Well, as I write this book two is going to be available as an e-book or a paperback in ten days’ time. Finally!

Well, the holiday is over. All those months of preparation and planning, and now it is all a distant memory, except for the photos, garden wall art and fridge magnets!

We had been looking forward to our summer holiday so much, especially as the previous year’s holiday was cancelled, due to me waiting for a hip replacement operation. Another reason was that we were going to a completely new region, unknown to either of us, Castilla La Mancha, the land of Don Quixote and windmills.

Well, it looks like I am back to talking about plans and planning!

My last blog was about plans and planning, so this time I thought I would talk about how I deal with plans that go awry!

How do you arrange your day-to-day planning? I am an inveterate note taker! On the fridge we have a magnetic whiteboard that can be written on and erased. We use that for jobs that are not urgent but need to be done, sometime. Then we have a weekly piece of paper, always the back of an envelope or other piece of paper we re-use, which has jobs to be done that week.

At last! Summer is coming, or is it already here?

So, what does the word ‘family’ mean to you?

Okay, so you want to write a book. A novel, a biography, a non-fiction or a book of poetry. For months you slave away at your computer, or if you are old school, your exercise books.

A while ago John asked me what I wanted for my birthday, to which I replied I needed nothing. So, I then asked what he wanted, and his reply was the same. Then, almost simultaneously we said, why don’t we go away for the weekend?

Easter in Spain is celebrated in a very different way to in the UK. The first main difference is in the name, Easter and Semana Santa, the Spanish allocate a whole week to it, as opposed to the UK’s long weekend. It is likely that the word Easter developed from the name of the pagan goddess of spring and fertility, Eostre and, although there is a Spanish word for Easter which is Pascua, a Spaniard is more likely to use the term holy week, Semana Santa.

Friday 8th March was International Women’s Day, a day to continue our promise to empower, support and uplift each other, and to remember that there is still inequality in the world. For that reason, I feel that it is sad we have to have an International Women’s Day. By now, in this 21st century equality should be a given.