Music, Merlot & me

I admit to looking forward to getting home from holiday but seriously only a few days back and it feels like we’ve never been away; Fuerteventura is like a distant memory.  Why oh why did I ever complain about the Canaries weather when we’ve returned to the grey, cold miserable skies of home.  Autumn has definitely arrived; give me Canaries weather any time.  I was really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed but I’d only been in mine less than an hour when I had to get up and sleep on the sofa because of Phil’s snoring.  For some bizarre reason he came out with a sudden cold as our plane descended. Phil has a weak chest and is very susceptible to changes in air temperature.

Thursday, our first day back due to sleep deprivation was a bit of a haze.  Sue, bless her had been in to the flat and stocked up the fridge and had even made us a cottage pie so I didn’t have to go food shopping which was a nice surprise.  I unpacked and got the washing machine going. I was surprised to see how little post we had whilst we were away but then I opened a letter from Royal Mail telling me that they had suspended our postal service because of our outside steps. Apparently our postie complained and they’d sent out a representative who had deemed them unsafe.  Okay I admit we do have a couple of loose steps but these are the bottom ones and besides, me and Phil are up and down them several times a day.  They do need sorting mind.  Yesterday I went out and brought a post box which will solve the problem temporarily.  

After lunch Phil went over to Overstone to pick up the post from The Manor and also to check on the caravans. Meantime I went over to Sue’s armed with 2 bags of wet washing and 200 duty frees.  Sue let me use her tumble dryer and while it was spinning she and I caught up over numerous cups of tea.  Sue had had a busy couple of weeks and so there much to talk about.  Thursday evening was spent ironing.

Friday was frustrating; we had to stay home because BT were arriving to install the super speed broadband and the BT Vision service and Curry’s were delivering the new tumble dryer; both deliveries were scheduled for an 8 – 1pm slot so we thought at least we’d only have to stay in for the morning.  Well the tumble dryer arrived no problems but BT didn’t show.  I don’t I was surprised because every dealing that I have with BT goes tits up.  I couldn’t track my order on line because it was in progress and I couldn’t face an hour on the phone at the end of Friday complaining but it needs to be done this morning.  Somebody needs to pay for wasting my precious time. Phil spent all of Friday dealing with paperwork for Daphne’s estate.  He wrote lots of letters before we flew away and needed to deal with the replies.  Admin is not Phil’s forte but he cracked on and I think he had a successful day.

We couldn’t decide where to house the tumble dryer.  At first we moved some kitchen stuff around and put the dryer on top of the fridge/freezer but this didn’t look right and it was too high which meant I would have to stand on a chair to both load and unload.  In the end we decided to put it in the bedroom which meant having to take all the stuff out of the wardrobes and shift the wardrobe nearer to the door. It was a bit of a palaver but I was happy how it turned out.  It’s not perfect and it would have been much better if it could have been in the airing cupboard but when space is limited a girl has to make do.

Harriet came round after work on Friday evening for pancakes and to pick up a pack of Lambert and Butler that we had got for her.  She seemed in good form maybe because she had finished work and had Monday off work.  She wolfed down at least 6 pancakes and went away happy and full.

Phil didn’t sleep very well which was a shame because we had planned to go to Melton Mowbray early on Saturday morning.  In the end it was 9am by the time we left the flat only 2 hours later than we had wanted.  It was a shock to the system to have to scrape the car windscreen and a reminder that winter is well and truly on its way.  We made good time on the motorway and got to mum and dads at quarter past ten.  Phil fitted some casing for the newly fitted pipes; he only took one bit of trunking as he wasn’t sure it would fit.  It did fit but only just.  He needs to buy a bigger size next time.  Mum cooked us roast chicken with all the trimmings and I have to say it was lovely.  Why is it that food always tastes nicer when somebody else cooks it???  We left Melton after tea and cake and our Saturday evening was quiet.  A film, X-Factor and an early night.

We’ve been back just 5 days and the holiday is now just a distant memory.  The holiday clothes are all washed and put away ready for the next trip away.  I am not sure when they will be because we have lots of stuff to do before then.  One of the first things we need to do is renew our passports. I already got the forms before we went away; Phil needs to do our photographs and we will get Rashmi, our accountant to sign to say we are who we say we are when we see him on Tuesday.

The clocks going back threw me a little and I was in the wide awake club at 5am.  This was fine as it enabled me catch up with all my soaps.  Two weeks worth of Corrie & Emmerdale and I was a bit soaped out by the time the sun rose but at least now I am up-to-date.  Phil was fast asleep in bed so at least he didn’t have to suffer. 

I went to the gym on Sunday morning as I really need to get back into some sort of fitness regime.  I started before we went away but then obviously I couldn’t go whilst we were on holiday.  As we were pretty horizontal on holiday I was surprised I hadn’t put on any weight.  And actually neither did Phil but the scales show that he is at all time high, weight wise, so he needs to start back on the diet.  I am hoping that he too will come with me to the gym but I’m not sure whether he is going to have time this week, maybe next.

We met Harriet and boyfriend Billy at the church in Bradwell Village for Tom & Youngja’s wedding blessing ceremony.   Tom and Youngja got married in Malaysia but wanted to celebrate with family and friends.  Youngja looked beautiful and and it was a lovely service, one too many hymns for my liking but the vicar had a sense of humour and made if fun. Jim and Shirley must have felt very proud; Tom is a top guy and him and Youngja fit very well together, I hope that they will have a long and happy life together.

After the service we walked to Cruick Barn for the reception.  It was a grey and drizzling slightly but I had taken an umbrella and it was only a 5 minute walk.  It was cold mind you and Harriet was complaining about pain in her high heel wedges.  As it happened, we were the first ones to reach the reception and the first ones to the bar!   The round tables were all laid out with table gifts, cameras and bubbles upon white table cloths.  Tom & Youngja didn’t have place names so you could sit where you wanted.  It was certainly a ‘different’ wedding reception but probably one of the most fun ones that I’d been to.  I have said it before but the Robbs certainly do know how to a throw a party.  There was no top table and no formal meal but there was a hog roast served on a silver platter with other meats and salad stuff. 

Phil unfortunately didn’t eat; he got stuck into the red stripe and the complimentary shots of Soju which Youngja’s family had brought with them.  I had one shot but I know from previous experience that this stuff is lethal.  Dan had compiled the music and it was great, all tracks which made you want to get up and boogie.   And boogie I did; I grimace now in shame as I recall some of my moves at the reception. Why oh why, when music and Merlot are involved, do I think that I am the female equivalent of John Travolta on the dance floor??  It’s very sad.

It was a great day and evening; it was lovely that Youngja’s family had made the effort and travelled all the way from Korea to attend the wedding.  The ‘international’ presence certainly added entertainment to the reception and Youngja’s brother in law provided the top highlight when he got up on the dance floor to teach everyone how to the Gangnam dance. Or at least I think it was that, please correct me if I am wrong. It was hilarious and I wish now that I had taken a video.  Even Phil joined in which either goes to show how much fun it was or either how much red stripe he’d consumed! Actually I have just been on Facebook and saw that one of Tom's friends took a video, not sure if this is legal but I have copied the link. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GGe-YVRITfU#t=242s

Needless to say that we were one of the last to leave the party; Harriet phoned cabs but we couldn’t wait for ours to turn up so we high-jacked Harriet & Billy’s cab and made them go all the way to Newport Pagnell before going on to Caldecotte which was a bit selfish really.  Thankfully we all made it home safely.  We were staying at Sue’s as we had lent our flat to Youngja’s best friend and boyfriend.  Sue was just going to bed when we turned the key in her door so just time for a quick catch up before heading up the stairs.  We crashed out straight away but sometime around 5am Phil had a sort of asthma panic attack and woke up struggling to breath.  I sort of came round to see him trying to get into the glass sliding wardrobe doors.  It took me a second then I realised he thought he was at the GP flat as Sue’s wardrobe is exactly where our bedroom door is.  Unfortunately his wheezing woke up Sue who thought Phil was having a heart attack. She pulled on her dressing gown and was just about to knock on our bedroom door when Phil found his way and opened the door totally naked.  I had to laugh the next morning but when I wasn’t laughing much when I had to clean the toilet where Phil had thrown up.

I didn’t feel too bright when I finally got up yesterday morning but Sue made me tea and got me some fresh fruit and yogurt and I came round slowly.  Phil got up at 11.00am and he looked terrible.  He was suffering from the worst hangover ever.  He did manage to eat some breakfast but actually he didn’t come round all day.  We stayed at Sue’s as we weren’t too sure what time our house guests were leaving but this was fine because we had arranged to see Skyfall, the new James Bond movie.  When I booked the tickets I had quite forgotten that it was half term.  The cinema was packed out and we were forced to sit right at the front which was not ideal but it was the only way we could get 3 seats together. 

The movie was okay, we all agreed that the beginning and end were good but it was a bit boring in the middle and certainly not as good as the last JB film.  With stiff necks we were relieved to get out of the cinema some 3 hours later.  We went to Chimi Changa in the Xcape for a bite to eat afterwards.  Unfortunately Phil was fading badly by then and wasn’t feeling hungry and I had stuffed myself with sweets so I wasn’t that peckish.  In the end I had the chilli, Phil had a cheese burger and Sue had a starter with some Mexican rice.  I felt a bit sorry for Sue as we weren’t the best of company but she knows that this is a one off for us.  I dropped off Sue, picked up our bags and I was tucked up in bed by 7pm.  Phil stayed up to watch the Grand Prix which he’d recorded but I don’t think he was late to bed.

So all in all quite a busy, action packed post holiday few days.  Thank you to Tom & Youngja for letting us share their special day.  Also thank you to Sue for giving us a bed and sorry for the panic attach in the early hours of the morning!  It was nice to finally meet Harriet’s boyfriend Billy.  It’s no secret that I haven’t actually liked any of Harriet’s boyfriends, especially Shane, but both Phil & I liked Billy and thought he was a great lad.  As to what he thought of me and Phil, well we won’t even go there! After all the excitment, I need a quiet week.

Fueteventura Summary

 We were so looking forward to our break away following an eventful year.  We just wanted to relax and chill out like every one else does on holiday.  This is exactly whet we did to start with but we both got bored before the end of the week and looked forward to hiring a car for our second week.  Once you have a car its like a completely different holiday; your free.  You are not confined to the town that you happened to have chosen and it gives you so much more flexibility with what type of food you eat.  We were pleased to get out and about because we thought we had chosen a town that was touristy and full of tourist food and prices.

 Once we had a chance to discover the island the weather changed.  We had three bad days where it was cloudy and rainy.  Good job we had the car.  It soon became apparent that most other places were even more tourist traps than our town.  Some places had lovely beaches but, of course there were more tourists there.  The best places for us were off the beaten track; the little fishing ports with one or two local restaurants or the one horse town with one cafe for the locals. 

 Fueteventura is similar to the other Canary islands but different at the same time.  Most of the landscape is volcanic looking, some fresh but most more established.  Large parts have been covered by sand making it look more like arab deserts.  This can only have been through deposition; every now and then a tsunami must sweep over part of the coastline leaving its deposits as it goes.  Looking at some coastal rock areas backs this up with sedimentary layers in between the basalt layers.  Because this was the first island to rise out of the sea over 20 million years ago it has had longer to get eroded and worn down and so it somewhat flatter than the others.  There are still mountainous areas, especially around the old capital Betancuria, where the two statues are depicting the original division of the island. 

 There are more beaches on Fueteventura than any of the other Canary Islands.  The largest in the south between Costa Calma and Morro Jable; quite a stretch.  We tried this part twice but it wasn’t for us with its wall to wall pizza and pasta restaurants and English bars.  It was so full you couldn’t park anywhere.  I cant imagine what its like in August.

 Another long beach stretches from Correlejo to the south east for around 20km.  It has lovely white sands but really windy and for this reason its hot with the surfers.  Probably not serious surfers but the ones that like to surf naked. 

 The third is north of Et Cottilo which is on the South east corner.  Again lovely beaches that stretch to the lighthouse called Faro de Toston.  This was the place with the little port and 15th century castle where Claire chose fish and got the whole catch. 

 There are countless other beaches but not such long stretches, more small bays that you have to drive a way to along dirt tracks.  Trouble is there is little else there; some are even lacking electricity.  Claire’s favorite place was one of these called La Pared; not so much for the beach but for the restaurant that we ate our three course Spanish meal with a drink for €10.  It was authentic, small portions but very tasty; the waiter didn’t even speak a word of English.  He did however speak very broken German and we all somehow got by.

 I think that my favourite place would have to be Pozo Negro which is only about 10km south of where we are staying in Castillo de Fustes.  It was naturally a black volcanic beach but they had spread sand along the sea front and it also has the best Paella on the island, and for me anywhere.  Its only €9 each but you have to have it for at least two.  Trouble is, I will now compare any others that I have with this one.

 For me the weirdest thing about this island is the roads.  Not so much the ordinary highways which are quite good, but the roads once you get into a town.  Normally, with a coastal town you might expect one or two roads in or out.  Maybe a coastal road as well, but they don’t work like that here.  You enter a town from a highway and 9 times out of 10, the road just fizzles out.  It always seems to take an age of driving around small roads making countless turns before you get to the coastal bit where all the action is; and there are no signs.  Its so frustrating and time consuming and then you have the same trouble getting out again.  It happened to us on Monday when we revisited Aquas Verdes, because we missed it the first time we went that way.  We followed a single track road for miles to get there and just as we can see the end, the tarmac stopped dead.  We continued on a dirt track but it kept splitting into two or three with no signs.  You had to keep making decisions based on the direction of the sea.  When we finally got there, there were about three houses and nothing else, not even a beach.  No electric or even water I guess.  It always seems so complicated to get anywhere, even if there is nothing there.

 Claire says that she doesn’t want to come back here as she prefers, Tenerife, Gran Canary and Lanzarote.  Its also more expensive than those three.  I can see us coming back for a week if we find a real cheap one but not deliberately looking to stay here.  I have been wanting to buy a 1 bed in Tenerife and maybe do some backpacking island hopping where we visit all the islands on a motorbike.  The ferries are cheap, well for foot passengers anyway, not sure about a car but I doubt that they would charge much for a motorbike.  You don't get many tourists island hopping on motorbikes so I guess the prices would be pitched for locals.

In any case, I cant see us coming back here in the near future; give me Goa or Thailand anytime.  I still want to go around the Anderman Islands but not sure if we will ever get the chance.  I think I would rather go there than the Maldives; although I definitely want to go to the Maldives but only for a week before they disappear into the ocean with global warming.

 I have really enjoyed our holiday and it certainly did what we wanted it to.  Chilled us out!

 Were back, we had a good trip home with everything on schedule.  We were actually the last ones in the plane and the first ones out through immigration.  Its whats known as LIFO!

 I’m afraid that I don’ have time to correlate the photo’s with the text.  Some of the pictures are from the blog whilst others you wouldn’t have seen.  The latter ones are from my camera that was a pain in the neck to get onto the blog because I forgot to take everything.  Most of the text I wrote before we got home but I have a few words of updates.

 Claire has left me a long TODO list.  As we didn’t leave the hotel until 5.30pm we had all day taking it easy.  I took the car back which was actually one day early.  The hotel wouldn’t let us pay to extend our room until we left, which really annoyed Claire.  She had asked to extend our room on Monday but they told her that she couldn’t do it until Tuesday.  When she went back on Tuesday she was told that 5 rooms had already been extended so they couldn’t do any more.

 They did however let us use another room for a shower which they allocate to guests for free with 30 minute slots.  This was fine, we just left our bags in reception and had a long lunch.

Claire seemed a little bit sad to leave the island in the end and I think that on reflecting she had liked it more than she thought.  She even started talking about coming back again and remembered that she had not mentioned the lovely beaches in her last blog.  When I told her of an email that I had just received regarding a cruise around the Canary islands for 9 nights, including flights for £369 she seemed to  like it even more.  Thats a real good deal as it includes all your food, flights and accommodation for the entire trip.  You also get a $100 off drinks allowance.  Any trouble is, you have to go either late november or early december.  Thats no trouble, thats great!

 You fly to Barcelona then catch the cruise stopping at Madera, where we have never been.  Going onto Tenerife and Lanzarote. then back to Malaga in Spain and back to Barcelona.  This would mean that we could have a stop over in Barcelona as well.  Sounds great to me.

 While we were talking about the islands, I mentioned again my wishes to buy a 1 bed cheap renovation project in Tenerife and then island hopping.  Claire liked the idea but thought it best to stop over the winter first to see if she liked it.  I said that we could look for a 2 month rental this Christmas if she wanted.  She’s now off dashing around doing her jobs so that she can get on the internet and look for a place.  Suits me, I would really prefer to go to Goa but this year the flights and packages seem to start at £600 and thats for one week.  However, I had another email advertising a two week holiday with flights and accommodation for £439.  Much cheaper than anything else I have found.  Im not bothered about the accommodation, but if we could extend the period between flights I would take it.

 Before we go anywhere, we have to get all these jobs done.  Got to go now, jobs to do really quickly as Claire will be back in a minute.  Goodbye Fueteventura!

There was an old lady that swallowed a fly - She's dead of course.

Time to say goodbye

I really haven’t been in the right frame of mind to blog since we’ve been here in Fuerteventura which is most unlike me.  Normally I can get down at least 1000 words written easily about trivial day to day stuff.  I am not sure if I have the words in me today, but in view of Phil’s weird and wacky ‘Happy Mole Day’ posting yesterday I thought I ought to at least get this blog back on track, if nothing more than to prepare folks for more of the same old once I get back home plus it is also our last day.

I was going to do a post on the day we flew away but somehow I ran out of time.  It was a busy couple of days for both before coming away; Phil drove down to Melton on the Monday to tile his mum and dads utility room.  Actually it’s not officially a utility room; it’s more of a shed down a passageway which houses their washing machine and one of their many fridges.  Phil’s mum wanted it tiling because the plumber had made a right old mess when he installed the new boiler.  Whilst Phil was out of my hair away I had chance to pack the backpack and in the afternoon I finally got to catch up for a cup of tea with Emma.  I have been meaning to catch up with her for ages and its simply crazy that I hadn’t had a chance, seeing as she is only just down the road.  But anyway I sent her an email and we arranged for me to call round on Monday afternoon before the school run.  Not only was I able to catch up with Emma but also Jason as well who had a day off work.  Things are going good for them both, Jason finally got his compensation through from a car accident over 3 years ago which will enable him to set up in business by himself.  The children are both doing well at school and Emma was kind enough to bring me up-to-date with the cul-de-sac gossip.

Of course I was curious to know what was happening in the street; it was the first time I had been back since we moved out a year ago.  I had expected to feel some emotion but there was none which just goes to show that I have moved on.  A house is a house is a house.  We had some good times at number no 11 but not as good as we had at no 25.  I was very interested to learn that the girlie that brought our old house had ripped out my lovely IKEA free standing kitchen and replaced it.  I loved that kitchen, it provided me with much solace in the early hours of the morning when I would sneak down, put on my twinkles along with the under- floor heating and settle in front of my laptop with a mug of tea. 

Emma told me that next door even threw out my beautiful Italian Lofra cooker which was immaculate when we left.  I knew that the new owner would replace the bathroom because it was pants but I was surprised when Emma said that she replaced the bathroom twice because she didn’t like the first bathroom.  What a waste of time and money but nothing to do with me any more.  Sandy’s old house has been sold and is now being lived in by a Chinese couple.  It’s strange that they are living there without heat or electricity.  But I guess where there is a wok there’s a way.  It’s strange because I haven’t seen or heard from Sandy since we went to her 50^th birthday party but I received a text from her while we have been here in Fuerteventura inviting us to Kevin’s 30^th birthday party.  Unfortunately it was last Saturday so we couldn’t go.

On Tuesday Phil went to see the solicitor for an appointment he had made the week before.  He had to take all of the paperwork that he had spent ages sifting through.  Poor thing was anxious and nervous but it was all for nothing.  He brought the solicitor up-to-date as she had been absent due to a family bereavement.  No doubt when we get back there will be a pile of paperwork for him to go through.  I went to the hairdressers in Newport in the afternoon for highlights and a cut and blow dry and unfortunately I was butchered.  It was my own fault, I had left it too late to get Harriet’s friend Rachael and I told the girl in Zig Zag to go short.  By short I meant a layered bob just under the ear lobes but I came away with almost a crop.  My hair was blonde at the front and almost black at the back.  I wasn’t happy to say the least.  Once upon a time, if this had of happened, I would have locked myself away and cried for ages but life is too short for such drama and besides it will grow.

We have had a gentle couple of days and I‘m afraid to say they have not been terribly exciting.  On Monday we got in the car and went to Aguas Verdes which was a place highlighted to Phil as a place of interest by the sales representative in the car hire office. It was a boring drive which led us off on a turn before the start of the steep mountains.  It was a big disappointment when we got there as there was nothing bar a dirt track which led us to a few houses with views of the ocean via a crumbling coastline.  I couldn’t even be bothered to get out of the car.  After having seen most of the island, well all the bits in the guide book, we couldn’t decide what to do for lunch but in the end we decided to head back to Caleta.  We parked the car and walked to one of the many English gaffs that we hadn’t tried.  They had a cheap 3 course menu of the day for less than 10 euro’s with a free drink.  The food was alright but think of Weatherspoons and you’ll get the picture. 

Yesterday we had a late start and decided to head for a beach recommended to us by the English waitress in Linn’s restaurant.  It was called Sotevento just outside Costa Calma on route FV2 heading towards Morro Jable.  Another long boring drive with lots of traffic and we couldn’t even find Sotevento beach. In the end we gave up and went into Costa Calma for a beer.  We did initially think we would walk down to the beach but it was difficult to park and would have meant a long walk in the midday sun.  Costa Calma was busy and touristy and we both agreed that it wasn’t for us.  Calm it certainly wasn’t. I can’t imagine what it would be like in the height of the summer.  We did try to find somewhere for lunch but could only find pizza and pasta eateries so we jumped in the car and went to Pozo Negro for lunch on the beach.  This is where we had the lovely paella and sangria on Sunday. It was less busy yesterday; we ordered a jug of sangria and had garlic prawns to start followed by sea bass for Phil and a tuna salad for me.  It was nice but we didn’t enjoy it as much as our paella.  Do you ever find that when you go back a second time that’s it’s never as good as you remembered?

Fuerteventura hasn’t blown me away, well not literally.   You would think that one Canary island is much the same as the over and once you have seen one volcanic lava mountain that you’ve seen them all right?  I am inclined to disagree, although the scenery is much the same, in that most of the island is of basaltic origin, I find it hard to believe that this is one of the oldest islands.  To me it seems very modern and sophisticated. Not everywhere mind but give me a choice and I have much preferred Tenerife or Lanzarote.  They too have modern commercial centres and ex-pat communities as well as eateries but if you get a car you can find lots of traditional Spanish villages.  Maybe I am remembering it wrong, I dunno, I can only speak as I find.

And so to the loaded question, have I had a good holiday or not? Well, that’s both a Yes and a No.  I hadn’t been feeling too well before we flew out which is most likely due to stress.  Without a doubt getting away from it all, the sunshine and the chewable calcium tablets have done me the world of good. The weather wasn’t so great the first week and not as I remember typically Canarian weather but the second week has more than made up for it.  It’s been scorching for the last couple of days. 

One downside of this holiday has been the pain in my neck, shoulder and upper back which I initially thought was due to my falling over the gazebo but then I realised it was down to my lifting a particularly heavy crate of tools out of Phil’s land rover into my shed at the caravan. My own fault because I am so impatient and couldn’t wait for Phil.  Sometimes I think I am strong as Goliath but not only has this one lift caused me pain in my upper body it’s also triggered off my sciatica with pain that starts in my bum.  Ohhhh too much information but the hard beds at Caleta Beach certainly haven’t helped.  

I don’t think I will go back to the UK feeling totally rested which will be down mostly to waking up most nights at half two in the morning.  This has mainly been down to neck pain or a need for a pee (that’s me or Phil or both) but Monday nights half two awakening was purely down to Phil finding a cockroach in the shower tray.  Phil and I have some bad nightly experiences with roaches both in India and Australia and I knew that there was no way I would be able to go back to sleep early Tuesday morning until Phil had destroyed the offending creature.  Thankfully in the end Phil knew it too, so he summoned up all his courage and put the shower hose on and sprayed boiling hot water on to the roach until it was dead.  Actually even then I couldn’t sleep; Phil drifted off and I put on the light and read until 6am and then we managed 2 more hours.

Vile creatures aside, at times on this holiday I have felt quite lonely and quite bored.  With the lack of TV channels Phil has occupied himself with technology.  I don’t begrudge up and coming technology, indeed I embrace it but it’s not a lot of fun but when DH permanently has his ear plugs listening to podcasts day, noon and night or otherwise he is writing on his applemac or downloading on his iPad.  Even when we have been out to lunch, Phil immediately switches on his iphone4 checking for Wi-Fi connections and wow if there is one, Phil checks his email or updates himself with his favourite blogs.  The ear plugs are in 24/7 and pod casts are switched on in the car permanently and not even taken off for walks along a beautiful beach. 

All of which makes communication difficult.  If I say something in the car, occasionally Phil will switch off the volume but he gets exasperated if what I have to say is trivial, which of course, on most occasions it is.  So a lonely experience it has been at times here on holiday in Fuerteventura but greatly helped by emails from my dear friend Sue who has kept me entertained with tales from home.  Thank you my good friend! I have also occupied myself with books. I downloaded 20 new novels on the kindle before leaving home which I have read.  I downloaded another 5 at a café with free Wi-Fi and I have almost exhausted the paperback library at reception. I even had to resort to reading a Mills & Boon book yesterday entitled ‘Honeymoon with the Boss’ which shows how desperate I am for reading material.  Desperate times call for desperate measures……….

I think one of the problems is that I have missed the TV and in particular ITV2.  I didn’t realise how much this was my friend until I came out and stayed at Caleta Beach.  Of course I am a hypocrite; whilst at home I berate Phil at how much he watches the TV but I am just as bad.  Most people have mocked us for our ‘free’ timeshare holidays but they haven’t been so bad and actually I think they have spoilt us for any other self-catering holidays.  Compared to the accommodation that we have experienced in Tenerife (timeshare apartments) Caleta Beach is lacking. I don’t just meant the lack of TV or air-con although to be honest we haven’t needed it, it’s just the lack of comfy sofas and beds not to mention the cooking facilities.  Especially because Phil paid top dollar after my extensive Trip Advisor searches and it hasn’t come up to spec.

All that aside, I’ve had a good break and have got a reasonable tan.  More importantly, is that Phil has chilled and seems to have benefited greatly for his break away.  Whether he will revert to grumpy old man syndrome the moment when he steps into the flat remains to be seen, but for now, he is cool.  I also have to commend him on the blog postings. They may not be all to my liking, after all we have 2 very different styles but he has had to persevere with this crappy Caleta Beach connection and he hasn’t lied when he has said that he has had to get up in the early hours so as to be able to download his photographs.  Well done Phil! Bravo!  For me its home day and I can’t wait.  Decent home cooked food, a comfy bed, a much needed debrief tomorrow with Susie Sue and I will be happy.  It’s been good to get away but it will also be great to get back.  

Happy Mole Day

There are 7 base units recognized by the International System of Units within the metric system.  All other units can be derived from these base units which are;

1 meter length

2 kilogram       mass

3 second         time

4 ampere        electric current

5 kelvin thermodynamic temperature

6 candela        luminous intensity

7 mole amount of substance

Considering that these are the only base units that all other units can be derived from, the mole is the one that most people have not come across other than a blemish on your skin or a  small rodent that digs your garden up.  This is the unit that relates measurements on a human scale to the atomic level of which all mater consists.

Elements are described by the number of protons that they contain in their nucleus ranging from one upwards.  The element with just one proton is called hydrogen and is the lightest of all the elements.  The next lightest element is helium with two protons.  As protons are electrically charged with protons having a positive charge, if more than one proton are together in the nucleus they will repel each other just the same as similar magnetic poles do.  When several protons are held together in a nucleus by the strong nuclear force then one or more will spontaneously transform into a similar particle that we call a neutron.  We call it a neutron because it has no electric charge.  When a proton changes into a neutron it absorbs an electron which has a negative charge along with another particle that we call an anti-electron neutrino.  Thus the positive charge of the proton is cancelled out by the negative charge of the electron and it becomes an uncharged neutron.  So if two protons come together in a nucleus then one will spontaneously transform into a neutron and the nucleus will contain one proton and one neutron.  As it still has only one proton it is still hydrogen, albeit hydrogen that is just over twice the mass of normal hydrogen as it still has a single positive charge.  This heavy hydrogen is called an isotope of hydrogen and is given its own name, Duterium.  If four protons are thrust together into a nucleus, two will change into neutrons while two will remain as protons.  It turns out that although there are two positively charged protons held close together by the strong nuclear force, the presence of the two neutrons separate them enough to become stable.  We call this this helium.  There are also isotopes of helium just like hydrogen, some of which are stable and some of which will spontaneously decay into something else.  Neutrons can also spontaneously decay into protons by emission of an electron and an anti-electron neutrino.  It takes roughy as many neutrons in a nucleus as there are protons for it to remain stable.  So helium is roughly four times the mass of hydrogen because protons and neutrons have similar mass.

To relate the number of atoms to a quantity that we can see and measure easily we use the mole.  If we collect lots of hydrogen atoms together in sufficient quantity to weigh one gram then we are said to have one mole of hydrogen.  Because protons are all identical with each other one gram of hydrogen always contains the same quantity of hydrogen atoms defined as a mole.  If we now collect exactly the same quantity of helium atoms together so that we have one mole of helium, what will this weigh?

Well because helium has two protons and two neutrons which all have similar mass then we would have four grams of helium in one mole.

The element carbon has six protons and six neutrons in its nucleus so one mole of carbon would weigh 12 grams.  As carbon is normally solid in a crystalline structure it is easier to measure than hydrogen gas so we define one mole as the quantity of carbon atoms required to have a mass of twelve grams.

Thus the quantity of one mole can be used to measure all the elements as well as compounds.  A compound is a substance containing more than one element, for example water contains oxygen and hydrogen.  There are twice as many hydrogen atoms as there are oxygen atoms so we call it H₂O.  Oxygen contains eight protons and eight neutrons so how much would one mole of water weigh?

Well, we have to count the total amount of nucleons (nucleons is a collective name for protons and neutrons, whatever is contained in the nucleus).  There are 16 in oxygen and one in each hydrogen making 18 so one mole of water would weigh 18 grams.

How many atoms makes one mole?  Because atoms are so very tiny it is difficult for us to imagine in our macro world.  It turns out that you need around 600 thousand million million million or 6 x10²³ in scientific notation.  One mole is actually defined as 6.0221417930 x 10²³ .  This quantity is also called Avogadro’s number.  Thats why its mole day today.  If you write todays date in the American way it would be 10/23.  Mole day is an unofficial holiday celebrated among chemists on October 23rd between 6:02AM and 6:02PM.  This date can be written as 6:02 10/23.  Happy mole day everyone!

You are now as Geeky as me.

What a hog.