Sad News. Holiday Photos, 16th October 2009

As there has been such interest in the Brugmansia tree I posted below, here is another photo I took of it, from below.

Sad News

Some of you may have read in my blog about a friend of mine from my acting and singing days, Phil Birkett. He had cancer and tragically died on the 11th October. I'm not sure how old he was but only in his 30s. He was a truly lovely, giving, happy person, gifted in many ways. He played Jesus in 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and played in Wuthering Heights with me some years ago. He also sang Freddie in My Fair Lady, plus many other roles. As an example of his popularity there are pages and pages of tributes on his Facebook profile. There is to be a celebration of his life in Matlock, Derbyshire in the UK on 23rd October but sadly I won't be able to go. I know my daughter will though, so she can represent me.

'Flowers from family only but donations will be accepted for the Derbyshire Federation for Mental Health and cancer charities.

RSVP if you can attend in order we can accommodate the numbers.

Please pass this message on to all who knew Phil. Read more

The Celebration of the Life of Phil Birkett

Time:Friday, 23 October 2009 15:00

Location:Matlock Methodist & URC Church, Bank Road, Matlock

The above is from Facebook.

My Holiday in Puerto Banus, Marbella, Spain

I didn't feel up to writing much about this but Phil would have urged me to do so. In fact he had spent a week in Spain himself a short while ago and although not able to do much, he did enjoy the rest and warmth.

It was unseasonably hot for the time of year while I was there, in the high 20s, though on a couple of days, a light breeze made it incredibly pleasant. I had only taken 3 dresses, imagining that I'd be in trousers and t-shirts.

You can imagine I'm sure that I am struck by the glorious flowers that were out and here are some of them that I photographed:

Beautiful bougainvillea bloomed everywhere and tumbled over walls and fences in brilliant splendour.

I walked past this 'Morning Glory' every day.

This brugmansia tree absolutely took my breath away every time I walked underneath it. The perfume was intoxicating and some of the blooms were at least a foot long. I did take some close ups too.

Hibiscus bloomed everywhere in every colour. This red almost hurts your eyes.

I don't know the name of this tree. It has soft larch like leaves and hundreds of these delicate lilac coloured blooms. Stunning.

I have already done the touristy bit in the area, so this time looked for some rather more unusual shots to take. The main square in Puerto Banus is full of little fountains and super shapes and shadows:

A lovely cool spot in the square.

Looking across the main square. Each of those rectangles has little jets of water splashing out.

I knelt down to take this shot of one of those rectangles. This is the longest one. Please click on any of the photos to enlarge them.


The shops are full of dazzling clothes, many of them designer labels. I rather liked this model!

This road with its chains and road blocks leads down to the marina, where amazingly expensive boats are moored.
I spotted this on one of the little streets. Someone clearly knows me!! lol.

More shapes and angles.

This is a rather poor photomerge but it does show where my son Ben's bar is in relation to the marina, which you can see through the archway. turn right by the kebab shop (coming from the arch), cross over the road then go up the steps and 'Zoo Lounge' is at the top of the steps, just along a passageway. If you click on it, you can see a neon sign above where someone is standing on the left, the rather darker area, if that makes any sense at all.

Another rather splendid shop window. Wish I fitted into any of those.

It's not a bad life for those with a few euros to spare!

A rather beautiful sail boat returning to the harbour.

Here is it's front and the view of the harbour with the mountains overlooking the sea.


The occasional jet skier took to the sea. Please click on this to enlarge it. The sun on the water is beautiful.

This is a panorama of the Plaza beach round the the harbour. The rocks you can see are part of one of several man made jetties which fishermen use. Please click on the photo to enlarge it if you have time.

My days rather merged into one so I can't say what I did and when! I spent quite a lot of time walking along the beaches, drinking cappuccinos and taking photos when I wasn't in Ben's bar.

I took some photos as the sun was beginning to go down in the evening:

Holiday romance?

Outside one of the many beach cafes. Can you see the umbrellas on the beach?

Here they are!

The gold on this amazing hotel caught the evening sun.
Evening Fishermen.
The end of the day - a family played here under a gazebo.

Reflections in the sea. I hope you've enjoyed some of my photos, many more to come, though I am trying to be selective.

Building Progress

Can you believe today we had our boiler connected to the electricity and fired up? It is now pouring flames into the air (behind a glass door) and a fan sends out lovely warm air. It is a wood pellet boiler and we are watching it operate rather like we used to wish a new washing machine!! The radiators are mostly warm with the exception of the 2 furthest from the boiler at the moment.

The electricians came today and fitted all the sockets and some of the light fittings and tomorrow they will be back to finish off. Now the boiler is working, the whole place should dry out, then the wooden floors can be fitted at last. Are we actually seeing an end to all this?

I will finish now as I'm about to watch the last episode of 'Criminal Justice' on television.

I have so much to catch up on both on my blog and others. Please be patient!