It's been 6 months now  since an Englishman set sail and lived abroad.

If you remember, the house is part of a complex of holiday homes  purpose built in the 80's on waste land. Each Complex, and there are many surround a central swimming pool and garden.

Now it's November and for the first time it's not shorts and maybe a tshirt. It is wearing English clothes. 5 degrees centigrade at night with clear star night and 15  during the day, warm enough to sit out in. Sunny breezy.  The weather change was rapid  about  one week into November from hot to cool. Of course the sun is much lower in the sky and it's dark about 6pm. It has rained a couple of times, though not like the cyclone that hit Sardinia in the Med  and flooded them out  killing many.

That cyclone could have hit anywhere. 100 miles south of here roads were washed away by flash floods  last summer.  When it rains the ground is baked hard, and also many Spaniards tile over their gardens, they don't like gardens, or the outside. They should live in caves.

There are no real seasons here though apart from temperature changes.   You can plant flowers and seeds anytime, they will grow. Of course better when warmer, but no need for a leaf rake, there are very few deciduous trees and bushes. Even the English plants I brought over in the truck are still in leaf.

So still sunny and bright, though need a gas fire on in the evening and can only eat lunch outside now, each day.

So what else to report after 6 months.

Well, just more of the same:

1)  The Spanish men are, short, rude, noisy, uneducated, scruffy in general. No I would not fancy any of them anyway, but I have to admit I hate the hombres.

2)  Their other halves shout to get heard or over heard and use repetitive words , I guess for affect. Cannot say yes , Si, it is "Si, si si si". So  not much time for breathing, but they seem not to die, unfortunately, nor does smoking kill them. The Majority of Spanish men and women smoke and drop their fag ends and empty cigarette boxes in the street, alongwith drinks containers.

3) The Spanish don't care about anything or anyone except themselves. Anti social behaviour is here in Spain as well as in England. They have no concerns for the environment, animals, each other. They are too lazy  to do most everyday things. They are litter louts, don't recycle, even though the authorities provide the means. They are awful drivers, Matadors behind the steering wheel. I don't know what on earth they learn in school or for that matter in a driving school  car. The end result  is they do not indicate. On a roundabout for instance, they will hold the inside lane and go all the way round to get to their exit, not indicating and holding that inside lane.  But still they don't kill each other enough, though their are many cars with dents.

4) Noisy  (Ruidoso)  They know where the horn is though, drive with mobile phones, fags, and Spanish bongo drum disco music emanating from their open car windows.  So no consideration there. Same at Zebra Crossings, Spanish  accelerate at those. They too can't send kids walking to school, they have to go by car. Also they cannot park a car, double park, across entrances, on zebra crossings. They would be better off riding a donkey.

5) However find a park sit  in relative peace and quiet see the turquoise sea and the mountains that surround here. See the salt lakes, they are pink, like the Pink Flamingos that inhabit them. Or go to the beach, it's busier, but picturesque. The palm tree lined roads are incredible. Orange, lemons and limes  grow on trees in the main streets. The Northern Europeans all holiday or live here for the sun. The food and drink is cheap too. But some things you cannot get here. Decent medicine, for instance. So driving to England every now and then to see relatives and stock up with the unobtainable  is essential. Most restaurants and bars  have closed for the winter, some only open weekends and lunch times. Weekends  still see Spanish travel here for Friday night Saturday, go back Sunday. But  much quieter and civilised now compared to July and August when the riff raff are here in force and numbers.

So on the whole the English Man is content with the better weather. He can survive day to day, without fluent Spanish, after all when the Spanish talk it is similar to gargling or water going down a sink. There are plenty of English speaking people here, in business too, though the Spanish rarely speak a word of English.
It is a learning curve. Like in England the utility companies Water  Electricity try to make everyone poor. There are insufficient individual solar panel  users, even though the sun shines 360 days a year. When the Northern Europeans get ill they go home. But, I don't miss England. I have the internet, English TV, and one can live like this knowing just a few people, as long as they are not Spanish.

Oh btw  dont forget the pesky flies, who are worse the Spanish or the flies ?? close call that one !!!