Spanish Eyes, English Words

Yes, my friends, you are talking to a Euromillions winner, but don't worry - I won't let it change my life, and I'll still be here blogging away. Well, to be honest, it would take more than the 9.20 Euro I just picked up from the Tabac in Quesada to change my life, but at least I don't have to worry about anyone kidnapping my grandchildren and holding them to ransom. And our tiny mailbox won't be overflowing with begging letters. Everything has its good points, doesn't it?

One thing that I've noticed before is that, although the tickets are cheaper here in Spain than in the UK - 2 Euro as opposed to £2 - the prizes are always higher here as well. Tony tried to explain that there are heck of a lot more tickets sold across Europe than in the UK, so it stands to reason that the prize fund is higher, therefore there's more to pay out and everyone gets a bigger share. I get that - even though he could have sounded a little bit less superior when he was explaining it. However, it doesn't alter the fact that here in Spain we pay less for our tickets but pick up more at the Tabac.

Once I have something in my head, I have to follow it through, so I looked through the prize money to see how it compared further up the scale. My modest win equated to a profit of the equivalent of £6.40, taking into account the difference in ticket price, as opposed to £4.40 if I'd bought the ticket in the UK. Okay, £2 isn't a lot in the scheme of things - although on a small win, it's quite a high percentage.

It's when the numbers get bigger that the real differences emerge. If I'd matched 4 numbers and 2 stars, I'd have been doing cartwheels  around the apartment and kissing the cat - if I could actually do cartwheels, and if we actually had a cat, that is. I would have bagged a prize of 6,802.40 Euro, or £5,759.30 at today's exchange rates. Still not life-changing stuff, but useful nevertheless.

If I'd bought the winning ticket in the UK, I'd have ended up with £4,671.60 - almost £1,000 less, and my ticket would have cost £2 as opposed to 2 Euro. I'm not going to talk about 'Rip Off Britain,' although that was my first instinct, because I know it all depends on the money coming into the prize pool, and it's more convenient to have the tickets priced in the exact monetary units of the country concerned.

One thing is certain though - I won't be buying any Euromillions tickets when we go back to the UK next week. At least, not unless there's a huge rollover. I don't begrudge the extra 30 cents or so to be in with a chance of the big one. After all, you have to be in it to win it, don't you?

A friend of mine is a very hard-working gardener with her own business, and she rarely has two consecutive days off, so with Saturday being a Red Day, she decided to take her son camping on Kings Land Beach, just outside Torrevieja. I haven't been there myself, but apparently lots of people go there just to chill out and swim in the sea, and there's nearly always someone with a guitar.

She invited her friends to join her for supper and drinks, and they had a great time before going off in a taxi and leaving Sam and her son to bed down for the night. At about 3.00am, she was rudely awakened by the Guardia Civil, who ordered them out of the tent. They wanted to know what she was doing there, and asked to see her passport and vehicle documents.

Sam was very concerned, especially as she had her 12 year old son with her, but he seemed to be enjoying the moment. She'll be the first person to admit that clothes aren't important to her, but she must have looked particularly scruffy, because the cops asked her if she was on the 'Wanted' list!

After making a few checks, they asked her to break camp and go - they wouldn't even let her sleep there for what was left of the night. By the time she told us all about it yesterday, she'd seen the funny side, but I couldn't help wondering why they Guardia Civil don't take the same approach to all the motor homes that take over the prime spots at La Marina, or the Mercadona car park at Playa Flamenca. Maybe it was just the clothes that did it!

Anyway, our good friend Sam now has two nicknames, depending on how we feel. She's either 'Spain's Most Wanted' or 'The Fugitive!' With friends like us, who needs enemies?

Have you missed me? I haven't been around much lately because I've been pretty busy. I have a new writing job, working for someone in La Marina writing articles and rewriting website content. I love the job, but it takes up 20 hours a week, on top of my regular freelance work, so it hasn't left  much time to keep the blog updated. Hopefully, I'll soon be able to organise my time a little better, and I can spend more time here.

On top of everything else, we're looking after our friends' two Miniature Schnauzers while they visit their family in the UK. Well, by the time I'd finished my work and fed the dogs this evening, I realised that I had the whole weekend free, with no writing that needed attention, so when we walked the dogs, we decided to make a pit stop at one of the bars at the top of the urbanisation. We met a couple of friends on the way, and they joined us. However, we never made it as far as the bars, because our friend Erik, who owns the bodega I wrote about here was just closing up for the evening.

Although we've been back in Spain for 5 weeks, we still hadn't managed to catch up with Erik and his partner Roma, as so much had been going on since we got back. Roma said, 'It's party time!' and Erik fetched the glasses and some wine. The six of us enjoyed a few drinks and a catch up, and Roma brought out some hand made sweets from Lithuania for us to try. It was a spontaneous party, and it reminded us - not that we needed it - that Spain is a great place to live!