Bath Tec School

Hi Steve, haven`t we been lucky to have "pinched" a bit of your native heat for a bit .. yes, the nights here were very sticky this week .. thankfully we now are back to a more normal 20 (ish) in the evenings  .. I was "Googling" Spain a few days ago and found the area that you said you now live in .. are you on the outer ring of the coast .. or the inland section? .. looks quite picturesque there, minfd you the data on "google" sat is a few years out of date .. so the whole outer ring of land may be gone by now!

 

Not a place I have visited ..Spain that is .. not really a traveller beyond my native shores at the moment .. bit of a "slow starter", but that may change soon, my other half may be being made redundant after 20 years in the construction industry. No, not a hod carrier .. Ha Ha .. just "upgraded" her from "a buyer in supply chain" into "building control costings admin" .. she doen`t like her new director very much .. so she is hoping for the opportnity to retire early. I take it you have maybe have retired as well now.

Hi Bill

 

It has been a real scortcher today with a high of 42.1C!!! We still have August to come with traditionally the highest temperatures.

I am not sure if there is enough beer in the fridge.

 

The area you are looking at Bill is probably the La Manga strip which keeps the Med from the Mar Menor. We are on the coastal side of the Mar Menor. Google Los Alcazares, our nearest town, and we are about 10 mins from there . We are in a little village on the coast with a lot of Spanish residents and owners. It is quiet which suits us just fine. We can go to the noise and bustle if we want it!! Tonight we shall go to Los Alcazares with a couple of friends for a meal and a few drinks.

 

We are looking forward to the arrival of my sister and husband tomorrow. They are going to stay a week with us, hope they like the heat!

 

On the point of travel, I did not get on an aeroplane until I was 40. Until that age I had only been abroad, courtesy of a ferry, to Amsterdam. I hasten to add I went for the flowers and not the other wares Amsterdam is famous for!!!! It's true your honour.

Now I love travelling to other parts of the world, strictly speaking I love being in other parts of the world and hate the travelling!

 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

 

Weather updates to follow, cheers!

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Bill, Steve and all.

          As you have probably all guessed all my travelling has been associated with work, The furthest I've been for leisure purposes is Ireland, went with 'er indoors to a christening near Dublin and we made a bit of a holiday of it. However I visit Ireland with work regularly as one of our top customers is Killarney Plastics, so know and love Co Kerry. Bin to most European countries, used to spend a lot of time in Finland, Tervakoski, Pori, Turku etc. love it! Germany, super! France, lovely country, shame about the people! Spain is OK. The last time I was at Madrid the factory boiler house blew up, took out all the office windows and killed three blokes, management tried to keep it secret from us to start with but must have realised that they would have to tell us in the end as the whole factory had no power! Wondered why the coffee machine didn't work!!!! 

        Also done, South Africa (Capetown), South America, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong etc. Incidetally, for the benefit of you globe trotters who have not found out, the place to see Chinese culture is Taiwan. If you remember your history, at the time of the cultural revolution in China when they were burning all their heritage under the influence of Chairman Mao, the rebels led by Chang Kai Sheck rescued many Chinese artefacts and fled to Formosa as it was called then, with his rebel army . Much of the stuff that was saved is now housed at Taipei museum which is a magnificent modern five storey building just outside the city. There are also some magnificent temples to be seen in Taiwan, something never seen in China. Taipei also has a very active movie industry, the night life is good and it is a bustling city that makes Hong Kong look fairly tame! Not as glitzy as Hong Kong though. Few high rise buildings as the area is an earthquake zone.

      Sorry if I have been boring the pants off you guys, I promise to be better behaved in future! Think I'll have a cuppa and off to beddy bies as it's getting very late. Been a bit busy today so quite tired. Although not as hot today as it has been it was still too damn hot for shovelling gravel!

                                                    Bi for now. 

 

Hi John, Steve .. and the voyuers of this exclusive, vibrant, informative, patch oif Bill Gates hard drives upon whose surface these ascii codes reside (albeit temporarily in the scheme of things) .. I could go on, but I am sure there is a limit to the sentence that can be created using only the limited number of keys and phrases I have at my disposal ... phew !!

 

John, you`re not boring .. the info is always an eye opener .. most of my "travelling" around this planet (so far) has been a "scond hand experience" .. other peoples videos, piccies, tv docs etc .. I have no overpowering desire to visit most of the other cultures amoung the homo sapiens species .. I would like however to be fired off into space about a week before I am due to die .. just to get away from the delights of football and wimbledon!

 

Steve, thanks for the info about Espana and your Q.T.H. (radio speak), hope you have a great time with your sister? .. do you know I cannot remember you having a sister .. (obviously you did!) did I ever meet her? ..that was a bit of a suprise, I can tell you! ..46c .. whopping temperature .. how do you cope without the air con? .. and is it (air con) solar powered ? .. if not, I`ll have to get the brain into gear and do some research, this could be my next big break into the mass market .. just think, wave, wind, solar driven air con ..there has to be fun and money in it !!

 

Well, off to the garden again, more brownie points to score, oh, before I go .. anyone have a solution to for garden furniture fatigue? .. talk about vino callapso .. there I was last night on the lawn with my sister in law ( and her husband) ..(that makes it sound worse doesn`t it?) .. anyway the arm of my chair fractured, spilled my drink and I "fell out the pram" onto the fescue in a sort of dignified manner .. grass 1 .. chairs now 3 .. more damned expense ..Ha Ha

Morning All

 

Just to catch up on the last few entries.

 

So far Steve scooters noticeably abscent, ruddy hooligans! 42C eh? I think I'd have taken up residence in the fridge, although while we were in Ukbezistan the other year the mercury did hit 46 in the desert, no humidity though, and I was soon back in the car with the air con. You know the only police we saw in China were sitting in police cars at the side of the road with speed cameras, all looking extremely glum 'cos everybody's got road angels and they weren't catching anybody, the only other one was an insane bike cop in Shanghai who parked his bike in the middle of a motorway and started directing traffic. Even the security at airports were a lot less intimidating than ones in this country, "Kendall Mint Cake" included.

 

I caught the travel bug in 1980, it recall it bit we just as I turned onto Sunset Boulevard in the rented Mustang and a local SoCal radio station was playing "Born to Run", I thought I could get used to this, previous excursion had been limited to a day trip to Calais, and I got stopped by customs then. Like you Steve I/we love visiting other countries and cultures it's the getting there that's a pain, but in some places where you might be the only europeans it more than makes up for it.

 

You've certainly been about a bit haven't you John, interesting what you say about Nationalism in China, there seems to be a grass roots level of acceptance of it again, we were taken to a house of a former leading nationalist in Western China which is now a museum, there were a lot of Chinese visitors, mostly young. And even though China is an atheist state there doe's seem to be a greater acceptance of religion, temple in rural areas appear to be flourishing, they encompass all three major religions in China under one roof, as well as being a community center and providing day care for the elderly.

I know what you mean about Kerry, absolutely fabulous, if I had to choose anywhere outside of England to live it would be Knightstown on Valencia Island. Get the camper on the ferry Bill and get over there you won't be disappointed, the language is the same and they drive on the proper side of the road.

 

I take it that the garden furniture is of the white/green plastic variety Bill, if so the only solution is to have a camcorder handy for any sudden changes of structure and send resulting clips to you've been framed, £250 quid would probably buy some decent stuff. I've got previous on this subject myself, while on hols in France the other year I was seated on white variety of said object painting, a nice landscape if you wish to know, when I leaned back to view my work both back legs snapped off depositing me in the road, fortunately devoid of traffic. After my Mrs. had changed her knickers we spent two days searching for a suitable replica so as not to lose our deposit on the holiday cottage, needless to say said incident was unrecorded, if we'd had a camcorder at the time madam would have dropped it laughing.

 

Oh well, works calls and my caravan awaits so I'd better go.   TTFN Stu

Hi all.

      See what you mean about a trip into space, Bill, it does have a certain appeal, even if not very practical at present. I don't think they will have really cracked it until someone invents a way of getting there that does not involve sitting on the top of a mountain of high explosive and waiting for someone to light the blue touch paper. Perhaps you should forget the idea of a solar powered air conditioner and concentrate on creating the infinite improbability drive. How does it go? 'It was at this point that he realised that nobody likes a smart ass.' If you think I've suddenly lost me marbles then obviously not a fan of Douglas Adams.

      Entirely agree about Valencia Stu, although the Dingle peninsula is equally as beautiful, unspoiled coastline, good fishing, bee hive houses and all. On top of that possible to trace the course of the old Tralee and Dingle railway in places. A short length, about a mile has been recreated from the outskirts of Tralee down towards the old windmill at tralee harbour. They run a steam service summer week ends, and holidays only. Will admit though, every time I've been there the place has been deserted. The loco sheds, stock sidings etc are at the windmill end. Have some photos somewhere, will paste them on site when I can find them.

     Incidentally as you may know there used to be a steam monorail known as the Listowel and Ballybunion railway, simlarly a short section of this has been recreated on the outskrts of Listowel town. It does occupy the old track bed and some of the buildings are original, but that is all, the track, rolling stock and locos are all new, supplied by Alan Keefe Ltd, (their works is half way between Gloucester and Ross on Wye). However the reproduction is fairly accurate and it gives the visitor some idea of how the system worked, and its drawbacks, which ultimately led to its demise.

       I'm rabbitin on again, but I think what I am trying to say is that I agree with Stu, get the camper on the ferry Bill, it's only a four hour crossing from Pembroke to Rosslare. When you get off the ferry Head for New Ross, park up next to the Famine Ship, you can't miss it. Have a look at the ship then walk down the road to the town bridge, dont cross the bridge, but turn right up street immediately opposite end of bridge, about fifty yds up turn left, about thirty yds up road left hand side, first class Chinese restaurant, reasonably priced and excellent food.

      Hey guys, have to go now, must be up at five thirty in the morning for drive up to Burnley. I spose it will be all ferrets and whippets next week! Ha Ha!  More next week end.

                                              Bi for now.

 

 

 

Don't forget your flat hat John.