”Seasons In The Sun”

‘Live life one day at a time’ is one of those sayings that is quite common in many different countries and in many different languages, ‘Vive la vida un día a la vez’ is how the Spanish say it, usually with a slight tilt of the head and a shrug of the shoulders. Well that is exactly what Shazza and I have been doing since we came to live here permanently, although the ‘Living’ part is open to quite a wide interpretation, our’s has been at a generally much more ‘sedentary’ pace, well it has since we got back from our road trip, although some of that is mainly due to the extreme heat of recent day’s, for we have spent several days doing nothing, going nowhere in particular and not even doing our normal walks, on a regular daily basis, and neither of us feel one little bit guilty about it 😲 On some days though, we had to literally force ourselves to go out beyond our front door, and only then because we were running short of fresh fruit and vegetables and Shazza needed to go to the ‘Fruiteria’ in town, but even then, instead of parking in our usual place in the village and walking in to the town, we felt that lethargic that we drove into the town and parked close to all the amenities, and so it was a very much shorter walk. Of course, being in town and so close to our four favourite Cafe/Bars, we had to stop for a coffee at one of them, to do some people watching, well it would have been rude not to after coming all this way, ten minutes in the car 😂 We tend to vary the Cafe/Bars that we stop at, which are all small family owned one’s, as it means that we can keep in touch with the individual owner’s and engage in conversations with them, just casual chit chat really, but many of them, although speaking good English, always commence in Spanish, and they help us to improve our ‘street’ Spanish conversational abilities, which is much more useful and practical for everyday conversations, as opposed to the more formal Spanish that is taught on-line, or in books. Whereas, if we go into the Marina we are always, without exception, spoken to in English, with some of the ‘foreign’ employed waiting staff struggling themselves with even basic Spanish terminology 🤷‍♂️ Whilst we prefer to use the Spanish establishments in the town, we do still use certain restaurants in the Marina, but only because there is a much wider variety of cuisine.

We were both currently in a nice period of relaxation, no official business needed to be dealt with, no personal administrative business to deal with, it was just complete calm and tranquility, and we intended to make the most of each and every minute of it. Of course normal daily life was still going on around us, shops were open with the steady flow of shoppers continuously in and out of them, the traffic on the streets was just as busy as it usually was. Back at home, I sat in the sauna like conditions on the balcony for as long as I could bare it, watching the cars as they passed underneath our windows, the dog walkers and the now familiar sounds coming from the building site close by, where they were still constructing a new block of apartments, although thankfully, we will not be able to see it even when it is finally completed. Shazza did not join me on the balcony, she preferred to be in the cool air conditioned and subdued light of the cave like conditions of the sitting room, but overall, whether in town or on the balcony we just generally enjoyed sitting and watching the daily life of other’s, as if they were performers in a play in which we were the audience and not a part of the action, just observing the varying scenes being played out before our eye’s.

As I have mentioned more than once in these rambles, one of Shazza’s regular statements is that “Age is just a number” and for me, well that number is just about to increase by one again. I guess that I should be thankful that at least their are some events in this life that I actually can rely on, come rain or shine, and of course, whilst I do still manage to continue to draw breath 😂 For at least I can be confident that this annual event will happen, on the same date, in the same month, each and every year, a bit like Christmas and New Year’s Day, events which don’t need to be marked on a Calendar for me to remember when they will happen 😉 Other annual events, like Easter, can of course both change dates and month in which they occur.

I had sat and thought about ‘Shazza’s’ statement, age may just be a number, but as that number increases, no matter how fit and well you may feel internally, their can be some very noticeable external changes to one’s physical appearance, the increase in the number of ‘laughter lines’ carved into one’s facial features, I do so prefer that particular terminology rather than the word ‘Wrinkles’, although other’s refer to them as an individuals life’s road map 🤭 The other obvious change of feature is the colour of one’s hair, although in that particular area I do have a distinct advantage, for I have had grey coloured hair for more years than I care to remember, in fact I have had it so long that I may even have been born with it, although childhood photographs would tend to disprove that theory, even so, the fact of the matter is, if their are an extra one or two ‘silver threads’ on each of my annual personal number changes, then in my case they are already discreetly camouflaged amongst the hoards of existing one’s, so for me, those additional ones are unnoticeable and so, perhaps that is why I am able to retain my youthful appearance, provided that I stand in front of the mirror that has the more youthful facial picture of ‘Tom Cruise’ stuck on it, at head height of course 😂

Now, if I am correct, it was the 21st September when the local news media reminded us that, on that particular day in question, it was the ‘official’ meteorological last day of Summer, and that we were now entering into the Autumn season. Now that started me thinking about all of the four seasons in a year and how we don’t actually really experience those same quite obvious seasonal changes, well not here in this part of Spain, as some other places do, because unlike a lot of those other places, we actually tend to spend all of the four ‘Seasons In The Sun’, it is only the gradually reducing heat of the sunshine, combined with increasing density of any cloud and the decreasing number of daylight hours, that tend to make any noticeable difference down in our particular neck of the woods.

Well that was it, the word association with ‘Seasons In The Sun’ started instantaneously, I have no control over it whatsoever and so, within seconds of those words entering my thoughts, the musical juke-box in my brain had selected the appropriate song and started to play it, of course, those of you of a similar age group to myself, will already know the song to which I refer, the 1974 hit song by Terry Jacks……….

🎶 Goodbye to you my trusted friend, We’ve known each other since we were nine or ten, Together we’ve climbed hills and trees, Learned of love and ABC’s, Skinned our hearts and skinned our knees……….🎶

Although, when it came to the chorus, I did plagiarise it a little bit, as I am quite often prone to do with some songs, but again it is something that I have no control over, it is like an instant automatic response, often to Shazza’s annoyance, especially when it is one of her favourite tunes, and so the original chorus of that song has now been subtly amended to…………………..

🎶 We have joy, We have fun, We spend four seasons in the sun 🎶

Now for those of you reading this, who perhaps also remember that particular song and tune, I wouldn’t be surprised one little bit if your own personal juke-box in your brain hasn’t already started playing it in your heads, but don’t bother trying to fight the urge to sing it, as unlike the more modern physical music players, in your brain there is no off switch 🤭

The funny thing was, several minutes later Shazza was in the kitchen doing something and I could hear her singing the chorus, I popped my head around the door and said “Catchy little number isn’t it ?”, she laughed, “I can’t get the damned tune out of my head now but, am I singing the original words or your revised version ?” I thought about my answer, well for perhaps a nano-second, “No you are singing the original one’s” I replied 😳🤭 She will never know the truth unless someone tells her, I thought to myself 🤔 “If you are reading this Dougie, about that video call we were going to have……….😲” and “Debs, Shazza has had her Facebook account compromised, best you send any messages through me and I will pass them on to her” 🤭

Anyway, back to the subject of the change of season. The usual seasonal changes are ‘generally’, in most places, observed by a change in weather patterns and temperatures, but also visibly, by the change in the landscape scenery. The changing of the colour of the leaves on the trees, or a few early mornings where the first signs of a frost appear and the much cooler air starts to nip at exposed skin, until the Autumnal sunshine brings some welcome warmth on your face.

And totally by coincidence, during the weekend that I began to cobble together this ‘draft’ ramble, these two headlines below, appeared in one of our local media news publications.

Knowing the usual dismal accuracy record of our ‘Works of Fiction’ forecasts and reports, we just scoffed at it, but this time we really shouldn’t have done, as the ‘30c or more’ statement proved to be correct 😲 On the Saturday the mercury hit a little under the 36 degrees(c) mark 🥵🥵 although it was a little cooler the following day, at only 33 degrees(c), but those extremely high temperatures, even for this part of the Costa del Sol, in October, are unusual, and were not helped by the accompanying hot ‘Terel’ wind.

As has been a common practice for us during the Summer months, we were finding that we were still even now having to sit, both day and night, with all the doors, windows and outer security shutters closed and the Air Con running. However, we had elected to go out for a morning exercise walk, and along our more usual route, the mercury at that time showing just 23 degrees(c), so it was a more normal sort of temperature for Autumn in these parts, but what a mistake that decision proved to be 😲🥵 By the time we reached the town, the clear blue sky and hot sun, with the accompanying ‘Terel’ wind had rapidly increased the temperature to 30 degrees(c). We made two stops in town, at our usual Cafe/Bars, whereas more usually we would just make the one stop for refreshments, then we just sauntered back towards the Marina, where we quite spontaneously decided to eat lunch out at our favourite Moroccan Cafe/Bar, but this also served as a much appreciated bit of respite from the increasing heat of the day. By the time we had returned home the mercury was showing 33 degrees(c), and it still wasn’t the hottest part of the day 🥵 At least inside, the Air-Con kept us cool, although with the outer shutters closed it still felt as if we were living in a cave, but it was far too hot to go into the much brighter balcony. We both commented on how this, the first week into October, was supposed to be Autumn, when the more usual afternoon temperatures should have been a lot cooler at around the 26-27 degree mark and starting to cool, little by little, each and every week. But are these unusual temperatures for this time of the year due to climate change, or is it just a seasonal quirk, which can occasionally happen 🤷‍♂️

Now as far as Shazza’s mum is concerned, she cannot tolerate such hot temperatures, which is why she chooses to visit us at this time of year, so, had she arrived on the day she should have done, she would have been in for a not so pleasant first weekend. However, on the day she was due to depart the UK she met with an unfortunate accident, and literally just minutes before leaving her home to be driven to the Airport by one of her son’s, but instead, he had to take her to the A&E Department at her local hospital, where she had to have two staples inserted to a head wound she suffered when she fell over. Fortunately though it was nothing too serious and she was given the clearance to fly. She did however, due to her fall and hospital visit, miss her flight and she asked Shazza to re-organise another as soon as possible, even suggesting the next day 😲 However, unbeknown to her mum, we agreed that because it was a head wound, and we were concerned about her age and the ‘potential’ for delayed after effects, we agreed that it would be best to delay her arrival for 72 hours. Shazza kept in touch with her each day and she appeared, from the telephone conversations, and updates from other members of her family who went to visit her at home, to be perfectly fit and well, and she was still eager to commence her travels.

We collected her from Malaga Airport three days later where, fortunately, it was a more overcast day and only 25 degrees(c). She of course gave us the full chapter and verse about her ‘little incident’, as she referred to it, on the journey home from the airport, also informing us that the doctor had given her the ‘tool’ for one of us to remove the staples after ten days 😳

On that first evening, after dinner, Shazza and her mum were watching TV and I was sat on the balcony, when we saw the reflection on our walls of blue flashing lights, we looked out and saw two fire engines go past and then, at the top of the road, they turned right, in the direction of the entrance to our residential complex. Was it a wildfire on an area of scrubland across the road from us ? Was it a house or car fire ? Shazza went through to the kitchen and from those windows she could see the flashing lights and they looked as if they were in our communal car parking area, so of course, she sent me to investigate. As I approached the parking area I could see the firemen at the rear of a car, it had white smoke emanating from the boot. A small group of other residents had already arrived, some with their phones, video recording the incident, for their Facebook or Instagram accounts no doubt 🙄 I stood next to ‘Daniel’, who is one of our Spanish neighbours who lives below, and just to the right of us, only then did I realise that it was actually his car that had the smoke coming out from it. Neither Daniel, or Stephanie his partner, can speak one word of English but, in my limited Spanish, I established that he suspected the issue was with a battery in the boot of the vehicle. We watched as the fireman forcibly, but cautiously, opened the boot and then sprayed foam into it before rushing backwards as thicker plumes of white smoke filled the night air, the stench coming from it indicated that it was almost certainly an electrical issue, much like a burning clutch has its own unique smell. The firefighter’s gave warnings for onlookers to stand well back, for whilst there were no flames there was still a potential risk of a battery explosion. At first, I had not seen Stephanie, as she had been stood a little further away, but she looked across and saw me talking to Daniel, she waved and then walked towards me, tears were streaming down her face and she put her head on my shoulder and sobbed. I was a little taken aback, as I didn’t know her that well, but I guess she was still in a bit of shock, so I gave her a gentle hug and in my bestest Spanish whispered in her ear, ‘Al menos estás a salvo’ (At least you are safe). I asked her where her young daughter was and she told me that she was safe, with her mum. I didn’t ask any question’s about what had happened, there would be time enough for that in a few days time, or more likely when one of the other neighbours posted it on our community social media platform 🤷‍♂️ There was nothing else that I could do, and to be honest all I had really wanted to establish at the time was whether their was any immediate danger to ourselves, or our car. So I didn’t want to just stand there ‘rubber necking’, the fire brigade had it under control so, I said to them both, that if they needed any help, to be driven anywhere in the morning, to do shopping, collect their daughter from school, or whatever, then they should just knock on my door and I would be more than happy to help. They said thank you and I left, and of course reported back to the eagerly awaiting Shazza and her mum and imparted the information.

We have known Stephanie, and her previous partner, since they arrived here, which was a few months after we ourselves took up permanent residency here, although ‘Daniel’ is a more recent man on the scene 😉 but both of them are very nice and, although they do not speak English, we have always spoken whenever we see each other, brief casual conversations over the balcony, when they are out on their lower patio garden, but also on the occasional times we pass each other in the car park. These social interactions, with our close neighbours, as well as those that we have with the Spanish Cafe/Bar owners and staff, and even with some of the regular customers we have come to recognise, all serve to make us feel a part of our local community. Of course we also have other Spanish, English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Russian and Romanian neighbours within our small residential community, who we may not see on a daily basis, but when we do, we always pass the usual neighbourly pleasantries between each other. It is a good multi-National mixed community and although there is the usual influx of tourists, of all nationalities, who rent some properties, mainly during the Summer months for short periods at a time, you soon get to know your fellow ‘permanent’ residents who, for now at least, do still make up the much larger majority of the community. So although I cannot say that living in Spain is perfect, as I may have already mentioned once or twice in previous rambles, as there are some ‘Irritations’ and ‘Frustrations’ of living here in Spain, which to be totally honest is primarily all related to the official ‘Bureurocracy’, but this ‘Officialdom’ applies to everyone, even the Spanish themselves, so if they have to accept and live with it, then of course, so must we, well as long as we are able to do so, for their are political undercurrents that may soon change our ability to do so 😲

Reading this news, in a European News Media publication, rather than a dedicated Spanish one, of course has started to ring some alarm bells for us for our long term plans for, under our current Retirement Visa (Non-Lucrative Visa), we are not permitted to work anyway, even if we wanted to, although we could do voluntary work. As for the language, well we are already making reasonable headway with that particular element, although I do wonder how they will be able to confirm the ‘speaking with your neighbours’ aspect 🤷‍♂️ However, it appears that ‘Spain’ is not the only country tightening up on the ability for ‘Legal Immigrants’ to move to another country permanently.

The same of course could potentially happen in the UK if the ‘Reform Party’ were to win the next General Election, it appears that as a consequence of the ‘Illegal Migration’ problem that has arisen around the world, let alone just in Europe, some more ‘Right Wing’ and anti-immigration Political Parties, believe that the only way to resolve the issue is to swing the axe at ‘all’ Immigrants, Legal or otherwise 🤷‍♂️ As I have said very many times in these rambles, and personally speaking, ‘I am not going to worry about something that I have no control or influence over’, so when, or even if, Spain does introduce such a policy then that is when we will deal with it, for now it is just a debate between the existing Government coalition of parties 🤷‍♂️ Both Shazza and I agree that, if the Spanish Authorities decide that we do not merit enough points and they no longer permit us to continue to live in this country, then so be it, we will, albeit reluctantly, return to the UK, or maybe consider elsewhere, although, at our ages, I doubt that we would go through all of that Expense and Bureaucracy again elsewhere. That is why, since selling up our UK home and all our worldly possessions when, at that time we decided to live a more nomadic lifestyle in our motor home, I always used to keep a few options open, ‘in my back pocket’ as I often used to refer to them, well I do still have one or two in my back pocket even now, for you can never be certain what the future may have in store for you 😉 At the end of the day, Life is really just one big adventure, with perhaps some obstacles thrown in your path along your particular journey, obstacles that ordinarily you would prefer not to have to encounter, but even so, you still have choices 🤔 Turn back, overcome the obstacles or change direction. As many of my reader’s will already know, Shazza and I have changed directions several times in our adventures. However, quite often, if you prepare in advance for an obstacle that you perceive may arise, very often it doesn’t 😉 We are fairly confident that nothing will change by the time we come to renew our residency permits in June next year, they will then be valid for another two year’s until 2028. That is the point when our next renewal would have extended our residency for a further five year’s, so if the new points policy system is incorporated, it is at that point where it then ‘may’ impact on us. This gives us another two and a half years to improve our Spanish further, stay involved in our local community, and perhaps we could even volunteer a couple of days a month to join in with the local beach litter picking club, at least then we could still keep wearing our flip-flops 😂

Until the next ramble………………

Hasta Luego mi Amigos, La Vida Es Buena