Las Alpujarras

There's a new photo slideshow of the Alpujarras region of Granada at the bottom of the blog. When it is replaced by another album in the future it can be viewed on my

Picasa Alpujarras Album

Here's an example of the landscape

New Ibiza Pub

It's 'The Cat and Lizard'

Ibiza Emblem

There are lizard emblems all over Ibiza. We have them on the facade of the house, they're on the planters at Ibiza airport and I saw some hand-painted onto tshirts at the craft market in San Antonio today.

Here's a real one sitting in a tree in our garden just now.

I think it's a gecko?

Old Ibiza Wives' Tales

You know women are always going on about cleanliness and how spick and span everything has to be in the house? And you know how they're always rabbiting on about how good they are at multi-tasking and doing a million things at once.

Well feast your eyes on this

That's the dust and cat fur that I've just brushed in the living room, in fact not even the entire room, just the bits that you can get to easily.

Jaki is supposed to have cleaned the place thoroughly before she went to England last week! I certainly hope she appreciates all the hard work I've put in today doing her job!

Pure Stereotyping

Isn't stereotyping sometimes annoying? You know how it is when because you say you are from a certain place that people assume you have certain habits, traits or do certain things.

When we checked in at Puro Hotel in Palma the guy demonstrating the stereo system - a Bose Lifestyle one no less - was proud to tell us that there was nothing else apart from 'lounge music' on it and that being from Ibiza we'd know all about it.

We don't. If you click the link to the hotel's www above which features an interminable soundtrack of lounge music you'll know why!

You won't catch me ever stereotyping.

On a completely different subject, I'm really looking forward to our stay in London. I can't wait to see all the Cockneys in Sarf Ken having a right old 'ows yer favver knees up lambeth walk Dick Van Dyke style outside 'arrods.

Ibiza Soul Patrol

One of the CDs I have in the car's MP3 player is a gigantic stomping Northern Soul compilation which reminds me how old I am every time I put it on. Perhaps one of the few tracks on it that today's Ibiza dancers would recognise is this one - Don Thomas: Come on Train - which was a big dancefloor hit in 1974. It always reminds me of the Highland Room (they had tartan carpets) at Blackpool Mecca where I went on most Saturday nights.



Incredibly, 35 years on, and it's now the music for a TV advert for Visa. It still sounds pretty good to me though!

Ibiza: Fantasy Island

Living on the fantasy island of Ibiza is OK most of the time but every now and then you need a reality check. Last night the air was blue in our kitchen when I entered the mundane world of cuisine – no I hadn't burned the food, I was following one of Chef Gordon F*&*”^g Ramsay's f”&*%!g recipes for skate!

Cooking the food was a piece of cake, it was all the other rigmarole I had to go through was a f$***”g nightmare. Apart from effing and blinding like a f”^%*^g trooper I had to change my shirt on camera 5 times, pull a face whilst fingering 30 year old grease on the cooker, pretend to vomit when I found a rancid mouse (dead) in the fridge, give the dining room a new, modern look and re-jig my normal menu to a simpler one featuring local fresh produce simply cooked to perfection.

Here's my skate

Next week Kirstie needs my help. Her assignment to find a country mansion for a high flying city couple relocating from central London is tough dot com! I'm needed to feature in the scene where I sip from a pint of foaming ale in a country pub just before I receive a call confirming that I've bought the yuppies the house of their dreams at 50% below the asking price. Reckon I can do that one!

Let There be Light

A sudden spate of lightbulb blowouts sent me to Ibiza's finest retail outlet SYP in Ses Paisses (I was going anyway) but to no avail as all the lightbulbs I needed weren't there - only the empty shelves.

I did manage to get some in Suma after a couple of weeks trying in SYP - one lasted a whole hour before blowing - so I wasn't that bothered when I noticed today that SYP STILL didn't have any lightbulbs.

However, now I know why. One of the members of staff had used them all up on a mighty lightbulb moment when deciding where to pin up the only copy of the new summer opening hours - on the sliding doors!

Yes, the sliding doors that slide open when you get within reading distance of them. So unless you have telescopic eyesight you'll have no idea when the place is open - not that it makes any difference if they're open or shut if it's lightbulbs (and most other things) you're after buying.

Space Ibiza Dance

Ibiza's sophisticated clubbin' scene is second to none in the world. It attracts the rich, the famous, celebs and, of course, loads of students. Ever striving to remain at the forefront of the hip entertainment sector one of our clubs, Space, has just added another feature to its facilities........
..........its very own Bouncy Castle!

In my opinion, Ibiza clubs should get a few big stars on to perform live. Lady Gaga at Priviledge on October 5th 2012 would be a good idea, but I doubt that it will ever happen. 

A Perfect Ibiza Day

but not half as good as A Perfect Leeds Day! M&S (package still not received) had obviously been blitzed of their climate control pants by Saints Supporters as the sun shone down on Headingly yesterday - ideal conditions for running and passing.

My stress and worry levels were reduced by two clear points from 10 to 8 as I strolled round the San Antonio paseo with Marli. I still couldn't watch the match live on TV because of this - I feel so helpless shouting instructions 'get back for this kick' to blokes a thousand miles away.

Anyway, Saints won by the flattering scoreline (flattering to Leeds) of 22 - 18 and go into the next round of the cup. Leeds now get 4 free weekends in their league campaign so they won't have to pray for rain every Sunday from now until October.

Gidley Goes Over in the Corner (the mail)

The lads were great in defence and man for man and pound for pound were much more enterprising in attack. Tony Puletua impressed me in the pack - though we were lucky to have Maurie Fa'asavalu on the field as the Rugby League disciplinary panel had given him a 'broken nose sufficient' verdict after headbutting Ryan Bailey's shoulder a fortnight ago.

I'll be watching the match again tonight - thank you Sky+ - and trying to use modern technology to make Gidley's pass to Gardner unforward!

Ibiza Trip Advisor

In the spirit of travel forums (fora?) I've just spent about €1600 on our next holiday without knowing a thing about the hotel or the place. I think I may have mentioned that it's our 30th anniversary together and our 25th wedding anniversary this year. In the spirit of couplehood, Jaki gave me an ultimatum to take her somewhere special that 'wasn't Spain again!'

So after mulling over Venice and Rome and their hyperinflationary prices for even NON alocholic drinks I decided to take my best girlie to somewhere at the other end of the cost scale - formerly fancy London town, capital of Poundland.

I'll be chucking money about like a Russian billionaire down Mayfair way when I change my week's Euro wages - providing the ale doesn't taste like cat pee any more, that is!

Anyway, back to the thread. I booked myself into the Kensington House Hotel purely because I liked the sound of the name Ken House (my dad's name is Ken) so in the Trip Advisor mode

Has anyone ever been to this hotel?

If I upgrade to All Inclusive can I booze after I've checked out?

Where's the best place to change money in London or is it better to change it here and what will the exchange rate be in October?

What is the weather forecast for October?

Is it better to buy tickets for the opera now on the internet, or will I get a better deal in a bar in Covent Garden?

Will anyone from Ibiza be in London at the same time as me?

Quick Update

Marks and Spencer's Order Day 7 - the wait continues. From Liverpool to Madrid in a day and thus far 6 days to still not arrive from Madrid to Ibiza.


Congratulations to Suma supermarket who sell the only firelighters in the world which need a firelighter to light them.


Well done to me for rushing down to Suma the other day to buy loads of essentials only to find all the essentials I'd bought 3 days previously still in the back of the car when I opened it to put the new essentials in.


Mixed feelings about Tillie catching her first mouse of the season. I was too late to help this one and a sparrow she's been juggling for the last 3 days, but just in time to rescue a couple of voles doing the crawl in the pool.