A few photographs from Sunday morning... Had a run out to my home ground... My old haunts, my growing up... 

Above and two below are Ashlyns school where I had my final three years of schooling.

Beautiful school, didn't really think of it as such at the time, at all, ever! 

Went to Northchurch first though, parked up in front of the small parade of shops... The final cherry tree has now disappeared.. sadly.

They had been planted in 1959, someone told mom and I that, when we asked where have the other trees gone and why! Can't remember why they went now..

There is a Simmons Bakery there now too! Purchased a lovely cup of coffee and ate a gorgeous pastry filled with pistachio cream! Very very yum!!

From there parked on New Road and walked up to the Grand Union Canal... 

The hedges and trees around the canal, around St. Mary's primary school where I went, have grown so much! It's crazy!! Literally cannot see what you used to be able to see!

I wanted to see our old house up above the canal, the only way is by the cemetery.. 

I looked for my grans grave, but it's completely consumed by plants, trees, just a bunch of overgrowth! 

I want to find out the exact location and clear it up... I'm sure there's not even a headstone! 

I remember it from walking up to the house, but from this side, and the overgrowth, it was impossible...

I found the tap, the watering cans, the same as they ever were, when her, my gran, and I, used to water the plants on family graves... Of which I now have no idea who or where they are ..

The old wooden cross above, it caught my eye primarily because of what's resting there... Can you see it in the second photograph? It is a massive moth!

More photographs in the morning from Sunday, just need to get y'all up to date now..

Okay! My flight today, Heathrow to JFK, arrived here about 7:00, approx, checked in very easily.. walked up and through security, straight through real easy... Then purchased a book and water .. bit early so thought a good idea ..

Then! Wham! Flight delayed, about two hours, then eight hours, then seemed to change to four hours. I double checked that and realized the 16:00 departure was for tomorrow! 

Got up and checked the screen, flight cancelled! Period! 

So!! After kinda standing there completely lost as to what to do next, I needed someone to ask! Went to the Delta desk, which was heading out to the gates, bit of a wait there, but left with a plan! 

I headed back into the departures area and had a nice unexpected brunch of salmon and scrambled egg on sourdough bread with a very nice café latte, mostly free, the coupon had to be used today, I did have to add on a little..

Next, free bus travel to an airport hotel, that wasn't without issues, I was told I had free hotel accommodation in the Ibis, but not which Ibis, there are three here in Heathrow, so I found the bus stop, and the driver was so helpful.. she said her bus only went to two, so it could only be a choice of two, she left the airport, only me on board, dropped me outside the first Ibis, I ran in, found I wasn't booked in there and ran back out and back onto her bus, and only then did she scan my free ticket.. dropped me at the next and correct, hotel.

I've had a free lunch already, chicken curry, and a salad, and chocolate brownie... Phew, three meals already today! 

I have changed my flight, feel a bit nervous having done it now, but it said I could, and I have, but can't check in as I should be able to, so will get to the airport earlier even, to get that done, but at least I'll be flying now at 13:00 not 16:00, so I can arrive earlier and not feel I have lost two whole days before I can even start my visit!

Love hanging out at the airport, not done a enough of that all those years travelling for work!! 

M.

I am pieces of all the places I have been, and the people I have loved. I've been stitched together by song lyrics, book quotes, adventure, late night conversations, moonlight, and the smell of coffee.

Brooke Hampton

Back to me being a bad Blogger it seems! Lo siento..

Above some of my favorite flowers, hydrangeas at Casa de Flores .. and this color is absolutely gorgeous...

A couple of beautiful views taken from K.'s, sunsets in paradise...

And back to Blighty!! On Wednesday evening my first day back the food delivery guy gave my son two massive bags of peas!! 

For free I mean ! He said there was so much excess stock everyone was getting them!

Not sons favorite veggie side, so Thursday I sat out the back in the beautiful sunshine, just as I left it .. it only rained while I was away! Hang on, it did rain a bit yesterday and the day before, not much though.  

So sat in one of my old camping chairs, cup of fresh mint tea, I podded the peas .. 

It was so lovely, music playing in my earbuds, popping the peas out into the bowl.. brought back memories from sitting out the back at New Road in Northchurch with my gran when I was little, podding the peas she had grown...

Me and her... 

And the completed peas.. there were more than it looks... I went into the kitchen and cooked off some red onion some garlic, diced up a few new potatoes, keeping on the skins, cooked off a little more with some stock, then added the peas for five minutes and some fresh mint! 

Was okay, I mean not the best soup, but I ate it over the next few days so nothing wasted...

Now.. what else, Saturday! Went to a beer and food festival, there were a couple of sudden drops of rain but not enough to stop people eating where they sat on the grass, or to stop the musicians from playing and people to abandon the hay bales..

Two great bands, solo singers... but neither of them said 'hello' or introduced themselves.. it's nice when musicians interact with the audience, you feel included... 

Anyways, I bought a few items, an amazing snake made with a 3D printer, and an octopus!! I'll take photographs tomorrow... Couple of LEGO characters.. Mmmm oh and a very large amount of Turkish Delight!! Two pieces of every flavor, after he cut off tiny pieces for me to try! 

I was aiming for an advertised price for a specific weight.. but that went.. somewhere! Where all good intensions go! As the seller was just piling it in a box then weighed it, I tried to not looked shocked and just tapped my phone and ran!

Cannot show you, today is Friday and there is none left! At all!! Can't lie! 

Today, went for a ride out on a bike, Matlock Bath, lovely sunny day, had a jacket spud with chilli con carne.. nice bit of spice actually...

And sat there, outside the pub, the benches all up on a raised area above street level, with all bar one bench taken, every one of the customers were bikers; the path, a slow moving walkway of people admiring the parked up bikes next to the kerb.. my casco, (helmet), on the wall, my jacket on the back in my seat.. my 'helmet head' hair pulled back, my fine array of tattoos! And I giggled to myself when a passing woman said to her partner when he suggested 'sit up there?' she looked up, looked shocked looked panicky! and said "oh no, I didn't want to sit up there!."

So funny, to be somewhere where someone can't imagine being happy sitting, because of how the other people, the majority, all look like!

Made my day! 

M.

The universe will surprise you

Constantly

Oops catch up! When I last posted I was on the beach down at Cabopino on Sunday.. 

What did I do Saturday? Let me check my calendar! Okay! Met up with friends here in town, coffees chatting lunch! I remember now! 

Then Sunday with J. down at Cabopino most of the day, didn't get back until the evening, I was under the parasol all day, well, most of me... A group started playing in the mid afternoon which was nice, so a day of good conversation, lots of laughter and people watching.. followed by more laughing!! 

Yesterday, Monday, Torremolinos with the girls, K. and S., 

Went to The Tudor Rose I used to take Peter too.. which was why we went. On the approach no parking spaces, so I carried on past, around the two Picasso dancing girls roundabout, and back.. and a space right outside! Perfect!

We walked up and sat down, no electricity! She said only cold drinks and food at the moment.. We debated staying or leaving and I said out loud, 'Peter!! What are you doing to us?!' and the electric came back on! Again! Perfect!

After a light breakfast, my second of the day! We went to Ikea, where I tried and succeeded in not buying anything!! A very rare occurrence, but then, seriously! What was a going to do! Carry it back to England with me!! Noooo!

Then!! After items were purchased we were off to Casa las Flores! Hence the turtles in the top photograph, they have opened up the area around the raised flower beds and painted the fence; when I was last there I couldn't get close to see them! 

Night before last there was a fire in the Finca la Mota área in the evening and turned the sky a beautiful color... 

 Today, my last full day..

Coffee with T. and then my neighbor, then a wander around town.. made the mistake of (or made the most of), going into my favorite store, Bulee, only purchased two items! Well, one item is a twin set.. So sort of three items, for the price of two! I say, explaining myself to absolutely no body at all! 

Now I sit here at Bar Mori, Isa's café, a cup of té verde, writing my memoires.. 

M.

The only limits in our life are those we impose on ourselves.

Bob Proctor - 1934-2022 - Author and Speaker

More from Fridays trip to Málaga and the Botanical Gardens.. 

My photographs really do not do the place justice..

Stunning colors, some blooms fading already as the heat sets in.. 

The area above they use for weddings and we imagined how they would hold them there .. Then we began wedding planning! How, where, the best places there... And if our gardens... What we would do... 

Yep, three women dreaming as girls ...

Black bamboo, a couple of amazing bamboo forests here, green and black ... Amazing to walk through...

Many of the pools and streams had thousands of tadpoles in! The water was alive with them! And in this one a turtle or two!

This building, a small museum, below, looked new but was very very old... Gorgeous.. 

So many pathways, so much to see, beautiful.. we'll be back! 

Hopefully, again and again, it's so close! Forty minutes from here really, that's all... 

Or again bus and coach, easy...

M.

Go as far as you can see. When you get there you will see how you can go farther.

Thomas Carlyle - 1795-1881 - British Historian-Essayist-Philosopher-Mathematician-Teacher

Above Thursday evening, back in Alhaurín... 

Beautiful sunsets.. memories abound.. 

Yesterday, Friday 13th June, the Botanical Gardens of Málaga.. all these years meaning to visit.. never too late! 

We got the fast bus from Alhaurín to Málaga bus station, us three girls, stopped for breakfast at a bar near the bus station.. it was busy but we nabbed a table and three chairs..

The botanical gardens on built above Málaga, above the A45 to Cordoba..

It is about 13 minutes from the hospital.. There really are no excuses for not going over these decades!! 

The bus from here is fast, and cheap, and the bus from Málaga bus station took about half an hour, and cost 1.40€ very cheap... 

We had coffees, twice, and a little food from the cafe on site, was clean and well stocked.. the many bathrooms were all clean..

Sorry, laughing to myself, I'm giving a review here!! I leave it to Google maps for that! 

We walked, and walked.. remember the gardens are on the side of a mountain! Was easy and okay to walk, but maybe not when it gets hotter.. we didn't get everywhere, saving a little for next time.. and cooler weather..

We imagined, different times of the year everything would be different, of course, like any garden.. ever changing, ever growing.. 

So incredibly beautiful, and the air, although right next to the A45, and you could hear it.. the air amongst the trees was beautiful.. refreshing..

The house! Stunning! I'll put a link here to the Botanical Gardens of Málaga.

Some photographs today, more in the morning.. 

Two nights ago I dreamt about many holes in the road ahead of me...

Dreams about holes in the road often symbolize life's challenges and obstacles, suggesting the need for caution and perseverance. The holes can represent unexpected difficulties or situations that require careful navigation. It may also reflect a sense of being lost or facing uncertainty in one's life. 

Interesting eh! Sorry dream out of context, but I'd already left this here from yesterday morning.. and let's be honest, much of life is out of context!

So yesterday! 

After our long wonderful day in Málaga, I had a brief reprieve and then off to Bar Monika at the other end of town, my old end, so to speak! 

After a glass of wine and the world's largest burger to share! Would not, could not be eaten alone, and still both left some!

A good laugh, good conversation and in my old local.. 

My walk back, still light, about 9pm, back the way I walked, we walked, too many times to count.. was beautiful and sad..

To live here nineteen years, and now not, to feel my heart cry, bleed.. It hurts.. still, how long for? Always...

And back once more at K.s... 

M.

You were born with the ability to change someone's life, don't ever waste it.

Dale Partridge - Author

Yesterday's walk back from Cabopino, much humidity

And along the beach much much seaweed!! 

Piling up all along here.. sand is missing and rocks aplenty.. 

This used to be nice to sunbathe on, not too wide, and never too busy.. 

More rock puddles now and sea urchins! 

My temporary fur baby.. She's so beautiful, so loving and last night kept very tight to me, all night.. 

This was around midnight.. 

The thunder and flashings of lightening drew me up to the terrace, I watched nature's amazing light display..

Photographs were difficult to capture and videos a bit hit and miss!

I love these Spanish storms.. spectacular!

Stayed up there a long while until the rain began hammering down, then I thought I better get back in, and continue with Lady Chatterley's Lover, on TV..

Feel so sorry for J.'s mom, using her Netflix account, I'm completely trashing it!! 

Today I drove down to the market to meet a friend for coffee, I parked as directed by the attendants and walked off to the bar in the Carrefour nearby.

After coffees I went for a meander around the market, and it was only when I got to the very end, the top end... I walked back into the carpark area from there... And realized, I have absolutely no idea where the car is!!

I walked up and down like a numpty, both exist lanes full of people trying to get out by car, and after a quarter of an hour I gave up! 

When I go back, I'll walk up to the BBVA bank, and try to retrace my steps from there...

And, the market will be emptier by then, it closes at 14:00, it's not closed yet... But I've walked into La Cala and have had some pizza and Aquarius drink.. 

Then I'll walk the boardwalk for a while..

Fingers crossed enough cars will have left and the car will show up for me!! 

Never lost a car before!! I think ours had a small bit of reflective tape on the aerial... Franco was always losing the car! He was allowed to!

Update! Walked a long way down the boardwalk, about as far as Miraflores.. then I walked back to the feria ground... The back way, the main road way... Still stalls up, mostly being packed away, but still seemed busy, cars were thinning out... I was looking for my car .. before, in the totally wrong place, it was up against a barrier?? 

I do not remember that, I guess being distracted by the .. everything else!!

M.

You choose the life you live. If you don't like it, it's on you to change it because no one else is going to do it for you.

Kim Kiyosaki - Author and Speaker

Today lunch with J., but first I parked down at El Zoco, first visited in 1989, it can't have been there long, talking to our neighbor from Calipso.. She remembers when her and her husband bought the apartment and there was no El Zoco.. just an olive grove there ..

I don't think it would have been there that long then... Thirty six years since I first visited there, for restaurant, for supermarket for the bars... 

I did the tourists thing and took plenty of photographs, not many people about, and lots of places closed, or closed up.. Seems sad there.. 

I walked from the car towards Paco's bar, that I thought had closed, but saw it open, and then him coming out with coffees, and also in that moment is when I saw our neighbor, and she saw me! And shouted! Was wonderful! So good to see her.. Just like old times..

She was sat with a lady who used to own the Almond Tree with her husband... Before the Sullivan's were there... I knew the lady also, from work... 

I'd popped into the office and saw the lady who works there, for the apartments.. It was her birthday! 

Good to see her also..

Then!! Off to 'work' and we went for lunch, I tried not to pull forward too much, or faceup! So difficult not just do what I did... 

Had a lovely lunch as always, time went too quickly.. I miss her... 

More tomorrow..

M.

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will create the fact.

William James - 1842-1910 - Philosopher and Psychologist