Boring

Life’s been rather boring lately. All I seem to do is work: if it’s not the novel, it’s polishing a guide for the Tourist Office or – horror of horrors – housework. But last night I went to a belated San Martin party. They promised me that some of the chestnuts had maggots, but I only found one. It wasn’t a particularly exciting party, but the company was good and…

November 18, 2007
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Free Rice

Like most writers, I’ve always loved words. Here’s a free game where every correct answer donates food to the world’s hungry. There are 50 levels, but I’ve never got past 49. http://www.freerice.com

November 15, 2007
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A huge ship

November 11, 2007

We often get cruise ships visiting Santa Cruz. Today we had a particularly huge one, the Navigator of the Seas. Apparently it holds 3,000 passengers and over 1,000 crew. So the Santa Cruz’s population went up by around 15% while it was in port. And the novel’s got to 66,024 words. I do love seeing another thousand roll up.

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Yet More Paperwork

H&T have a Spanish lesson in town in Fridays, so I met them afterwards, and we went to the Police Station to get something called Certificado de Ciudano de la Comunidad Europeo or something similar. Basically it means they’re EU citizens, and they needed it to get Spanish driving leceses. It took the rest of the morning, but we succeeded. The only real problem was that my body had mysteriously…

November 9, 2007
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Garafia again

This morning I went to Garafía to help H&T with paperwork again; this time paying the annual bills for the house and getting a fresh certificate that they live there. So I dropped my son off at school, and carried straight on to Franceses. For once I got there well before ten, and we had time for a cup of tea before we set off for the town hall in…

November 8, 2007
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Sir Carlos, Knight of the Shining Gas Bottle

My friend Norma lives in a converted water mill. She has a terrific view and low rent, because you can’t park anywhere near the place. You leave your car near the football stadium and walk up a very steep track for about ten minutes. The first half is steps, which are slightly steeper than the stairs in my house. It’s a marvellous house if you want to get fit. It’s…

November 6, 2007
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