Spanish Life And Times Of The Not So Rich And Famous
Let’s take our very good friends who happen to live next door. Again I will disguise their names. We’ll call them Malli and Peter. Malli and Peter retired from the UK a couple of years ago with their four small adorable dogs. Imagine the drive that Peter had with four dogs in a Kia Sportage! He is an absolute iron man. Literally. Thirty years in the army doesn’t turn out sissies!
When I first met Peter, he had a pony tail and a goatee beard - honestly he’s not a sissy. After leaving the Army, he rebelled after decades of regimentation, grew the hair and beard and bought himself a Harley look-alike. You know - looks like a Harley but it’s Japanese and therefore reliable.
You would think that three decades in the armed forces would provide a guy with a fabulous pension; not so. The pension is fine to live on without unexpected mishaps.
The other half of the partership (Malli) is an absolute stunner with the usual aches and pains associated with living almost six decades on this wonderful planet of ours. Malli is the kind of person who would go to the ends of the earth to help a fellow human being. The is an absolute true Christian. She also takes the odd glass of fortification. Purely medicinal.
You’ve probably guessed that the four dogs became seven and they all managed to contact kennel cough or canine sniff or some such horrible disease. Spanish vets have a lot in common with English vets - part of their training is how to fleece the dog owner whilst at the same time make them feel they’ve been done a huge favour.
The upshot of M & P’s charitable nature and the vet’s fees resulted in the rainy day nest egg dwindling at a rapid rate. The Kia Sportage didn’t help either. It had its two penn’orth as well. Well - 1300 Euros.
What does one do when the going gets tough? Yes - that’s right - they got going. The female half of the partnership got herself a little job working in a local “English” shop. Only part-time, but as all you ladies reading this will know the difference a little money/job makes to your feeling of independance.
Peter happily kept pottering along merrily in his seven and a half thousand square metres of garden. Boredom has never been an issue for these two. Peter is type of clever dicky guy who can do anything. He never gives up.
Eventually after doing many odd jobs for friends and neighbours (some of these jobs even resulted in some remuneration as far as I know, no hanky-panky was ever offered) Peter’s life-style also changed. He is now driving a tractor which belongs to another friend and neighbour by the name of Paul.
Malli and Peter have had a worrying time thanks to the price of fuel at the pumps and the poor performance of the pound against the Euro, but they have managed to adapt to their surroundings and circumstances and have triumphed ove adversity. The Dunkirke Spirit is alive and well and living in my next door neighbour’s house.
Stella Stevens has several apartments and has many Villas in Spain. For more information visit http://www.dosmareshomes.com
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