My personal experiences of the luxury of a spa visit have been few and far between and, to be honest, a little scary. I once had a weekend break at Ragdale Hall, where the food was sparse, the treatments regimental and the alcohol non-existent (except for the illegal stash we kept on the outside window ledge […]

Read more.....

One of the many lessons that you have to learn to live in Spain is patience coupled with faith. Us Johnny foreigners love to think that we are the most organised and reliable people on earth and that our Spanish hosts are ruled by their legendary mañana attitude. I like to think that after my […]

Read more.....

Life is pretty exciting at the moment. Sometimes it can be a plain bore, a never ending succession of menial features to write, facts to check, chores to avoid and kids’ toys to mend. At the moment though, it’s EXCITING. Sorry, I shouted.
I’m currently awaiting the verdict on a sitcom that I’ve co-written with a […]

Read more.....

Monday 19th May was my birthday and as a birthday treat I decided to go away for a long weekend. The beauty of living where I do, is that I have a choice of two airports to fly from, Alicante or Valencia with a huge variety of destinations to choose from.
As I don’t particularly like […]

Read more.....

My Dutch neighbour has a large private swimming pool on his 1,000m2 plot. He decided, after wisely getting approval from the local water company, to empty the water to do some re-grouting and other repairs to his pool. He and I were some of the very first pioneers to move into our area where lots […]

Read more.....

I must be one of the few expats in Spain not to have satellite TV. When I arrived in my late 20’s I was too busy partying and enjoying the ‘marcha‘ (the action, the night-life) to worry about soaps and sitcoms, and besides I was a penniless TEFL teacher and the flat I shared didn’t […]

Read more.....

The disaster for many was the disruption and possible termination of British TV on the Costa Blanca. I decided to give up British TV some time ago. I mean how many times do you want to see Open All Hours and Only Fools and Horses? The system has always been a bit dodgy and it […]

Read more.....

After weeks of absolutely glorious weather, I have developed a gorgeous golden tan and have been coaxed into a false sense of security: summer is here. I have put away all of my cold weather clothing and have replaced the empty clothes rails with floaty summery dresses and strappy high heeled sandals - it is […]

Read more.....

I am curious as to how many fellow Britons in Spain have felt a strong sense of predictable inevitability as Spain slides inexorably into recession? I have been writing about the probability of a recession for the last couple of years and yet I have been treated as a complete fool by my Spanish friends […]

Read more.....

 I’ve just come back from a four-day break in Vera Playa. Vera Playa, in case you didn’t know, is a sort of naturist resort on the coast of Almeria.
Apart from the four-star naturist hotel, there is a large residental area signposted ‘Zona Naturista’, where over half a dozen urbanisations are specifically geared to holidaymakers who […]

Read more.....