Tapestry in the castle.

So, arrived into East Midlands on Friday afternoon.. bit early for Baz to be home yet, so bought some winter clothes and had the best pizza in Asda! Before going home..

Saturday relaxed a bit and went to the nearby park and the library.. 

Part of the kids climbing walkway.. beginning with a rope bridge, there were many, some bridges made of knotted together type of ropes.. and afterwards I read up to age 12!! Hey ho! 

It was fun!! 

Sunday morning we went to the castle! First time in this life I visited Nottingham Castle! Me being (Maid) Marian! Hahahaha!! 

The outside was good, the galleries were very good, lots of informative displays.. 

There was an area to use crossbows and use your skills, and a bow staff.. inside..

A lot of interactive things in place, great for adults and kids.

Monday after babes in school, Baz and I went to town for breakfast, we went to the Foxy cafe.. very very good breakfast! 

We got cake for later.. as it was my birthday! 

Tuesday I took myself back to the castle and did the Mortimers Hole Tour, it's takes you down through a cave system to come out down on street level.. 

Good tour guide, very informative, so much knowledge going in!! 

And today, again another tour! This time the City of Caves tour! 

As soon as I got off the tram at Lace Market the heavens opened! I pulled a lightweight rain mac from my small bag and that helped.. 

Maybe! So I stood in the doorway of an abandoned building, I noticed something, when you stand somewhere like that you become completely invisible, people were walking past, people unloading stuff from a truck.. no one looks at people in doorways.. 

Anyways! It was over quick enough and I started back down to where I thought the caves entrance was, is.. 

But no sign and couldn't see anything, so walked back up the road and asked someone who sent me completely in the wrong direction! Thanks! 

He was the second person I asked, first was a visitor, second couldn't speak English and so third was just having a laugh!! 

I came back anyway to where I thought it was and walked down a big big flight of stairs.. 

Right here!! At this point!! And lo and behold! The entrance!! 

So very very good, first you gain access to their WiFi and then download their audio tour.. and off you go! 

Excellent!

About forty minutes or so.. was definitely worth seeing.

And amazing knowing all this is under the city, about 800 caves, but they say could be a thousand, all man made from the sandstone.. whole generations of people, people worked and lived there.. there also were no churches, and no policing, which led to the luddites!!

I came back out into the city thirsty! So went back to the Foxy Cafe, and had a toasted teacake and a chai latte!

Lost my leather wrist tie this morning.. Well, didn't lose it, I came out of the Foxy Cafe and a woman chased me down the street with it! But still, it's broken in a bad place and lives no more...

M.

Coffee in Foxy Cafe Nottingham!

Well, another eleven trips around the planet caught up with in Fraser..

That last episode always brings me down its endings..  endings always mean beginnings, but endings are the worse..

Decided today to end my, also depressing, habit of reading and listening to the items on Insta that although meant to enable and lift sometimes have the complete opposite effect! 

I will also try to stop reposting old stuff on Facebook.. 

I can't go on like this.

Time for change.

Something has to give, or give up.

My birthday month has a habit of making me re-evaluate and this year has to be a big evaluation of things, before they and me turn to dust.

I have irritable brain syndrome!

Ooops! Didn't post this last week! 

So here it better be now, and better late than never! 

M.

Around the clock!

I noticed the other day a snail climbing up the wall opposite.. who knows, him possibly not, where he was headed... The roof and likely death was quite likely ahead of him..

Yet still he climbed, there's a message in that, a deep powerful reason.. We must still climb, even if we have no idea of where we're going? Or what's ahead? 

Probably not the thing.. but heat is preventing use of proverbs or age old rhymes and reasons! 

AC might feel cool at work, but working means it doesn't feel as cool to us as for the customers coming in for brief moments..

It's now nearly eight and just a degree under 40° outside my house now, meaning the terrace is hot hot hot! 

Did I mention yet I went around the clock on my car? 

It was on 199945 and I kept a close eye on it.. trying to get my new tires two weekends ago.. meant random driving around, and then I was getting close.. it ticked over to 000000 exactly at the garage we bought the car!! Now it's starting again! 

How spooky is that!! 

I'm having to sleep downstairs now, it's at least 33° upstairs in the nights.. and although the ceiling fans help, it is just moving hot air about, and yes I could leave the AC on all night!! But that's not happening! 

So downstairs it is! Taking a bit of getting used to though, maybe my feet are facing the wrong direction! 

M.

 

From the Artsenal Inoxis gallery last week, a great evening, fire-eater and trapeze artist!

We see it all before we're born, gaze upon our lives from start to ending.. 

Do we see all that will befall us? Raise us up and fulfill us? 

Future loves and friends.. parents?

Are we born happy in knowledge or already troubled by it..

2001 Space Oddity brought you these thoughts.. not from the story, but my inclusions! 

This morning, Saturday past now, as I caught up around the house..

And recently been thinking I want to see the movie Phenomenon again... It is only right that this movie should follow on next on tv! 

"... Everything is on its way somewhere, everything.. "

Now I wished I hadn't found it on tv.. it is not happy Film.

M.

Worry drains the mind of its power and sooner or later it injures the soul.

Robin Sharma - Author-Speaker

Benadalid

Old broken down house on the left I thought was kind of my thing!

The doors to the cemetery on the right

Above just a page of a book I was reading.. that I had to keep.. I took the book with me, but left it there.. on their shelf for someone else to read ... 

Beautiful Bougainvillea plant across the street, going to get a climber and try and grow it over the back..

View on the walk.. within moments the village is gone and your around the mountain.. 

This beautiful little window overlooking the front street.. no glass, just wood, the little area opens to see out, so quirky! Loved it!

We arrived Friday early afternoon and left in the morning Sunday, we knew it would be way too hot to leave later and couldn't hang around so got going, and coming home was quicker.. as always..

M.

Benadalid day two

Our small home for two nights.. Two of us and my friends dog, Oliver, he took command of the village, as he should.. 

Beautiful mural on the right.. 

These above, left, looking out onto the street, and the corner interior of the courtyard 

Looking down from the front door towards the edge of town, about a one minute walk away.. I parked at the other end of town, immediately off of the main road, and it took about three minutes to reach the house.. 

One small store, which was closed Friday evening as we went to buy something, but she opened up just for us..

Everyone in the village so friendly and helpful, very nice atmosphere.. beautiful..

The main square with the church and the town hall..

M.

Benadalid June 23 to 25, 2023

Day June 23 

A wonderful two night break in the tiny hamlet of Benadalid

Evening walk home from the bar after dinner in the evening.. This is the whole of the village...

The castle, which now houses the cemetery..

Where we ate, El Mirlo.. The Crow.. great food at very good prices.. hamburger and fries, the best fries! Different from the ones at Casa Las Flores, so can, and will continue to say those are the best in Andalucía!

For desert a wonderful lemon dish... Which we repeated the following day! 

And the wine, a Ribera del Duero.

Above, the view from the bar as we ate dinner..

The tiny patio of the Airbnb 

A walk when the day chilled... Well, down to low 30's.. was 36°, about five degrees hotter than Alhaurín out here... An hour and a half away, just beyond Ronda.

View from the living room..

M.

How our streets looked eighteen years ago when we moved into Alhaurín from the coast.. very very different way of life.. 

Working down on the coast gives me best of both worlds.. it's been nice to be reminded of that.. 

I wrote to a cousin recently... "We walk around in these bodies and never think what they need most of the time..."

We care about our clothes, our fragrances, we care about style of shoes and hair and nails..

But the foods or drinks we throw down our throats?? Out of desire to drink alcohol, or that sugar kick? Smoking tar down into our lungs or taking substances to give us a fleeting moment of high or excitement! 

We care about the fuel we put in our cars more... God forbid we put diesel in petrol engines or visa versa! 

Yet these bodies are all we have to wrap around our enduring souls... 

Our bodies to keep us active, to keep us working, walking, to sustain our beating hearts and lungs to feed us oxygen.

What the hell do we care about our bodies! And why have I never had this thought before 

M.

The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence.

Roy T. Bennett - 1939-2014 - Author

Absolutely wonderful amazing and fantastic! Robbie Williams concert Thursday June the 15th.. at the Marenostrum Castle Park in Fuengirola.. 

The cab dropped us off by the entrance but we had to walk all the way around the whole park to actually gain access.. I guess a safety measure .. they didn't want 15,000 people hanging around by the main road.. 

We saw a few people we knew, and as my Facebook tells me the day after feels like dozens of people I know we're there! 

I maybe was among the few wearing heels! After a day on my feet in work in Sketchers! I turned to boots for the concert, to stand for five hours on a grassy bank! 

Check out the guy over the sea here to the right of the top corner of the stadium.. 

A wonderful evening, making memories.. 

I have my customary concert beaker as a keepsake, and lost the click-on sunglasses from my glasses!! 

We were so lucky, talking to friends as we came out, we got a lift with them in their cab! Or I think it could have been several more hours before we got home!! 

I stayed with my friend from work, thank you chica so very very much, it's all about the memories now, can't anything with us but those...

We saw two others from work and spent some time with them before we moved over to the bank area.. it took them an hour to walk home! 

Now time to post! 

Off to get some sun again this morning, La Cala here I come..well, in a couple of hours it's not 8am yet! I need some cooler air, it was 40° on my terrace last evening when I hung the washing out, for an hour! A holiday neighbor was laying out cooking! 

Now, a bit more Doctor Who and a poem from the last episode.. 

'In bed above, we're deep asleep.

While greater love lies further deep.

This dream must end, this world must know.

We all depend on the beast below'

M.

More cloud photography! 

Obviously a thing I enjoy! 

I went to the beach again last weekend.. I forgot, it was nice, I splashed out on a sunbed.. and had a few hours there, walked around the market first.. and ended up going into work for a while.. at one point all four of us were in! Cant Keep away! 

I forgot to tell you I mean! Not I forgot I went!! And also that was now two weeks ago!! 

Time goes too fast, and I am posting out of sync now!

Will post this now and bring myself up-to-date! 

M.

In order to move others deeply we must deliberately allow ourselves to be carried away beyond the bounds of our normal sensibility.

Joseph Conrad - 1857-1924 - Author

Worked all weekend, to cover a colleague but still was a good weekend.. 

Beautiful weather beautiful evenings.. 

Extraordinary sunsets as always ..

Worked two last days and tomorrow, and tomorrow evening Robbie Williams concert in Fuengirola! Second time I've seen Robbie, first time in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.. twenty two years ago..

Sarah and I stayed in a hotel in Newport,  and we had fish and chips for dinner! 

I've got my dress and boots ready! Was going with comfort! But what the hell eh! Probably won't see him again! I mean, I think if I stick in 22 year pattern! I might be on a world tour or something then! 

I'm going through a long cycle of weird dreams I know that! Was so weird that when I woke up this morning wasn't sure that was dream and what was now, awake .. So presuming now this hasn't been one long day of dreaming, although we did have an especially difficult day at work, technology let us down, customers seemed to be.. well, on a different planet today! 

And not only did my tendonitis get worse after I mentioned I thought it better but definitely got a kidney stone causing issue last couple of days.. 

Neighbors are out on holiday and enjoying moving furniture about at all times of day and night I say in a high pitched well enunciated voice out loud as I write this piece! 

Now laughing like a crazy woman at myself! 

M.

In order to move others deeply we must deliberately allow ourselves to be carried away beyond the bounds of our normal sensibility.

Joseph Conrad - 1857-1924 - Author

 

Just talking to school friends.. like it was yesterday.. 

I think one of the biggest surprises over the years has been the coincidences... Been so many in my life, people places connections.. deja vu moments.. 

Someone said..

Why does it take so long though to realise how short life is?!? 

So true, one of life's lessons we were not taught...

Just like "why didn't we know then, what we know now?"....

Ive been watching Doctor Who, just started the other day, and box set watching! I was watching an episode the other day, there were Cyber men, and a sphere.. and it opened revealing a Dalek!!  I shouted out it's a Dalek!!  Like a small excited child who'd just seen her favorite toy!! So funny! Or maybe you had to be there! 

So today in the shop a Canadian man came in and we were talking about the disastrous life changing fires in Canada stretching from coast to coast.. 

He left and then I started talking to another customer a woman, it was about 10-15 minutes later and she was Canadian, a French Canadian, she and her husband have just moved to Calahonda and she spent some time growing up in Oxford and her and I had quite an interesting conversation.. she was nothing to do with previous Canadian I add.

And then a lady came up to the counter another 10-15 minutes later, and she said that she had had kept yoghurts for as long as she had guinea pigs and I said your yogurts would have had just as much fur as the guinea pigs.. Then she said that she had had an egg for 4 years in her refrigerator and she called it Ludwig... One day visitors got up early and cooked her breakfast, they said she had an egg they'd thrown away.. it was off!! It was Ludwig!! 

The last paragraph came up because we were talking about out-of-date products.. and the awful waste..

And lastly on this rather haphazard Blog!

All any of us have is now.. right now.. and only now, the present.. thinking of the future is sometimes as painful as reminiscing about the past.. 

We just have to try to be positive.. every day, if we can..

M.

 

Purloined a public domain photograph here, purely because as a tiger mosquito settled on my hand I automatically shook it off! 

It's how my reactions work! Mosquito! Shake! Bumble bee stroke his soft velvety body! 

I tried to find the mossy again but I either shook him unconscious or he went into hiding!

"The tiger mosquito – a potential carrier of dengue fever, Zika, and chikungunya – has already doubled in number and will be present in all areas of Spain this summer."

Apparently then reached Alhaurín El Grande! 

Terrific! I remember getting bitten badly by them summer 2019, on the Moho journey, they were in Italy.. and all over me!

Just realised I have been bitten just now on the terrace, only up there five minutes to water plants, although very distracted by the amazing sunset this evening absolutely heaven sent, nature sent.. 

Three bites are already having a very bad effect on me.. time to get the bite cream! 

No filters, no camera help.. just pure beauty..

M.

Photograph from Friday November 29th.. I was in Naples at the time Google photos chose to remind me I drank coffee it seems!! 

By the by... The tendonitis that hit my right arm in December last year and was immensely painful, more so at night, keeping me awake along with other aches and pains.. like sleep isn't difficult enough already!! 

Anyways!! I had noticed it was getting better, the tendonitis I mean! And then the last week or so really was only noticeable at night..

And right now there is only minimal pain in my right wrist from it and if I'm sitting holding this phone for long periods, that doesn't help.. but at night it is the only time the whole arm hurts... 

Still waiting for the physio the doctor was organising for me... So I am guessing by using it fully at work, as much as I could on painful days.. and exercising daily as I do.. and now some wall pilates, has helped I guess...

And on a brighter note..

Went out to lunch today, to the Picasso restaurant in Banús, was a beautiful day and the walk around Banús and the lunch were lovely, the food was excellent.. We got there as it opened at 12 noon, first in, and by one, not an empty seat in the front section, it's a huge place and there is plenty of seating at the back.. 

Drive down was slow going, stuck in an unfortunate traffic jam on the way there, added about half an hour, must have been a bad crash, four ambulances.. just our side of Cabopino.. 

Although the speed restriction is now 80k it's the on/off lanes.. some are short, a few are on bends, and all are difficult for drivers not used to this way of driving.. you pull on and have to build speed fast.. coming off can be as bad, trying not to slow down too much it causes problems, but enough that hitting the barrier doesn't happen!

M.