and to celebrate, my new neighbours cracked open a bottle of champagne.
sometimes life can be glorious, at all other times it can just be damn fine and peachy.
to to summarise
all is very very sweet
Monthly Archives: September 2005
tomorrow is D-Day
finally, after 11 months of renting a place in the algarve, i finally get to move into my own house – bought and paid for, no mortgage to worry about.
tomorrow morning i take christine to the airport, then stop to buy some beds and other crap , theni have three days to get the place habitable. First on the agenda, water heater on the wall to get hot showers, then, change that hideous shower curtain.
loads to do, three days solid to do it, and two parties if i can make them, one on saturday, one on sunday……….watch this space.
i am looking forward to spending my first night in my new pad. will be a little creepy i guess , will be as quiet as my apartment now but completely dark as there is only one streetlight in the area.
my very gorgeous girlfriend arrives on tuesday night for the rest of the week, wednesday is a bank holiday so might even make it to the beach.
loads of things to do so might not make it back here for a few days.
today was absolutely roasting hot – i have no idea where that came from, i did hear rumours of 28 degress but i reckon it was more than that
meet the neighbours
today i met my new neighbours – twice.
they are belgian so this will lead to some interesting conversations.
this afternoon, the old man helped me trimming my trees. twice my age , and extremely drunk, he fired up his petrol chainsaw and started to cut. fearing an accident, i went to the other side of the garden and started cutting with my saw.
later , his wife brought me some home made jam, made from the figs from my tree, tasty it was too.
the old boy kept offering me beer but i told him not while i am working, settled for tea instead.
tomorrow i have to work with the CFT but i have a day off on friday to buy furniture.
in stark contrast, the west coast had 3 metre swells today and light offshore breeze – had to spend time at the house
I´ll be missing you
last night i sat in a bar with my friends having a last beer before they left for england.
in the background, a song was playing. several years ago , this song would have made us all stop still in our tracks and listen to its words. Yesterday, i struggled to hear the words over the banter of my friends.
what were they discussing ? absent friends? Life´s regrets? no!!
the latest wide screen tv, sat nav for one of the five cars, private number plates, mobile phones – infact just about all of the must have gadgets and items to beat the Jones´s with that you could imagine.
imagine, how pissed i was, i did my best to curb my feelings but couldnt. their response was weak at best but i did wonder if they learned anything from their past experiences – sadly , i think not.
Then of course , this got me to thinking about what changed my life………….
life……
with the end of each life, there is a period of time for reflecting. some call this grieving but not for me. reflect on what each person has added to your life and ensure you are using all of your time well. for some, this means rushing home to watch eastenders, the bill, whatever it is you want to veg out to. for me, that is what i would rather do when i am too old to walk, too fragile to climb steps, too blind to see, to deaf to hear. you never know when the knock will be on your door.
so , how did i today end up in the algarve with the life i have? not because i was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, not because i won the lottery, i paid attention to what was happening to others around me and decided that i wanted more from life, i took risks, big risks and stupid risks but they all paid off – why ?
inspiration
inspiration to be where i am now came from 4 very good friends.
Ryan Gurnsey
Princess Kirsty Masters
Grahame Woodage
Debbie Ing
i have seen lives wasted for no good reason – i hate to watch as others go the same way
the James Cole mysteries
are resolved, found the old chap alive and well today on a train between liverpool and london – promises to be back in sagres soon
emmets, grockles and domestic appliance shopping
so yesterday i managed to buy a cooker, fridge, washing machine and water heater. one thing you cant escape, whichever corner of the world you try to hide in, is the need for habitation and white goods. and wherever you are, however cheap it is to live in your corner of the world, all costs are relative! houses are money consumers, even more than a girlfriend can consume. mind you, the length of each relationship is similar – at least in my case.
today i ate more fresh figs from my tree, this week i hope to trim it back a little so that i can hang a hammock under its branches. I will trim the other trees too, and cut back the cactus´s that spike me each time i go through the gate.
the water heater will be fixed to the wall in the outside kitchen and plumbed in with my own fair hands.
next weekend i have to pop across to seville in spain, they have an IKEA there, i need a bed or two and some wardrobes, then i am complete and can officially move in,.
the old lady left me a very retro three piece suite, bright orange in colour, either from the 60´s or 70´s not sure which!!! maybe i will take some photos and post them to the site, provided microsoft doesnt censor them for extreme bad taste.
sandra hasnt been around for a week now, and wont be here again until october. with all of the visitors i have had this month we would have had little time together. Will have a new bed just intime for her next visit 
so i guess that is all for now. keep watching the space for daily updates
another damaged board
at the repair shop, maybe back for next weekend but i am not too worried, the north wind is making it all a bit cold now.
alex´s last day tomorrow, airport again, but at least i can get a burgerking while i am there.
tomorrow will be a fun filled day of domestic appliance shopping on the algarve, boy do i know how to rock!!!!!
sale is now complete
signed the deeds today, it is finally all mine.
scored a few nice waves this afternoon too, all is peachy
christine sent some new photos from her last visit, will try and post them here in a minute.
damaged the 9´1´´ today after a slight collision with mr alex clifton on a wave of which i had right of way and even called as mine !!!
great afternoon
day off work, hit Bife point for a surf today, it was carnage, three surfers damaged, one board damaged and a contact lense lost at sea…….great fun was had by all.
tomorrow i go to sign the final papers for my house. it is all mine
The November Archives 