I’m sure by now most of you will be aware from the media that much of Europe is experiencing a major heatwave? Well don’t believe all the hype about how much hotter is is now than has ever been. I checked our temperatures for the last few years, in fact since we moved to Murcia, and actually nothing much has changed! Last year we had temperatures of 44C in the shade, on our terrace. This year, so far, we have seen temps of 40C but that could reach up to 43C in the next few days, then tailing off to a much more manageable low 30s. The current temps are absolutely normal for this time of year, it’s summer here and business as usual. That can mean restrictions on working hours for those who usually work outside, for obvious reasons, and older people and small children are advised not to be out in the hottest part of the day. Incidentally, the hottest part of the day is not noon, it’s from around 3pm to 6pm. Sometimes tourists don’t realise the effect heat can have on your body, especially if combined with copious amounts of beer instead of water, and tragedies can occur, as we have all read about recently. Last year, across Europe, 61,000 people died due to the high temperatures. Shocking.
When the heat is on there’s only one place to be – in the pool. Oh, and stretched out indoors with the aircon blasting. Okay, so that’s two places but you get the picture! Our pool is above ground – we live in a regional park so are unable to get permission for an in-ground one. Still the pool measures 7.5m x 3.5m so it’s a great size anyway. Last week we noticed a wee drip from one end, and it seemed we had a tiny hole where a bolt from the frame had nipped the liner. Alfredo, our fireman friend from down the road, came over and said he would fix it!? So, he got into the pool, went down to the bottom – it’s deep enough, up to about my chest – but had to get Peter to hold him down under the water so he could apply the sealant. Looks like a murder scene with a very happy murderer holding down his victim!
Happily the sealant did the trick, no more leaks! The pool is up one end of the courtyard and Peter has now started plastering all the walls, ready to paint. The whole area will look so much nicer when it’s finished, hopefully within the next few days – heatwave permitting! We need to paint the concrete floor of the whole courtyard white, then we have cushioned mats and a brightly coloured very big rug to put down which should look good as well as being kinder on the feet. Work starts between 7am and 8am then finishes around 12 when it’s just too hot. Early evening we can get another couple of hours in. (Well I say “we” but of course I really mean the husband!) Then we’ll add some tall plants in pots around the courtyard, and cover everything in wee solar lights. I have a very big dead branch ready to spray white, silver, gold and bronze, and will add solar lights so it’s like a summer “Christmas” tree!
I’ve been hand sewing long cushion covers for the swing seat – Peter has painted the seat frame a lovely sapphire blue. My sewing machine had a nervous breakdown in the heat so it needs a proper service. What would have taken me half an hour at the most to sew by machine has now taken forever with hours spent hand stitching, but when the sewing machine is up and running again I can go over my hand sewn seams properly. It’ll do for now. It’s looking much fresher and brighter now. We need to fix on the canopy frame which I will cover with the same material and then that’s it, job done! I looked for ages for the right material to cover the cushions and make the canopy, but most that I really liked were really expensive. Then I had a brainwave – I bought two single duvet covers from Ikea. One of them, cut lengthways, covered both the seat and back cushions, and with minimal hand-stitching! The other will provide the cover for the canopy. Total cost, €24. So, it’s nearly finished now, thank goodness, another job ticked off the list. It is a really lovely place to sit on the terrace, always a cool breeze and fantastic views over the mountains. There are frequently eagles circling, sure where else would you be?
I’ve just had to renew my Irish passport again, but this time instead of using the postal service I did it online. Well it turned out to be the easiest thing ever! We asked one local photographer place what the fee was to provide a digital photo – €10. I wasn’t going to go there anyway, we always use a really lovely lad called Alberto, he and his father run a photography studio in town. So, got the digital photo done, and Alberto printed me off 4 copies, just in case the digital one didn’t pass muster and I would have had to go down the postal route. It certainly did pass muster, the whole application took about 10 minutes and I should have my new passport around 30th July. Incidentally, the digital and printed photos came to a total of €5, hooray for Alberto!
In this heat it’s actually difficult to drag up an appetite so we tend to eat little and often during the day, only tapa sized little meals, instead of full lunch or dinner. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, one of my favourite thing is langoustines. No need to do anything with them except eat the delicious little things! And the good news is that our main supermarket, Mercadona, has reduced the prices on over 100 foods, including fish and seafood, and olive oil, all considered staples here. This means my favourite langoustines have come down in price from €11.95 to €9.95 a kilo. Oh joy! Guess what I had for lunch today?!
Speaking of eating, we were down at the coast recently to meet our lovely friend Karen for lunch. SHe lives in England but has a house here in Spain. We talk all the time via whatsapp and Facebook, and get as many wee video calls in as we can as well. Karen and her husband Dave were going to be the witnesses at our wedding in Gibraltar five years ago, but Dave became very ill with pancreatic cancer.
I’ve known Karen longer than I’ve known Peter but we haven’t been able to get together since just before Dave became ill, so it was so it was really, really wonderful to see her. We spent most of the time just catching up and hugging! I’ve stolen this photo of them from Karen’s Facebook page as I love it so much. I’ll ask forgiveness after as I didn’t ask for permission in advance!
It’s just Karen on her own now, though I’m very happy to see she is so busy with her daughters and grandchildren, as well as filling her life with love and friendship. When we message each other we always sign off with “Love you, Mrs Roberts!”, from me, and, “Love you, Mrs Kopczynska!” from her. So, until the next time you’re over again Karen, let me tell you you’re more than worth the 400 kms plus round trip drive to see you, and…love you, Mrs Roberts.
Now, here’s a thing. I know this blog is supposed to be all about my life in Spain but I do think this is also part of that, in that it illustrates the potential difficulties of getting things done over here, and, more importantly, the ease with which things can be achieved, especially when dealing with Norn Iron people! So, for all you folk who don’t live in Norn Iron, and especially for the very, very few who don’t realise what a fabulous place the country and its people really are….here’s a wee example. Peter recently caught his finger on a door handle, and it snapped open his wedding ring. Now, this is a man who loves that wedding ring and everything it means to him, so he was a bit upset when the ring broke.
We had bought the ring in Rohdich’s famous shop in Portrush – the only place to go if you’re looking for genuine Celtic jewellery, amongst a whole plethora of other items! “No problem”, said I, I’ll contact the shop in Portrush and see if they have another the same. So I messaged Alice Rohdich, with the sad story and a couple of photos of the damaged ring, to see if they might have the same one, same size, still in stock, just in case we couldn’t get his fixed.
Alice came back straightaway with the great news that they had the same ring, right size, and she would be able to give me a total price once she knew the postage costs. Shortly after that she messaged me to say she had posted it….but I hadn’t even paid her yet! Got the payment off while being so grateful to be part of a community like Northern Ireland where people actually trust you to do the right thing. So, big, BIG thank you to Alice for helping out so quickly and graciously!
And to anyone who thinks Northern Ireland isn’t a great place….you don’t know what you’re missing!
My life in Spain 