Pheeww! Qué calor hace hoy! Bonito.

During my time working in the Law Courts back in England, it was something of a routine to start the day by turning on the kettle and tuning in the radio for the local news, weather and music. It was somewhat soothing to have something familiar and friendly filling the air in the background. I often observed it induced myself and other staff to hum or whistle along while the routine of the day passed by. (Even those jingly adverts!)

Here too, it was something that was missing from that background of our lives as the only thing we could tune into was the popular sounds of Malaga FM or one of a host of Spanish stations. Though airing in some cases popular generic music of a pleasurable nature, one can still miss the familiar local tone. That was until ACE FM arrived on the air a few months ago. It was a new station transmitting to the local area around Cóin and Alhaurin and had all the likeability and friendly atmosphere of English speaking local FM radio. Dave and Lee, who started up the station have, in a relatively short time, succeeded in putting together, along with a team of equally enthusiastic people, a station whose audience grows daily and one which gives you that choice of local radio you can be a part of. We have become good friends with the people at ACE FM and promote the bandwidth whenever we can at 106.8 FM (Plug!) and would ask that you tune in or log on should you visit or become inhabitants like ourselves.

We were entering year four of ownership of our place in the sun. The property was being well looked after by my old shipmates Sid & Lynn. Rocco and Antonio had carried out extra work and had refitted our bathroom, front windows, bedroom doors and grills. Yes, the place was looking fairly respectable and tidy, certainly enough to make it feel more like a home from home during our frequent stays. It was fair to say that it was around about this time that the first thoughts of perhaps one day moving to the Villa permanently entered my mind. Apart from a new kitchen and perhaps some new larger items of furniture, I could see the potential and dare I say, excitement of one day moving and living in Spain. It wasn't a dream home, in fact, compared to our lovely home in England, it fell far short of what you might call an ideal property. But it did have something, some kind of basic charm and still held a lot of potential with regard to further improvement.

But the feeling at that time was still only one sided. Understandable as Rose had gained a promotion and was doing well at work, I couldn't really see her wanting to drop everything' in favour of something with only potential!

No, there was still some way to go and the reality was we still had our two sons living at home and although their future plans may involve them one day flying the coup, it certainly wasn't practical yet. For myself, I, like a number of people throughout the length and breadth of the country, enjoyed my work, it actually gave me a feeling on a number of occasions of achievement. But as in so many cases, things looked bleak on the horizon, especially for any chance of further advancement or change in the routine, that and a less than motivational management which believed in only treating you as a number and not a name. Then again that became the double edged sword of reason for me in the shape of motivation to move on.

So, what about all those trips to and from our two properties? Well, we had a ton of stuff in our home in England that could certainly be of better use in our Spanish place. Every trip took on the challenge of what can we take this time?' We had portable TV's, carpets and rugs, dishes, pots and pans, pillows and bedding, in fact, everything in the loft that was surplus to our home furnishings we took to be fair game to transport on the plane to Spain. Some of the looks we got from check in staff and passengers alike were bemused to say the least. What did that family want to take a rug on holiday for? Or why the stack of pillows?

The carousel at Malaga arrivals terminal sometimes looked more like the conveyor belt of the Generation Game! Especially when the wall safe, satellite TV box, gazebo, television, quilts, lamps, watering can, cuddly toy (no, not that one!) rolled on by when the Davies family arrived! I think customs believed we were trying to smuggle an Argos store into Spain bit by bit! But it was all stuff we could use and saved money by not buying here. The small pool being 4x4 meters and around 1.50 meters deep, was an essential item as far as we were concerned. The price of actually running it for a year was outweighed by the need to cool off in the hottest months of summer when it became sheer bliss to take a dip before bed or submerge up to the chin in the heat of the day to bring the body temperature down. That and the air-con units made life in the oven bearable. Rose put together new curtains and drapes along with rugs for underfoot comfort, something rare in a country where all floors are either granite or marble, though that helps in the heat.

We bought a couple of sunbeds with expensive mattresses that we still use today. We also purchased early on a self-assembly stone barbecue unit with a large grill which also became a much used commodity with outdoor cooking taking place most days in favour of sitting in or using the small gas range we had moved in with. And what with all the reasonably priced fresh fish and meat available, it also made good economic sense as eating out, no matter how cheap, can soon eat up your budget! Excuse the pun.

Into year five and the majority of the main structural improvements had been completed and the inside had taken on a more familiar appearance with all the goodies and extras brought from home. We were now entertaining new friends and acquaintances while making ourselves better known to the neighbours and local shopkeepers who soon discovered a couple of English people who genuinely were doing their best to fit in and communicate. Learn the language! I had to admit that academically and grammatically, Rose had me beat when it came to conversational skills. She can now hold her own in a discussion on the street or an over the wall' chit-chat with next door or a shop assistant. Whereby as for me, I'm typical of Andalucian man with more of a flair for the gesticulation accompanied by a tilt of the forelock followed by a quick Bueno!' or Venga!' which appears to be two of the most widely used words in the Andalucian dictionary. They are used to indicate everything from a greeting to a goodbye though I've heard them used in a lot more cases. Ah well, when in Rome!

We had bought a washing machine, delivered from a local store and set up by two young men who worked well on bottles of San Miguel, insisting they stay until the demonstration load was complete. Then we got hold of a drier, wedging it into the boot of our overworked and undersized hire car. (We must have transported everything from chest of drawers to bags of cement in our rental motors and left them a right mess on return to the airport!)

We had also bought new beds for ourselves and the first guest bedroom along with a sofa bed for room three though now that is outside in the summer room. There are a number of North African bazaars dotted around here which sell cheap household goods which helped in the early days, all items of which have just about been replaced.

Future visits would be made easier by the extra home comforts so now our attentions turned to exploring the towns, cities and countryside of this huge country.

Top tip
Swimming pools are a way of life in Spain, especially on the Southern and Eastern Costas. Most new stand alone homes come with one and depending on the plot, some may be upwards of ten meters in length with others just big but deep enough for two people to gain relief. Apartment complexes usually have a communal pool that everyone shares and pays towards the cost of upkeep.

Every town here has a number of pool maintenance shops stocking cleaning and servicing equipment so there's no real reason if you live here not to look after your own pool. The problem comes when you leave it for weeks or months on end or you rent out and find thirty people busting the gunnels leaving a film mixture of sweat and suntan oil floating on the top apart from other things! Or as we discovered, you find a number of new life forms have gestated in your own personal 10,000 litres of green slime!

There are a number of companies (like mine) who offer pool cleaning services for tenants and owners alike. Prices vary dramatically for basic and advance services so again choose carefully and get a number of quotes. Established pool equipment shops can usually help in choosing someone but my tip is, learn the basics of maintenance then when you hire someone like me you'll understand what's required and more importantly, if you're getting fleeced. When I clean someone's pool, I show them what I do, what chemicals and equipment I use, advise them to do the same and this justifies my price.

Top hint
Air conditioning, like a swimming pool, can make all the difference to your holiday or habitat when that heat hits. We have two outside self contained units which supply three separate internal units situated in the bedrooms. Unlike the old type where a water supply was required, the more modern units use an inert gas which needs checking and recharging at a minimal cost every few years or so. I would always advocate that the best are undoubtedly duel heat and cold units as this gives you heating in the winter as well. As I said earlier, air-con was a great investment especially when guests come to stay and they have trouble with the heat or cold. Again there are a number of electrical shops with most stocking a wide selection of units of all types and sizes. Ask in store for advice and fitting costs, usually all you need is to supply the square meterage of your property and a basic plan for them to give you a price and advice on units and position required. Remember, they can be cheap to run as long as you follow a few rules like not setting the thermostat too low and keeping all the doors and windows shut during and after operation. Believe it or not, if it's 40 outside, then a unit set at 24 will bring great relief as we found. (about the average temp of a British summer!)

Spanish facts
The Latin or Spanish name for a swimming pool is Piscina' which actually derives from Roman times when emperors had private swimming pools in which they also kept fish.

Many centuries ago, King Carlos II of Spain's head was so deformed as a result of inbreeding, his chin and mouth were of caricature proportions which meant he was unable to chew or eat properly and unable to speak.

Cadiz is listed to be the oldest city in Europe and also, Columbus sailed to the Americas from here on two of his voyages.

The Spanish do not understand Cricket! (They're not alone!)

Useful phrase
(One for the browse shoppers, especially in the market place) - Sólo estoy mirando gracias And Podria ayudarme? Busco.
Pronounced: sohloh ehstoy meerahndoh grahthias And pohdreea ahyoodarmeh? Buscoh
Meaning: I'm just looking if that's alright. And could you help me please, I'm looking for.

Next week: No shocks or disasters for a change, time to have a look round!