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January
'13
Back
to the UK
We took the car on the Bibao-Portsmouth ferry at the beginning of
January so we could be at PG's mum's 80th birthday celebrations.
It was great to see all her extended family, catch up on what was
going on and tell them how we were doing in our adventures over
here. We also managed to squeeze in visits to other friends and
my family before getting the ferry back 6 days later.
The
only day it was sunny was the day we left.
Windy
weather
Usually January in Catalunya is a cold but sunny month with morning
frosts then beautiful still and sun filled days. This year was a
big exception. Mistral winds blew almost continuously throughout
the month, with average speeds of 35-45kph and gusts up to 125kph.
There was hardly a letup of more than one day at a time. All this
put paid to any chance of working on the finca and burning off the
huge piles of branches from last years pruning. At least our olive
trees were spared to many broken branches due to the good pruning
they had received in previous years.
No.
11
Our trip to the UK meant we were able to bring back all the things
we had ordered for the house that didn't get delivered before Xmas,
so we spent some time putting up light fittings and pictures, which
made the house look much more lived in. The plumber still has not
completed putting in the ensuite bathroom sinks and a few other
little problems need resolving, but all in all everything is working
smoothly.
The
pleasure of being able to sit in a warm room with the log burning
stove blazing away after 6 years of living in the flat with it's
ambient temperature of 11c and two electric radiators cannot be
described.
Festes
de St. Marc
On the 18th January, the village held the annual Festival of St.
Marc. Luckily it was one of the less windy nights, so the houses
next to the celebrations survived the burning of the thatched hut.
For each of the last three years the festivities have got bigger.
This year march therough the village included a drumming band and
then the songs afterwards went on for about an hour.
All
hosted by a village of less than 700 people.
House
is loving his new home. It is very difficult to take a photo without
him getting in the picture.
December
2012
February 2013
PB
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