The Morris Minor

The Family Car

I saw a video on twitter that sparked a major memory of something minor (that's a clue!) in my childhood.

The video was from a 1970's television broadcast of a story about Christmas tree theft in Ireland (seemingly this was a big thing at the time(!), but don't worry the Gardai in Rathfarnham were on the case). In any case the thief in the piece of film hopped over a wall in to a forest, and cut down a tree and threw it back over the wall. He then proceeded to shove the tree in to his car and drive away.

So you might wonder what was the memory that was sparked by that particular piece of film....and before you say it, I can assure you that my parents always bought their tree from the local shop!

Well the car that the Christmas tree thief made his get away in was a Morris Minor and when I saw it I was taken right back to the 1980's when we had an old black Morris Minor with what I remember were wine coloured leather seats.

Crank it up

One of the things that I remember about the car was that when it wouldn't start, my Dad would put some type of crank in the front of the car and would get it going that way - yes it was of that vintage!!

So after recalling about the crank I went looking for a video and I found this one below which shows a "cold start". The car in the video seems very similar to the one that we had and brings me right back to my childhood, sitting in the car shivering on cold Winter days while Dad cranked the car.......and then we waited for it to warm up so it would drive......while we got later and later for school!

The end of the Morris

What I also remember about this car was its eventually demise.

After doing the weekly shop in Superquinn, Blanchardstown we left the car park to go out on the main road. There was a slight hill down to the roadway, and half way down the hill the axel on the car broke. The car dropped on the side where the wheel was no longer working and we kind of skidded down on to the main road with sparks flying! All very dramatic.

I can't remember the specifics of how we got home but I think Dad parked up the car and when we got home he called a friend who owned a mechanics garage close by and arranged to have it taken up to there. Unfortunately the economics didn't work out on the repair so the car was disposed of and that was the end of the Morris Minor. 

I think there are still some photos of the car floating around in albums at home. It looked great pictured in front of my parent's 1930's house.

At the time that it was our family car I think I felt self conscious in it (I was about 10 I think) and would have preferred to have had a modern car but now I look back fondly on the old Morris Minor.

Coffee time

Tassimo Coffee Machine

When I bought my coffee machine back when I arrived in Spain I was given two 10 euro off coupons. The first one could be used straightaway while the second one could only be used from the 1st of November.

My coffee supply was beginning to dwindle down to the last box so I made my second order of a batch of coffee 2 days ago online.

And look what promptly was delivered to my apartment today!

Bulk buying

I've never been the type or person that ordered things like coffee in bulk online. But it makes sense when a) you have a money off coupon and b) you are going to have to buy it anyway as you drink it. Stocking up in bulk means you never run out so it makes sense!

Hot Chocolate

In this order I put in for a few hot chocolates to have over the Christmas time while watching Christmas movies.....though at this time the weather is still probably too warm to be thinking of things like hot chocolate!

The coffee machine originally cost 40 euro but with the money off coupons against the coffee it was actually only 20 euro. A bargain, I reckon!

Time flies.....

Where does the time go to?!

Sometimes I wonder how we got anything done back in Ireland while working full time. Here in Malaga I make a plan to do something and before I get it done the day is nearly over.....and then suddenly the week is over! Part of the issue is that things tend to take a little longer here than back in Ireland and additionally Covid restrictions are causing things to get done slower. We are having issues with our bank account so I went there this morning. Even though it is about a minute's walk from apartment I think I was gone about an hour in total. I was dealing with 3 people in the bank in my pigeon Spanish and my issue still isn't sorted!!!  Manana it seems!

Volunteer Work

On Saturday I started volunteering in the local Charity shop. I did 4 hours from 10am until 2pm. The time went fast but boy my head was in a spin when I left. So much Spanish was spoken all around me and it was difficult to process. I worked alongside a lovely lady who didn't speak any English and I helped her do the window display. It was a lot of fun!

We redressed 4 mannequins in Autumn looks and then I put some accessories (scarves, belts & necklaces) on display in the window alongside. 

I think working as a volunteer and meeting people will be very helpful for my Spanish.

Birthday!

I also celebrated my birthday since my last blog. I had a lovely chilled out day and received the most fabulous present - my favourite art work from a photographic exhibition that we attended at La Casa Amarilla. See here!

Black Friday + Cyber Monday

I was reminded by my mother on my birthday that it was 6 weeks to Christmas Eve. With that in mind, I'm happy to share a code for 10% off Pigsy art mugs on his website as an Early Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sale.  Use code: PIGSYBF20

Miercoles en Malaga!

Breakfast in the city

Today we started out with a chilled out walk to the Roman ruins in the city. We stopped off in La Canasta Bakery on the way  and bought a warm cheese & ham croissant to share for breakfast. I had packed a flask of coffee and two cups (Pigsy mugs of course!) so we sat on a bench and enjoyed the surroundings while eating and drinking in the sun. It was beyond nice and probably a luxury because we won't be able to do it when the tourists return to town as this area is normally thronged with people.

After our breakfast al fresco we then sauntered back home with Ciaran going on ahead to the apartment while I stopped off in the shops for some water and cheese. When I got home, Ciaran was working away on the computer so I did some social media work.

Speak & Learn

At 11.45am we then quickly got in to some Spanish online tutorials and did them until about 12.45pm before we went to our 1st Wednesday Group Spanish lesson. It is with the same teacher from Speak & Learn that we do the class on Tuesday with. Today we could do face to face because the location where it was on is open during the day before the Covid restrictions set in at 6pm. 

No Piqui, Malaga

Our Spanish lesson was on in a cafe called "No Piqui" which I had been interested in visiting having seen it on some of our walks around town. Both Ciaran and I thought it had a Californian hipster vibe to it with the menu having salads, burgers and burritos on it.

It was great to have a face to face lesson and I think with a second one every week it will really help us get somewhere with learning the language.  Fingers crossed!!

The hunt for bagels!

What you miss....

It's funny how you miss little things that you are used to at home. I wouldn't have thought that Ciaran was big in to tea but when he heard that my mother was sending me a package he asked if she would also send some Barry's tea, as I had mentioned in a previous blog. since it arrived he has been happily enjoying a cup or two every day.

Bagels

Other than the tea, for him he also is missing a bagel which he was a fan of for breakfast from time to time with bacon and a fried egg. So after having seen bagels on offer in Julia Bakery we went on a search for a bag of them to have at home and maybe to put a few in the freezer. But it was no joy for bagels (not even in Lidl) they were not to be found.

Malt Vinegar

The other item that we both had a hankering for was for malt vinegar to put on chips. We had been enjoying steak cooked on the barbeque along with chips that we got from a restaurant across the road. The chips had salt on them but no vinegar. And so after hunting for malt vinegar we had to do with a substitute that I found a hack for on the internet. White wine vinegar mixed with a little balsamic vinegar makes for a perfectly fine vinegar for chips. Who knew!

So other than missing a few items like the above we are very happy here in Spain.

However, change is afoot. The net is closing in on Covid and new restrictions have just been put in place for the next two weeks.

Curfew

All non-essential businesses and restaurants have to be closed by 6pm and there is a curfew from 10pm until 7am. This really won't affect us much. The gallery that Ciaran's studio is has given him a letter to go to and from the gallery for work and I will probably do shopping during the day and be in before 6pm anyway. Even though the curfew doesn't start until 10pm.  I think this change will do something to assist in bringing Covid cases down as it will stop all of the boisterous evening socializing on the streets of Malaga.  

Online Classes

One big change the restrictions has brought for us is that our Spanish class had moved online for the next two weeks. The class was being given in a small boutique hotel and it has now closed for two weeks so until it reopens we are online on Zoom. We had our first class today and it was intensive. I found it tough online. It certainly challenged me - but if it was easy I probably wouldn't be learning more than I currently know. But as I said before progress is hard......and slow in regard to my language learning.

PIGSY Merchandise

And so life goes on here in Malaga. I'm still working away on Pigsy's art website and all of his digital marketing. Along with that his merchandise has come in and is selling well. 

I'm really pleased how well the Pigsy cap came out. Another thing I'm really pleased with is the result of the recent US election. To celebrate this Pigsy has specially released 46 (yes just 46!) enamel cups printed with his original artwork "Phoenix Rising" - it's a truly inspiring piece of art and it gives me a lot of hope for the future!  

I love my morning coffee so much in my Pigsy mug!! It really is the little things that make me very happy :-) 

Just a perfect day in Malaga

Museo Jorge Rando 

We had been wanting to visit the Jorge Rando Museum since we arrived. It was closed until now for what we now know was renovations (we had thought it was closed due to Covid).

Anyway we saw in the Sur in English that it reopened last week so we made plans to visit yesterday.

It is a short walk away from our apartment (less than 10 minutes) but was in an area that we had not visited before. We really liked the feel of the area and had coffee and a small bocadillo in a cafe near the museum while waiting for it to open at 10am. It was sunny at 9.30am and when we arrived at the museum our temperature was checked. Mine was high - just under 38 degrees! I had to explain that I had been sitting in the sun and I was warm with a sweatshirt on!

It's a phenomenally attractive museum with a courtyward out the back that is clad in corten steel. The art is very impressive and even though there is a lot to see it is not overwhelming. We plan to return again.

While out in the courtyard, Ciaran got a call from a friend who was going to be in Malaga (he recently moved to San Pedro) and was wondering if we were available to meet for a tapas - which of course we were.

So when we returned home from the museum we had another coffee at home and did an online Spanish class before Ciaran went to the studio with Bones to meet our friends and show them his studio.

He then dropped the dog home to the apartment and we then all went to Casa Lola for a little lunch of tapas. Ciaran and I shared a Russian Salad and I had a glass of wine with Ciaran having 2 cana's of beer.

And then later at 4pm we went on to our Speak and Learn Spanish lesson in the Hotel Anahita in the Populus Cafe in their hotel. Phew it was a tough one!

Following the Spanish class we both went our separate ways again with Ciaran heading back to the studio and me returning to the apartment to do some PIGSY work.

Dinner was early enough about 8.30pm and we watched the new version of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca which has just come out on Netflix. Really enjoyed it - Lily James was captivating as the second Mrs De Winter. 

I should also mention the cute little fish market we happened upon near the Museo Jorge Rando. It looked old a bit rough and ready but very authentic

All in all a fantastic day in Malaga!

Package from Ireland

How sweet is my mother to send me a lovely package here in Spain!

Filled with lots of nice things including a t-shirt for Ciaran and also Barry's Tea Bags as he requested! She also sent me a full outfit (amazing how it all fitted in the below) - a skirt from River Island along with a top and a light cardigan. She also sent me face mask (sign of the times) with a beautiful cherry blossom print on it.

And look at this cute wine glass cloth! It was included in the package - a gift from my aunt. It has print of places in Ireland. She said it was to remind me of Ireland - which it does! It put a smile on my face and I took this pic of it from my  balcony, and sent it to her by What's App to say thanks :-)