Had Jose the JCB in this week continuing with digging a trench/moat around the perimeter of the land in an effort to make it more difficult for would be bandits who may have an eye for a visit and make a clearer defined boundary.
I think Jose was trained on the BP rigs in the Gulf as he has ripped through the bore hole pipeline and now we have water everywhere. It won't be an environmental disaster providing my plants don't suffer, meaning that I probably have about 3 days to get it repaired, which should be a dam site quicker than BP could manage.

Damage repaired, plants & garden safe.

May 14th 2010

Dino had an away-day today and went to the NECI special needs school in Prai da Luz to see the students. There are about 25 of them all with varying degrees of age and disability
Dino was brilliant and let each and every one of them have a turn at holding and stroking him and of course having their photograph taken with him, he'll do anything for a few nuts.
It was very special to see the reaction on their faces with only one who wasn't so keen but he still had a go.
Lynette did a bit of an introduction and presentaion and asked if anyone knew what kind of things Dino would eat (with an inturpreteur), expecting a reply of "nuts" or whatever that is in Portuguese. These students are smart, especially when one replied "food".
Next time we are taking the students horse riding.

May 2010
Oh Yes, now where was I?

Back home after a longer than planned 5 weeks away and having enjoyed better weather in the UK than we had experienced in Portugal over that last 4 months, but at least now the Portuguese sun is shining again.

We took a long slow drive back to Portugal taking a full 8 days to finally arrive home by meandering through the eastern side of France which we have never done before and had always wanted to do. I must say that overall it was a bit of a disappoint as it was not nearly as pretty as the our normal journey down the western side. It was more industrial and a shed load more expensive as most of the roads were motorway tolls and overall I think we spent over 150 euros just in toll fare.


I love the way the French prune their trees

However it did give us chance to sample Burgundy, Chablis, Beaune and that was just the towns, which of course was coupled with the obligatory sampling in each stop. The only time previously that I have been drunk at 10 o'clock in the morning is from the night before, this time it was fresh each day as we called at a number of Chateaux to sample their wines, although sampling a 40 euro bottle of Nuits St George at 10:30 is not the best time, however some might say there is never a bad time.


I needed a beer in Saint-Emilion to wash down all the wine, although Lynette couldn't get enough of the stuff.

Dino enjoyed the trip and even became a star at the home of Laithwaites wine at Castillion on the banks of the Dordogne.
http://lechai.blogspot.com/2010/04/great-weekend_26.html

The weather was good all the way with just a fine sprinkling of rain on one day with sun the rest of time and snow still visible on the top of the Pyrenees. Lynette again gave the driving a go and even managed to negotiate through the centre of....... which she did admit was a bit hairy as she has never handled such a long thing before??????????????????
After a journey of 1,992 miles (340 miles more than our normal route), I now need to jet wash the front of the motorhome to remove the 26,738 midges, flies & bugs killed along the way.

It has taken a full 4 days to empty the motorhome of all the stuff brought back from the UK and of course not forgetting the 22 cases of wine which was a bit of a weight problem, especially going over the Pyrenees when I was down to 10mph and first gear climbing up the hills. It was great to finally get to the top and then almost freewheeling down the other side, it was like putting your feet on the handle bars on your bike as a kid, Geronimo.............

It seems that we hadn't missed much Algarvean sun whilst away as it had been a pretty mixed bag with the rain still winning out overall. The seedlings that I left to mature couldn't cope with the cold & rain and most have had to be thrown away and I need to start again.

Mowgli, the moggie is still calling for her food although this is now down to one meal a day, usually in the evening. She has definitely had her kittens but despite trying to follow her, we still haven't found them, although we suspect that they are well hidden under the shrubs or rocks behind the swimming pool. It's well protected down there especially as the mixture on sun and rain has encourage tremendous growth in the garden and it now needs some serious heavy pruning, which I need to do right now.

But the big news is that Parque da Floresta Golf Club has allegedly been sold, however the staff of which there was around 300 at the beginning of the year have still not been paid, which is now over 4 1/2 months. This has obviously led to a number of them leaving to find alternative employment. The golf course continues to suffer and is beginning to look like a jungle, although I did see a guy on a mower last week doing his best but the resort now resembles a ghost town when it comes to staff. The word on Friday was that the golf course would not be open on Sunday as the only one left that knew how to work the tills and the computer was having a day off after working 35 straight days without a break and without pay. Whats worse is that the supposed new owners don't seem to be around or have any intentions of paying them anytime soon, its a total mess and a shambles.

Blog 3, Not so much Life in the Algarve
Oh, Yes, Now where was I;

Sorry it been some time since the last blog, been spending a busy few weeks over in the UK................

Had to make some decisions on the motorhome this month and as it needed an MOT, it was a good time to have a trip back to the UK. Coupled with the fact that Mum is going into hospita after her fall in November, when she smashed her face against a brick wall. After xrays and scans at the new Derby Royal SUPER hospital the same day, she was passed ok with no further damage. However, after complaining of severe neck pain for the following 4 months, she was sent back for a further xray. This time when viewing the xray, it was clear there was a fracture to the odontoid peg, which if you are unfortunate enough to be hanged, is the part of the neck that the hangman looks to SNAP. After complaining to the hospital, a review of the initial xrays clearly shows the fracture that the radiographers missed and even Stevie Wonder would have seen it, what totally incompetant useless wasserks, I feel a compenstaion claim coming on.
Since finding the fracture Mum has been walking around in something akin to what Jenson Button wears during his racing sessions until she goes into hospital to have a screw or plate fitted this week and as she has not been into hospital since having me 58 and a bit years ago, she is understandably terrified.
Anyway, the operation went well and Mum handled it brilliantly, going into hospital on the Tueday and being sent home on the Friday, as they don't like you in over the weekend if they can help it.
It is now 3 weeks since the operation, she is still in constant pain and there doesn't seem to be any benefit just yet.