items they should have weighed and priced already - this means a wait of at least 3-4 minutes even if they do it quickly. This triggers covert eye-rolling and knowing glances between us locals I can tell you! 😶
In other news a certain B-word date looms large yet again and no-one living here has any idea about how it will really affect their lives. There has been a great deal of useful co-operation by the Spanish government who naturally have no desire for UK citizens to leave as the economic consequences for Spain would be horrendous. However there is only so much they can offer by way of reassurance and so here we sit waiting......and waiting.......and waiting.........
Watch this space for more updates of our new life in Puerto Pollensa 😎 Hasta luego!
It has been quite a while since I wrote so I broke my promise at the end of my last posting 😳 What can I say - time flies?! Sure does and here we are at the beginning of 2019 so Happy New Year! One of my New Year resolutions - see more about this below - is to write more in this blog, especially inspired by a couple of lovely (and separate) people who asked when I would do so as they enjoyed reading it. So.....here we are 😎
Speaking of resolutions - should we really call them that? They imply a pressure that I'm not sure any of us need in our busy lives, so perhaps we should call them intentions? Aims? Actually I think I prefer the latter as, to use a darts analogy, you aim at a target but if you miss you keep throwing those darts all the same. Sooooo, in addition to my aim of writing the blog more often is another aim - taking up running. My husband and I have started the Couch to 5k programme, great little app from NHS UK. You get a choice of famous voices to coach you through but did I choose US athlete and now BBC sports commentator Michael Johnson? Nope, I chose comedian Sarah Millican. My thoughts were that she sounds cosy and non-athletic thus making the whole thing somehow more realistic. Mind games it may be but let's see. You can hear the app instructions over your music. So if you see us out running we can't stop to chat as we're desperately listening for our timed instructions. In any event, we're only in our first week but wish us luck!
My final aim is to keep on working at my Spanish. This aim is work in progress and I'm pretty pleased with how it's going to be honest. Each week I meet a Spanish friend Elvira and we chat for 30-40 minutes in Spanish and then change to English to improve both of us. This is on top of my twice weekly lessons through the town hall as well as some study at home. Spanish is fairly easy on a basic level, mainly because it is an entirely phonetic language and there are in fact a great many words that are almost the same in English eg perfecto/perfect etc. BUT there are pitfalls. Do not assume that all words that sound very similar to a word in English, mean the same. For example 'embarazada' is tantalisingly close to the English word 'embarrassed'. But if you say 'estoy (I am) embarazada' to explain your blushes, you may find embarrassment taken to a whole new level having told someone 'I am pregnant'......... for the record, if you wish to say 'I am embarrassed' try saying 'estoy avergonzado/a' instead. Let's just say I found this out the hard way and leave it there shall we? Made Elvira laugh though.......
In other news, we have now experienced the behemoth that is the Agencia Tributaria (Spanish HMRC) at its most intransigent best. Suffice it to say the battle to persuade one particular department to write to us at the address we have provided them with is proving a challenge. Not sure why they prefer to write to the lawyer in Palma who did our apartment purchase work 7 years ago but hey - we really do have nothing better to do than drive there each time to collect registered post.
On a more local note, Puerto Pollensa is in winter mode but there are still bars/restaurants open and in fact some have stayed open over the winter for the first time eg. Centric. And this weekend is the Three Kings fiesta when Spanish children receive their presents in the square. All very festive and the Kings and their entourage throw sweets at you as the parade passes by. This would never be allowed in the UK in case someone got hit in the eye or something, but I've described before the delightfully laid-back approach that the Spanish have to 'elf & safety. Suffice it to say that here people are expected to use common sense. I heartily approve, although watching Spanish builders/painters putting up scaffolding does make me wince a little as they merrily throw metal poles and planks around whilst cavorting happily on the increasingly high structure with nary a hard hat in sight.
Until next month........hasta luego!
