FEBRUARY 7TH 2013

The days roll by and it's strange where the time goes to now that the sun has returned and the sky is deep blue.....the only downside being that the jet stream has decided to settle a long way south of its normal position and that the nights are colder than we would like, exacerbated of course by an abscence of cloud cover.Still, it's lovely and warm by 11am.
The festival was held after all and after the procession had passed we cycled up to El Colorado where they all head for to watch the festivities which seemed to consist of eating and drinking as much as possible whilst making as much noise as they could before damaging eardrums. This years extravaganza seemed to have attracted more people than ever, with more highly decorated floats (full of alochol) and many more people...either there's no recession in Andalucia or they've  given up and  said let's just enjoy ourselves.
That Sunday, the 27th, saw the weather change for the better as the clouds disappeared and the shorts came out.
The campsite organised a bus trip to the mountains to see the White Villages of Arcos, Grazalema, El Bosque and Ubriche which was a very jolly affair. Things went downhill at the first coffee stop, where after a long discussion about the Spanish having started selling a brandy at only 30%, Harry and I embarked on a mission to discover why, which involved tasting as many as we could everywhere we stopped. By the last stop we stepped off the bus straight into a bar and missed the tour of the town completely and have agreed that 30% brandy is definitely an inferior product and should be avoided in preference to the 36% or the 40% which is even better. An enormous glass of brandy in these bars generally sold for €1.50.....more of this later.
Better result at the quiz which we won with Paul & Caroline, and the princely sum of €60 between us. When we first arrived, Harry & JOan suggested we team up for the quiz but they were currently partnering Don & Sandra who had friends arriving in 3 weeks who they were going to team up with when they arrived. So we agreed, especially when Paul & Caroline said they were only staying for a month and would therefore only be around for the next 3 quizzes. The Harry/Don combo took second prize so the change of partners seemed a dream team. Unfortunately, the dates got a bit muddled and  Don's friends arrived on Sunday,leaving H&J with no partners so we had to dump Paul & Caroline this week,who were a bit miffed,and team up with H&J when we stormed the quiz and won another €60. Fortunately, despite only finding one other person to team up with, Paul & Caroline came second which proves something. Despite always doing well in the quiz, winning 2 weeks in succession is a first and half of the winnings went on brandy at the Terry's  Bodega in Jerez where they sell their 36% at €5 a bottle which seemed remarkably cheap and necessitating the purchase of 3 to take home.
The ladies boules team of which the Gf is now captain had a remarkable run of success and the GF is now going for the Grand Slam of winning the boules,quiz and whist.....the situation was so serious that when Tony & Sabena offered us a day out to Santa Puerta Maria for lunch and a visit to Decathlon we accepted with alacrity as Decathlon sell proper boules. I was sorely tempted by the tournament edition set at €89 but common sense prevailed and I settled for the €29 reduced fron €39 set. And promptly restored the mens winning form with some stunning play.
Taichi is great fun and I shall continue when I return home. My work with the fan was rewarded with a gratefully received "Moy Bien, Paul"
A quiet lunchtime saw the Ceremony of the Good Luck charms after Justin had sent us the 2013 charm to hang in the van and bring us good luck in our travels. The 2012 model, now redundent after stirling work in protecting us for 12 months had to be disposed of in a fitting and solemn manner and the result can be viewed at .http://www.youtubecom/watch?v=fIflbuhC6WE
My thanks to Don for his support and Harry for his constuction work.
 A very pleasant evening with Nick & Barbera, Dave & Geraldine at the Paella night and a bike ride to La Barossa with Tony & Sabena for lunch.
And Larry & Pat have offered to take us to Seville when the Gf is flying home for Mothering Sunday which solves another problem.