Victoria Twead's Blog, page 18

A bit of an emergency outside our front door

[image error] Our village is home to many feral cats. They seem to survive very well on lizards, grasshoppers, rodents and are skilled raiders of the rubbish skips. Although wild, they are clever. They recognise the hoot of the fish van and wait patiently in the square for it to wend its way down the mountain and into the square. In return, they ensure that the village is a rat and mouse free zone.

Joe and I are familiar with this particular cat because of her blue eyes and Siamese looks. We'd noticed she ...

Most original chicken coop - ever!

[image error] This has to be the best chicken coop I've ever seen... I thought our chicken coop, with its water feature, stencilled walls and full-size mirror was pretty cool, but this has given me a severe bout of coop envy.

Apparently it was made by an inventive chap in Norfolk to house his four rescued battery hens. He even managed to sell the front half of the Morris Traveller on eBay for £95.

A great lesson in recycling!

Beware the Killer Caterpillars

[image error] In an effort to get fitter, Joe and I have started to take daily walks up the mountain. It's worth it for the view from the top and we see something new every time.

Last week, we spotted what looked like a four foot long, wriggly worm. On close  inspection, we realised it was a line of caterpillars, nose to tail. We were enchanted, never having seen them before, and I mentioned it on Twitter later.

What a response I got! 

"They're KILLERS! Don't go near them!"
"Hate them, hate them, hate them!"
"W...

Rain, rain, rain...

[image error] February, and we've now had 10 solid weeks of rain. The locals have never seen anything like it, and neither have we, even back in England. The damage in southern Spain has been appalling and the stories reported on Spanish news tragic. Rivers have flooded towns, roads have crumbled away, mudslides and rockfalls have buried houses and lives have been lost. Our village road is extremely hazardous, and a house collapsed in our street this week. Luckily  it was uninhabited.

Joe and his derriere suffer again...

[image error] I've mentioned before that you can tell the season just by listening to the sounds of the village. This month there are two new sounds; a clicking noise, and braying.

The clicking sound is made by poor quails that are kept in little domed cages and hung on the walls outside houses. They're females and will be used as decoys later in the season. The cage is set down, the bird calls and the males are attracted. Bang! and the males are shot for eating.

Of course Joe and I heartily disapprove, but ...

The rain in Spain falls mainly on...

[image error] Forgive me for talking about the weather, but I'm British so should be excused.

We were lucky with the weather for New Year's Eve but the heavens hadn't been kind to us in December. A few days before Christmas - it started. Rain. Not just rain, but torrents, bucketing out of the sky, hour after hour, day after day. We've never seen rain like it in our five years in the village; it just poured...

Now, I know that the UK has really suffered recently from heavy snow, but that is no consolation fo...

New Year in our Spanish Village

[image error] Our village is so tiny that there are only a handful of permanent residents. Uncle Felix, a retired goatherd who shares his cottage with his beloved mule and two chickens. Ancient Marcia who runs a shop selling sweets, beer and cigarettes and very little else. Geronimo, a gentle, football-mad kind of village policeman who enjoys his beer perhaps a little too much. And us.

Well, New Year's Eve was interesting. The village was filled with people enjoying the holiday and getting away from their c...

You must be joking!

[image error] Joe and I were sitting at the kitchen table with the rain thundering on the roof, discussing writing.

'You can't write a proper story in under 200 words,' I said.

'Yes, you can,' said Joe. 'Come on, we'll have a go. We'll each write a Christmas story in under 200 words.'

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. However, not being one to turn down a challenge, I agreed. We didn't speak for the next hour as we concentrated and wrote.

Must look after our chickens!

[image error] Taken from Switch, the monthly Home Exchange Newsletter by Ed Kushins, President of HomeExchange.com.

"Home Exchange partner must look after our chickens."

You might think that would severely limit your options, but for Victoria Twead, a long-time HomeExchange.com Member, it has opened doors to exchanges around the world. She has compiled her adventures into a book well worth reading, a funny, warm retelling of their 5 Year Plan relocating from England to Andalusia. "Chickens, Mules and Two O...

Joe's new pet

[image error] Apart from the chickens and two semi-wild cats, we don't have any pets. I'd love a dog, but we still travel abroad quite a bit, so that's probably not a good idea. However, something green and about six inches long has adopted us. Our logs are stored in the woodshed, and it is there where our new pet has decided to live.

Meet BugEye. He's not furry, or fluffy. He doesn't do tricks or obey commands. He doesn't answer when spoken to, or ask for walks or food. He just sits there, whatever the we...