Come to Finca La Marina for Easter. I´m down here in Denia, in the beautiful Spanish province of Alicante (Comunidad Valenciana) preparing our Rustic Escape, Finca La Marina, for Easter. It´s still available if you want to come! It´s amazing here! While only five minutes from Denia seafront and the beaches of the Costa Blanca, and just off the A7 motorway link to both Alicante and Valencia airports (both no more than an hour away) and a lovely array of shops, little...
My first walk in the Valencian ´huerta´since before lockdown. Do you know how to pronounce the spanish word for kitchen garden, huerta? Its ¨where-tah!¨. Hence my little alliteration above...a walk in the w...huerta. Such a joy. I love it and used to do it every afternoon after school, with my four lovely little dogs. They were so excited, and I´m sure , amazed, yesterday evening, when I shouted the magic words...walkies! I don´t think they believed me until they tumbled...
I'm back! September. As promised. I always keep my promises. Hence the old, old photograph, from 35 years ago; depicting the very first day in my school, my dear Cambridge House Community College. You can see me, the young, terribly naive Headteacher, having a welcome cup of tea: while my first ten students settled in, around me, in our little school. I was the only teacher! I now have over 168 of them! All those years ago I promised those...
I haven´t blogged in over a week. The reason has been twofold. Firstly It´s been so terrible for me to have to share the distress of all my Valencian compatriots at seeing our Fallas festival cancelled, our schools closed and our lives thrown into havoc by being placed in quarantine for what will be an interminable two or three weeks. Secondly I have a horrible sense of guilt at my fortune to be able to spend my quarantine in Ibiza,...
Well here's my first update via twitter and facebook. Two days into my new life. I've been really busy down in Finestrat, blustery but beautiful at our lovely La Casa de la Campana, comandeering carpinters, glaziers, plumbers and painters...everyone busy getting our new Alicante property ready for our first guests on April 1st. The traditional tiling and woodwork in this 1890's house are lovely, our designer baths and wood burning open fires are all in place. Along with modern comforts...
Today we get 'out there'! You can join us! I must confess to feeling slight trepidation. Monday, March 2nd I go live! Here's what's been going on. In September of last year I became a part time founder,owner and Senior manager of my school so that I could fulfill my ambition to develop Rustic Escapes. We find and restore interesting historic properties in distinctive rural locations, in or near small villages yet well communicated ,by public transport to a larger...
