Musings

This has been an unusual week, in terms of the unexpected. We had a sponsored walk up the Bernia mountains on Friday – we were sponsoring John and Julie’s grandaughter aged 15, who does not like walking, but who needed to raise at least 100 euros for charity. She actually zoomed up the mountain -and down,while the less energetic had several stops to admire the view This was hardly surprising as a couple of hikers were 78. and 82,

We had a most enjoyable lunch out on Easter Sunday with the HELP group, who are a social group, as well as working with expats in need.We sat with a couple who have sold up and are going back to face a uncertain future in the UK.There are a couple of factors which strongly influence retired Brits out here; one is health, or rather ill health, which although people are adequately supported under the reciprocal health arrangements, the need for an interpreter, and lack of aftercare ,can become barriers to people who have not really integrated.

The second factor is money, or the reduced spending power of the Pound. Many Brits are struggling to make ends meet, struggling to sell their property over here, and generally finding returning home permanently their best option. Many had spent lots of years travelling through France and Spain in their caravans and motorhomes, only to find the cost of travel prohibitive now, as are the trips home to be with their families.This generation of 60+ pensioners with generally better pensions, lifestyles, and health, are now in their 70′s, and some are finding the summers here intolerably hot, and the winters unusually cold. There are currently 235000 Brits living in Spain. It is hard to predict how many there will be in 5 years time.

On Tuesday I went to the health centre in Albir to interpret for a friend, who was getting some blood test results. Between us we managed to ascertain that it was good news, and  I was glad to be part of the relief and elation.Paradoxically I had just had a phone call saying I must collect my mammogram xrays and arrange an echogram with my doctor. Caramba rush to control worst scenario imagination. Mike suggested we go to Alicante that day and have a word with the clinic.A friendly doctor said the nodule was probably benign, and the echogram was just to confirm this. Result!Thank you God! This prompted me to register on the Town Hall list of foreigners, and take the padron to the medical centre with my passport, and ehic card, so I can have immediate emergency treatment if it were ever necessary.

On Wednesday I had a message from Christine,a friend from Wales, who comes out here for 6 weeks to look after her sisters house while she is in USA. We overlap for 10 days until we go home, so it will be lovely to catch up with her, and enjoy a couple of walks and spend a bit of time sharing our love of this area.

We really like the house we have lived in for 3 months, in spite of a few drawbacks. We had been looking at apartments in Albir, but most long lets are for 12 months, and most owners do not want to tie up their property  now, for a let in September/ October. So having been disappointed once and also having people enthuse about where we live has persuaded us that we are fortunate to be able to pick when we want to come out again and to such a pleasant home.