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!!