Tag Archives: friends

20 years in spain party!

01 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in 20th anniversary, friends

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Yesterday was Party Day, celebrating my 20th anniversary of moving to Spain.

The festivities started off with a fabulous lunch at the Vineria San Telmo with friends who had come into town specially for the party. After that there was a short break to freshen up and then Peter and I went off to Bar Chinkoa to help set up. You may recall that my first plan had been to have the party on my rooftop terrace but then thought it would be more appropriate (being the Queen of Tapas and all), not to mention way less hassle, to have it at a tapas bar. Happily Manuel and Ana at Chinkoa said they would open up that evening (they’re normally closed on Sunday) so I could celebrate there with my friends. Of course I was a nervous wreck by the time we got there because I never throw parties. I worried that hardly anyone would show up and also had a last-minute extra worry when it occurred to me that people might think the party was “on me” (Spanish style) when my idea had simply been to simply shift the venue from my roof to a bar. But despite my concerns it turned out to be a lovely time.

The best part was that many of the friends who came met other friends for the first time, though they had heard of each other, either from me or via Twitter. And the general concensus was that I have some pretty wonderful friends.

Many many thanks to the gang at Chinkoa who looked after us so well, and also to all you wonderful friends who came to celebrate this very special occasion with me.

Party pics below…

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the orange tree

13 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, death & dying, love

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At the moment I am looking for signs of happiness anywhere I can find them. And when I went upstairs today to water the terraza plants it struck me just how much Pat’s tree has grown in the past two months. Just check out the difference! My little naranjo is getting quite lush.

For a crazy moment yesterday I considered burying Azar under the orange tree but then realised that store-bought soil with nothing living in it to help with decomposition would end up quite icky. I guess I just liked the idea of him fertilising our tree.

I have been trying to forgive myself for all the things I should have done, and even more for the things I shouldn’t have done (why did I go out the night he ended up dying??) and have come to a conclusion. I’m human. And in spite of the mistakes I made, I also gave Azar a fabulous life and all the nasty stuff at the end doesn’t negate any of that. Because in the end, death is never pretty.

Now if I can actually believe that, and stop beating myself up, then I can get on with remembering all the wonderful years, and the total wonderfulness that was a little black street cat called Azar. I’m keeping as busy as I can right now, because every time I look around and see that he isn’t here – where he should be – I start to cry.

The love of my life…

[ps… I’m not expecting any of you to tell me all over again how I was there for Azar – you’ve already done that. It’s just that now I have to believe it myself and so I’m  just talking about how I feel and hoping that I can start moving forward without feeling sad and guilty about all the things I could’ve/should’ve done]

new neighbours!

30 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by in friends, tapas, twitter

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Today I got to meet more Twitter friends in person – Mark (@inkjockey) and his wife Jo (@missbishopsgate). They were in town celebrating their wedding anniversary and we decided to get together for a drink and a tapita this afternoon before they went home to Estepa. Well, that’s one of their homes, the other is London. And as Estepa is just an hour’s drive from here they are pretty much neighbours. Another cool thing I found out today is that Mark has co-authored a murder mystery called Final de Partido en Córdoba… yes, set in Córdoba! You know, that place I just visited. Anyhow, we had a lovely time and hope to get together next time they come down to their Spanish home. I love Twitter. 🙂

my weekend in ronda

24 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in 20th anniversary, friends

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Where to start? It was quite a whirlwind weekend with lots of new experiences and chance encounters. Also lots of tapas and wine, lots of walking and talking, and lots of fun. Though I think my favourite moment was sitting on the Parador terraza late on Saturday afternoon watching the rooks clowning around over the gorge, sweeping past us and then, suddenly clapping wings to sides, they’d abruptly pause in midair before plummeting downwards headfirst letting out a gleeful shriek, then catching an upward current and doing it all over again. Their obvious joy was infectious and a delight to watch.

This whole adventure came about when new friend and soon to be semi-annual Sevilla resident Kathy Oler invited Peter and me to visit the pretty white village of Yunquera. She and her husband Walt had been planning to go there for the day to visit a couple who were living up in the mountains and running their own olive oil biz. This morphed into an overnight trip when I was able to find a charming B & B in Ronda that didn’t cost a fortune, and so off we went…

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gaelen & azahar

19 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in welcome

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This was so timely! About a month or so ago my friend and neighbour Flor (aka Flor de Jardín) told me she had a lovely orange tree that she wanted to give me, to put in the very beautiful, and massive, ornate clay pot that had been left behind by previous tenant Rafael. This is in part because Flor will be spending more time at her wonderful property in the Algarve and less at her place here, at least for now. So she has been giving some of her plants away to people she knew would appreciate and care for them.

And so today was the day. Mostly because it coincided with Flor having arranged for her friend to carry the tree over from her place (about a block away) and lug it up the stairs to my terrace. And then we set about getting it re-homed in a manner that Flor was happy about. This meant having previously drilled proper drainage holes in the bottom of this large clay beast and then buying bags and bags of earth early this morning, and still not having quite enough but I can top it up a bit later. It also meant finding the perfect spot, which ended up being next to the dining table and out of the direct blazing sun (though it still gets plenty of light!). It’s hard to see in this great photo with Flor, but the part where the top of the tree is out of sight is actually an open space between that pillar and the wall of the house. So lots of room to grow.

Of course Flor knew I was the perfect person for this beautiful tree because it meant that I could finally have my very own azahar…

And it was only after Flor and her helpers left when it occurred to me that this would be Pat’s tree too. You know how people plant trees or have park benches installed in the name of a lost loved one? Well, this orange tree will be my memorial to Pat. Gaelen & azahar – which is how we knew each other when we first met –  together on a sunny Sevilla rooftop.

I know this would have made Pat smile.