hello.... hello....hello...hello...hello!

i know what am i? lazy? a bit, tired? very so excuses over, and time to make up for lost time!

above is myself with sarah darren, janette and lenny, out on saturday night in aylesbury.

was a good evening minus a few people who were not out of my mind...

since i´v been home, i had to work for the last three days of the week, to start i thought i only had the three days, then i was asked to do two more weeks and i told myself i could do it... then thursday learnt it was only the three days! confused? i was! nothing unusual there i suppose, but not my fault...

so this promo is over, sad last few days after all that, and last weekend went in a flash, shopping and cleaning and the sunday market, and lots of sleeping, too much, and too much this week, i have been getting up late, between 8 and 830, so giving my self headaches! but i just feel so exhausted i feel i need to sleep, and i should know by now staying in bed does not help!

my friends here in alhaurín moved on wednesday, and i helped, poor car, i have to check the water and oil before we use if again, it was so overheated i had to have the fan on full blast and the heat as high as it would go, and it was 35 degrees outside, so you can imagine how hot i was in the car!

but all done now, they have moved from their one bedroom apartment, that was new'ish the block is still not registered! to a one level house out in the campo, but only just, 10 mintues from the main road, less than 20 minutes from our house, will take some photos next time i am there, and i remember to!

pippa and i walked there yesterday morning, good walk and one we can do more often now theyre nearer.

cant believe its october tomorrow! this time last year mom and i were in the states, staying at my aunts in queens, off to my cousins wedding in fishkill in a few days time... and before we know it halloween will have come and gone and christmas!

on wednesday in the estanco, a lady came over i knew from berkhamsted, we had worked together years ago, about 10 or 11, she had recognised although her husband thought i was a local girl, to spain that is, not england!

i was chatting to maria jose, from one of the estancos before my trip... i said all the english come in and are surprised when i speak in english, and yet the spanish dont think i am spanish, and only talk to me in english.... (have i already said about this? sorry if i am repeating...) anyway maria said its because i just look like a foreigner... a 'giri' in spanish...

monday at cudeca was a long morning, weird as it was only four hours and not the long day i have been used to, and apparently i am still in charge on mondays, even if i'm not in!

alhaurín streets have changed again over the last couple of weeks, a few more closures... with no hope of exists! soon we will neither be able to get in or out of our car park! the top ring road, as i call it, blas infante its name, is now open at last, new roundabout, park waterfalls and finished well, all the blacktop has been replaced from the crossroads as you reach town to the new area, and all the white lining.... looking good! till the pot holes return and white fades to grey!

the famous pot holes on the coast road are back now... franco is whistling from the car park...

All time, said the poet T S Elliot, is eternaiiy present, leading inexorably to an end that we believe results from our actions but over which our control is mere illusion.

TTFM
Marian

Saturday

hello...

well this promotion ended yesterday, was only 3 days left after my holiday to england, but oh so tired... got home just before midnight tuesday and off to work wednesday morning!

good last three days, great week visiting friends and family, lots to tell you, but not today, was up earlyish, did loads of housework, then franco and i went out for lunch about 1230 and didnt get back from shops till gone 4, now i just need to put up my feet and rest a little, cant believe its 630 already!?! how strange is that?

so... normal service will be returning here with me over next few days, will be going into the cudeca store to work monday morning... the old english test card above... thats what used to be on telly when nothing else was, do you remember those days? good night from the BBC and that was it! nothing till 6am to following day....

TTFN
Marian

England

hello friends,

here i am in england now, tony has gone of to work and i hava a few minutes before i have to rush off again...

trip to malaga airport on tuesday was fun in the thunder storm we were having, lots of rain and mud and rubbish all over the road... the flight was an hour later taking off so the storm had passed by the time we left, and as usual, we arrived on time anyway! then had to wait over half hour for our luggage to appear on the conveyer belt... phoned the car people who came and i collected my little auto and off i went!

the M1 motorway had roadworks... no change there, and i got to janettes about 4pm! we had coffee and doughnuts and i left around 530 to go to tony's popped into mom's on way past to say "hello mom, i'm here" and off i went again!

yesterday mom up town, after a quick hello to lisa where she works to arrange seeing her new home, then met mom and looked around the shops had coffee, again, and at 1pm was at sarah and darren's house... had a bit of lunch and went to town with them for coffee at costa's, where we used to go all the time, and then back to theirs again, later to tony's and in the evening he and i went to see the remake of the wicker man with nick cage, was good, but i was so tired... we hadnt had time to eat so stuffed ourselves with popcorn soda and chocolates! uummmm very good, but my body must be wondering what the heck is going on, after all the wonderful fruit juice i have been drinking and am now abusing it instead!


so... phew so far... today the weathers not looking good, its been quite warm here, well for england, so lots cooler than home, but today its wet, mom and i are going to milton keynes which is a big shopping mall, so all undercover nice and dry!

hope your all good, take care,
TTFN
Marian

One day of work to go!

From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere... If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good...

TTFN
Marian

Space Station

oh and it was the Space Station we saw the other night, still waiting in its low orbit for the space shuttle to land on it! it took off today so we will look at for it again now! adios amigos

Saturday

sorry... as they say good intentions eh! was too tired to blog i am afraid... still tired, so again, short and sweet!

above is taken where i have my lunch on a monday along the benalmadina coast line, and there is the view to the marina, the video i took yesterday is from the bench i now frequent on a friday at montemar, the other side of the marina from where we see it above and about 15 minutes the other way!

week so busy busy busy, too long standing, everyday is another miracle i have got through, i dont know how, only that i only have monday and then i am off to england, and on my return have only three days left!

i am exhausted, did i say that before? yes i am sorry, still struggling with the hours drive there and back too, so much traffic and i am like a bear when i drive, an angry bear who growls at everyone who is doing something they shouldnt be, i ran a blog through my mind the other day on my way, all the driving habits of the locals here... well that will be for when i am back to myself!

went to town today, funny how the walk there now is so much harder, i dont really walk now, just stand for hours, and sitting anywhere hurts like heck!

you know i am so looking forward to visiting my friends up the coast, i am going to get on the coach here in malaga, and rest all the way, and the whole week.... b l i s s!

had the usual people in every day, those who buy for others mainly and a few for themselves, people who were happy to talk, those who just blanked me! i still gave them gifts if they bought our brand though...


so friends, i hope your all doing good, cant beleive this is the end of my third week already, miss you all, take care,

TTFN
Marian

Calle San Miguel

home, tired... drove back through the sierra de mijas range, i am getting quicker working my way through the twists and turns... although pulling myself up a bit lest i forget how deep the drop is on one side! along a corner where there are giant concrete teeth to stop cars going over, a motor bike helmit was sitting! no bike or rider? and i was going through the rapid eye blinking thing too like we do when we're tired...

at work today a man came up to me and said why was i promoting smoking! i should be making people stop not carry on! i replyed that i was only promoting the cigarettes, not smoking! he came back with a comment i cant remember but i then said... well you can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink! well........ it was late in the day :-) he laughed anyway, maybe more at me than with me... who knows!

before i go... last night franco and i watched as the space shuttle atlantis past over head at 17,000 miles per hour, took 4 minutes to come into and out of sight again... it is on its way to the international space station.... fantastic to see in our beautiful dark sky shining like a giant star a big beautiful light....

TTFN
Marain

Septiembre

cant belive its september already! off to the uk a week on tuesday and i cant wait! just hope i can get through next week and a day first! i am so tired... ok sorry... whats been occuring this week, well work yes, all day everyday, finding park benches to sit on for my three hour break has been hard, dont want to sit in the sun and cook, that and that i'm wearing my cut off jeans and a heavy t-shirt advertising the cigarettes i'm promoting!

monday was the first at benalmadina, the estanco near the windmill round about on the coast road, and i stupidly walked to the marina and back, not realising it was quite so far! then the sea mist came in very fast and it disappeared altogether! very spooky, one passerby of age about 4 said to his mommy ¨is the sea boiling mummy?¨ how cute!

a women on tuesday after getting 16 cartons down off the shelf for her, asked about the warning in spanish on the boxes, i said well of course, we are in spain, and she said she would have to phone home to see if her friends/family would buy them if they had the warning in spanish because they could be dodgy! i would have thought had the warning been in english they would have been dodgy, as these with the spanish warning are made in nottingham, england, for export and sold legally to spain and then bought by people from all over on their hols! she never came back weird woman!

70% of the cigarettes smoked in the uk are bought abroad! and i feel a bit of a fraud in a way, i am supposed to get people to change their brand or buy more, but most people already know what and how many they are going to buy, its on their shopping list for other people, sometimes people will try a carton of 'our' brand, or buy an extra carton, but if a friend has asked for a certain type thats what they are going to buy whatever i have to offer gift wise!

tuesday also while sitting in a square reading a man came by and started talking to me about my book, first in spanish then in english telling me how it would end! strange man... he didnt even know what book it was and thought it was romance, i told him it was murder! and added the eeeeer eeeeeeeer noises while making stabbing motions so he got the picture! hope he's not about this week!

still not used to seeing so many people walking about in swim wear in the shops! wet and sandy and undressed! how bizarre! and three of the shops i am in are run by three brothers! los tres hermanos! on thursday down on vial playa at the malaga end of torremolinos maria jose only spoke to me in spanish all afternoon, determined i should go home with more knowledge! i did, my head was swimming in español all the way home and when i got out of my car in the car park here a lady started speaking to me... in spanish and i was just so tired my mind went blank!

driving is still fun coming home so tired, its not getting easier, amazed i have made it through another week... i noticed on last blog it says no comments.... but there are!

yesterday had coffee with mate who is missing me real bad! home and relaxed! oh and mercadona man brought our food, couldnt have coped with a trip to the shops! (sad eh) today, market and home, sorted out my stock of gifts and did a little stock take of them!

at the market we bought a wind up radio for franco for work, we got a free gift with it, a picture frame that has a voice recording thing with it, franco put a message on it to me, it says it will last 100 years... can you imagine, finding the voice of your .... what great great grandparents even maybe saying loving words on something like that! a message through time again eh...

will try to take some photos, and blog a little each day, i will try... hope everyone is good...

Love is not what makes the world go round.
Love is what makes the ride worthwhile...

TTFN
Marian

The worker...

hello...... so the above isnt actually one of the shops i work in... but when i saw this photo i liked the look of it anyway! i will have to take a photo of one of the ones i am in, or maybe all of them...

so last week? what happened? i dont know! was going into work at cudeca monday morning and got a call saying i may be working wednesday instead of the thursday i had been told about sunday evening on the phone, then, during work it was up dated to working the next day! so monday was crazy after that, emails to open... hotmail was so slow i had to open and move to my gmail account so i could open attachments and then put to disk, printer out of ink and i needed to have copies of things for monday... internet place was busy, went back hour later and their printer wasnt working... so franco home and it was down to another internet place to print/copy/fax info, then to torremolinos to see where i had to go next day! i know i know... but although its not far i actually hadnt ever spent any time there! couple of visits to the tax office and to a hotel where barrys girlfriend was staying, but that was it, never gone into the town or to the coast there, ever.... so anyway found where i had to go in the morning and home! on the way we stopped at a kiosk on the street here in alhaurín and our car was reversed into! opposite of the day before when we were hit from behind! this time no damage though!

dinner about 10pm and bed! up early tuesday and all week, about 645, walking pippa, but a shorter run, more because i just cant walk that far then go to work after, poor dog, but its not for always... then each morning i have driven between 27 and 35 kilometers to work in torremolinos, four estancos so far, the first in town centre, second on the paseo maritimo malaga end, third up a side street from paseo, and fourth near the paseo, benalmadena end of town! tomorrow is in benalmadena itself. each day i have had to meet my supervisor so she can show me where each shop is, following her without her indercating has been fun... suddenly turning or going around roundabouts not knowing which exist she will take! LOL!

i had a meeting with someone from the tabacco company at last on the thursday morning, so she could tell me what i should have doing for the first two days! and to carry on doing... she also joined me in a shop on the friday morning and we went to lunch (oooh'err) before she left to go back to benidorm where she is based during this promotion...

tuesday before starting i had to go, with my supervisor to get my social security number... that was fun, and not easy! infact wouldnt have been able to have done it all all without her with me!

everyday i have gone into the shops, set up my stand thing, tall and narrow picture of lambert and butler and golden virginia packets! and ask people if they are buying cigs or tabacco, for them or others, which brands etc, and if i change theyre brand or if they buy more than they would have they get a gift... cool bag, beach mat, bag or t-shirt!

all the estancos have been good to work in, all very different, selling gifts etc, so its been interesting... first two days were the worst healthwise for me, felt so tired and achy, real bad, then thursday meeting meant i didnt start till 5pm so was only 3 hrs on my feet that day and fridays store was so good i didnt really notice standing as much! have only one weird thing i guess from my back and the pressure on it somewhere, and thats that my left arm is a bit numb from the elbow down and pins and needles in my left hand! but thats not too bad i suppose, can cope with that for this amount of time.

i have about 40/50 minutes driving to work and an hour home each day, traffic is worse coming home, so i am away 12 and half hours more or less, long long long day! 10-2pm and then 5-8pm, lunch time i have to find somewhere out of the sun to sit and have my lunch... and i just read...

lots more i could probably tell you, but i am seriously tired today still and only a few hours before it all starts again! yesterday i saw friend in shop, friend for coffee, friends in their house in town and friends near our house, all on my trip back from town! then home.... gone 3pm i think!

spent couple of hours cleaning and washing the floors dusting etc, my wonderful wonderful husband looked after me all week, i came home and he had dinner ready for me every night, we ate then franco washed up and put everything away... i couldnt have cooked at all, then he made my fruit drink for me for the following day... now pippa on the other hand acted all week like the spoilt child! left all day by both her children (how she sees us!) she taught us both a lesson every evening, by barking and biting and scratching and annoying us fully till time for bed!

now, i shall leave you...but not forget you... if i have a moment of energy left any night this week i will say 'hello'...

TTFN
Marian

Working...

i am so sorry friends... i started a job on tuesday, very suddenly and its been very busy... i am so tired even my eyeballs ache... so for now just wanted to say i am still here! and will blog on saturday...

FTTFN
Marian

Chase...

where has the time gone? sunday now... friday i think was just a walk into town, had coffee with friend... and chat with another in her shop, she is feeling under the weather, i think as so many people are is must just be the heat, after the little rain we had on thursday it did cool things down a bit, so on friday when i got home i thought, ok up on the roof terrace get some sun, apart from going to the beach the other day, i havent 'sunbathed' at all, not at home where the roof is like an oven, i thought it was cooler and sat up there finishing a good book and relaxing, when i came down i was so sore from the sun... i very stupidly didnt put a dot of sun cream on! dont know what i was thinking it was well over 30C!

have been juicing every day now with our new machine, infact thats all i have at lunch time, just over half a litre of juice! thats about 6 to 8 portions of fruit/veg in one go, and its very filling.

saturday i went to town and collected a pair of pants pif paf were getting for me from another store, just a black pair regular kind of style for work! have had another couple of calls saying they are counting on me for a perticular promotion theyre doing... so we will see! and still needed a pair of shoes without open toes for work, at this time of year here in spain the sales have started back in july and they continue to the end of august, and everything in the shop has to go, which is good, no searching for the sale rack, but it also means the shops are only stocked with summer wear, and for a job you need... well work type things, so only now there is some new stock coming in, hidden away somewhere in the stores, but the shoes! i got a nice pair of black sort of work looking, open heal but closed in toe with a little bar across... all leather tops soles inners etc.... 3€ yes three euros! thats about 2pounds 10 pence! wow.... with all that spare cash, i got a 4 tumblers with lids for the juice! and an umbrella and had to pay a wopping 3€60 for those 5 items! from the euro store!

now today more to the point...

market... blah blah blah.... drove down to the coast in search of an open food store, hadnt done my normal on line shopping in case i was working (?) so, we're at the junction where there is a slip road you have to stop at the end of, usual here in spain (?) and we got hit from behind!! bang! we moved forward and over to converse with the other driver and make room for the other traffic to get onto the carreterra 340, and he drove off couldnt believe it! we were both out of the car and so jumped back in me trying to remember his plate number, repeating it over and over, while franco was trying to catch him up! i coulnt find my pen for ages, what with saying the number over and over, and trying to watch where he was, dodging in and out of the two lane traffic, so many exists and so many cars coming and going... but we did! he came off at the calahonda turn off, our old exit, and he got stuck in the traffic and we pulled up along side his car... he had got blocked in and franco just parked next to him, i think the people behind would have got upset at that only when they saw franco get out of the car they thought twice!

we explained to him its a criminal offence to leave the scene of an accident, and if we were spanish they would have called the police by now and he wouldnt be driving anywhere for some time to come! he said well there was no damage, and we replyed it dosent matter about damage or not... although there was to our car and alot to his own which he obviously didnt care about! you do have to stop, get out of the car and actually look to see what the cars look like, not just guess and run away, i must admit the poor guy looked terrified, i mean we dont look that scary... do we? but we dont look english and maybe he thought he was in worse trouble than he was!

he paid us for a new number plate light, goodness knows where it is, could be in the bumper somewhere, but its gone from sight! and i think he didnt have insurance, i asked for it and he said he didnt have it on him! bit unusual that, if you get pulled by the police here they dont say you have 7 days to take your docs to a local police station, they take and keep your car if you cant produce your docs until you do... and of course if you dont have any, you would just lose your car... period!

havent checked the camera yet though, i was so shaky dont know if i took a photo or not, it did the trick though... talk about exciting!

back at the market earlier the man who used to take the old clothes for 'humana' from cudeca, passed by when i had my purse open and he pretended to snatch my purse... that was funny...NOT ! i could have given him a karate kick... if i knew how!

so... went to lidl, home, unpacked and eaten lunch, time to relax again now!

People who are friends, usually have the same virtues, the same enemies, or the same faults.

TTFN
Marian

El Zoco, Calahonda

oh i'm tired now.... went out at 9am and just back and its gone 6pm! went down to friends where we used to live near el zoco, its still the same as last i saw it... the front covered now by scafolding etc, but everything inside is ok, all the restaurants etc, its only the book shop, not reopening, mario's mens hairdressers... he is sharing with the ladies hair salon at the moment! the card shop and the ones along the front road side, super market is still open of course, and the furniture store where the blaze started is just a skeleton! there is a new comercial centre called comercial los olivos, which should be opening soon too, thats on the road down or to, the toll road there at calahonda.

after having coffee, we have a wander around saw a few people i used to see everyday, and then at 12 went to see family who are over and staying in the beach apartment, we went to la cañada shopping centre... and it was pouring with rain when we arrived! yes rain, flithy stuff too! how come the clouds get dusty like that i would like to know! anyway we ran into the shops and stayed there for four and half hours!!! and yes i feel like we did!

i bought a white blouse in zara's and had to line up for half hour the tills were so busy! its nearing the end of the sale now and the whole shopping centre is a real mess, it looks like a bunch of monkeys have gone through it and just chucked stuff around! how can some people be so messy? i was tiding as i went! and we were picking stuff up off the floor, what a state the place was.

anyway, dropped them off and now i am home, and tired and going to relax now, so caio for now!

If you do something good, enjoy it, repeat it, and allow it to become a way of life...

TTFN
Marian

Melting...

phew... wish i would cool down, just another couple of weeks and it will, just a little, just a day without having to constantly dry myself with tissues would be good! the lady above is just how i feel i look!

had another email scam today... unbelievable some of them arnt they, or am i the only who gets them? todays was from a so called company telling me a claim had been processed for me and i needed to contact them with regards to collecting the money... no doubt they would want my bank account details, the one before was from a 'company' in china telling me they needed someone in spain who has a bank account so they can have their spanish clients put money in to it, and i would forward said money to china!?! i have had the usual one from nigeria asking for my bank account details quite opening saying they have money for me, but i must give them some first! but the worst and quite upsetting given my dad died in an auto accident, was a company saying a mr *****, had died in an auto accident, and they were trying to tracy his family and it seemed i was the last living relative!

not heard about the job yet... checked when i logged in my meeting with the supervisor was on my time sheet though! why are things so strange? you know i once went for a job interview, and the man said, oh by the way this was here too, in spain, anyway he said they had 5 women he wanted to do a days work and see who got on best.... so the five of us did a whole day down at this realitors, 9 to 7, two hours lunch break, was easy enough, just answering the phone really and after working at mercedes, very few calls, i was used to 100's, there it only rang maybe once or twice in 15 minutes! i learned how to put new properties into their internet site, details photos etc, and typed a few letters.... they never even phoned me.... infact they never phoned anyone! good idea eh if you have someone going on holidays, just put out an add and try 5 or them! yeah ok we were the mugs, but who would ever guess! still i learned a little about property data base on the net!

A friend will joyfully sing with you when you are on the mountain top,
and silently walk beside you through the valley...

TTFN
Marian

Haro, La Rioja

just found another photo of Haro, the beautiful sqare....can you see the storks nests?

Monday

exciting title for today isnt it! sorry... but the photo is good, one i have 'borrowed' the www its Haro La Rioja, in the north of spain, a beautiful old town, its built on a mountain side and very very old, every other shop is a bodega, wine is every where! down rickety old stairways to the cellars beneath, and big factories on the out skirts of the town, there is a beautiful square i have put photos that i have taken on here before, loads of storks and their massive nests built so precariously you cant see how they ever stay up, or hold all their babies!

now the weekend... saturday friends and i went to la trocha, the big shopping centre in coín, well big probably isnt the word, not compared with places in the uk, and i think my family in the states would exclaim '... and where is it really then marian?' its just one walkway, shops to the right and shops to the left, no upper/lower floors, no sudden turns and another line of stores... but its there, and coín now has lots more than it had before, although if your in the town its a bus ride to trocha... la cañada and miramar are much more what we in enland are used to, but small even so compared to the one at blue water etc, the biggest shopping mall i have been to is in conneticut i think and although we were walking around for 5 hours we never once retraced our steps!! toooooooo much, you can only do so much!

anyway, trocha, walk about and drinks....

sunday franco pippa and i went to market, under la trocha, in the car park at street level, then we dropped pippa off and we went down to the coast, we were looking for ink cartridges for our printer, that seem to be the hardest thing to find! i didnt slip over sunday which is good! but franco fell out of a tree today... not good! he has some bumps and bruises now, so thats my friend fallen over and now him! does everyone have to copy me??

today... work, the shop was shut, but we have new racks in now and have to move the summer stuff out and the winter stuff in, first it needs sorting and going through properly...

thats it really i think.... have put off my trip down to see friend tomorrow as everything is shut for asuncíon dia, or assumption day in english, the day thats celebrates mary being received into heaven, her heavenly birthday i guess...

its also the final day of our celebrations here in alhaurín that have been continuing all week as the virgin is taken through all the different areas, barios, each night...

before i go i got a postcard from my cousin tim today, he was in bermuda when he sent it... the card shows bermuda, but the card was printed in italy, and before it came to spain it went to malta first!?!

its so hot, think thats why my mind is going from one thing to another and cant think stright... no air, just hot hot hot... we all looked at work today like we had been in the shower without first taking off our clothes!!!

Close your eyes to the faults of others and watch the doors of friendship swing wide...

TTFN
Marian

Interview

made it back ok from interview.... i didnt drive into malaga as i thought i would, instead this morning i suddenly decided to take the bus instead... too much in my head to think about driving into the city, and would have been ok maybe if i had a friend with me, so i bus'ed in... arrived cool and untroubled by traffic, ten minute walk from bus station to el corte ingles and half hour early! i went up to the top floor anyway and the restaurant and luggage section had gone! panic! then i realised there were more stairs further up and that they alone had an extra floor above and lo and behold there was what i was looking for... so back down and browsed for a while and back to luggage, i think i know every suitcase there is up there now and color, saw some real nice hand luggage and those tiny little bags for trips away, and now it looks like no one will be able to take more than a wallet aboard now! that will hit the market wont it! but better to be safe than sorry... only thing that bothers me is not being able to read a book while i'm flying... i always do...

last night here around our streets was beautiful, and i'm sorry i have no photos... so will discribe only... some of the streets had the blue and white bunting flying over head, lots of palm leaves leaning against houses and others making archways for walking under... every now and then an alter outside someones house with dolls and food and ornaments of the virgin and candles burning brightly... she has not been brought around these streets for 8 years! we were with neighbors when she was brought up the hill at a street adjacent to ours, she was carried by just over 20 men, not the 100 to carry christ... the band played ahead of her and the crowd followed... its always such a moving event... the real spain, with all the old traditions still going strong, all the things people miss out on down at the coast... 2 years ago, we never realised all this went on just half hour away in these hills.......

the full moon has come and gone again, no new sightings of our towns warewolf, i know you all think we crazy here for beliving in it, but well who knows eh?

the job... by the way.... is promotions... mostly at malaga airport and sounds great fun, the work wont be a 9 to 5 , 52 weeks of the year job, could be a week in one month or four in another, but that suits me... it will be promoting sales of products in the dutyfree section, purfume, cigerettes, food etc etc...

Friends are like books,
you don't always use them...
but you know where they are when you need them.

TTFN
Marian

Virgin de Gracia

the lady above is our towns patron saint and we are celcbrating her this week, from the 10th to 15th of august, and tonight she will be carried around the streets in our neighborhood, dont think this happened last year, but i do remember her coming through held high 4 years ago, when i stayed with friends who used to live here... hopefully i will get a photo thats good for here!

but to the news today primarily... thank god for the security in england, all those flights that could have been blown up by those people, it really dose not bear thinking about... its worth all the waiting and cancelled flights for anyone travelling over the next few days, some people were asking silly questions about not taking hand luggage through or having their shoes checked? what is the matter with them, would they rather not have a safe flight?

i remember sarah and i coming back to england after 9/11 it was the day after only, our flight had been embarg, what is the pural of that word have tried a few things and none look correct, anyway, we couldnt fly, it was only delayed for four hours, although none of us minded, and none of us minded the extra time and effort put into checking everyone throughly for our flight.

and tomorrow i have an interview... i had a strange call yesterday, but after some confusion mainly as she phoned me on my mobile and the signal is useless in our old house with its thick walls! but after we worked it all out... i am meeting someone who got my details from an on line job centre, thing is..... i dont know who the company is, where theyre based, what the job is... yes yes i can hear you ... what on earth is the girl doing, and you dont know where i'm meeting her yet, her i hope, it was a her i spoke with on the phone! i am meeting her in a famous store in malaga... near the luggage section! oh well wish me luck and i'll let you know how i get on when i get back tomorrow...........

Wherever you are, it's your friends who make your world...

TTFN
Marian

Ronda

tony and i mimicing the statues beyond...

Wednesday

phew its hot, strange how we all want the cool days, and fluffy sweaters and jeans back on now, but then, when its cold... now i know its never as cold here as back in england and we never have snow, except if we go higher up and further inland, but when its cold for us its cold ok! we get used to this heat, well almost so when its cold here we feel freezing! even if that means its about 10 degrees C! anyway sorry, off on one again eh!

yesterday... friends and i went down to the coast to sort out something for me and something for them! i picked them up at 7am! thats 7am and we were down in fuengirola and parked by 745, we went along to one of the police stations for them to hand in forms to get their NIE numbers, like social security number, needed for everything here! at 820, still in line... i left them to it to go to the bank, (back near the car park) for a certificate to prove i had a bank account! waited, bank opened went in, one guy there deals with us foreigners i was in there about half hour, then i had to go back past car park, past police station where friends were still waiting! to lawyers office further on, to hand in certificate! and back to police stations, we went for coffee then about half hour later their number came up, handed in papers and left! about 11am! have to collect in 4 to 6 weeks.

little shopping here and there and then home by about 2pm, yup one fun day, but we got lots done so that was good! oh forgot, we had a little bite to eat, a spanish thing of bread, olive oil, garlic and tomato, bit crispy and very tasty... well mate went for salt we merrily sprinkled away then found it was a sugar replacement thing! ugh! so then we added the salt... what a mix up, sure she was getting me back for the time ages ago when i put a spoonful of salt in her coffee instead of sugar, it was at her house and the two containers were identical! ugh!

am still suffering from my fall and then when i met up with mate today, she had fallen down! copy cat, maybe i'll win the lotteria this week and then she will too! all i can say is thank goodness we dont drink! how bad would we be then! the streets are just so slippy and greasy, any shoes you wear might as well be skates!

did a little vid while having a coffee at our famous roundabout this morning, blurry and old looking as usual, the vid i mean, or is it me! just kidding... life begins at 40 eh? well shame the body deteriorates from then on too!

some of you my friends whose blogs i read too, you all sound so worldly wise and grown up... am i the clown? mind you i dont have to paint on my smile... its always real...

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others, can not hide it from themselves...

strange how this little line came up next in my book, hope i bring a little sunshine to you all.

TTFN
Marian

The long tuesday

i seem to have days that i do so much, tell you all my day, probably sounds a bit boring sometimes? just another day in the life of Maz eh! like today got alot acomplished, but then i think of lots of other things, past stuff that i think is more interesting or at least different from the norm! so todays news tomorrow and and today a small but interesting glimpse into my past memories... do do doooo do, do do dooooo do, (this is spooky music to take us back in time)!

one evening my husband dave, came home from work and said he had to go to another job that was really urgent and did i want to come with him for the drive, the job was in park lane, a very posh street in london, we only lived half hour away, so i gathered things for the trip, our at that point only son barry, was 6 months old, so it was only one small case for the evenings trip!! and off we went, sorry forgot, dave was a carpet fitter back then. so we arrived at the apartment building and dave went in, only had to fit a bathroom carpet in a cream shag pile carpet... very luxurous at the time! we were just going to wait in the van, but the customer said to bring us up so barry and i came up and were welcomed at the door by... telly savalas... kojak!! only wearing a veeeeery short bath robe! he kissed me on my right cheek, just here... see? and took us through into the very large lounge, dont know if its just my memory but it really was the biggest living room i have ever seen... he took barry from me and showed him around the room and then sort of sat him, being only 6 months old, it was more of a leaned him, in his chair! and he told us him and his girl friend, marianne, were off out soon and that we should help ourselves to anything we wanted from the kitchen, to drink or to eat whatever, just to make ourselves at home... the bathroom dave had to fit was a rather large one as you imagine in an apartment down park lane! and they left later, and later we let ourselves out of their home.

now the funny thing... the next morning i realised i had left my coat there! and dave called, it was a sunday and he left it till mid day to phone, telly answered the call still sounding sleepy and said my coat was safe and that it had spent the night on their bed!! oh my goodness!

we went back up to london to collect it later that day....

he was such a wonderful kind and generous man, and so tall and broad, i was then about 21 and he seemed like a giant to me... he signed me a photo which i treasure, and of course barry dosent remember a thing about it!

Friends bring out the beautiful things in each other that no one else looks hard enough to find...

TTFN
Marian