A Foot in Two Campos

I admit that a year ago I hadn’t even heard of the phrase “Bucket List” and even had to ask what it meant.   Of course once it was patiently explained to me that it meant  “Things to Do Before you Kick the Bucket”, it was blindingly obvious, but the phrase had previously passed me by.  One good friend has a Bucket List.  She’s doing quite well at ticking things off it, but also seems to add things at a frightening rate, so I’m not sure how that will work.

So for a few months the only thing on my Bucket List was ….. umm ….. to make a Bucket List.  Trouble was, I quite genuinely couldn’t think of anything to put on it.  This got me to thinking about the nature of contentment, happiness, completeness, and all that kind of thing.

Obviously the big thing on my Bucket List for a while has been to have my own little corner of paradise in Spain, and since achieving that last summer I have been resoundingly, overwhelmingly, radiantly, and rather annoyingly, happy.  Happiness tinged, of course, with the loss of my mother after I had begun the purchase, and the sadness that she would never see my Axarquía home. 

And that’s a massive item to have ticked off.  I’ve been saving up for almost ten years to make it possible (which means it’s mildly annoying when people say “Oh aren’t you lucky!” as though I woke up one morning with the deeds to a house unexpectedly on the doormat).

I wonder if the number of items on people’s Bucket Lists says something about their level of contentment?  Or, perhaps harshly, about their capacity for contentment?  It seems to me there’s a fairly obvious correlation between a list of things unachieved, and a niggling feeling of discontent.  And reading one of the ex-pat forums on the internet, there is quite a number of people who HAVE achieved what might be on many other people’s Bucket Lists, ie to live in Spain (or the foreign country of their choice), yet remain very discontent with it.  They appear to have very long Bucket Lists, consisting of (1) change Spanish bureaucracy to be more like the UK;  (2) change the Spanish language to be more like the UK;  (3) change Spanish laws to be identical to the UK;  (4) change everything about Spain to be more like the UK, except the weather.

Then this weekend I listened to a young woman called Helen Fawkes on Radio 4.  She is a journalist, now writing a blog called “living with cancer”  at http://helenfawkes.wordpress.com .  She doesn’t call hers a Bucket List – she calls it a List for Living.  I like that.  It’s about shaping our lives to how we want to live them, hopefully for quite a long time, rather than about ticking things off so we can head happily towards our graves!

So I’d like to hear what’s on other people’s Lists for Living.  This will hardly be scientific, but it would be interesting to see whether people who have made the move to their chosen “paradise” have fewer items on their Lists for Living.

As for me, I have just one item left on mine, and all being well that one will have a tick beside it by the end of 2013.  When it has, I shall write about it.  Until then ….. I’m keeping it quiet!

© Tamara Essex 2013

There are seven houses in my little street. Possibly six. Maybe even eight. It’s a bit hard to tell with Spanish families living next door to each other ….. or just in a different part of the same house. Anyway, I’ve always reckoned there are seven. I think.

So it always seemed slightly odd that mine was number 21. It’s not even as though I’m on the corner of the bigger road. I’m half way up one side of a cul-de-sac. Still, the escritura (deeds to the property) and the catastral (similar to the land registry) and the bills from the ayuntamiento (town hall) all say 21 so it must be right.  Who am I to argue?

Except that nobody else in the street has a high number. In fact, out of the six remaining properties (or thereabouts), three of them are number five. When I was expecting a parcel, I left a note on the front door asking the delivery people to put it in to number 5 (opposite) or number 5 (adjacent)! They actually put it in to number 3 (further up the hill) but never mind.

“Yes that’s all fine”, she said, “but there isn’t a number 21 in your street.” I showed her that the town hall sent all my bills and correspondence to number 21, and that the water Padrón issued by the town hall was for number 21. “Yes that’s all fine”, she said, “but there isn’t a number 21 in your street.”   I showed her that the escritura and the catastral were for number 21. “Yes that’s all fine”, she said, “but there isn’t a number 21 in your street.”

I would like to thank the wonderful Anne Orchard for kindly nominating me for this blog award.  As a relatively new blogger I do feel honoured.

Like most of these blog-hopping things, there are rules which I’ve been asked to pass on, so here they are …….

The Rules:
Thank the person who nominated you (obviously!);
Add the “One Lovely Blog Award” image to your post;
Share 7 things about you;
Pass the award on to seven nominees;
Include this set of rules;
Inform your nominees by posting a comment on their blogs.

So here we go …..

Seven Things About Me

1.   I’ve been freelancing for 20 years as a trainer and consultant for charities …….

2.   ……. but I’m going to retire at the end of March 2013 (hurrah!);

3.   I share my time between the two loveliest places in the world – Shaftesbury in Dorset, and Colmenar in the Axarquía region of Málaga in Spain;

4.   I’m pedantic about grammar, apostrophes and spelling and believe that all writers should be too (ooh that sets me up – hope I haven’t got any wrong in this post!);

5.   I sing second alto (that’s the low women’s part), have sung frequently in the Royal Albert Hall and the Festival Hall in London, and have now also performed in Moreno’s Bar in Puente Don Manuel;

6.   I’m pretty sure my politics have remained the same for the last 30 years – it’s the Labour Party that has changed, not me;

7.   The two little Spanish girls in the house next door thing I’m completely barmy, so they worked it out pretty quickly.

And now not “One Lovely Blog” but SEVEN that I’d like to introduce to you:

Tapas in Málaga:  Michael Soffe is the fount of all knowledge about Málaga, and although he is a brand-new blogger I just know that this will be a blog worth following (just wait for the acerbic wit to begin emerging!).  “From Tutus and Toronto to Tapas”   http://tapasinmalaga.wordpress.com/

East of Málaga:  Marianne is one of those wonderfully-encouraging women that enable you to do more than you thought you could.  She takes superb pictures around the Axarquía región for her blog:     http://eastofmalaga.net/

Annie McDowall is one of those multi-talented people too nice to dislike!  Her first novel “Charity Begins with Murder”   http://amzn.to/RBYRwH is a great murder-mystery set in a small London charity.   Her blog is more focussed on her coaching work and is always worth a read.  http://beanstalkcoaching.wordpress.com/

Arguing Over Olives:  This is a “tell it how it really is” blog about moving to Spain.  Eggcup writes with no holds barred and doesn’t dress it up as “living the dream”.  Sometimes tough to read but always honest.   http://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/olives.aspx

“About Writing, Life, and “Writing About Life”:  Anne Orchard writes informatively about writing, and always with humility and compassion.  Her book “Their Cancer – Your Journey” helps carers deal with their situation and is written from her own experience of caring for her mother.   http://anneorchardwriter.wordpress.com/

“Andalucia Explorer” is written by Rachel Webb, who must feel like I’m her stalker, because every time she writes about somewhere I turn up there a couple of days later!  She knows the area well and inspires me to visit new places.  http://andaluciaexplorer.blogspot.com.es/

La Rosilla:   The multi-talented Lynsey Drake cooks, entertains, and writes, all of which would be annoying except she’s so nice!    http://larosilla.info/2012/12/

So those are my seven, in no particular order.  I hope you’ll enjoy hopping over to a few of them – I’m sure you’ll agree with me that they are all highly deserving of the “One Lovely Blog” award!

© Tamara Essex 2013

I didn’t mean to end up as a camarera (waitress) when I headed off to Granada, but that’s how my day ended. 

It had started in the more usual way.  I drove to Loja and hopped on the train to Granada as I wasn’t sure how easy parking would be in the city.  Granada station is surprisingly small and nondescript, totally lacking in maps or tourist information.  

In town I was leapt upon by a member of the Unidad de Policía Turística (Tourist Police Unit) and leaflets and maps thrust into my hand.   We had one of those useful but frustrating conversations, in which I wanted to speak Spanish and he wanted to speak English.  Though my refusal to reply in English led to him trying French and a bit of German on me too, which was impressive!

He pointed me towards the Ayuntamiento (town hall) where I wanted to view the belén (nativity scene).  The belenes in Málaga had been varied and beautiful, but in Granada they take things even more seriously, with several competition categories, over a hundred entries, and prizes awarded.  Overall first prize went to the Archivo Museo de San Juan de Dios.

As planned, my tour of the belenes ended at the start of the river walk along Carrero del Darro, a beautiful walk at the foot of both the Alhambra and the Albaicín area.  Lunch was at the very good Ruta del Azafrán restaurant with views across the river up to the Alhambra.  If there were prizes for having really chic loos, this would be the winner!

From there the climb up through the winding lanes of the Albaicín was straightforward, insofar as any walk through this barrio can be.  One guidebook had said it was best to abandon the map and just head upwards, turning left and right as the mood takes you – and this worked well, leading me into corners I might not otherwise have found (the tourist office suggested the route around the edge – far duller!).

I found a wonderful market-place with a great coffee shop, went up to the famous viewpoint at Plaza San Nicolas, listened to excellent street musicians, photographed the Alhambra and the snow-covered Sierra Nevada, and felt thoroughly touristy!

Feeling the need for an evening drink and tapas while waiting for the sun to go down, I headed back into the alleyways.  Among the countless tapas bars, some touristy, some studenty, I’d earlier spotted Restaurante Manuel Torcuato, and had planned to return.  It took a bit of finding again but was well worth it.  Friendly, and serving delicious tapas from a good chalkboard list at good prices.

After a delicious plate of boquerones plus a tapas bowl of the house special stew I tried to catch the waiter’s attention for my bill.  He was tied up explaining to a Japanese family with two young children that the dancing didn’t start for another hour, by pointing at a clock and counting minutes.  They wanted to eat, but though I suspect the waiter understood quite a lot of English, the family spoke only limited and heavily-accented English and the conversation was going nowhere.  With several Spanish customers at the bar beginning to look uncharacteristically impatient, I offered my services as a translator.  Delighted, the waiter thrust his pen and order-book at me and rushed off to complete the bar orders. 

“My” customers understood nothing of the menu, and found it hard to explain what sort of food they liked.  In the end I cobbled together a menu it seemed both adults would like, with the children picking at the three dishes we had eventually chosen.  The waiter still tied up at the bar, I took the order to the kitchen hatch and called it through, asking that the family would get all their dishes at the same time, even though one was a tapas, one a starter, and one a main meal.  I also asked for two small plates for the children.

The family then insisted on buying me a drink.  They also tried to pay for my meal but the waiter said there was no charge.  Hmmm …. this waitressing lark could be quite beneficial!

Finally I got away and climbed back to San Nicolas for the night-time views across to the Alhambra.  Stunning.  The walk back to the station was pleasant under the city’s Christmas lights.  A truly memorable start to 2013, and definitely a city to return to, again and again.

© Tamara Essex 2013