Value For Money.

 

Just a few thoughts on how life changes our attitude to money & how we spend it, or don't spend it.

Since recording this i've had other conversations about this topic.

A beach vlog. Just look at those clouds on the horizon.

A Spanish Holiday - Part 3.

Normal service has been resumed.

August in Andalucia means clear blue skies and very hot weather doesn't it?
Well, most of the time it does. But, sometimes, and the past few days are a case in point, things do go awry.

We arrived in Southern Spain on Tuesday of this week. It is now, i believe, Friday.
On our approach to Malaga airport we encountered what can only be described as "interesting air turbulence", caused by some rather large thundery clouds in the area.

Now, i'm not a great lover of rollercoasters. So, this was all rather disconcerting. As it happens, our "ride" wasn't too bad. Maybe that was because we had no idea what was coming next? For me, seeing what's up ahead, on a rollercoaster, gives your mind time to make you as scared as hell and your stomach to start turning somersaults. Before you even reach the next big drop, or jerky movement. My experience on the Simpsons ride at the Universal Theme Park in Hollywood, earlier this year, comes quickly to mind. Although, rather perversely, i actually ended up enjoying that. I'm still trying to figure out why though.

Thankfully, we landed safely, if a little bumpily.
It turned out that this part of Spain had recently been suffering with some rather unseasonal wet weather. The previous period had been extra hot and humid and this had lead to the heavy cloud and, in places, some very heavy rain.

Having been to Andalucia, in August, three times before, we realised how unsual this weather was and our hosts just reiterated that. We have seen clouds before and some heavy looking ones at times too. I guess this often happens in a fairly mountainous area? But, these have always burned off and never amounted to any actual rain.
So, we were expected pretty much the same, this time around.

As we got towards Orgiva, the clouds seemed to be hanging above the hills and mountains that surround the village. Now, this is not quite as bad as it might seem. Because, clouds here seem to come and go pretty quickly. So, all was not lost. Although, it was all a little bit worrying.

The rest of Tuesday was a mixture of clouds and sun. Although, we could tell that the sun just didn't feel quite as warm as usual.
During the evening, we were sitting quite contentedly outside, when we felt raindrops. A quick look at the surface of the pool confirmed that it was raining, in Spain, in august! It didn't last for long. But, it was an indication of things to come.

Wednesday was a mixture of clouds and sun, which i felt was not a bad thing, as it helped to protect us all from getting too much sun, too quickly. Almost a blessing in disguise really.
The cloud bubbled up again during the afternoon and we all managed to get caught in a sudden shower, whilst walking home from the town. As the rain was warm, this was quite refreshing and also, if the truth be told, a bit of fun too.

As we went to bed that night, the heavens opened and it started to pour down and from what we could tell, it rained pretty hard throughout the night. It was certainly very wet underfoot when we woke the next morning.
According to Ainsley, one of the owners, there had been very heavy rains in other parts of Andalucia overnight and landslides that been reported and a car washed away near Cordoba. All very worrying.

I quickly consulted the Internet, which suggested that the weather would clear that day, Thursday and that from then on, the weather would be "normal". Sun, sun, sun.
Sure enough, at around 2pm, all the remaining clouds disappeared, the sun appeared and the temperature shot up. It was almost as if a switch had been thrown.

Thankfully, since then. Normal weather service has been resumed and the sky has been it's usual cloudless self.
So, hopefully, our holiday weather adventure has reached it's end.
Let the fun begin.

Wet 'n' Wild.

As any of you who know me from other Internet sites may know, i like to do a bit of running.
Of late though, that has been a rather hit & miss affair. But, i'm once again trying to get back into it & i may even try & run a couple of races in the new year. No promises though. I'll have to wait & see how my body holds up! I'm not getting any younger after all.

I have been thinking of using this blog to write about my running progress & maybe even to relay some of my thoughts about running & what it has meant to me. We'll see.

But, in the meantime, i just wanted to mention my run this morning.

As is often the case, when i woke up there was the usual debate raging in my head as to whether i could actually be bothered to go for a run. Believe me, the hardest step is the one out of the front door.

Over the past couple of days we have been having some rather wild weather. Very strong winds & heavy rain. Not the most ideal conditions to run in, as you can probably imagine. Having said that, those conditions can be quite exhilarating to run in. but, more of that later.

As the weather seemed to have, at last, calmed down overnight. I decided to take the plunge. A very prophetic word as it happens.
Getting out the front door was no obstacle & off i went.

Now i'm pretty lucky in that i live very close to the seafront, which is the perfect place to run. No cars, plenty of room & good views etc. Today was no exception.
I'd already decided which way i was going to run. Maybe rather foolishly, this was with the wind behind me on the way out. meaning i'd be running into it on the way back. Although not gale force any more, the wind was still pretty blowy (is that a word?)

As i said before, we've had some recent stormy weather. So, it was great to run along the seafront, watching the waves crash onto the beach (the tide was pretty high at the time), checking to see what damage the storms had done & seeing what interesting items might have been washed up onto the beach.

One of the great attractions of living in a seaside town in the Winter, are the storms & the sea. There is nothing quite like watching the huge grey waves rolling in from the sea & crashing onto the beach. I could & do watch this for hours, as do many others.
This may seem a little strange. But, i know of many locals who actually prefer the Winter to the Summer for exactly this reason.

As i was running along, i happened to look behind me. I often do this, as there is a great view across the bay towards Eastbourne. Another reason is because this is the usual direction that the weather comes from, the south-west. Well, i couldn't see Eastbourne! It was completely obscured by a huge grey/black cloud & it was heading straight for Hastings.

There was no way that i was going to turn back. Not after making all that effort to get out of the door in the first place. I was also rather intrigued as to what that huge cloud might bring.
I kept on running & the wind started to strengthen, as the clouds got closer & closer.
Well, soon enough the sky grew very dark & the rain started to fall. Not too hard at first. But, within a minute, or so, the rain, mixed with hail, was pouring down & i was already getting soaked.

I carried on manfully & reached my turning point, which is basically where Hastings ends & the cliffs start. The rain was lashing down & sea there was crashing into the base of the cliffs. It was such a spectacular sight that i stopped, tried to shelter behind part of the rock face & stood watching the sea bashing the rocks in front of me. It was at this point that i wished i'd had a camera with me.

By this time, i was so wet that i didn't care any more. So, i turned around & headed for home, approx 2 miles away. Straight away the wind & the rain hit me right in the face. The rain was stinging my face so badly that i was having to lower my head to try & stop the worst of it.
I was soaked to the skin & my running shoes were full of water.

But, i was having great fun!

As i mentioned earlier, there is something strangely exhilarating about being out in that kind of weather & of battling against the elements. Which is exactly what i was doing.
I'm sure that all the people safely huddled in the relative calm of their cars thought that i & the other runners & dog walkers who were still battling on, were absloutely mad.
But, little do they know that, probably without exception, we were all getting a kind of perverse enjoyment out of the situation. The runners etc, who i did pass, all had a smile on their face. Maybe it was a knowing smile? A smile saying "we're all in this together & they just don't know what they are missing"

I eventually got home, still in the pouring rain & dripped my way into the house.
I don't think i've ever been that wet before. Certainly not when running.

But, you know what? I wouldn't have missed that run for the world.