We tell everyone that when it rains it often torrences and is a deluge but if you haven’t witnessed it is impossible to believe exactly what it is like. Our friend’s Pam and Bob have been coming over twice a year since we moved here 8 years ago and before that we holidayed here with them for 8 years and they are gobsmacked at how bad and heavy the rain is as they have never witnessed it before.

Pam and Bob arrived on Sunday in pouring rain and it has not stopped raining in the last 3 days they have been here. Everywhere we go, in every restaurant, in every shop the weather is the main topic of conversation as after 5 weeks everyone is really getting fed up with the inclement and unseasonal weather. It is so unbelievable that it is the June 10th and we have not yet been able to use the pool even.

The forecast is that today will see the end of it but we shall see as we have heard that before!

We are due to go to Seville next week for a few days and the forecast there is showing temperatures of 35 degrees so perhaps we will try to bring some good weather back with us.

During the night of Wednesday 7th May we had the most fantastic storm and at 5am we were sitting on the terrace sipping a cup of tea while being entertained by a most spectacular lightening storm over the sea and the mountains. These storms are like watching a free laser display and are really something worth seeing.

Then at 6am the rain hit us with a vengeance, the thunder crashed above us and of course the power cuts came too. The temperatures plummeted from mid 20’s to 13 degrees and the pool water temperature suffered too just as I was about to start enjoying a daily swim! Here we are, nearly into June, and not yet been able to start using the pool.

For the next 48 hours the torrencing rain was relentless and during the 19 days since we have had downpour after downpour with only the odd day in between that has been totally dry all day. While the UK was enjoying beautiful weather we had to revert back to warmer clothing, raincoats and umbrellas and the forecast does not look as though we can expect much improvement over the next week either.

We do feel so sorry for those poor early holidaymakers dodging the showers having left behind such lovely weather. They must wonder why they came here!

Has the world gone mad? We had better weather in January and February than we have now!

Europe generally is experiencing this unseasonal weather while the weather is causing havoc all over the world. Is this what they call global warming or is it just climatic change and is this what we can expect the trend to be in the future?

So what did we do while there?

On the social front we spent quality time with both David & Alison and their families which was good and managed to visit and lunch with a few friends too and we went with Sally and grandaughter Robyn to London to see the West End Musical Billy Elliot which was excellent. This was a 40th birthday treat for the daughter!

Readers will know that Peter’s Mum passed away on 22nd March at the grand age of 90 so we, along with most of the family attended her funeral on the 9th April. Peter’s nephew Jim, Mum’s grandson, who is an ordained Anglican Priest and Minister of a Church in Southend, offiated at the service and Peter gave a very poignant reading. This made the proceedings very personal and family orientated and if you can say that a funeral is lovely this one certainly was. The following week in accordance with Mum’s wishes Peter’s brother Richard, his wife Joan, Peter and myself scattered Mum’s ashes in the garden of the Methodist Church in Sawtry where Dad’s ashes were buried 28 years ago. The Minister of the Church was in attendance and she conducted a very nice short service for us as we did the deed. Mum will be happy to be back with her beloved Bert after being separated for so many years.

As usual Peter had a list of jobs to be done while at the house in Warboys and in between the showers he did manage to get them all done leaving freshly painted shed and fences and a pristine weed free neat and tidy garden. We had the roof repaired which had suffered some damage in the high winds - no he did not do it himself and he has had enough of those long ladder jobs! He got the car serviced and had other problems rectified so we hope that will make it reliable car whenever we need to use it. Not content with doing his own jobs he and Sally layed a laminate floor in her kitchen!

I had some retail craft therapy - well I couldn’t not go to craft shops while in the UK could I! I also bought and brought back with us lots of goodies for the kitchen cupboards that they charge an arm and a leg for in Spain AND I bought 14  solar lamps from Wilkinsons at £4 each for the garden (much cheaper than we could buy them over here even if we could get exactly what we wanted!) and they all arrived in Spain intact. Another job for Peter to do!

I had all my usual health checks. Now completely discharged from Addenbrookes 5 years after my breast cancer surgery as all was clear on the mammo. Back now to the National Screening 3 yearly checks. All the diabetic related checks were good but my GP decided it was time to put me on Metformin as I have had a few other minor problems which have miraculously cleared up after only 3 weeks of taking the drug, so that’s good. She indicated that a side effect of this medication is that I might lose weight - one can only hope! No I’m not sharing the tablets with anyone! Peter, now that he is of a certain age had his Pneumonial injection, had his eyes tested and got new specs.

Now we are back in Spain to long sunny days, although there is a bit of a chilly breeze. I went to craft yesterday and Peter went to the driving range to hit a few balls but now we have to play catch-up again. The garden after being untended for a month needs a lot of Peter’s TLC again, he has to fit those lamps I bought, cut the grass, do some more cutting back, weed and turn the beds over, and my bedding plant seedlings that were tiny when we went away are now full grown plants and need to go into the ground pretty soon before they outgrow the pots - all 500 of them! I have just finished unpacking and now have cleaning, cleaning, cleaning to tackle. All the terraces need hosing down, plants need deadheading, the windows are shouting to be cleaned and although I left the house clean I need to clean it again to get rid of the dust, cobwebs and dead insects that have accumulated. No rest for the wicked!

A fall in the night just a couple of days after we returned to Spain after that visit resulted in her being hospitalised for a few weeks during which time it was decided that it was not wise for her to continue living on her own. Peter’s brother Richard managed to get her a place in a care home in the village of Long Stratton where he lives and when she was discharged from hospital she was able to move directly there.

When we saw her at Christmas she looked greatly improved but sadly by this time she had developed a few medical problems, her short term memory was shot to pieces and very rapidly she did not seem aware of very much around her and did not know who anyone was but she seemed contented in her own little world.

We travelled back to the UK in February as on the 20th Mum reached the grand age of 90. About 50 family members gathered at Richard and Joan’s home to celebrate this with her. Although she was a bit confused and did not show recognition of anyone we think that she was aware that we were all there for her and the reason for the gathering.

In the short time since then she has frequently indicated that she had done what she wanted and had had her party for her 90th birthday and that she was now ready to go. Sadly, she achieved that aim too when last Saturday she passed away early in the morning.

We are pleased that at the time of her death she was not alone, was not frightened, had not suffered a long painful illness and that she died quietly and with dignity.

Actual cause of death is not yet known as her death was decreed to be sudden and an autopsy has to be performed but we anticipate that it was quite simply her heart finally giving up.

Peter and I are extremely grateful to Richard and Joan for the care they have taken of Mum since they moved her up to Norfolk to live nearer to them. Without a doubt it did give her a few more years. We also thank them for arranging the party at their home for her 90th and for all they are having to do now following her death. It is a comfort to us living so many thousands of miles away to know that everything is in such capable hands.

In summary, Mum lived a good long life and is now at peace and back with Peter’s Dad, Bert, who died in 1980 and who loved dearly and has missed dreadfully.

So what have I been doing and why haven’t I been writing since 11th January? Before I begin I send my apologies to son David who will probably slap my legs for rambing on for too long and tell me again that I should write more and shorter entries - but here goes!

My Crafting - I am really hooked now on crafting. I have sorted out our home office and moved all the files out to a spare shelf in a wardrobe so we no longer have a home office but I have a very organised crafting room instead.

I have accumulated a lot of crafting stock, in particular card which has now all been sorted into clear plastic folders and colour coded. I have a fair few stamps, inks, paints, pens, pencils, gems, peeloffs, glues, cutters, embellishments, toppers, ribbons and all manner of other things all now sorted and stored in labelled shoe boxes. I need to buy some more shoes though as I could do with a few more boxes! LOL!

We have been learning lots of different techniques to make cards at craft class and as my sorting out made me realise just how much stock I had accumulated I am making an effort to stay away from craft shops for a while until I have used up some of my stock and I have been using all the new techniques we have learnt to make my cards.

I have also started dabbling in acrylic and water colour painting and have made a few cards from small pictures I have painted. I must move on and progess a bit here though as there are only so many trees and views from our villa that you can paint and that is all I have mastered so far. I am now thinking of joining an art class as I really enjoy doing this.

I have not done any glass painting for a while but I think we are going back to doing that at craft soon and I do have a couple of things that I would like to decorate. I also have some pots and urns that I intend to paint and decorate but I just don’t seem to have found the time to do those either but I will get round to it.

Propogating - I set some bedding plant seeds in February and have ended up with hundreds of seedlings. I have managed to prick out and pot on about 400 so far and still have loads to do but am now thinking I might give some away to friends and let them pot them on. If the seedlings survive and grow Peter will then have another big job on his hands planting them out. We should have some lovely splashes of colour though providing the wild rabbits don’t eat the plants first!

What Peter has been up to - He has finally, finally, totally finished his mountain garden. Hooray! The ‘cherry on the cake’ was the installation of a rope handrail alongside all the steps leading to the bottom of the garden and continuing along the bottom edge of plot. This entailed drilling holes in the bedrock for 16 posts to loop the rope between and I tell you it was no mean feat! He hired a Kango which was worse than useless so ended up with the good old fashioned method of hammer, chisel and hard graft.

The finished product looks great and looks like a professional landscaped terraced garden. Well done Peter - it was well worth your 6 plus years of effort and hard work.

Peter has also spent 3 weeks rigorously cutting back and pruning shrubs and trees. Everything grows so quickly here and it is important to keep things under control or you will soon be living in a wilderness and after visits to the garden centre he has also been busy planting shrubs. Some are additional shrubs that I have always coverted and some are replacements as we do find that perfectly healthy plants will suddenly just up and die on you for no apparent reason.

Peter still goes to, and enjoys, the driving range with the men once a week and sometimes goes there on his own for an hour or so. He is now seriously thinking of taking lessons and is going to bring my set of clubs back from the UK on our next visit so that he and Bob can try a round on the course. Next step will be to buy his own set!

Mountain Drives - Every year in February we go on a drive up into the mountain which we call ‘The Almond Run’  so called because you drive through and look down on the sea of almond blossom which is really spectacular and we did it again this year and one again it was fabulous.

Then last week we went with friends Bob and Lin on another drive further north. This drive is called ‘The Cherry Run’ which as the name indicates is to see the cherry trees in bloom. Sadly we were a little early as the blossom had not yet reached it’s full potential but I must say that the views were stupendous. We drove up and down mountains along good and rough roads and tracks and stumbled across a massive lake (reservoir) settled in a valley surrounded by mountains which was stunning. We were able to park up and walk down to the water’s edge where we sat and enjoyed a picnic lunch in lovely sunshine. Will definately be doing that trip again!

Socialising - We have been very busy dining out with friends and going to events since we came back to Spain in January. We have tried a few new restaurants and the results have been a success. It is rare to have bad eating experiences here.

I won a raffle prize for a lunch for two at a Spanish restaurant we had not been to before out through the Jalon Valley in Parcent and we were so impressed that we have been back there a couple of times since. Good food and cheap too - 15Euros for a 3-course meal inlcuding bread and wine.

I went with some girlfriends to a fashion show at a hotel in Calpe and struck lucky again. This time winning 2 raffle prizes. 50Euros to spend at the show and a Rejuvinating Facial worth 48Euros. I redeemed the first prize on the day and got a nice jacket and some tops and last week I had the facial which was out of this world. Think I might be having them on a regular basis now!

We joined our friends Bob and Lin and a group of their family and friends, many having made the trip over from the UK specially, to help them celebrate their Ruby Wedding. This was a wonderful happy time with a great group of people and the celebrations went on for over a week. Congratulations Bob and Lin.

Our closest friends Pam and Bob came for a 10-day visit at the end of February and we had a lovely time with them. While they were here, among other things, they treated us to a visit to Benidorm Palace for dinner and their show spectacular. It was a great evening and we really enjoyed the new show. Peter and I went there again last week, this time to see ‘The Rat Pack’, another great show over from London. The guys playing Frank, Dean and Sammy gave excellent performances.

The Weather - Since we came back in January we have had wonderful weather most of the time, with lots of bright and sunny days and temperatures in the 20’s and just the odd day giving us some rain and/or high winds. Apparently they did have a week of dreadful weather in February here but as we often manage to do we missed it as we had nipped over to the UK for a few days.

I think I had better stop at this point as some will say I have rambled enough. On a closing note we are going back to the UK on 3rd April until the 29th when we will be spending time with family and friends and undergoing routine health checks. We will try to take some nice weather with us!

Arriving back at our home in Warboys, the priority job was to get the Christmas trees and decorations out to festoon the house to get us into the Christmas mood. Then it was to have the car MOT’d (it passed thank goodness!), hit the shops to get some food and those last minute pressies, and get them wrapped ready for Santa to collect and deliver! All achieved in record time!

Saturday 22nd December we started our tour of the UK on a string of visits to family and friends.

First stop was Long Stratton in Norfolk and an overnight stay at Peter’s brother Richard’s to enable us to pay a couple of visits to Peter’s 89-year-old mother who is now sadly but necessarily in a care home in the same village. It was good to find Mum medically much better than when we saw her last in September but such a shame that her short term memory is now shot to pieces and to witness the fact that she did not know who we were. Thanks to Richard and Joan for their hospitality and we really enjoyed our evening with you.

Sunday morning after another visit to Mum we set off in thick fog for Colchester in Essex where we were to stay with our son David and family for a couple of days. Thankfully the fog cleared once we hit the A12 and the sun came out. We had a lovelyafternoon and evening with them when we were joined by my niece and her family too.

Monday, Christmas Eve, was very relaxing and by now we were really starting to appreciate being in the bosom of our family for Christmas. The magic of our young grandson’s excitement putting out the mince pie for Santa and the carrot for Rudolph and wondering if he had been too naughty for Santa to leave presents - well that is Christmas isn’t it!

Christmas Day arrived along with the pouring rain but we didn’t mind as Santa had been and left presents for us all and there were lots for young James so perhaps he had not been as naughty as Mummy and Daddy thought he had. The plan was to leave present opening until after lunch but the excitement was too much for the kids, especially David, so after breakfast parcels were handed out, paper ripped off to lots of oohs and aahs and delight expressed at what they contained.

My favourite presents opened that day was a personalised calendar with pictures of David and family, our Spanish villa, family holidays, etc and a DVD of James and Tiff performing their version of the Nativity Play with Alison doing a sterling job of  the narration off screen!

David and Alison’s had a special treat in store for us when they took us out for Christmas Day Lunch to the Yew Tree Pub/Restaurant and what an excellent lunch it was too, the best CDL we have ever had out. We were all on our best behaviour, especially James, as Santa had decided to join us and was keeping a weather eye out for naughty people in case he had to nip out and take their presents back!

Home again for an afternoon snooze, a must after that big lunch and then a lovely lazy relaxing evening with our family. I must confess here that the Angier family did not perform terribly well in the Daily Mail Christmas Quiz though!

Although very sad to have to depart on Boxing Day morning as we always feel so at home with D&A we were looking forward to moving on to spend time with daughter Sally and her family. Thank you so much David and Alison for making us so welcome and for the big part you played in making our Christmas special!

So at 10am, thankfully in dry, sunny weather, we were back on our travels. We were off to  Bedfordshire to Sally’s boyfriend Scott’s home in Dunstable. Having endured an hour sat unmoving on the M25 followed by another half hour hold up on the M1 we eventually arrived just in time for a quick drink before Sally dished up another delicious Christmas Lunch that she had cooked for 9 of us. By now I could feel the inches hitting the hips!

More present opening and my favourite present this day was a beautiful, informal studio photo of Sally, Matt and Rob, all wearing jeans, t-shirts, sporting bare feet and standing in a very relaxed manner. It is wonderful and my eyes keep straying to it even now.

After lunch, we played the board game ‘Deal or No Deal’. Right up our street as we are avid fans of the TV program. Scott’s Mum Ronnie was amazed at how I really got into the spirit of the game, using all the sayings and catchphrases as only a regular fan of the show could do! I won the game overall by being the braveheart and not dealing too soon. Although I did come a cropper on some of the individual rounds I stuck in there on my own on the last round and did not deal until I got an offer of £120K but if I had had a just bit more courage as Noel would say, I did have the £250K on the table!

6.30pm and we were back on our travels. This time with Sally Matt and Rob in tow we were on our way to Sally’s home in Stevenage, Hertfordshire where we would spend the next couple of nights. Scott was to spend the next day with his family. On arrival we were all weary and happy to spend an evening catching up on some TV programs and just chatting.

Thursday 27th again dawned bright and sunny. Sally and Peter popped out to buy more food and then we prepared a sumptuous buffet for later that day when David and Family and Sue and Family would be joining us for another family get together and we had a great time together. It was particularly lovely to see our eldest grandson Tom but sadly David’s 2 other boys were unable to make it. It was also lovely to meet Matt’s young girlfriend, Emene (probably spelt it wrong again!), but she’s such a sweet girl I’m sure she won’t mind. Thank you Sally and Scott for the part you played in making our Christmas special too. Thank you Sally for the lovely meal you cooked and for hosting such a nice family gathering. And thank you Sue and family for joining us and sharing our festivities.

Friday 28th December and off we go again. This time we were actually wending our way back to Cambridgshire to our home in Warboys but with a couple of diversions on route.

First we stopped at the hamlet of Radwell where we lived before we moved to Spain and partook of coffee with our friends Denis and Muriel. Both now in their 80’s they haven’t changed a bit and were as welcoming as ever. A lovely couple, never complaining, facing their health problems full on and not being beaten by anything.

We then travelled backwards a bit to visit our friend June and her 2 mad Springer Spaniels in Letchworth where we had lunch and spent a pleasant afternoon looking at photo’s of her holiday in South Africa where she went to visit her daughter Heather who is living out there for a while, taking in a Safari etc, while there.

Then  late afternoon we were finally homeward bound only to find ourselves in yet another traffic hold up on tha A1M!

4 days followed, where we slept in our own bed, in our own home, caught up with the washing etc and generally crashed out. Well until New year’s Eve that is!

December 31st, last day of the year we met up with close friends Pam and Bob and 12 other members of their family at an Indian restaurant in Sawtry. This restaurant was self service and you could fill your plates as often as you wished and believe me the men and growing lads did just that numerous times! The food was great, the company was great and the bill was even better at just £100 for 16 of us! This included the soft drinks but being unlicenced we took the wine and beer with us but it was still excellent value for money.

Back home for a siesta before rejoining Pam and Bob’s extensive family at Bob’s niece’s to celebrate seeing the old year out and the new one in. It was lovely seeing everyone again and it’s wonderful the way they welcome us and include us as part of their family whenever we are in situ in the UK. A great night was had by all and I think we finally made our way to our beds, some a bit worse for wear than others (no names mentioned!), at about 3am. Kindly, Pam’s daughter and husband, Lorraine and Geoff gave us a bed for the night as they live next door to where the party was hosted so we had no problems about driving home even though we live only 5 minutes away. Thank you to Pam and Bob and your family for making us feel we ‘belonged’, thanks also to Lyn and Graham for your hospitality and to Lorraine and Geoff for the bed for the night! See you next year!

Wednesday 2nd January. Another year and another journey! This time we were off to Farnham Common in Buckinghamshire to visit Peter’s Aunt Betty and Uncle Chas. Another 2 wonderful people in their 80’s who take each day as it comes positively and without complaint and we love them to bits.

We actually had a bad weather and traffic problem free journey for the first time and made Farnham Common in record time just in time for lunch followed by an afternoon catching up on all the gossip. In the evening Bett and Chas took us out for a meal at a local pub where were joined by their son Clive and his lovely wife Catherine. Unfortunately Clive had left his sick bed to join us so after the meal they went home but we enjoyed the rest of the night playing our favourite card game UNO which I am happy to report that I won! Highlight of the visit was a ride on their Stenna Chairlift when I went up to bed. Well, I had to try it didn’t I! Thanks once again for your kind hospitality Aunt Bett and Uncle Chas.

Next day after lunch we wended our way back home again, delighting again in a travel free journey, especially as the predicted snow did not happen, and bliss, as that was the end of our travelling around the UK. We were now ‘at home’ until Monday 7th January and our return to Spain.

The gatherings were not over though as on Saturday 5th January. David, Sally, Scott and their families all joined us for another lovely day at our house. I cooked lunch for 12 of us and we just had a great family time together. Thank you all for coming as it wound our family Christmas up nicely.

Sunday 6th January saw us taking down the Christmas decor, cleaning the house and packing for our trip back to Spain. When all that was done our good friends Pam and Bob took us out for a very nice late lunch. Thank you once again Pam and Bob for lunch and for everything you do for us.

So, 6 different counties, 9 different venues and 6 different beds later we flew back to Spain, having been taken to the airport by friend Bob once again. We were met at Alicante airport and chauffeured home by our kind neighbour Tom and were back at our other home by just after 10pm.

Surfice to say, we had a great time!

There is a ‘BUT’ though! The weather was manageable but all those travel problems we experienced in the UK - YUK! That is something we never experience here in Spain!

We left home at 6am and drove into Denia to catch the ferry that would depart at 8am to take us and our car across that short stretch of water to the island. Short stretch of water, what a laugh! First of all, the ferry was an hour late departing due to a very slow offloading of transport on it’s incoming journey as no less than 3 lorries needed assistance to get motivated!

The trip across the water took 5 hours as the travel agent had booked us on a slow ferry that transported commercial vehicles and believe me it was very slow. We thought we were never going to get there but nevertheless the trip was very pleasant with smooth clear waters and lovely sunshine and if the ferry boat had been a bit more solubrious we could well have been on another cruise.

We arrived in Eivissa Port and disembarked at about 1.45pm. Now the fun would start we thought as we had an hotel to find and no real directions but surprise, surprise, 10 minutes later we drove into the Hotel Argos car park in Playa Talamanca, checked in and was given a choice of rooms. And, no, the Hotel Argos did not have a shopping counter and home delivery service!

The hotel was lovely and perfectly situated in a pretty little bay right on the beach and our room overlooked the bay with 2 small beach bars and a small marina. The view of the bay with its sandy beach and rippling water surrounded by mountains was beautiful and at sunrise and sunset the bay and the water turned to lovely pinks and reds.

 Hotel Argos - Our room was 2 down from top and 2 from left

 The lovely bay where our hotel snuggly sat

 The bay viewed from our balcony at sunrise on December 6th as the sea and buildings turn pink.

Having deposited our bags and surveyed our room and the lovely view we decided to take a 2 minute walk and check out one of the beach bars to see what they could offer us for a late lunch. We chose a table right on the water’s edge (Shirley Valentine eat your heart out!) and relaxed to enjoy a very pleasant meal in the lovely sunshine.

On each of our 3 days, after a hearty breakfast, we ventured out to explore the island and I reckon we just about saw the entire island. On the first day we travelled up the right side of the island to Santa Eularia des Riu, Sant Carles de Peralta and Sant Joan de Labritja calling at lots of tiny deserted bays and coves on route before driving down the centre of the island back to Eivissa. This was by far our favourite part of the island as it was very green with only the odd villa dotted in and among the forestry. Although technically it was still Spain we found it very different to the mainland and the style of building was very different too in as much as they had flat instead of pitched roofs.

On the second day we explored the left side of the island visiting Sant Antoni de Portmany and Sant Josep de Sa Talaia and more lovely ports, bays and idyllic coves on route. Although the towns and coves were lovely we did not like this side of the island quite as much as it was more built up with industry as well as houses.

On our final full day we drove up the centre of the island to Portinatx, stopping on the way to go to a Hippy Market. The market was like an Aladdin’s Cave and the vendors were fascinating as they really were hippies, mainly old hippies at that. We reckon some of them must have gone to Ibiza on holiday back in the sixties and just stayed there living in their communes or whatever! Driving a little further on we arrived at Cala Portinax where they have some caves. Unfortunately we missed a tour of the caves by 5 minutes and weren’t prepared to wait 2 hours for the next one so we gave them a miss. But what we did see was a small island off the headland that had one solitary house on it set in beautiful gardens. The island and house belonged to Russians apparently and a booklet shown us by the owner of the bar we were in depicted luxury you cannot imagine in your wildest dreams. We were told that you can rent the island and house out complete with staff for a mere 12000 Euros a day! Dream on, unless we win the lottery!

One downside of our visit was that being December, apart from in the towns, everywhere was closed up for the winter which meant that we often had trouble even getting a drink while on our travels so we tended to drive back to our little bay for a late lunch before going into the hotel for a well earned siesta!

On that last day though, we did find a very nice bar restaurant in St Miquel de Balansat that was open for business and had a very good lunch there before travelling back down to Eivissa and then our hotel. The centre of the island was lovely and surprisingly quite hilly and came 2nd on the ricta scale of our personal favourites.

The hotel was very comfortable and surprisingly busy for the time of year. It was heaving with Spanish visitors with us being the only English people there.  As people watchers were were kept well entertained especially when 3 football teams and their supporters arrived for an overnight stay on the Friday and a big wedding party taking place on the Saturday. The food was very good, although it was all buffet meals but there was plenty of it and plenty of variety too.

All too soon our trip was over. Everything had been fantastic including the weather, which the long range forecasters had predicted would be wet, and what do they know as it was absolutely beautiful for the duration of our visit. However, we did wake with trepidation on the last morning as a very strong westerly wind had got up during the night and we had that long ferry ride to come later that day! Was it going to be a rough crossing?

2pm on Sunday 9th December we were back on the ferry and leaving the port of Eivissa. Yes it was very windy and there was a slight roll from forward to stern but it was not uncomfortable and surprisingly it was not cold out on deck either so we had a good trip back but guess what, our car was parked behind a broken down lorry so it took us nearly an hour to get it off the ferry. But soon we were wending our way back over the Montgo and back home, weary but happy to have had such a good time.

Would we do anything different if we went again? I think only that we would take the Balearic fast ferry for a 2 1/2 hour sail rather than travel by Iscomar which is really more geared up for commercial vehicles but everything else was perfect!

Val did do a bit to contribute by paying another visit to the local garden centre to select the plants and suggest the positioning of them for Peter to tenderly plant them up!

So what is he going to do with himself now?

Well, the garden may be finished but the project still goes on. The original plan was to build a wall at the bottom of the plot where the garden disappears into a deep ravine. However, Peter’s last efforts revealed a wide, almost flat, solid rock shelf extending from his last walled flower bed to the end of the plot which he thinks just cries out for a bench where he can sit and contemplate and admire the view from yet another angle and plan another project!

So, he has now decided that a wall would spoil the natural ruggedness of his view and thereby evolves another project!

The plan now is to have wooden posts with rope strung between and already the posts are in place so the new project is well under way. He then plans to continue the theme by putting a rope hand rail alongside all the rugged steps from the top to the bottom of the garden in the hopes that it will give Val confidence to venture down there a bit more than I have to date.

The roped hand rail will not be as simple to install though, as instead of just having to drill holes into the bedrock and bolt plates in place to hold the posts as he has done along the bottom, he must put long spikes well into the ground to hold the posts firmly in place. This will necessitate hiring heavy drilling equipment to assist him getting deep into the rocky terrain.

He can’t wait to get cracking with this when and if we ever get the remaining posts and spikes from the supplier and when and if the latest wet weather improves.

On a final note Peter should be very proud that the torrential rains of the last few weeks that have caused so much damage around about us did not shift one stone that he had lovingly placed in all the walls he has built!

I have heard some terrible tales of how people were affected. Homes have been flooded and some have just crumbled away into the water and mud. Mud, gravel, oil and muck have swept down the roads into houses and pools and terraced gardens have slid into swimming pools taking retaining walls with them. Bridges and roads have disappeared cutting off people from their homes or trapping them in them and underground car parks have filled with water submerging all the vehicles that were parked in them. In Calpe alone over 1000 cars have been written off and one tale I heard was that an insurance company had refused to pay out as it was considered to be ‘an act of God’! Boats have been torn from their moorings and taken out to sea to then be washed back up onto the beaches and some beaches have just disappeared into the sea. River beds that have been dry for decades are now fast running overflowing rivers and it is reported that one in Javea had tidal waves that totally flooded an animal compound causing untold damage to a very worthwhile charity. Where the rushing cruel water did not cause damage the bulldozers have moved in to dig up the roads in an attempt to channel the water out of the towns and into the sea.

How wrong I was thinking it was all over bar the clean up operation though, as since then we have had deluge after deluge of rain pounding down on us for hours at a time, which must be hampering the attempts to get things back to rights. This makes a falacy of the saying that ‘the rain in Spain rains mainly on the plains’ - not this time that’s for sure! Today it has rained again all day but it has now stopped and we have a watery blue sky mottled with grey clouds interspersed with pink from the setting sun which decided to grace us with it’s presence for the last hour of the day.

Surely the downpours must end soon or divert to California to put out the terrible fires they have there!

However, this year has seen much more rain than is usual throughout the summer months and we have just gone through the worst Gota Fria recorded in 25 years in this location of Spain. This is unusual as they say that rain in August and September usually cools things down slowly and prevents the big drop of rain in the Autumn, so perhaps this was more of a freak storm.

There has been devastation that we have never seen the like of in the years that we have lived here.  We have had a Gota Fria where it has rained for 4 days and not caused problems but there was not the intensity of this downpour then.

Last Thursday and Friday it rained almost non stop and was so heavy that you could not see through it. Judging by the water in a bucket we left outside we would estimate that we had at least 15 inches of rain during the 2 days. In addition to this we had a thunder and lightening storm which lasted at least 32 hours. Again this is something that we have never experienced before. We had so many power cuts that we lost count, our phones and internet were down and even the TV satellite ceased functioning on Friday night. We are happy to say that all these services are functioning OK now.

The towns around us of Calpe, Javea and Denia were all hit very bad and untold damage and devastation has occurred. We, fortunately, did not suffer any effects for which we thank the fact that we live high up on a mountain but sadly friends of our have incurred damage to their properties with flooding, floating debris and demolishes walls. We have been out and about today and have seen the aftermath of the destruction and it is heartbreaking. Spanish people we have spoken to say they have never experienced anything like it.

In the 7 years we have lived here we have experienced in our region the worst winter for Spain on record, the wettest weather, the hottest weather, snow that has never been seen before and now this. The weather pattern is going awry all over the world.

Our hearts go out to all those people who have suffered through loss of homes, personal belongings and more importantly lives as a result of this terrible storm.