Malaga

28 May 2012 12:00AM

It is 11.30 Monday morning and I am sitting in a quiet corner at Malaga airport waiting for my departure gate to be displayed. It’s several years since I flew from this airport and how it has changed! It feels much more like an international airport and with flights departing to Mexico sadly there is nothing to Mexico City. I just have a burden to avoid London this year due to the predicted Olympic chaos so it looks as though my Mexico flight may be going via Manchester and Madrid. We will see.

So my trip to the Costa del Sol over for now I am absolutely certain I will be returning and soon. Needless to say I have a huge list of things to do. Things in the pipeline;- so they say, but all cannot be revealed just yet. It’s all about timing and I have a couple of friends who will be so frustrated. They say I drive them nuts. ‘Why did you go to Bronte Land? What have you been doing in London? What are you up to on the Costa del sol?’

Ha ha! Lo Siento mis amigas but I cannot tell you yet. I can assure you that it is all very exciting. Just watch this space…….

Meanwhile I have met some lovely people, mentioning no names without their permission and one very interesting businesswoman who I believe will not only work with me on future projects but I see a strong friendship developing. She reminds me of my dear friend in Mexico City who became no less than an angel and proved to be the best tour guide ever. Now she knows that I jest because Sari is certainly far more than a tour guide. Born in Mexico City and working in adoptions for about 40 years, there isn’t much this lady doesn’t know.

I always call these meetings ‘God appointments’ when you just seem to be in the right place at the right time. Thank you ladies.

Anna

Memory Lane

27 May 2012 10:15AM

Did you ever take a trip down Memory Lane and wonder what is happening in your life? Of course you did…if not in reality I’m sure your mind has been there. Well I am here on the Andalucía Coast in a pretty little Spanish town called La Cala. I know this place so well and walked these streets with regularity 10 years ago. Now that sounds rather ominous doesn’t it? But what I meant is I used to have a holiday home here and frequented the bars and coffee shops. Ha! Now it sounds like I’m an alcoholic, or was. Uhm! Not so, but I have fond memories of family holidays here and nights out with the girls. I do remember actually, one day when I was trundling up the hill towards our apartment – both me and my children laden with shopping bags – and one of the flimsy plastic bags burst. I didn’t care about the eggs nor the ketchup, but I was furious when my bottle of martini smashed and screamed furiously because the diet coke was still intact and all the martini gone.

This little town has changed somewhat, as of course you would expect, but in many ways it remains unchanged. I see they now boast one of the best Spanish markets ever and a new hotel has sprung up on the coastline, but in many ways it still has the same unspoilt ambience. The town is clearly a favourite spot for the Spanish holiday makers and though the sixty plus brigade seem to be here in full force I’m pleased that I scheduled this visit before the real holiday season has begun. Thankfully it is not too busy as no doubt it will be in July and August.

So why the trip down Memory Lane? Well I had to see a few people on this coast – one or two potential business contacts –sounds exciting eh? And I am making the most of the opportunity to catch up with old friends. ‘Less of the old’, I can almost hear them say.

So here for a few days the leading question is;- do I want to swim?  Quite frankly, no! Delightful as it may be, I’m no water baby. Do I want to walk for miles along this prettiest of coastlines early morning? Yes, absolutely. Wish Butler and Gracie were here to walk with me.  Am I glad the school holidays have not started yet and there are very few kids?  Most certainly! Oh My Gosh! What did I say? I thought children were my life? Yes indeed, but how lovely to have that quiet time to think, to plan and to enjoy those trips down Memory Lane.  Our lives are like the pages of a book and as each page turns, each chapter concludes, it’s almost essential I think to see what we have learnt along the way. Most importantly we need to take time out as we contemplate our direction for the future. What do they say about decisions made in haste?

I will enjoy the sunshine, so hope it is nice where you are.

Besos

Anna

War on Drugs

18 May 2012 12:00AM

 

Having just returned from Spain and now ready to go back, then off to Mexico what a quick turnaround. I never did add up my expenditure on air fares and quite frankly I dare not, but needs must!

With the news coming out of Mexico which always seems to be bad these days, I am both saddened and horrified to hear further reports of drug related violence bringing the death toll now, to around 48.000, since 2006. We are told that violence between these criminal groups is a battle for supremacy and turf and is not an attack on the civilian population. If it were that simple! The civilian population are becoming a little afraid. Many tourists don’t want to go to Mexico and some people are hesitant about doing business there.  Even I am a bit uncomfortable about my forthcoming trip because sometimes it’s just about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Such a shame when a country with so much beauty, colour and culture is getting nothing but negative publicity. Mexico has such potential and has been predicted to emerge as a world power over the next 10–15 years and it is rapidly overtaking other team leaders actually in spite of the dark cloud of drug related violence which has overshadowed it.

We are told that employment and industry exports are increasing rapidly and Mexico is so well positioned to export to other parts of Latin America, the Unites States and other world markets. I wonder what will happen in the next few months if this drug war is not resolved.  With Presidential elections due on 1^st July the Mexicans wait with baited breath to see what will become of the country of which they are so proud. As for me I will continue to write and develop my children’s stories about this beautiful country which holds a little piece of my heart.

Besos

Anna

Serpientes

08 May 2012 12:00AM

 

‘¡Serpientes! #@& serpientes. I hate ‘em.’
‘Don’t go on, amigo. Snakes indeed. You mean you saw a snake comprador. Humm, one snake. That’s to be expected here. We’re in rural Spain on top of a mountain, in the middle of nowhere.’
‘Cállate,’ snapped Nick. ‘There was lots of ‘em. Lots of ‘em,’ he repeated alarmingly. ‘They scared the pants off me.’………… Chapter 16 of Chavos 2 – The search for Helga.

A big tough guy like Nick frightened of snakes, never! Now as for me, that’s different. I let out a real shriek yesterday and it was not a shriek of delight, when I was enjoying the sunshine in rural Spain and what crossed my path near enough to touch? Yes you got it in one…a snake. It’s now 24 hours later and I’m still shivering at the thought of it, and what’s worse is that it went into the undergrowth not too far away from my bedroom window. There are bug screens on the windows here, but all I kept thinking of was, what if? Could a snake manoeuvre itself under, around, or above a bug screen? Consequently with that awful image and my mind playing games, I dreamt most of the night about flipping snakes. Dare I tell my mother that she was in the dream and she was holding one, far bigger than the one I had actually seen?  So what’s all that about? She seemed to be quite amused by the whole event and was swinging it around whilst I kept screaming at her to hold it by the neck so it couldn’t keep opening its jaw, hissing and spitting. Do snakes spit? Well this one did in my dream and it was big and fat and ugly and ……Oh my gosh. I hope todays encounters are more pleasant. But do you know what? I then started the day off thinking about the power of the mind and how what we see, and allow to penetrate our minds can affect us s-o-o-o- much. Consequently now instead of doing what I’m meant to be doing I’m researching the effects of TV programming and marketing and those subliminal messages which we download into our subconscious mind daily and don’t even have a clue what’s gone in there.

So how on earth did I get onto that from one grass snake? And I suppose in reality it was more frightened of me than me it!

Have a nice day.

Anna

Little Mermaid

03 May 2012 12:00AM

 

Don’t you just love to go to the theatre? Well I do. There are so many outstanding productions in the West End and I counted that there at least 33 shows at any one time, not that I would want to see them all. I love musical theatre in particular and Shrek was awesome, Matilda is next on the to-do list. Seems I like the kid’s stuff!  Meanwhile, this year I really want to make an effort to see one or two dramas and some comedy. So, as I seem to be going to London more frequently there’s no excuse and I’ll just have to look out for those bargains on www.last.minute.com.  I would have loved to see Legally Blonde but I knew my theatre pal wouldn’t like that. ‘Too girlie’ he was bound to say. No matter, I’ve arranged to see it at the Alhambra in Yorkshire with a girlie friend later this year, as it’s just gone on tour.

I was delighted when my son rang me a few days ago and said, ‘Mum, I’m taking you to the theatre.’ Uhm! Yippee, I just so happened to be free that night and I love surprises. 
‘Were going to see Little Mermaid,’ he mused.                                                                                                                                 
Where is that showing I wondered? But Little Mermaid is another of those lovely stories written by Hans Christian Anderson and adapted for stage by Disney Theatrical…not something my son would want to see, so there obviously had to be a catch…
Ha! Ha! Ha! It turned out to be an amateur children’s production in a neighbouring church hall in a village I would never normally go to but, do you know what? It was good. Really good! Although Ariel is probably supposed to be my favourite character – the lovely little mermaid who was fascinated by the human world – who isn’t!  The role was so well played; in fact all the kids were great. But my favourite characters were little Flounder, Ariel’s loyal companion, and the Sea Witch Ursula, which was played brilliantly by one of the teachers. Such a great production put together by only three or four adults. As for those proud parents sitting in the audience I remember what it is like to sit there feeling s-o-o-o proud of my kids. Well, now it seems I’m watching the granddaughters showing off their dramatic skills. Oh my Gosh! Where did the years go?

Next time I go to the theatre however, I hope I can have a nice glass of Merlot during the interval and a few cashew nuts instead of a packet of monster munch and a can of diet coke from the little tuck shop. Bless! Only joking. 

Variety is the spice of life. Have a nice day.

Anna

Food, glorious food!

29 April 2012 12:00AM

 

On Friday I was invited to join friends for dinner but was not prepared for what awaited me! It was a lovely evening with great company but I don’t think any of us knew what to expect when we were told it would be an, -‘all you can eat buffet.’ 
Every type of food imaginable was available from pizza, fish & chips, Chinese dishes, Italian, hot dogs and burgers, a traditional British Carvery Roast, to mention but a few. I chose wisely starting with the salad bar and I left space for one of the delicious puds – in my case sponge & custard – but I did wonder when I looked around at the combination of mixes on some of the heaped up plates leaving the buffet queue what it might be doing to ones’ stomach. Surely something must be working overtime! S-o-o-o, I decided to do a little research when I returned to the house. Here goes;-
Digestive enzymes are secreted in very specific amounts and at very specific times. Different food types require different digestive secretions. Carbohydrate foods require carbohydrate-splitting enzymes, whereas protein foods require protein splitting enzymes. Apparently carbohydrate foods and acid foods should not be eaten at the same meal. 
In cases where there is hyperacidity of the stomach there is great difficulty digesting starches. Fermentation and poisoning of the body occurs along with much discomfort. This is because the digestion of carbohydrates (starches and sugars) and of protein is so different, that when they are mixed in the stomach they interfere with the digestion of each other. An acid process (gastric digestion) and an alkaline process (salivary digestion) cannot be carried on at the same time in an ideal way in the stomach. Before long, they cannot proceed at all as the rising acidity of the stomach soon completely stops carbohydrate digestion. The highest efficiency in digestion demands that we eat in such a way as to offer the least hindrance to the work of digestion.

Interesting….S-o-o-o,
We should not eat a concentrated protein and a concentrated carbohydrate at the same meal. This means do not eat nuts, meat, eggs, cheese, or other protein foods at the same meal with bread, cereals, potatoes, sweet fruits and cakes. Sugar greatly inhibits the secretion of gastric juice and delays digestion if consumed in large quantities and ultimately depresses stomach activity.
Do not eat two concentrated proteins at the same meal. Avoid nuts and meat, or eggs and meat, cheese and nuts, cheese and eggs, meat and milk, or eggs and milk or nuts at milk at the same meal. Milk, if taken at all, is best taken alone. The reason for avoiding eating these combinations is because each protein requires a specific character and strength of digestive juice to be secreted. Eggs require different timing in stomach secretions than do either meat or milk.
Do not eat fats with proteins. This means do not use cream, butter, oil etc, with meat, eggs, cheese, nuts, etc. Fat depresses the action of the gastric glands by delaying the development of appetite juices and inhibiting the pouring out of the proper gastric juices for meats, nuts, eggs or other protein. Fats may lower the entire gastric tone more than fifty per cent.
Fruit is digested far more quickly than other foodstuffs and should actually be eaten before a meal and not after a meal, as one usually does and so the story goes on…… Where did I get all this weird and wonderful information? Well check out…internethealthlibrary.com.

Quite frankly I’m sure that all things are acceptable in moderation but, I was concerned at the end of the evening to see the mountain of food left and as the night drew to a close and the restaurant emptied I knew that Health & safety regulations would mean that all that food would be thrown away AND there are children starving in the world.

I wonder….. I thought…. Ergh! What can I say? Thanks for a lovely evening to my special friend who paid for us all to go to the, -‘all you can eat buffet.’

Love to friends everywhere and spare a thought for those hungry children. You can always send a donation to RCC International!

Anna