THE PENULTIMATE POST

Over the eight years I have been here I have done many things, but on the whole I achieved my original ambition to retire early and enjoy the sunshine of Southern Spain. The walks with friends, or sometimes just me and my little dog were the stuff of dreams after the dark dismal factories I worked in. The classes to learn Spanish were a perfect way to meet the people of the pueblo and see their lives first hand. We have had some brilliant days out on excursions together and learned about the surrounding countryside and towns.

 The paragliding stopped years ago because of a bad knee.I cannot walk far now because of the same knee, but I have developed other interests. I write articles for two coastal magazines and have begun writing short fiction stories.  Two of them have been published and I am now working on a longer writing project.

The local secondary school asked some of the students of Spanish to speak English to their students and a group of us are giving our time to help them with their pronunciation. We also have a group of adult professionals who are keen to improve their English and enhance their career prospects. Below is a fairly recent photo of some of the other classmates. The bar with no name was my favorite place to walk my dog in the evenings. It was run by Paco, a huge man with a great sense of humor. Behind us are the Hills of Lijar and Zaframagon, which is just below the setting sun.  Seville and the bird sactuary of Doñana are about a hundred kilometers behind us. Mybest memories are of sitting on the wall in summer dangling my legs over the wall watching the sun set with a glass of the local wine at 50 centimos a time. (30p)

     However, the years began to take their toll and the bad knee became worse until I could barely walk to the local shop. Before Christmas 2014 I had a knee replacement operation. I have other arthritic problems with my legs and the implications are clear.  My future life will be of limited mobility.

My house is a typical old Spanish white pueblo house. It has a lounge, kitchen, two bedrooms, a spare room, where I paint, and a bathroom.  The trouble is that it´s on three floors. The views from the roof terrace are beautiful, but in the years to come I will not be able to climb up there to see them.

Here are some of the different views from my roof terrace, showing different aspects of  the ever changing seasons that I have seen here over the eight years that I have lived here.