Jos Biggs asks, " does this happen to you ?? "

Is it just me, or does this happen to you as well?

As I was in Vera I decided to sample the many-splendoured Nursery that is Hortiflor.

I was after a concrete stork or heron, a pig, a duck and a dove to join my chickens, my cockerel and my sheep in my concrete farmyard.

I was dubious about my chances of finding a stork or heron, they don’t seem to do them in concrete, so I was prepared to settle for an owl instead.

Hortiflor has ornaments a-plenty, but not cement ones suitable for outside living in Limaria.

I wandered the aisles, where my attention was captured by a garden rake. I need a rake, I thought, and pounced upon it. Never mind, I thought, you haven’t got you stork, heron etc, but at least you’ve got a rake!

Unwisely I succumbed to temptation and allowed myself to be drawn into the plant section. Whereupon 3 blue conifers forced themselves on to my attention. ‘Pick us, we’re pretty,’ they chorused. ‘And the yellow ones have died. We won’t die, promise.’

So 3 blue conifers joined the rake in my trolley. Before I could fall prey to blandishments by any other plants, blue or otherwise, I headed for the exit. 

It was just by the exit into safety and the till that the small green succulent struck. ‘I’m very pretty, and I’m only small, you can fit me in, I know you can.’

I put the small green succulent in the trolley with the rake and the conifers. So I now have 4 plants to put in the ground - I need compost. And while I’m at it, I might as well get some fertiliser for if it ever gets cooler or if it ever rains again. Or both.

Now my trolley contains: 4 blue conifers, a small green succulent, a bag of compost and a bottle of fertiliser, not forgetting the rake.

Yet no storks, herons, pigs, ducks, doves and even owls were to be seen anywhere! 

What happened? Why couldn’t I just turn round and walk out?

Does this ever happen to you, or is it just me?

Andalucia Covid Hospital numbers as at 2.9.22.

Total number of people in Hospital, in the whole of Andalucia today with Covid is 223.

Last Friday there were 267.

 A further reduction of .

Of 44.

Of these people 10 are in ICU.

Last Friday  there were 11. 

1 less than last Friday..

Pleasing to see yet another

reduction in Hospitalisations.

Figures from Junta de Andalucia.

From. Alan Preston 

A huge thank you! - Progress Report of our Ukrainian ladies 

This report is for all you generous people who have helped our four Ukrainian ladies settle well in Southern Spain. Some have helped through direct giving, others through employment or through gifts in kind. Thank you so much.

The goal has been to reach a point where their growing monthly income through casual employment eclipses the need to be dependent on charitable giving. They have been working diligently and successfully in the local area offering gardening, house cleaning etc. So hopefully they may achieve this early next year. We will keep you posted.

They want to return to Ukraine, and have now set aside enough money for their return airfare. However they will not return until their family members involved in the war indicate that it is safe to do so. How long will that be? No one knows! But we have said that our adjacent apartment is available for years, if necessary.

Through people's generosity we have also been able to supply them all with bikes, and two refurbished replacement laptops, weekly food bank items from New Life Church Spain, and monthly Food Bank from the Town Hall. Because of people and churches' generosity, it has also been possible to add a monthly stipend to their employment income. This fund will be depleted by Christmas.

As we look into the future, there is one last thing that we would like to give these ladies before they depart to their war-torn land. They are constantly on their mobiles to far-flung members of their scattered family and friends. Sadly all their mobiles are somewhat old and clunky! We would like to give them four modern mobiles, and we're not talking about an expensive iPhone 13. A reliable Samsung Galaxy mobile would be brilliant. To facilitate that I would need an extra £1000 or equivalent.

A huge thank you to you again! Alan & Marian Preston