Three Kings and Christmas in Spain

Its one of the things about Spain that I really like.  There is no real build up for the festive period as there would be from as early as August in the UK.  The early part of December is taken up with other festivities (CONSTITUTION DAY December 6th  National holiday throughout Spain in commemoration of the 6th December 1978 when the Spanish people voted in a national referendum to approve the draft constitution, thus providing the way forward for the creation of a democratic system in Spain) and (IMMACULATE CONCEPTION December 8th  On the Roman Catholic Church calendar of holy days, today is celebrated as a holy day of obligation, commemorating the Immaculate Conception of Mary.)


So we reach the 25th December in quite a peaceful frame of mind.  The shops are full of goodies but the frenzy is short lived.  Of course the other thing to remember is that the Spanish don't really celebrate 25th December in the same way we do.  For them its a holiday but not a present giving day - although the savvy have managed to include it into their celebratory calendar.  For the Spanish children there might be a small gift on  Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) but the main day for giving presents is 6th January - Epiphany which is when the 3 Kings came bearing gifts.  Doesn't that make much more sense? 


But then why is the birth of Christ considered to be on the 25th December when no date for his birth was ever recorded?  A strong theory suggests that this date was eventually chosen by the church because it aligned closely with a major pagan festival, dies natalis solis invicti (birth of the invincible sun god), therefore allowing the church to claim a new celebration for Christianity.


So in Spain the day for giving presents is 6th January DAY OF THE THREE KINGS  (Los Reyes Magos) twelve days after Christmas Day, with the coming of the Three Kings. Children place their socks outside for the Kings to deliver them presents, but only if they have been good. Naughty children have the fear of finding black coal in their socks instead of presents. On the eve of January 6th, it is tradition for three men to dress as the Kings and ride around the town in a colourful procession, scattering sweets to all the children who eagerly follow.  We have been to this procession in Malaga city and its lovely.  However, its recommended that you dont wear anything on your feet that is not easily cleanable and dont walk back into your house wearing this footwear.  The sweets reach many willing hands but many miss and the resulting sweet, sticky crunch underfoot does not enhance your shoe soles and will certainly transfer itself to your house flooring - trust me I KNOW!!!


I do like the idea of Three Kings but its a bit weird having such a mega holiday in January!! In the UK most schools have gone back by the 6th January and here its party, party.  Funny thing though.  A few years ago we met some friends for dinner at Plaza Mayor - an entertainment centre (shopping, cinema, restaurants and bars) just outside Malaga on 6th January.  Expecting the place to be dead and in fact not entirely sure we were going to find somewhere to eat it was therefore a shock to see it absolutely packed with Spanish people - not eating, no - SHOPPING!!! The power of the Euro eh?


All in all - I definitely like Christmas here - its different and much less frenetic!

UK versus Spain

Well we have just done the annual pilgrimage to Blighty and now we are back to start our diet and catch up on sleep.  I am sure we all experience this.  Himself and I only go back to the UK once a year together and its usually pre-Christmas so that we can get everyone into the festive mood and then quietly disappear.

This year we were a bit concerned about the horror stories of weather and cold and snow etc but to be honest it was absolutely perfect.  Standing on the plane waiting to disembark at Exeter Airport I thought I was going to explode with heat - jumper, gilet, coat, scarf and that was just the top half of me!  Get me off here or I am going to spontaneously combust.  They obliged and I got to the bottom of the steps and wanted to go back.  Boy it was cold.  You cant prepare for it you see.  You know its cold because everyone told you so and you watched the weather forecast obsessively but you cant actually feel it until you feel it - if you get my drift!!

Anyway - the furnace like heat of my mother's house soon removed any last feelings of chill and a fabulous week commenced.  We were out every night to a different place for dinner - whether it be family or restaurant  all were yummy and not once were we offered the "low fat option" !!! Hence a quick pre-Christmas lettuce leaf diet for him and I.

On Saturday night we were taken to a special dinner by Derek's son and daughter-in-law to Little Barwick House in Somerset.  This was to celebrate a big birthday for Derek in October. The food was fantastic and I couldn't recommend it highly enough!  The food, staff, company and ambience were just fantastic. Roll on another big birthday!

The whole week was actually a bit of a revelation as one of the reasons we first thought about moving out of the UK was that everyone was so miserable - especially shop-keepers.  Now I think its the opposite.  All the shop assistants were smiling and helpful - particularly if you smiled at them too!  Whereas here I am not sure half the time if I can be bothered to wait whilst the cashiers in Mercadona finish their conversations with each other.  You tend to feel like you are inconveniencing the staff by wanting to pay for your goods!

Of course in the UK they are suddenly mindful of the fact that they do still have jobs and they need to safeguard them.  Here they have always been mindful of that but its not easy to sack anyone here and I don't think not smiling and/or engaging with the person you are serving comes under the list of sackable offences!

I have to heave a sigh of relief though that we left the UK before this latest onslaught of bad weather.  Our local airport in Devon was closed this morning and flights were severely disrupted.  I don't mind the snow if I don't have to do anything like travel.

Here we are going to get rain soon - according to the weather forecast - and I don't like Spain in the rain.  So its a toss up - rain in Spain which can't cope with it or snow in the UK which can't cope with it.  So would I rather live in Spain or UK - the jury is out on that one - ask me in the Spring!

Hmmmm! Well its a good advert for a work at home business anyway - there is always a silver lining!!

Home Based Business Online from your home in Spain!

Imagine how many people moved to Spain with the idea of retiring!  Every year you hear of more and more people leaving the UK and moving not just to Spain but to various European Countries to "get out of the rat race".  But one wonders if its out of the frying pan and into the fire!

At the moment many people who rushed out to Spain over the last 10-15 years with the intention of kicking back, doing a little part-time work and living the dream, are now rushing in the opposite direction because they can't make ends meet here in Spain.

We also moved out here with rose coloured glasses firmly perched on our noses, although it was never my intention to retire but I was intending to find the nice little part-time job to keep me off the streets and stop me from going doolally from boredom.  Some research into the economy of Andalucia would probably have been beneficial as we discovered very soon that Andalucia has a huge unemployment problem and that part-time jobs are fought for and usually won by those speaking Spanish and some by those speaking both Spanish and English.

This is why you find so many of the expat community doing the markets (see previous blog).  There are so many non-Spanish markets out here now selling everything from handmade goods to UK food products and Marks and Spencer clothing!  Some people do the markets to themselves out of the house, meet people and make a bit of pocket money.  But for some this is their only means of support and as the competition for the punters' money is fierce there are more and more people feeling the pinch.

So what other options are there when you are an expat wanting to make a living?  Well there are several MLM opportunities out there such as the Aloe Vera products, Herbal Life and Bioflow - which immediately spring to mind.  However, all of these options also require the franchise owner to "do" the markets to sell their products and market their opportunity.  From my point of view I prefer the "no stocking of products" option available in the Internet Marketing Opportunities.  Mind you I had a couple of go's before I found the opportunity that really got me going.

I am now with an opportunity that not only puts money in my pocket but supports Environmental and Humanitarian projects worldwide.  For me the mission was very important but realistically I had to be able to earn good money too!

So what exactly is Network Marketing?  The simplest explanation is that it is a method of marketing that utilises independent representatives to reach potential customers that a company otherwise would not reach with traditional marketing methods.

Network marketing is definitely an option for people living abroad and needing an income.  There is plenty of money to be made, even in a recession and there is no requirement to learn another language (although I would always advocate learning the language of the country in which you live).

If Network Marketing is route you choose make sure that it fits your requirements, ticks all the boxes and delivers in every way.

If you are interested in more information on the Opportunity that I am with then please contact me!

Christmas Markets in the Sun

From now till Christmas you could shop till you dropped and never enter a shop!!

Its a legacy of living in this part of Spain (cant speak for other areas) that for those who cant find work but need an income settle on becoming a marketeer!! I have done it myself in the past and still do attend the odd one as I cant stop painting T Shirts and so they have to go somewhere.

It can be a lot of fun.  You get to know people from different areas some travelling the length of the Costa del Sol from Nerja down to Gibralter and many miles inland too.  Most people are really friendly and sometimes end up being your best customers depending on what you sell.

On a quiet or cold day the most popular marketeers tend to be those selling food - things like sausage rolls,  Cornish pasties and quiche are really alluring when you are bored and/or cold.  Then there are the scones, buns and chocolate fudge cakes  mmmmmm!!  When I did the markets regularly I had to be strict and take my fruit and rice cakes with me or I would have ended up eating all day.

However, as I rarely do markets now, since I have been running my Network Marketing Business, it was a treat last Saturday to indulge in a little snacking.  The heavens opened for a little market in the Benhavista Country Club.  When I say the heavens opened I mean they really opened.  I went with Michelle from Designs of Asia and we couldn't find the place.  Then we couldn't park anywhere near so we were running with heavy boxes of her candles and massive bags of cushions through torrential rain.  Not fun.  When the rain cleared from my eyes I noticed we were next to the cake and pasty stall - disaster!!!  The rain continued unabated for most of the day and the clientèle stayed exactly where I wished I was - namely home by the fire.  I had taken soup but the sausage rolls and mince pies waved at me each time I looked.  We succumbed big style - but it made the day go easier although it was a relief to leave and an even bigger relief to arrive home to a warm, dry house.

AmandArt at Swans Schools

Those kinds of days though are fairly extreme.  Yesterday for instance was at the other end of the scale.  Again down on the coast this time at Swan's School.  We were early for this one - amazingly enough - which is probably just as well as the hike from car to table was probably 4 times as long as Saturday's.  However, the day could not have been more different.  There was not a cloud in the sky - wall to wall blue with a lovely warm sun.  We were in a huge quadrangle type area surrounded by the school buildings and it was warm enough that after traipsing backwards and forwards to the car a few times (Michelle did manage to commandeer a supermarket trolley and a pupil from somewhere so we had assistance) people were stripping off layers of clothing.

All venues bring a different variety of people and spending doesn't seem to be high at any of them but the amount of people at Swan's School was very encouraging and the buzz was loud and convivial!  I thoroughly enjoyed my day despite spending more than I made!!

Our stall and general view

AmandaArt Handcrafted Christmas Crackers

There are also a number of exhibitions of varying sizes which I have done in the past.  I shared a stand with Posh Pets Spain a couple of years ago at the Over 50's Exhibition in Estepona.  That was a two day exhibition and we had a load of fun.  We took cava and nibbles ensuring that our stand was extremely popular and we did a roaring trade (not just in cava and nibbles either!).

For those of you on the Costa del Sol there is now a Facebook Page for Markets which some enterprising person set up - well done them!! It can be useful if you are a marketeer or if you are looking for one to go to!!  Another great source of local information is In Malaga Today and not just about markets either - its a great resource for all local information and news!

Don't forget you will get unique and handcrafted items at these markets.  Anyone can shop on the High Street or in that mainstay store that originates in Ireland (they can afford to do their own advertising!)  but how much nicer to go and browse - have a snack and quite often a mulled wine or whatever takes your fancy.  Often you can chat with the person who has made the item you are interested in and sometimes place an order so that the gift is completely unique.  For those items that you can buy elsewhere, the markets are normally much cheaper as stallholders only have to pay for their stall on the day not premises for 365 days with all the associated costs of staff, insurance, electricity etc.

Its fun, its cheaper, its individual and its very Costa del Sol!!

Do you miss British Goods in Spain?

Funny subject this.  Initial reaction from me is emphatically NO followed by "I didnt come to Spain to live as a Brit".  However, I don't hanker for cheddar cheese or sausages or marmite but could this be because I can get them all here and more?  Take away the panic and then its easy to be abstemious.  I still dont think I would get overly upset about the lack of too many things but I do believe that having them easily accessible makes them less appealing to me anyway.

Very nutritious actually!!

We are spoilt here because even the basic supermarket Mercadona has things like Cheddar, Baked Beans and Tabasco sauce !!!! (well I do like it but would use a local brand if it wasnt available).  There are also three British type supermarkets within a short driving distance of home.  These supply most of the items that the British seem to want most of which I wouldn't buy in the UK so am not going to start buying them here.  But they also have teabags and orange squash and proper English mustard.  Also the people who sell English Food at the local markets also do a roaring trade.

I went to Gibralter a few weeks ago.  Never been before (not sure I will rush back either) and the person I went down with needed some specific things in Morrisons.  So off we trotted and it was obviously just like being back in England - although this Morrisons was far bigger and grander than the little one that my Mum shops in.  I could have spent 2-300 Euros or 20 euros - I opted for the latter.  It might have been a bit of a different story if I had brought a cool box with me!

But it brought home to me why our shopping doesn't cost that much here.  There isn't the choice.  So you go to Mercadona and buy the basics and make what you want from that - which is fine.  You go into Morrisons (for instance) and there are three aisles of  chilled stuff including take away meals and if you dont like the look of the prepacked take aways Indian or Chinese you can go and select your own from two different deli counters dealing with preprepared food.  In the UK this would be normal but I must have looked a bit like a hick from the sticks.  I am sure my tongue was hanging out.  BUT did I need it all?  No but quite clearly I was in the minority as it was packed with Brits from the mainland piling up their trolleys to take back into Spain.  What amazed me was the things they were buying were basics as well as what I would consider to be treats.  They were buying bread, milk, jams, tins of tuna etc - all the things I would buy in Mercadona and I think that is sad.  Sad that this is how they want to live in Spain and sad for the Spanish economy.



I suppose the one thing I miss here is the ease of getting local produce organically grown.  The Spanish love affair with chemicals has led some of their fruit and vegetables to be banned in Northern Europe and I would like a better choice of such things.  When we first came we grew our own but water is a bigger challenge these days and they do take a lot of water.

So, at the end of all that blurb - am I glad we can get British goods here?   Well it leaves room for other stuff in the suitcase when visiting the UK (tea bags were always the main thing) and Derek does like his cheddar and baked beans (but he wouldn't go into a decline if he couldnt get them) so for the main part I think we could live without!!

Facebook Phenomenon

Is it just me or as Facebook reached a new dimension? It seems that everywhere I look/listen/watch someone somewhere is using facebook whether it be to advertise to encourage to vilify or ................... play games!!!

On the games front I have to say I find them annoying only insofar as I am not interested in whether you build a new barn on your farm, make cakes for your cafe, shoot people in your wars etc so I would prefer that I didnt get the notifications that such momentous events have occurred. Having said that if thats what people want to do and they enjoy thats great. If I started I would probably get hooked and waste all my time planting, cooking and killing .......hmmmm ....... well something like that anyway.

Of course, the original idea of Facebook was for people to keep in contact and have a "chat" no matter where they were in the world - hence "Social Media". And I do use it for that too. As we live in Spain and have family in other parts of Europe particularly the UK and friends all over the world - Facebook is just great for keeping in touch without writing the email which sometimes takes away the spontaneity of the chat.

If you are a private person then perhaps Facebook is not the way forward. You can "private message" people but then you could probably just as easily email them. But if you have a business of any description, then you would be foolish to dismiss the power of FaceBook. In fact it is probably one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use.  It doesnt have to be an online business - I have an online business, a T Shirt Painting business and I am a Holistic Therapist

Just recently a friend and mentor posted a video he had made showing people how to put a Facebook "like" button on their own website. You will notice that I have put one on this blog. Such a simple thing but so powerful. Probably its not Facebook that has taken a step forward but me!!! Finally I am learning how to use these tools and enjoy doing it.

Of course, its not all good. There are a lot of people who feel that their privacy has been invaded and they feel exposed. That is why its such a good marketing tool. There is a movie just released about the Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg - "The Social Network" which I believe premièred yesterday. According to the press, the movie does him no favours although sources for the material of the movie apparently do have an axe to grind so who knows. You are not going to reach the dizzy heights of wealth that this young man has (only 26 years old!!!) without making a few enemies on the way.

The thing is - even if we all decided that he was a terrible person would we ALL leave Facebook?

From Facebook's own statistics page

• More than 500 million active users 
• 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day 
• Average user has 130 friends 
• People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook 

And if something or someone persuaded all those 500 million users to leave, would we be stepping out of the frying pan and into the fire!!

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Cruelty or just neglect?

One of the things both Derek and I find highly distressing here in Spain is the apparent lack of regard for animals.  Now before you all get up in arms about that statement let me finish the blog and then if you still have objections feel free to comment.

When I say lack of regard for animals this is perhaps only a "lack of regard" in other European eyes but for the local Spanish there is probably no real intention to be cruel so perhaps its a case of neglect.  Its hard though to view it calmly.  For instance, take horses which are quite a status symbol here.  People who really do not have the knowledge, time, space or finances own horses and some are not exactly neglected but one does tend to wonder why they have them.  You drive through the "campo" (countryside)  especially during the summer months and see horses tethered on the side of the road or mountain with no water, no shade, obviously no food as such - just dead weeds and very often the horse have docked tails so there is not even any respite from the flies.  Now that does make me mad!

Just down the road from us in our last house was one such horse and I wanted to take water to him during the day but Derek quite rightly said I would be upsetting the whole system that the horse has grown to accept and if couldn't get to him in the middle of the day or we moved (which we did) then I would have made the whole thing worse by giving and then taking away.

The little Terrier - ready for frankfurters!!

I can feel my soap box sliding under my feet as I do get really wound up by these things.  Another instance where I finally cracked and had to interfere was in the case of a dog.  There is a really sweet tempered little terrier which I pass most days when walking our dogs.  He loves attention and I take treats for him and every 3 months I stick a worming tablet in a piece of frankfurter so that is one thing taken care of.  But I cant actually get to him to do anything else as he is in a fenced and gated property.  However, in the middle of July when the ticks were at their worst he was covered and I mean COVERED.  There would have been over a hundred on his ears alone and if you think I am exaggerating, then think again.  His body was covered too and he was constantly shaking his head as I am sure that the ones inside his ears were driving him mad!

I couldn't stand by and watch this any more so I went to Posh Pets in Alhaurin el Grande and got a bottle of a solution that they use on dogs that are infested with fleas and ticks.  I put this bottle with a note in a bag and left it on the gate.  I felt very nervous going back past the house after that as I knew I had completely overstepped the boundaries bt more importantly I couldn't have borne it if I had gone back and found the dog still in a bad way.  I am pleased to announce that when I went back after two days the dog was virtually tick free and I almost cried with relief. The thing is - I don't think the owner was being really cruel, it just didn't occur to him to do anything about it.

Another problem here is that the Spanish don't believe in spaying or neutering, but quite clearly they don't want to be overrun with dogs either.  So their bitches have a litter of puppies which are very often destroyed at birth apart from one which is left on the mother to take the milk until they are about 6 weeks old.  Then the puppy is taken away and left somewhere or given to neighbours.

Murphy a couple of days after we got him!

Our Spanish Water Dog X, Murphy is probably such a case.  He was found on the side of the main road by a friend.  She saw him in the long grass and stopped to investigate.  She looked everywhere for siblings but he was alone and quite rotund!! She picked him up and donated (!) him to us as it was us she was coming to see at the time.  Its too awful to contemplate his fate had she not come along at precisely that moment as its a really busy road with lots of lorries.

He fell on his feet but he is only one!

The Charities (AID, Chain, SOS) do fantastic work but even they are up against it with the amount that are born stray and those that are dumped and cats as well.  A lot of the time with the strays the best thing that can be done is to spay them and put them back.

I know its not for us to come here and criticise but it will be something that drives Derek and I away from Spain eventually.  Just a couple of weeks ago we had a pathetic creature who looked to be German Shepherd crossed with Podenco - possibly.  There was no flesh on him, just bones covered in skin.  He had open sores down his flanks and the top third of his ears was just black in parts an open sores in other parts.  The first thing we needed to do was feed him. He wagged his tail at me when I opened the gate ................. WAGGED HIS TAIL .............. it was heartbreaking.  We fed him twice and gave him water.  Whilst he was wolfing the food down I had a good look at him.  His back legs kept giving out on him and I believe he was probably suffering from fairly advanced Leishmaniasis.  After the food he disappeared and only briefly appeared the next morning whilst I was out.  By the time I got back there was nothing to be seen of him and I have not seen him since.  I could not take him in but I have arranged for the vet to call by when the dog next appears.

There is, only so much we can do.  But I do urge people to support the charities and perhaps not only call them when they have a problem but to help out, attend fund raising functions, donate books, clothes etc to the shops.  It might not sound much but every bit helps.