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