Last Break Before Winter Sets In

Well I've managed to book a long weekend at the end of September at the campsite near my mum again.  It was a bit hit and miss to start with as all the rain has left the campsite owners worried that our RV will sink in their grass!

However they have confirmed today that there is room on an area that has the grass reinforced so our booking is confirmed.

I was beginning to wonder whether the whole of the UK had gone completely motorhome unfriendly including campsites!

So Ricky is booked to spend the three nights with Saysha our remaining cat and my mum has been told that we are coming to see her after all.  Just hope the weather picks up a little bit so we can enjoy our last outing in the trailer before we drain it and shut it up for the winter.

I think Mick was ready to hop on the train and go across to France - where Motorhomes & RVs are welcome everywhere.

DHL, UPS & City Link

I know I've moaned about it before but I really do wonder why people use the above to deliver their parcels!  (Cheap I suppose).

I have had parcels delivered (or awaiting delivery) from all the above just lately and their customer service is abysmal.

City Link (Chitty Link) - will not allow your parcel to be delivered elsewhere unless really pushed.  They totally ignored a signed note from me asking for delivery elsewhere and just popped one of their "we tried to deliver" cards through the door.  Do not deliver Saturday and only open 9-5.

UPS (Oops) - well they are the best out of three - they did deliver it (but Mick was at home or we would have got one of their cards too)  - but they charged VAT on the parcel.  Funny how not all of them do!  Do not deliver Saturday and only open 9-5.

DHL (DH 'hell)- left a message to say that there is VAT due on parcel and it is awaiting delivery and with the courier.  Tried to phone straight back to find that they had been shut for half an hour (funny how they phoned me during that time) and when you go online to track the package you find that it is sitting in a van somewhere waiting to be delivered (on Tuesday after the bank holiday as they don't deliver Saturdays).  They do have a pickup point about 15 miles away but there is no phone number for them and you can't pick it up unless you make an appointment.  Atrocious site that sends you round and round in circles.  Do not deliver Saturday and only open 9-5.

Well we work as well and the rest of the time it seems we will be running around trying to pick up a parcel!

Why oh why can't people use Royal Mail - at least they deliver on Saturday and their sorting office is close at hand.

If I know that a parcel is going to be delivered by the above terrible trio I normally go elsewhere to purchase an item but unfortunately you don't always know which courier the shipping company is going to use.

Autumn & Winter Stock is now in

Well the autumn and winter stock is now in and the way the weather has been just lately anyone would think we were in November not AUGUST!

So think of me trudging to work in the wind and rain; coming home to put more stock on my website and then studying the web design in the remainder of time available.  I need more hours in a day...

So amidst the Halloween and Santa outfits I sit gazing out the window into the dark and try and remember summer.

Boy do I hate winter, and it's not even here.

New Stock Coming Soon

I've put in an order for some new stock for my web store and it should arrive some time during the week.

Unfortunately I will have to increase my prices this time to fall somewhere close to the other online stores as I am having one particular person who is putting photos of my stock on her site and then when she gets an order she buys it from me (for half the price she is selling it for) and I have to send it direct to her customer without putting an invoice or anything showing my site.

Now I know a sale is a sale and all that but it does get a bit irritating when I'm having to dash around making sure that I get it posted the next day (free of charge) while this other person is getting double the money and the postage costs plus looking as though she has a lot of stock!  Nothing is shown on my site that I don't have in stock!

I will leave my prices as low as I can but without making it too easy for others to gain too much out of my products.  After all if I was going into being a drop shipper I would have done that in the first place.

Good bye old motorhome

Well this morning the old motorhome was handed over to its new owners.

We showed them how to work all the bits and pieces and left a rather excited couple and two kids to plan where they are going to go in it.

The kids have already named it Betty and are arguing over which bed they are going to sleep in.

I hope they have many years of happy holidays in it.

Ok I'm Back

Well the weather here for the past week has been awful.  But then saying that the weather elsewhere hasn't been too good either.

Only tonight we watched TVE and saw that two people were killed when their all-terrain vehicle was swept away by flood waters in Aguilar de la Frontera, about 50 km south of Córdoba. Another perished from a wall collapse at his home in Bujalance, 35 km east of Córdoba. These were caused by flash floods when I believe the report said that there was 40 litres an hour falling during thunderstorms.


This has certainly been a wet year!


Looking at the berries forming already quite prolifically on the bushes and trees I would say that it is going to be another hard winter too.


Already the mornings are getting darker and when I get up at 5.30 it is necessary to turn on the light.  Boy how I dislike the winter time.


Hopefully August won't finish off the way it's started and I do hope we get a few more days of sunshine before the autumn is upon us.  Don't know about you but the summer always seems too short and the winter far too long!

Time to Move On?

It's funny how this little house that we call home no longer feels the same.

We bought this house, from new, in 1983.  We have been through so many years with so many experiences that I often wondered how I would feel leaving this house for good.  I always used to cling to the thought that maybe we could still keep it and rent it out while living in Spain.  All that has now changed.

I look around me and it is just bricks and mortar.  The memories and life that we have shared in this house are in our hearts not in this material building.  I no longer want to be here.

I really believe it is now time to move on.

Memories - Just a few special cat moments

R.I.P. Garfie

Rest in peace Garfie and I curse a thousand times the speed freak that was going to leave you in the middle of the road. xxx

You were a stray who came into our lives in 2002 and you were a right character who made me laugh so many times.  You will be sorely missed.

Today is a good day

You know when you just have one of those relaxing, do what you want, get a lot done, and feel great days - well today is one of them.

So what have I been up to. Well I've done the normal boring bits like housework etc but I've also had a clear out of all those clothes that I haven't worn/can't get in to or just don't like. The pile of charity bags popped through the door gave me the incentive and so I've dragged out all those hidden bags, cases and piles of clothes and spent the afternoon trying things on and filling up bags for the charity.

The day started well with Millie Skyping (not a proper term for it I know) us from Mallorca. It was lovely to get a connection at last - the wi-fi there can be a bit hit and miss!

The sun tried to burn its way through the clouds and the day ended up quite warm.

Finally, I still did a 'bit' on my laptop. I updated my blog and gave it a bit of a facelift; created a second one and checked in on my websites.

Now we've had something to eat, watched You've Been Framed and soon I will relax in a nice bath, sit down to watch a film and have a couple of Cuba Libre.

Yes today is good.

Paul and Rachel Chandler

As the months fly by I suddenly thought that I had heard nothing with regard to Paul & Rachel Chandler who were taken hostage in October last year by pirates in Somalia.

Now I don't wish to say too much in case there had been news which I missed in which case I do not want to upset anyone or say anything out of order.

However if the couple are still being held hostage almost ten months later then why has the news dried up? Is anything being done?

Website Design Update

Sorry if I'm not saying too much at the moment but I'm busy learning web design in my spare moments!

I've finished the HTML course and am now learning the CSS side of things. I'm finding it very interesting (and a little challenging) but it is great fun.

It is definitely more time consuming than I thought...

Lazy Sundays

Once again it is Sunday morning. The sun is trying to shine a little and it's about 20C at the moment. Not as warm and bright as I'd like it to be but at least the windows and doors are open and the birds are singing.

Already Garfie (our ginger cat) has been in for his daily treat (tuna). Normally during weekdays he has a little tuna in the evening when Mick gets home, followed by a little bit of Felix from me when I get home. Saysha (our grey tabby) goes along with the tuna but doesn't like Felix so has a drop of milk instead.

But at weekends the timetables change. As far as the cats are concerned as long as I am up and out of bed then it's time for a treat! They do have complete dry biscuits and water down at all times but the little treats are just that - little treats.

So Garfie has had his treat, has had a little chat (he meaows so much more these days) and has now gone on his way - off to find his favourite bush to hide under no doubt. Saysha being the indoor cat that she is has just decided to lie on the conservatory floor. She is never far from my side and will venture out into the garden only when she has to!

So why am I rambling on about the cats. Well it sets the scene for the lazy day I have planned. Already the washing machine has done its job and now I can sit here gazing out at the garden and do a little more work on my HTML course. I am finding it very interesting and building a website totally from scratch is fun. (I know, sad aren't I). The subject of the website is of course Cefe's Bar - El Leon Rojo - and although he probably thinks I've forgotten about building his website, I haven't, I was just not happy with the templates that I found and so I am doing this course and building what I think will be an individual, unique website for him.

It might take a little longer - but hopefully it will be worth it!

On with the work then... oh and just to add what I know Cefe would say "you're crazy". Yes I know I am!