well firstly *Heroes*... last one of Chapter 5 last night, Chapter 6 *Brave new world* to come...but when??? this series started the first Saturday i had arrived here at the beginning of January, i was at Tony's, i did miss the second episode, i thought the repeat was on a Sunday the first showing being the Saturday before, so the second one i think it was, somehow i missed, and then the other week i didn't watch Sundays episode and went to watch it on Saturday... it wasn't on and so missed it, stupidly they showed that episode the week after!! but i didn't watch it! but i think 17 out of 19 wasn't bad...

do i go on about nothing sometimes... oh well!!


what do you think about the above photo? was looking down at it from the balcony yesterday, checked it out a few times, it was huge, it didn't move and other people seemed to look at it as they walked by... from the terrace it looked like a huge giant slug! i had to go down in the end to check it out! it was an avocado! so another U. F(fallen).O. identified!

zoomed in a bit for bigger pic, still looks like a slug eh!



above view normal.... this photo is of Africa, i am always amazed for some silly reason about Africa being so close, a whole fantastic country just over there... at it nearest only 7 miles from down near Cadiz... about 14 here i think, must check my figures first, when i get on line, and if i remember! its usually on cold crisp morning you can see best over the med to the Riff and Atlas mountains, but then you can see them in the middle of summer too sometimes... so you just can see them sometimes!


and here above zoomed in pic of Africa..;

did you see on the news yesterday evening the age for retirement in Greece was at 53yrs! its now shot up to 67yrs! no wonder their economy was so bad! 53!! i feel so sorry for all those people just getting to 53 thinking yeah!! then... no now its 67... booooooo!!

we did a fly by at our home yesterday, left Pippa home alone here... i ran in checked the mail box, put a few things in and took a couple of things out... i know once we're back in we can get the place cleaned up, but its so heart breaking seeing it like this, our neighbor said the little bit of road from the tobacconists is open Friday to Sunday for use, did she mean after work time on Friday? or are the road builders only working Monday to Thursdays now! with the bad weather that was here they should be working 24hr shift work to get this road done, its been a year already on the Alhaurín to Fuengirola road and its no where near being ready, maybe by the end of the year? and maybe not!

on our way home we popped into the Pick & Pay store, a supermarket, English by name English by nature, on the main drag down from Mijas pueblo to Fuengirola, i think where the old Iceland shop was (no relation to the Overseas store that goes by the same name).

its not too badly priced in there.. and we couldn't think of anything else that would be open, still holiday here, i think a few shops still closed today, so much goes on in May... and every Month!

helicopters been busy down here on the coast speed checking the vehicles along the N340... something else we're checking out is something in the papers here recently about the medical your supposed to have when your 45 here in Spain to prove to anyone who asks (traffic police), then your fit and able to drive, its only news to us foreigners here, of course, but they can apparently if you haven't got this medical on you, take your drivers licence, whichever country it originates from, no medical, no licence to drive here! and no licence, no insurance!!!!

i read though about people trying to get the medical and document from a doctor, but lots have been told you don't need it! but from January 1st 2009, you do!!!! well if your 45 and older that is!

Franco clocked the mileage on his way back with the car the other day from the garage, it was 3 miles!!! that's how far we walked to get into town on Wednesday! no wonder i was ready to drop by the time we got to the fish market where Franco made me walk around there before getting a coffee!!! 3 miles! and we stopped and looked around a couple of shops too...!

well its 9am now and i am off on the bus to Fuengirola to meet a friend later, i think on the 12:15 bus, i haven't seen here since i left here at the beginning of January, because she left here to move back to the UK when i was still in England! she has come back for a holiday, already! I'm not sure i could come back here if i left, it would break my heart, but there is a whole lot more to Spain, you could have a life time of holidays here and never stay at the same place twice! i know if we leave here we're going to visit Africa and Portugal first, i mean they're both so close and we have never been to either country! mind you i lived in England all that time and i have never been to Scotland or Ireland!


Tuesday now! how times fly from one paragraph to another... back in the UK today more of the volcanic ash coming their way, airports in Ireland and Scotland effected!

yesterday, as mentioned only a moment ago for you, i got the bus to Fuengirola! to say it was breezy at the bus stop would be the understatement of the year! i kept stepping back by the force of it! it was the same in town too! terrific gusts of wind and dust and dirt! i was just getting off the bus when i got to say she would be late, her friends didn't know the little bit of road between the tobacconist and BP garage was closed??? where have they been i would like to know! so i was thirsty and hungry by then and went down the paseo maritimo to have something at my friends bar there, there was no one at the bar at all! right opposite the beach, popular place, popular area, so quiet! i sat right at the front, drew a few people in after i sat down, had a coffee and tarta de manzana con helado! and very nice apple pie and ice cream it was too! got a text, mate here! and off i went to meet her! and back to Bar Luiz after we met up, why not! she was hungry and we would need to sit, so back to his place! and it was empty again? very very few tourists this week here, here at the apartments we think only 2 or 3 have people in, plus us and permanent neighbours next door! see what its like up at El Zoco shortly.

anyway, we had a good chat yesterday and caught up with so much... then she was being picked up at 4pm so back up to bus station and i walked her up to where she thought they would be meeting her and i got my ticket and onto the bus 5 minutes later. hope they found her.... was so good to see her after all this time, goodness knows though when we shall see each other again....

this morning walking back along the beach a wonderful view again of Africa, the Atlas mountains in particular and Gibraltor, but you cant see them from here now, now as in after they built next doors complex!

Brrrr bit nippy here in El Zoco today in the shade, breeze about and cant move into the sun or i wont be able to see the screen!

i was all calm and fine, went into bank... the cashier just carried on doing what he was doing, fiddling with stuff, counting money, writing notes... then oh shall i serve you! he had said hello when i walked up to counter... you'd be fired in England for ignoring customers!!!!

ok... emails to read, FB to check on while i am on line and can actually answer people! then back into the heat and the sunshine, and get my white fingers back to pink and not this shade of blue they are turning into!!!

TTFN
Marian