Mother-in-law’s recovery from her Boxing Day tumble continued to be pedestrian at best. Added to the fact that the carer thus far, Francine’s sister, has to return to work on Monday 6th January, the decision has been taken that we…

Having had Christmas Day off cooking duties dining out with friends, I was back on duty on Boxing Day, not that the Spanish recognize Boxing Day. It was time for us to deal with our medio cochinillo [half suckling pig], which…

Completely unreligious though I may be, one of the things that I feel adds to the enjoyment when travelling through France, in particular, is the chiming of church bells on hours and half hours. The hours don’t chime just once…

There are many good reasons not to fly Ryan Air. First among these reasons, of course, is that the plonker in charge has no respect for customers and doesn’t deserve to have any. The reason uppermost in my mind this…

After a few days of damp weather that peaked towards indifferent, today dawned with crystal clear blue skies. We’d used the rubbish weather to seek out a half piglet for our freezer ready for the festivities but now we were…

One of the enjoyable things about a Christmas away from home, other than the actual being away from home itself, of course, is that different celebratory food items become available. Francine and I did spend Xmas 2008 in Spain and…

After much agonizing over deserting an elderly parent for the so-called festivities, Francine and I finally bit the bullet and accepted a Christmas and New Year house-and-dog-sitting assignment in Spain. I booked the flights, departing on 19th December and returning…