Slowlycatchymonkey

The rental agreement is for 1 year (with an option to extend each year for up to 5 years) but we are still running a business in the UK so there’s not a chance we won’t be back within the prescribed 90 days and reaching the max of 183 days is also not happening for the next 5 years minimum but with the rent here for 6 months being less than the cost of a one week holiday for this lot there’s really no reason to delay starting up some life over here even if it is only a max of 6 months of the year.

Yep lovely stuff!

It’s a gated compound which initially didn’t appeal but the inside of the square with the pool and green grass is well maintained and secure so that (and tbh the really low rent) won me over. This is a screenshot from Google maps of the part that faces outside. Glad I’m renting, the responsibility for sorting things out in the property and dealing with tradesmen in a language I don’t understand can definitely wait! Tried multiple times to delete the below duplicated pic but it’s not having any of it. I’ll have one last go- nope bugger it!

That part has definitely not sunk in yet and I don’t think it will completely until the holiday feeling wears off. Gonna find the pics of the place from the estate agent listing, not yet acclimatised so wandering around taking pics myself is not on the cards!

Thanks, that’s lovely of you.

That weird old witch is still alive then. I remember watching her programme wondering how anyone would take health advice from someone who looked so ill

Yep all good TLDR It was a bit stressful but turned out dandy in the end. Yesterday was a bloody long day though. Up a 3am finished signing the contract etc at 9.15pm as the landlord didn’t finish work some way away in Madrid until 5. Came painfully close to missing our flight as the passenger locator form that aeromedical consulting supply isn’t correct for what’s needed to board so a very lengthy online form (that kept glitching and making you start again) had to be filled in and varified before they send you the QR code you have to have other end. I got stuck in security as I’d put a sewing machine in my hand luggage (yes I like doing girly shit like cooking and sewing) and the gate closing time soon passed. I asked the security guy if the gates usually close on time, he helpfully replied yes or often early. This was a bit stressful, especially as our checked bags had already gone through and would be landing in Spain without us Mr Slowly had given up all hope but but I persuaded him it was worth hoofing it the million miles to the gate as quickly as a fully loaded cabin bag complete with sewing machine, a leather bike jacket and an under seat bag with every heavy item you could find stuffed into it would allow. My swollen ankle can confirm trying to run in inflexible bike boots fully loaded with multiple heavy bags is not good for you The flight passed quickly due to all the adrenaline but sore and sitting in sweat drenched clothes heading towards a ‘feels like’ temperature of 35 degrees wasn’t on my to do list especially as I’d been laying kitchen flooring for the previous 3 days and my knees n back we’re already not happy, rest was what I craved Suddenly the ‘Pain in Spain’ took on new meaning and I felt I had probably made a mistake with this venture. I was also uncertain if I’d actually managed to book a car, Mr Slowly had been tasked with finding a car (because he wanted an automatic 5 door with more than 1litre) and appeared ashen on Thursday evening saying there was absolutely nothing at all available apart from one car with Sixt for £1800 I found a hire comparison website which had a car available for a third of that but as I was unfamiliar with ‘holidayautos.com’ I went directly to the car hire company ‘Thrifty’ who said nope sorry no availability for those dates. After checking tripadvisor I went ahead with holidayautos anyway but how exactly they had a Thrifty car available when Thrifty say they dont was more than a little concerning. I needn’t have worried, we arrived and the ‘Thrifty’ person was just lovely. She saw we had a lot of luggage and said “ooh um I’m going to upgrade you to a bigger car, no charge” so the piddly little 3 door manual was suddenly a 5 door automatic VW T-Cross (a small 4x4) so Mr Slowly is happy. We wasted time checking out the nearby supermarkets and picking up supplies until Pedro (no not that one the landlord one) arrived. Having been seriously shot in the foot once before by the phenomenon known as “absence of gating” (Id believed a nice online person was actually nice in real life) I was apprehensive about meeting him because he came across in his emails as a really nice guy. It turns out he is. Even Mr Slowly commented saying “He seems really decent” So at 9.30pm we finally kicked off our shoes and had a G&T and said “Cheers” Pedro said there was a water leak in the kitchen which he would get fixed as soon as possible, I thought “yer right” but this morning a plumber (who is also a nice bloke) turned up and fixed it. I don’t think the contrast between the shitshow getting here and the lovely reception could be greater, I woke up feeling pretty damn good. Mr Slowly is happy with the little house and the area we are in, apparently it’s not that well known as a tourist destination which judging from the pleasantness of the locals must be true. The sea, restaurants, cafes, pharmacy, some shops and a supermarket is all only a 5 minute walk so I think just maybe fingers crossed we maybe onto a winner

Bloody immigrants

I have a Mutt Hilts which I don’t really ride but can’t part with Ive persuaded myself when I get a bit older I’ll be looking for a lighter bike and as its only worth a grand now (part exchange) I may as well hold onto it. It’s mostly Chinese with a few bits n pieces done in the UK like it’s excellent sounding exhaust. The engines a Suzuki GN. They were really nice to deal with too (that was in 2017 though, dunno wot they’re like now), I said I was a learner and didn’t want knobbly tyres, they said no problem we have some cool looking road tyres you can have (no charge to switch them over). Then after I’d had it a while and was getting splattered with road crap due to the mudguards being small I asked them if they did longer mudguards, they said no but we can make you some and match the paint which they did for £120. Bath Road motors were also lovely because I hadn’t heard of OTR charges and was a bit shocked they decided to let me off. With normal manufacturers you don’t get to email them directly and ask for modifications, and for it to be so reasonable pretty damn good service. I don’t think I could have had a better experience buying my first bike. Stock photo

Yep this time because a ferry for two (with bikes) was well over a grand, flights £69 (rising to £150 by the time youve added the necessary baggage extras) so no contest. Getting up in 2 1/2 hours for the flight cos Mr Slowly doesnt like Ryan Air so much he’s prepared to get up at stupid oclock to avoid using them. We’ll see how long that embargo lasts

Found my license Used a waterproof wallet I rarely use for the ABR festival. Mr Slowly suggested it was that last night just as I was drifting off, as a consequence I had a shit nights sleep waiting to wake up this morning and find it but very happy ii wont be carting all my bike gear over there for no reason Got to go now, haven’t done the coronavirus tests, the locator form or hired a car

Thanks Tango thats right. The 1st of Jan is the change from the GB sticker to the UK one. Apparently it was felt wrong that Ireland was excluded as its not part of GB but is part of the UK?!

Cor knackered watching it

If you have a photo card thats dandy. If you have a paper licence you need a IDP. The only changes are if its a UK vehicle you must display on the number plate a GB sticker (this changes to a UK sticker on the 1st January) and unrelated to Brexit Spain like France has now made motorcycle gloves mandatory.

Yep all yours papers all the time- oops

If the Covid tests are negative and Spain stays amber

Its more than a little arrogant to assume what we comprehend is everything and not to entertain the possibility of anything else. No-one laughs at the concept of an invisible man in the sky who see’s and knows everything.. oh wait yes they do

All things being equal (or perhaps just Covid free enuf) Ill be picking up the keys on Friday I seemed to have right royally screwed up though, I cant find my driving licence anywhere. Ive taken the day off tomorrow to tear the house apart looking for it but this could be the dampest squib Ive ever presided over. I have another premonition.. hiring a car or motorbikes without a licence will be tricky (impossible), how does she do it we ask? Fuck knows. Ill try and post updates of the unfolding disaster/triumph but I got a feeling I’m gonna be busy ripping the house apart so that Mr Slowlys “Welcome to motorcycling in Spain” doesnt turn into “Welcome to you doing all the driving because your wife is a half wit”

So it is. Get that happen a bit, I just never mention it cos it sounds mad. Mr Slowly always says “but how did you know that was going to happen?” the only reply I can think of is “I just did” so yeh mental

Well time to go speccy librarian on this one. 20/20 vision (a measurement which doesnt exist anywhere but America) simply means normal vision. Normal vision which happens to be driving standard vision is not the sharpest vision by a long chalk. Dont get me wrong its a fine level of vision, completely adequate for driving but half the population will have started off with so much better vision than 20/20 What you really want to know is has the vision deteriorated? The answer as you age is likely yes and sometimes drops occur rapidly, too rapidly for your brain to make the compensatory adjustments. This can lead to a loss of confidence in many areas without the person realising why. So um tldr- worth getting them checked again and asking what your previous eye test result were from a few back. If its vision (it may not be, balance and reaction times also slow whether we like it or not) then be fucking nice to yourself, cut yourself some slack, you dont have to maintain the same level of function throughout your life unless youre a Dunlop Kind regards Cursey Nursey

This was a weird one. When I moved from one school to a different 6th form I couldn’t get away from my ‘friends’ fast enough, I didnt have anything more to do with them, even one of my best friends I dumped and ran. Fast forward years and I was a student nurse in Surrey which if you grew up around here at the time was the equivalent of breaking out of prison and finding yourself in Outer Mongolia - nobody left and nobody did anything. After not thinking about her once in those 5 years (it was a friendship of convenience based on surviving the zoo school we went to) I woke up from a weird dream featuring her. Went on my shift and accompanied a patient who was too ill to be transferred without medical cover to X-ray. There in the waiting area sat the friend I had just dreamt about and not seen since school waiting for a scan. Go figure!

That is value for money.