Phone:-Briiinnnng!Briiiinnnng!

Voice:- Hello! Hi its Elain and Milena here for a week in Spain, we are in Murcia where are you?

Thinks:- You can run but you cant hide?!!

Me:- How did you get my number?

Elaine:- That would be telling!

No worries as it happens these are long standing friends verging on family and we couldnt wait to see them, due to circumstances no goodbyes had been made before leaving the uk so this was a bonus.

We met up in Benidorm and they stayed overnight with us it was great, after a day out we ran them back to San Pedro in Murcia before they left for blighty the next day.

We spent a good afternoon looking for Elaines estranged husband who was there as well in La Cala, they get on really well now they are divorced. Coincedence they both being there, couldnt find him no suprise!

Anyway was good to see Elaine and Milena again, will not be too long before the next visit we hope?

A couple of days later we go out for the day to the waterfalls in Callossa, a tourist thing, just walking past one of the resteraunts and we here "NASHEEE!", lO AND BEHOLD! Mick Elaines estranged! with Lol and Brian.

"You can run but you cant hide"

Short slurp with the lads as they were on a day trip and leaving for home the next day.

Should see them in November as they are here for 3 months then.

Small world! or are GEORDIES like dog S**T all over the place!!!

Bye for now see you all again some day thats for sure!

Peace and Harmony Steve and Adriana

Hi all, things are hotting up over here up to 45c at 7pm and intense during the day, as you can imagine family are queing up to get here and friends and students alike are jockeying for dates to come here. The casa is coming along nicely and is looking most presentable. Classes are picking up here and we are doing several nights and days of training, see train in Spain page. The end of next month should see the pace slow down a bit, ie: full stop. If anyone wants to live chat via our website just register on live chat [things to do section] and email me a time and date [remember we are an hour ahead] for a live chat. All the exitement of the casa  search has ended and now we are waiting to welcome you all to share in our good fortune by visiting us at el riquet [little miracle].Thats all for now as we are off for a walk along the sun kissed beach now at 6pm 42c for some tapas and wine. hasta luego!!!!

love from steve and adriana.xxxxxx

The great Spirit moves in mysterious ways? Putting feelers out everywhere to get MA classes off and running very slow until I take Adriana to her Salsa class in Altea when low and behold the room is for hire on a Monday night 7-9pm not to shabby a place either so I am starting classes 2 weeks from now after some advertising so we will see how it goes. The Tai Chi classes have crept up to 4 persons now, little acorns. The Casa is getting mozzy proof though they never bother me just Adriana???? We came here so Adriana can get her washing dry and every time she hangs them out it rains????? whats that all about? They say its been the worst May in 18 years?  well if this is bad bring it on! They have obviously never set foot on NE England!. Start planning your short break trips to see us and do let me know so I can be in to welcome you. Adriana made a PAELLA MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! no it was mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! really. Spanish is more Spanglish at the minute but we are getting there most Spaniards are patient, trouble is you get good at certain phrases and they think you are fluent and fire back with something at 90 mile an hour just to see you look as if youve been told you owe the tax man 10 years taxes. I dont do I? Adriana says no. I am only typing this at this time of the morning because I can and I am now among the idle classes. retiring to slumberland soon though in time to get up for a siesta.

Take care all will speak soon!    

As you may be aware we are finally embedded in our new home and now are undertaking the task of bringing it up to scratch habitability wise. We are going through each room bit by bit and will soon have it ready for guests so start booking your places or email me for details of availability and all neccessary details.

I will soon be starting Tai Chi classes in Albir for 1hour on a friday night at a hotel, will keep you posted.

PS: Joan, Adriana has'nt got her chickens but can hear a cockeral every day.

Yours in Budo

Steve and Adriana.

Hi folks! This period is one of change and reunions. Change in the fact that we are moving on to the next stage of completion of contracts for property, hopefully 10th April and this will coincide with one of Adrianas sisters and friends arriving for a short holiday to the area. We have already met up with Heather and Hollie, wife and daughter of  Derrick Lumsden, PAMSD students and close friends.We had a fantastic couple of days going out with H&H. Heather will remember the Mexican bar restaraunt we all sat at, well we went to it, to see the lead singer from the "DRIFTERS "...........brilliant...

The drinks were advertised at 50cents all night!!!!........ died and gone to heaven.

The ambience great, food great,drinks great,staff great, what could spoil it????

The entire cast of "Shameless" walked in the door and sat next to us!!! thats what could spoil it. If you have no TV or never seen "shameless" ask someone who has to enlighten you! Whilst the singer was in full throttle this crowd, baby asleep in pram and all, decided to play musical chairs with metal chairs on tiles by dragging them and argueing who would sit where. One of the young boys who obviously did`nt want to be there, strutted around looking for lifes answerswhile the others debated why they were kicked out of Benidorm.

The competition between the singer and them began.

At first the singer was winning, and his dulcid tones had the entire audiance in his spell, so it was time for the crew to up the anti and begin musical chairs again with climbing under tables and swopping places cutting off the singer from the rest of the bar as he moved amongst the crowd......they were winning!

Trying another approach the singer began with Billy Pauls "Me and Mrs Jones" an all time favourite ballad in order to soothe the beast, he also tried to include the crew by pausing at ...Me and Mrs ................pointing the mike at the crew for the expected response of  "Jones" only to get ....Zigga Zagga Zigga ZIGGA  OI OI OI!! was the bemused look from the all time American star.

Facing defeat, the singer called for back up in the guise of "Soldier" an African American singer with a voice like Smokey Robinson.....jaw dropping good singer and a babe magnet. Looking good, as his youth and powerful voice stole the show...plan B for the crew............ off with tops, at first I thought one had a white V neck T shirt on under his shirt, it turned out to be where the sun tan started and finished much to the joy ofwho thought it was mint.

My martial arts skills were put into play again and we moved seats to the other end of the bar for peace and quiet and to hear the singers. Who decided enough was enough and ended the night.

The crew decided to shake hands vigorously with the singers saying what a good contest it had been and were willing to declare a draw. Thats the British for you????

Anyway it couldnt spoil the rest of the night as we sat back in comfy chairs to our 50c drinks. Time to go and pay the bill.. WHAT!!!!!! I wont tell you how much,   but the 50c suffice to say was added on to each drink to pay for the acts...but...but...but.... yes if you read the sign carefully .... not 50c a drink but 50c VAT on each drink well I never but it wiorked out a cheap night really when we analysed it, just spoiled the balance of our deluded world that night, we hav`nt stopped laughing about it yet. Thats just a brief update on the fun and games in Spain, take care all and I will post updates on future developments.

Peace and Harmmony

Mia Casa

Hi all, new turn of events, the house we looked at and fell in love with turns out to be owned by the friends of  "Nicki" our new translater and house hunting assistant,the partner of "Steve Nash", my names sake, and, she has power of attourney to aid in the sale of said property. Ball now rolling on the purchase, taking the Spanish way of dealing with things Nicki is guiding us through the process. All being well it could be done and dusted by the 2nd or 3rd week in APRIL....X FINGERS.

I have been networking contacts over here and have become the Edward scissor hands of hedge cutting for the neighbours where we are staying. This may aid me in my quest to become Spains Del Boy with recent requests to deliver and pick up trippers fron Alicante airport.My skills as a painter and decorater from years gone by have been called into demand and this may be an asset in my survival in this little corner of Gods Spaceship Paradise.

I have practiced Shiatsu on a couple of clients since being here and word is out, next will be the Martial Arts to promote so all in all things are progressing according to the Taos Great Plan.

I look forward to the day when those who wish to share the dream can come and join us and reap the benifits of our luck.

Pyung Ahn..Namaste

Love from Stephen and Adriana.

Orxeta. Adriana is finger gripping on the other side of the ideal home exhibition.

Hi all sorry for the spelling mistakes previously as spanish keyboards at the internet cafes are slightly different to the english keyboards in that we have letters on ours???{joke they are very good really}

So these past few days have seen our good friend Maria a Norweigen who is our lifeline Spanish translater, return to work and pass over the mantle to Nicky, whos partner is called {hold on for this...is called Steve Nash}. Divine influence or what?!!!

We journeyed to Orchetta [Orxeta] to view 12,000sqm of land for 85,000euros set in a mountain range. This plot had stunning moutain views even on this windy sunny day, I tied Adriana to an Olive tree to stop her blowing off the Hill as myself and the agent discussed possibilities. He suggested I could build a Timber fame house on this huge mound of slag for fantastic views I reminded him that mud + rain = house sliding down slope and that where Adriana was tied up would be better.  By the time we had exhausted possibilities Adriana had perfected Yodelling so the next possible site opposite of 13,000sqm with casita for 89,000 euros was looked at, that is 13,000sqm of sheer cliff we could develop for goats,puffins, gulls and other non paying customers. We were not sure about the full legalities of both plots and by now Adriana had a fantastic new hairstyle of windswept and interesting, so with that we headed back to Albir to mull over the day.

I forgot to mention we had found the most beautiful site in Amadorio by the Villayahosa Rugby Club, it was perfect and with perfection comes the cost...... way out of our league, live to dream another day.

This is where Nicky comes in and I will keep you posted on immminent developments for our Spanish Experience.

Peace and Harmony

Love from Steve and Adriana.

Alcoi where I do not do Moo Sool Do

Hi all at PAMSD, this weekend saw us trek is the appropriate word with our close friends to Alcoi, and explore the delights of altitude sickness and going deaf. Curiosity was the purpose of this jaunt to elliminate the fact we may be missing something. Adriana in her usual courageous self came kicking and screaming to the Land Rover which would escort us to the clouds. Just like the character from Dads Army the Scotsman who says Doom and Gloom Adriana gave forbodings. The bright sunny, warm coast of Albir soon gave way to mist and cold as we wound our way up the Tor to Gods house. Which I might add goes on and on.

One hour later we descended or so it seemed cautiosly down to this massive sprawl called Alcoi, passing snow markers on the goat trail of a road that went 20 feet above the rover? Is that how high snow gets? On entering Alcoi I thought we were on Westgate Road. We all thought we were ignoring each other as no one replied to each other when spoken to, until we realised we had all gone deaf friom the descent. Cup of coffee and a quick trip to the ASEOS and we were on our return journey, missing nothing was the consensus of opinion. Stopping off at Guadalest to eat at a cafe like Hitlers Tyrroll we enjoyed some of the most beautiful views in glorious sunshine and decided to go to the famous animal sanctuary nearby, marvelous, all rescued animals, bears, lions, panthers, loads of pained tortured pets and circus beasts all thriving in open spaces run by a charity. Donation left in the box and retuned home to sea level to red hot evening sunshine and compulsory red wine supper.

Information gathered on Alcoi region is that it is cheap but isolated and bad weather cuts you off from the rest of the planet, a mini exodus is underway so we will not be putting roots down there, although it must be popular with many as it is so large.

Personal contacts have led us to some properties to view on Friday and we have a team searching on our behalf for Eden!!!

Take care and will keep you updated, Health Wealth and Happiness.

Albir.... this where I practice Moo-Sool-Do

Hi all at PAMSD, this week has been most enlightening. We journeyed down to Guadarmar on a reccomendation off of some one named Charles we met on the crossing to Bilbao. This delightful resort with miles of soft desert sand and dynamic sea was just the ticket for exploration, the town itself is what you may call a seasonal town visited by many Spanish in the Summer months and a few Brits in the winter. There is a large Ex pat community who are very friendly and lay back. Most of the sea front Villas are owned by Spanish. This large Town boasts some fine resteraunts and all the service amenieties you could wish for. Very clean and we found a wonderful Hotel in town that gave double room ensuite and serve yourself as much as you want continental breakfast for 46 Euros.We searched surrounding areas for suitable properies at the right price and found some possible goers.

Almeria. Hostal Americanos top left.

The next stage saw us travel to Almeria in Andalucia, the constant rain should have been a sign of things to come, after this arduous trip we reached Almeria City which could be twinned with Manchester or Liverpool Twenty years ago, not good. We arrrived in a thunderstorm amidst rush hour and managed to park up at the Harbour. We followed she who should be obeyed to her chosen HOSTAL AMERICANOS or the local Bordello to those in the know. This dump charged 41Euros for the room only which could have come straight from the set of steptoe and son or for our younger members the Young Ones.We reluctantly went to the room out of fatigue and loss of will. A quick chat with Uriah Heep the night porter and discovered he is there 24 - 7 and we can come and go any time we wish, remember that bit. We trawled the streets and numbed ourselves on ale and shots, stumbling into a yuppie student area of overpriced bars, suitably numb we walked all the town we could looking for restaraunts, we found 4 that opened at 8pm it was now 7pm and our bellies thought our throats were cut, and somehow we ended up in Algeria or so it looked, full of Arabic type persons spraying some kind of Jihad graffitti as they walked, I had the the feeling we had gone the wrong way and ended up in Bazra? Using my martial arts skills we legged it to the Spanish quarter in time for a slap up extortionate meal. Sated we retired fully clothed to our flea ridden chambers. I think someone was using dead fish as an air freshener above and then we heard the constant chatter of deals being struck and doors slamming and high heels clacking and moans and throats being cleared, all night, we hastily left at 4am to the astonishment of Uriah Heep, and was clear of Analucia and back in Murcia by 7am.

Yesterday we were suitably recovered to explore Villayahosa a wonderful coast resort with character and surrounding hills as far as Finistrat, this place is good and we have located many properties for sale we are investigating. Monday sees us heading for Alcoy to view and will keep you updated.

I have not neglected my Martial art duties and have been practicing my Forms of TSD and Tai Chi on the beach with the sunrise and then swim, for 1 hour most days. I am just writing this after my morning practice. Today I am having a day off from searching real estate and joining friends for a slap up meal at one of the areas finest retaraunts.

Must dash, love you all

Peace and Harmony.

Stephen and Adriana.

Hi all, Stephen here letting you in on our update.

We drove from Albir up to Ghandia which is similar to Portsmouth.... not good! We went into the mountains of Pego just above the large town of Oliva ......very Valencian and French mix...spoke like no Spanish Ive ever heard, then we find that Valencian is different to Spanish and harder to speak. Our journey led us away from the cold wet mountain village of Pego to Javea, a large town similar to Newcastle in size with a beautiful seaside front and bustling town with all the amenieties you would expect from a town this size, but it recieves a cold viscious wind and torrential rain.

Moving closer to Alicante the seaside towns of Denia,Calpe Gata de Gorges, Bellissa were more tempting and have been moved to the top of the wish list, elliminating Vallencia to no way. We will explore the Jalon valley next. we went to Benidorm which was different to say the least, nice little Bay South of there called Cala, it too has possibilities, having visited La Nucia, Polop and Finistrat and we were stopped in the street of Polop to buy a Finca, a good day was had but these mountain towns are cold and precarious in winter. Villayahoisa and St Paolo are nice and have been marked as possibilities. Next week will see us travel to Guadamar Murcia for a short stay and on to Andalucia for an inspection. We are starting to integrate into the lifestyle and the lingo is coming on. The weather has been typically English April standard but warm.

You can contact me on snpas50@yahoo.co.uk or briton_55@hotmail.co.uk

Love you all,Stephen and Adriana.