A new chapter in my life

When I moved to Portugal I had recently divorced and I was staring a new life. For the last four years life has been so good and I have had no regrets. Also I have never felt so good in my life this life is agreeing with me and long may it last.

Well at the grand old age 66 years of age I have a lady in my life and this perfect life is now complete. How will this affect this perfect life I now have I don't know but I am looking forward to this new chapter in my life. Also my children and granddaughter have all wished me well now that's a result.

The icing on the cake so to speak is that I received a message from my Mum wishing me well now how's that. I couldn't wish for better now with Cathy in my life.

What a rotten job.

I may be a bit particular but at least I have standards. When I look at the lights in my kitchen or bathroom I know that they are all straight and in line.

I am in Liverpool at the moment and today I visited a very good friend. She as recently had a new kitchen fitted but one tradesman let her down. The kitchen fitter did what looks like a good job but the electrician was hire separately from the kitchen fitter and that's where it went wrong. I am sure the electrician has poor eyesight and if you look at the enclosed pictures you will see what I mean. 

When challenged the electrician says I did what I was paid for and refuses to repair his rotten work. You can see just how bad this job looks from the bottom pictures but the top picture really is just as bad. I count myself lucky to be living in Portugal where the tradesmen I have seen are about the best I have seen

Another bike race

A few days before I left to return to Liverpool a car was stopped from leaving the garage where we stop for coffee. A short time passed and we saw that there where a lot of Police activity on the road. Being nosy as we all are we saw there was a bike race about to go past and with this most of use lined the road to watch the bikes go by. Although I took over 100 pictures the best one was the one on my Blog as you can see. This is the last of the riders but what you can't see is at his side is a Police bike acting as an escort with the rider being so far behind the rest of the riders.

Happy fourth birthday.

Well it's now the 12th August 2015. What is special is today four years ago I signed for my house in the sun. I signed for the house late in the day and after signing the deeds I had to go with the agent for the sellers to sign for the water and electric. Because of the time it was not practicable to move it so I waited till the next morning and as they say the rest is history.

Yes in the four years I have done a lot but if I put more time into what I am doing I would have got so  much more done. It's not about how much is done it's about the quality of my life. If only one person who reads my Blog understands my feelings and how I enjoy this my new life then this Blog has achieved something.

Fire

I looked out while making a cuppa and saw that the sky was very dark but it was early evening. The sun was not the usual colour we all see daily but it was Red yes Red. I took a load of pictures but iPad won't let me upload to my Blog. The Blog gives me an option to use a program called Picassa from Google but I don't want Google to store my pictures when I use Dropbox.

When I find a way I have a number of pictures to put up on my Blog but for now the pictures will have to wait.

The cost of rail travel

,To get my flight to Liverpool I went from Coimbra by high speed train. The return flight from Liverpool doesn't give me a lot of time after landing to get from the Metro at the airport to the station that takes me Back to Coimbra before the last train has gone. I found that shortly after midnight there is the first train south to Lisboa.

I went to the ticket office to book my tickets and as I am now a pensioner I get what is called a Seniors rate. To travel from Coimbra B station to Campanha in Porto where I get the Metro for the rest of the journey. I also booked my ticket back on the train after midnight on the 1st September. The total cost even with my special rate for being a Senior was 11.75€. Yes that is correct 11.75€ now compare that to the cost of rail travel in the UK and if that's not a bargain then I don't know what is.

I needed to take an early morning train in Liverpool and as it was before 9.30 am I had to pay. The journey was about 5mile or  8 kilometres and the cost was £3.00 or 4€. When you think of the cost of travelling from Coimbra to Porto and back only cost 11.75€ the cost here in Liverpool was to to much but it's how it is here in the UK.

The photo below shows the UK cost of a short trip. The bottom picture show the cost of two trips in Portugal, big difference. 

Driving to the station and boy was it hot

Well I am back in Liverpool, am I a fool when it's so warm in sunny Portugal. As I was driving from my home to Coimbra to get the train to the airport I looked at the instrument display on my car and it said the outside temperature was 37.5c. I stopped to take a picture for my Blog but try as I may I can't find a way from my IPad to put a picture for you to see. Maybe I will have to wait till I get back home. For now you will have to take my word that it was 37.5c while driving to Coimbra. At last I found an App so I can now insert pictures from my IPad.

Sun and blue skies and August

It's sunny still no rain and nothing but blue skies what a problem to have. Today i went down into town and almost every parking space was taken even the two spots outside of the Farmacia. I had a prescription and needed to get somewhere to park so i could get into the Farmacia.

This time of year people who own homes here come back for the month of August also the motorbike festival is on and that packs another 10,000 plus into an already packed town. The village i live in has also been invaded with already 5 families and more to come i am sure.

This year a number of bars have built outside seating areas and it certainly has made the town look so much better. The beach bar was  great on the night of the Firework display. So what do i care i am going back to Liverpool to baby sit my granddaughter and that's worth more than staying here in the sun and busy town.

I started this post because of the amout of sun we have had snce about March. While reading the BBC news in the section for Health i found an amusing story andi have included a link to the story. The story is about people in the UK needing to take vitamin D because of the lack of Sun. Well all i can say is i get more than i need with sun from morning till night.

Everyone should consider taking vitamin D supplements to counter the lack of sunshine in the UK, government experts are proposing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33757929