Another first

I've got a couple of friends to thank for this post. The first sent me the cache info in an email to my mobile when it came up as a new cache and I had no internet access, and the second was chatting this morning about caches and blogs - which reminded me I hadn't posted this up.

So there I was, idly lying on the bed as usual flicking through emails and using up too much saldo, when the geocaching newsletter came up with a new cache about 20kms from us. Hey! Could be another first to find.

We left it for a couple of days but decided to go for it on the Sunday. If someone else had found it first, well, no matter. Our fault for hanging around.

The trouble with just getting the info over an email is - you don't get the little map thing or driving directions, so you have to guess how to get there. Especially difficult when there is nothing remotely resembling an OS map in Spain.

But, we had a river as something to aim for, so off we went. It didn't help that there was no GPS signal all the way there. We crossed what look like 'the' river - no name on the bridge - and then couldn't turn right. We ended up doing a merry few miles detour to come back on ourselves.

Once off the main road it wasn't too difficult to keep heading towards the river. GPS still not working. We found a nice dead end street, parked up and got out to see if it would finally find some satellites.

Partner walked to the end of the street and spotted the viaduct. This was one of the other features mentioned that was near the cache. It's a viaduct we regularly travel over that invariably makes me feel nauseous. On bad vertigo days I can't even look out of the window as we go across. It looked even worse from the ground up.



We set off down the track which wasn't particularly impressive as it seemed to be an unofficial council rubbish dump. In fact a council truck came down, reversed round and sat there happily doing nothing. Once past the rubbish we traipsed uphill and came upon a strange building - and - more rubbish.

This is not the sort of place people hide caches. Caches, for the most part are hidden in nice scenic places. And the ones who had hidden this one, had also hidden two extremely other good ones elsewhere in beautiful locations. Not rubbish dumps.

We gazed down at the river, which by now was well below us. I looked at the GPS. 'It's over there.' I said. 'On the other side of the river.' I was NOT scrambling down the sheer river bank which was more like a cliff.

'We'll just walk down the road to where we can get down to the river and then walk up the bed,' he said. Yeah. Right. Heard these bright ideas before. I was busy practicing saying 'You just go and do it yourself darling while I wait in the Landy' when I heard some strange grunts.

He was rolling over and over on the pavement in a little ball, grunting away. While I had been busy walking in the middle of the road (in the shade) looking at the GPS, he had sensibly been walking on the pavement. This is not a regular occurence, it is invariably the other way round. Being unused to pavements he had completely missed a ginormous hole that previously homed a rather large tree. He tripped over the edging, fell down the hole, rolled out and over onto the pavement.

I panicked and thought we should go home. Rubbish dumps and injuries weren't good omens. He got annoyed. 'I've nearly broken an arm and a leg to try and find this cache. We'll find it.'

But we agreed to drive to the other side of the river. A long walk is fine, but not through boring houses and streets. And of course when we arrived, it was a perfect cache spot. Parking, picnic tables, pretty riverside scenery, no rubbish dumps.



We (he) found it pretty quickly. As I took photos up and down the river, I noticed there was a track down from the high bank on the other side. Oh well. It was prettier on the cache side.

And we could never have walked up the river bed - ie never have climbed up the waterfall!!





And a couple of mobile pix - sorry - of a lovely cache up at Alcaidesa. Well worth a trip for anyone who comes down to the Gib area.

Royal Gun Salute - 2 June 2011 - Gibraltar

Today we wandered down to the dockyard to watch the 21 gun salute for the accession to the throne of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

It's easy, living in a place like Gib, to get blasé about these sort of events. It's five or ten minutes walk away from us, the dockyard is a spectacular setting, tickets are free, and the Governor of Gibraltar did the honours today. It's not the only salute, there are also the royal birthdays and maybe a few others, so if you miss one there is always another one to watch in a few months' time.

Sir Adrian Johns, Governor of Gibraltar


Free tickets


This was the first time Partner had attended, he's always been working before. Like me, the first time I attended a royal salute, and like someone I spoke to back then, he was surprised how few people were there. The salute today was fired by Headquarter Company (Thomson’s Battery) of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment.

Stepping out before the guns are fired


No 1 gun firing


But nevertheless it was a good event. A few of the great and the good (?) of Gibraltar got front row treatment and the rest of us stood up to watch. I was mildly impressed with our Governor, Sir Adrian Johns, who seemed to take a lot of time speaking to all the members of the Gibraltar Regiment taking part in the ceremony. Not just a handshake, but a little bit more of a chat.

And when everything had finished, he thanked the members of the GibReg for taking part and marking the accession to the throne. Nice touch Sir Adrian. Score high on the PR-ometer from me.

All lined up


No more chat for now

Cycling in Spain - and stuff ....

Living in a mild climate next to the sunny Mediterranean, cycling is a year-round activity.

At weekends the clubs are out dashing up and down the coast road for miles and miles. During the week, people with time off, or the idle not-so-rich like us, get to go out in their ones, twos or threes.

Chillin' (and cyclin')


It's more than five, or six or seven, or something, years since we started cycling - again. When I say again, I mean Partner, as my cycling in my youth was limited to round and round the garden and up and down the drive. With the exception of university - where I cycled part-way around Sefton Park, and Amsterdam when I nearly ended up in the canal due to a lack of skill with back-peddling in order to brake - my road cycling has been zilch. Oh, there was the tandem with Partner, but most of that was done on an old railway line along the east coast in the UK.

Here is the link to the start of the torture machines entering my life.

The bikes rescued from the skip were perfect and we cycled happily along tracks and I graduated to the road. We cycled further and further in each direction.

One day I was struggling back home and a road cycling group whizzed past. 'Venga con nosotros!' they said - 'Come with us!'

'Ojala,' I said wearily. 'If only.'

But months and months and years and years brought results, and one day we set off for a town 20 or so kms up the coast. Flat tyre within the first few kms. Partner pumped it up and I cycled like mad until it went down again. We did this about three times until we got to the first town where we could either buy a new inner tube or fix the existing one and check it with water. Can't remember now - I just remember cycling like mad to get to town!!

Well, lo and behold, further up the coast - there was another puncture. When we got to our destination - yes, yet another one. We had stopped for a drink at a bar so went back to ask for some water to fix the third puncture. Once sorted, we sat and ate our cheap-skate sandwiches brought from home while looking at the sea.

I should say that a group of cyclists had offered to help when we (aka him) were sorting the puncture. We said no thanks. This was the incredibly famous Sean Kelly and some members of an Irish cycling club (Banbridge? - it began with B anyway) who were staying in the area and taking blind people out on tandems.

Now, pay attention. Because although we shot past them as they cruised idly down the non-cycling promenade - they overtook us on the road. But!! We beat them!! Yes, we beat Sean Kelly and clubmates back into town :) But only because we knew the short cuts. Still, I need to say that, because it has to be one of my most famous cycling achievements ever.

In fact, as you do, I was looking things up on the internet today, and it seems you can go cycling with Sean Kelly in Majorca for lots of euros. I don't think so. Because after we joined up again and had a laugh about us beating them, we cycled happily down the promenade together. Cyclists can be nice people with no side. Even when they are world famous.

Which brings me to last week. The cycling is not going too good. My pal Sean would def beat me now. That horrid green slime that Partner insisted on sticking in the tyres to avoid punctures doesn't help. It drags me back, I swear it.

But I bounded personfully on the bike, full of enthusiasm and fitness after my GibGym exercises (no not Gib Gin, that is another story). Off we sailed - or cycled - down the railway track, the going was good - and downhill.

We joined the road. The road is long and endless. My poor little legs struggled to push the wheels round. Nasty bike didn't want to go anywhere. Nasty wheels would not go round. I kept stopping and moaning about the slime.

I checked the brakes weren't sticking. I spun the front wheel. Good as gold. I was about to spin the back wheel ... 'I did all that,' said Really Fit and Fast Cycling Partner Laughing His Arse Off. 'You won't get a puncture with the slime in there.'

I got back on. Reluctantly. Bumpety bumpety bump went the back wheel. I jumped off in a flurry. Looked at the back wheel and it was absolutely rotto. The tyre was totally flat. No puncture with the horrid green slime???????

We weren't far from home. We argued on the side of the road and walked the bikes home.

As the cycle ride had not turned out too well, we climbed in the Landy to go geocaching.

This was a very nice drive. Great directions to the cache - we normally get lost trying to drive to this fortress, and - good co-ordinates. As it clearly wasn't my day, I left the glory of finding the cache to someone else.

He found it!!


The tower


Arabic archway


Approaching La Fortaleza


Then we went to look at the new Holy Week (Semana Santa) museum. It was closed, they were still bringing back all the images - idols? - following the processions over the Easter holiday. Maybe next time. Still, a good cache, and all in all a good morning.

The church of Santa Maria - now home to the Holy Week museum


Might even manage to get rid of that horrid slime out of my tyres soon - it soooo slows me down. And clearly doesn't prevent punctures at all.

All Indian - vegetarian Easter Sunday

I trotted out to one of our local shops today to buy a bottle of sparkling water. As luck had it, a particularly well-stocked Indian shop was open so I raided the shelves.

First a bag of channa dal to make a spicy dal mix with onions and tomatoes.

Next pappadams. I bought a bag flavoured with cumin.

Then, I wondered if I could find a jar of chutney without added sugar. I've made chutneys before, usually a mango one, but as I didn't have any mangoes in, it seemed a good opportunity to try a bought one.

The first jar I picked up listed sugar as the main ingredient. It got put down very quickly. I headed for the savoury pickles instead, chilli, hot lime, vegetable ones or hot ones. They didn't list sugar in the ingredients, probably because there was enough sweetness from the fruit in the pickles. I looked at the three jars I had selected and reluctantly put two back. I settled for mixed pickle. Check out the Patak web site for recipes and products. I was pretty impressed by it which is a rare occurence. It's well-designed, easy to use, and very informative. The ingredients of each product are listed, and there is a guide as to how hot the product is. The mixed pickle was very hot apparently.

Back home I flicked through my excellent Indian book - Classic Indian Vegetarian Cookery by Julie Sahni - and settled on a coriander chutney.

So here we go.

Pappadams
Listed ingredients in the pappadams: urid flour, cumin, asafoetida, salt, sodium bicarb as raising agent, oil, and other spices.

Instructions for cooking are: 1) fry quickly in hot oil 2) microwave 3) cook over hot flame. Well as 2) and 3) are out here that left 1). But I've fried them before and not been happy with the result. A bit of lateral thinking and I figured the equivalent of a hot flame could be a hot grill.

Quickly grilled pappadams


And there they are. Quite perfect. Served as a starter with the bought pickle and the home-made chutney. (I'd had to try the pickle before we ate of course. Excellent.)

Served with pickle and chutney


Coriander chutney
Add large bunch of coriander leaves to blender container, plus green chillies to taste, some salt, a couple of slices of ginger, lemon juice or white wine vinegar, and 3-4 fl ozs of water. Mint leaves are optional and luckily I found a few in with my coriander bunch.

Chutney ingredients


Whizz up and that's it. Takes no time at all. Next time I would use more vinegar and less water, but that's because we like vinegar here. I suppose it's similar to mint sauce with coriander added.

It keeps for a couple of days in the fridge.

Finished chutney


Spice-perfumed dal
Add lentils or channa dal or whatever to water, with a teaspoon of turmeric, and as many green chillies as you like. Let simmer away merrily while you get on with everything else. Channa dal takes longer than lentils but has more texture when finished.

Dal under way


Prepare the onion and tomato mix. Chop them all finely.


Add onions to frying pan with oil (I use olive). When golden add tomatoes and grated ginger.


When soft and pulpy, add to dal mix.


For spice perfumed butter, ie oil in my case, put oil in frying pan, heat, and add panch phoron to pan. This is a mix of seeds: fennel, fenugreek, black onion, mustard and cumin in equal proportions. Add around a tablespoon in total. Mustard seeds splatter so cover with a lid.

After not long at all, ie when cumin seeds are darkening, add a couple of bay leaves and some dried red chlllies. When they darken, turn off the heat, and add garlic if you are using it. Let garlic sizzle and then add the mixture to the dal.

For me, it is the addition of the ginger in the onion and tomato mix and the panch phoron that really lift this recipe so that it has so many sublime flavours.

The finished dal - not just another bowl of lentils at all


Spicy potatoes
Boil potatoes, my recipe book says in skins and then peel when tender but still firm. Slice, and place in bowl with some general curry powder/garam masala. Turn them to ensure they are evenly coated and after they have cooled down, saute them. Can serve them at any temperature.


Couple of comments.

The pickle and the chutney went down faster than I expected. I thought the pickle was expensive at £3.50 but it is delicious and there is no junk in it. The coriander chutney worked out far cheaper.

Cost of rest of today's purchases, all of which were only about half used, if that:

Channa dal - around £1
Pappadams - around £1
Coriander plus three green chillies - £1

Spanish round-up

A quick photoshoot of our time in Spain.

Let's start with the winter jasmine - in its full glory. It looks so delicate and abundant and smells delightful.



But not to Adelina next door. 'Me molesta,' she said. 'Are you going to cut it down?'

Er no Adelina, it only flowers for a few weeks a year and we like it. We didn't even plant it, the previous owner did. It's a bit like the smell of our neighbours' washing which gets hung out on the terrace, it isn't exactly my favourite but it isn't there all the time, just like the jasmine.

Now, where was I before I got distracted? Oh yes. The locust. I need JB and his mum or anyone else to tell me if this flying monster is a locust.

'Mire el cigarrón! Matalo!' said José when he spotted it on the olive tree. He says that about most things.

We didn't kill it. I picked it up and took it over to show Adelina but she nearly had a heart attack. It was even worse than the jasmine.

I let it go and it sat on the step. Then it jumped to the gate.



When we got back to Gib and the internet we looked it up and figured it was a locust. Hope I have some plants left when I get back!

Although, if it wants to eat the spider plants it can. They are nothing but weeds I have discovered. Plant them in the ground and their wretched tuberous roots take over the place. This is clearly why the Spanish plant them in twee little plant pots. They are pretty drought resistant too, presumably storing all the water in those invasive fat tubers, so they need little attention. That was one of the reasons why I had the bright idea to stick some in the walled garden. Until I discovered how far they spread once they got hooked in.



Marguerites are also weeds in my opinion. They provide a good splash of colour for a large part of the year - until they default back to white of course - and if you don't cut off the millions of dead heads, they reseed all over the place. So all the little seedings came out too. I don't want a garden full of big daisies.



We had our usual walk around the beach and gazed at the lovely finca which is everyone's dream buy for around £40,000. It's owned by a Scandinavian embassy - I don't think they would be selling it for £40,000 somehow even in these times of recession.





And we finished the sitting room. Finally. Rehung the paintings (Turner prints) and the mirror.





Some food - looks like another paella....

Good news, bad news

The first dog walk of the day yesterday brought some good news. A dog-walking friend who has been unemployed for a few weeks, maybe a month or more, had finally found a new job. Excellent. We were both really pleased for her.

Similarly, the next dog walk brought more employment news. In this case, a small, but still a job, for us.

I'd not gone on the second dog walk. I'd been faffing around on the computer and wondered why it seemed to be wobbling. I clicked on the casing to make sure it wasn't coming loose. I checked the cables at the back which sometimes catch in the hinge of the screen (it's a laptop).

Then I picked up the computer to look underneath - there must be something small hidden on the top of the makeshift desk that was making it move. Nothing. I glanced at the base of the computer as I was putting it down again.

The battery was sticking half out of its slot. I gazed at it horrified. Precious Hal was poorly again. I dived for the skimpy First Aid instruction manual. Turn off, disconnect cables and wait ten mins.

Turned off, disconnected and waited. I paced up and down the flat for ten mins. Poor poor Hal. His insides could be eaten away by battery fluid even as I waited.

Started trying to slide the catch things. The catch for the side of the battery that was still in place slid beautifully. The catch for the side that was sticking half out - did nothing. Immovable.

No! No! No! More expensive recovery at the Apple Shop. Boooooo. Hoooooo.

Partner came in wanting to chat about the small job. I dragged him to look at poor Hal. I gazed at him (Partner, not Hal) with sad green eyes. Beseechingly. I hoped.

He pedantically put on his glasses, pushed me out of the way, and said something dismissive about manual dexterity skills, or lack of in my case. Cheek. The battery flipped out. Bloated, expanded, and presumably knackered. No wonder the battery light thing had been messing around and the fan had been working overtime ....

OK, so far, three bits of good news - well the battery was retrieved from Hal which was good, and as I never move the lappy, I don't actually need the battery. Also took the one out of the HP reserve lappy as well just in case that decided to take a turn for the worse. Now for the bad news. Sad news is more appropriate I guess.

All was restored to calm in Gibflat. Later in the evening, after sleeping through most of Quantum of Solace, I flicked onto FB. One of the recent posts puzzled me. It was from someone I had met some six or seven months ago when she visited Spain.

We'd 'met' on FB via a mutual (virtual for me) friend, and we'd shared some laughs and silly games. It had been fun, and she seemed like a warm, caring, witty, and friendly person.

When she announced last year that she was coming to Andalucía, I asked, out of interest where she was coming. It turned out to be not too far from us. She was coming with a friend who I didn't virtually know, but I said, if they had time it might be nice to meet up.

First Friend, let's call her F for first, agreed, but like lots of meet-ups no more was said. But then, suddenly, she was here in Spain, and we agreed a day and a time at their small private hotel.

We drove up and up into the hills where they were staying. F came out to meet us. I won't forget her face, lovely smile and arms wide open to greet us.

I should say that these two women had given up a day's excursion just to stay at the hotel to meet us. Even worse, although they thought they had missed the beach day which they could live with, there was a change of plan and they had ended up missing a national park day. Much worse. Still feel guilty about that now.

So we sat down inside their hotel. It was a lovely peaceful tranquil place. Reformed, but not over the top, and just, comfortable and a pleasant place to chat with - new - friends.

Second Friend, we'll call her S for second, came down to meet us shortly afterwards. Bearing in mind we hadn't even corresponded via FB, she too had a lovely smile and a warm welcome for us. Later we moved outside as the weather cleared up and chatted and gazed at the beautiful mountain views.

Er, rather cloudy mountain views here


These sort of situations are fraught with potential difficulties. We didn't find any. Both women were friendly, good company, and there seemed to be loads to talk about. I've spent a harder few hours with people I have known far better.

We left at their lunchtime, having spent - on our part - a super few hours. Apart from anything else, we had left the dog behind and it was at least an hour's drive back, so time to go home.

While I was puzzling over the strange post on FB last night, by Friend F, I noticed a PM pop up from her. S had died that day in hospital and F wanted to let us know. I thought that was so kind. They had given up a day of their holiday to meet us, a vague couple from the internet, and F still thought to let us know.

Even more sadly, like everyone else who knew S, I had sent birthday greetings from us both on Saturday in advance of her birthday on Sunday so she could read them in hospital. Her Facebook page was full of birthday greetings on Saturday from so many people wishing her well and hoping she would soon be out, and they continued well into Sunday. And then, later on Sunday, the comments changed. Into condolences. Yes, she died on her birthday. From cancer that had metastacised from her original one. Aged 37.

So - S - my memories of you? A friendly person, with a lovely smile, and a translucent skin, that made you look almost ethereal. And never a bad word or complaint or moan or anything about the hell you must have been going through.

Thank you for taking the time out of your too short life and your holiday to meet us. Hasta la proxima, guapa.

Book reviews - Cold Mountain, Book of Negroes and, others

Without any further ado, here are some reviews of books I have been reading over the past few weeks.


First up Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier, (1997), a historical novel set towards the end of the American Civil War.



There isn't really a plot. Confederate soldier wounded in war leaves hospital and walks home to find the woman he loved when the war started. Meanwhile she is struggling to survive on the family farm after the death of her father.

I'd picked this book up and put it down a few times at the library, but eventually I decided to give it a go.

The chapters alternate, for the most part, telling the story of the two people. One chapter is him walking home and the adventures that befall him on the way, the other is the woman gradually learning to live off the land with the help of a new friend.

If that sounds dull (and probably the blurb on the back of the book did too, hence me not taking it from the library originally) - it wasn't.

It was well-written, thoughtful, imaginative, and so visual. I read all the way through the book with vivid pictures in my head of both characters and their situations.

There was however, a sense of impending gloom over the book. Would the couple find each other again? Would he even get home to her? At one point he was shot and buried alive.

I recommend this book whole-heartedly, and I won't reveal the ending. I found it slightly twee, but apart from that, it was excellent.


Next one - The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (2007). I thought this was a superb read (I don't often say that).



In a nutshell, it is a story about slavery. An African child is stolen and shipped to America where she changes owners, moves to Nova Scotia, then back to Africa and ends her life in London.

But it is the graphic descriptions of what tortuous conditions the slaves suffered that make this book. In a way it was embarrassing to read - to think that people could abuse each other so much. And yet it continues today in different forms.

I think the scene that impacted on me most was when the slaves were walking across Africa in the coffle - naked - and this girl started her first period. Menstrual blood dripping down her legs for everyone to see. Can you imagine that? I can and it makes me feel sick even now. Then there was the woman who gave birth while on the forced march.

Naturally, once this poor kid was esconced in slavery in America, she was raped by some white plantation owner. The child to her black lover was stolen from her. The list goes on.

Only let down? A bit like Cold Mountain. An unrealistic and unlikely ending. But as an eye-opener into slavery it was briliant. And again, extremely well-written. Another strong recommend.

A couple of rather more lightweight books now.

Letters from a Fainthearted Feminist - Jill Tweedie (1982). Gosh! Was it really so long ago.

I remember hearing about this years ago - nearly 30 in fact - but never got around to reading the columns in the Guardian or the published book until last week. Also a bit horrified to discover she is no longer alive, dying just turned 60 from motor neurone disease.

So what to say? Well, it was an easy read, and an enjoyable one. It's a short book, unlike the other two, so can be finished in a quick session. Some of it was witty and funny, some not. It's hard to write witty funny prose at the best of times, let alone when dealing with the complexities of feminism.

Towards the end it seemed to fade off. Or maybe I did. Either way, it's worth a read. For lefty feminists it's a gentle poke at some of the things we hold dear. No idea how non-lefty non-feminists will find it. But it's short enough for you to try it.

And the last one? Gulp. Never let it be said my reading taste is not catholic. So to speak.

Here goes ...

The Clematis Tree by Ann Widdecombe (2000).

Well the short review is that I don't recommend it. That doesn't mean it is unreadable, but I would certainly recommend the above three first. And a whole load of others.

Here is a summary of some reviews that will save me repeating the same stuff ad infinitum.

The plot (?) is child becomes brain-damaged and parents have relationship problems.

Religious figures abound of course. Not just Catholic nuns, but also C of E clergy and Jewish family (the rabbi doesn't seem to get a mention).

Euthanasia, abortion, guilt - oh! so! much! guilt! Read it if you want. I've wasted enough time writing about it.

What is it with politicians that makes them think becoming an elected member of parliament means they also become a novelist at the same time? Huh?

Just remembered, terrible style. That's what really griped. Not sure whether it was precious, precocious, or pretentious. But it jarred.

I wonder if she has written about animal rights? Opposing fox-hunting seems to have been one of her few attributes. I digress. But should you read this Ann, try another topic next time. Or less topics in one novel in fact.

I'm saving Homage to Catalonia for another post :)

A good place for a cache?

Finca renovation continues relentlessly, but even the most dedicated grafters need a break.

We decided to place a cache in one of the 18th century coastal watchtowers that are dotted up and down the coastline.

Set on a hilltop just back from the beach (and the road) it commanded excellent views, looked well-maintained, didn't even involve a huge long hike or a scramble over rocks, unlike most of our other caches.

Commanding the coastliine


In fact, you could probably drive right up to it. We didn't. We parked off the road at the beach, crossed over and wandered leisurely up the hill.

Approaching the tower


There seemed to be a few cars parked at the top. Perhaps there was work going on? Or maybe it was a popular local viewpoint? Not such a good place for a cache if it was popular as they have a habit of going missing from such locations.

We rounded the corner. Stunned. There was a house built right at the bottom and half way around the side of the watchtower.

A house?!!!!


Hiding a cache here seemed even less of a good idea. We walked around the one side which the house hadn't yet annexed. No. There was no way we could hide one here. Even if we put it under a couple of rocks it would almost certainly be discovered by the householders and trashed.

Shame. A good location, nice views, and an impressive watchtower. Amazing place for a house though.

I thought I would see what I could find out about it. The official Andalucían sign at the tower (in the pic) came out with the usual stuff about how there was a series of watchtowers up and down the coast to warn the local population of attacks from pirates in the 18th century blah blah.

The Junta de Andalucia sign - just next to the chairs and table set out in the garden of the tower


It was semi-circular (fairly obvious), with two towers jutting out at the back, and had two floors and a roof terrace. For picking people off, not for sunbathing, or hanging out the laundry which is what most people use them for these days. Apparently the tower could hold almost 25 soldiers. It's the biggest on the Málaga coastline and unique in its shape - most of the others tend to be circular or square.

But the most interesting info I discovered, was at a site called Panoramio, where someone asked about the house. The reply (I couldn't find any corroboration for this, and there was no reference cited), was that after the Spanish Civil War, the tower was ceded as a home to the family of a pensioned Guardia Civil officer, whose descendants continue to live there.

So as well as being a unique shape, and the largest on the provincial coastline, it's also the site of a family home while being an official Andalucían monument.

The view down the coast from the top

Canine erlichiosis - tick disease

It's three months to the day when we rushed Pippa to the vet. He struggled to move, didn't want to eat, and we thought he was dying. Turned out he was seriously ill with tick disease, but it could be treated.

So here is the lowdown on tick disease. It's on my blog rather than Pippa's as it is a serious post about pretty much most aspects of it, with some links that I found useful when I was researching it. I knew nothing about tick disease until three months ago, so maybe someone may find this post helpful/informative.

I've divided it into the following sections, in case you want to jump to particular bits and skip others which you may have read elsewhere. It may seem a back to front order, but it's the way it impacted on me, so there we go.

• What happened



• Blood test results



• Erlichia canis and erlichiosis



• Treatment



• Prevention/control



• Update



• Sources

What happened

There was nothing very obvious to suggest that Pippa was poorly. In fact he had been to the vet the previous week for his annual shots, and we'd said he didn't have any health problems. As well as the shots, our vet gave us some extra tablets to give him at home as there was an outbreak of tapeworm in the countryside in our part of Spain.

A week or so later, he started to seem a bit tired and listless. He didn't want to walk as far around the block, and although he ate his meals, he preferred them to be brought to him rather than charging around the place. As you do, well I do, I jumped to conclusions and wondered if he was having a reaction to his jabs. Plus of course, with him coming to us off the streets, we don't know how old he is. We've had him seven years and he was a young dog when we got him.

The next day he seemed slightly perkier, so although we'd discussed going to the vet, we decided to wait and see. But the following day he was clearly poorly, not wanting to go out at all in the morning, and sitting down because he was having trouble putting weight on his back legs. We didn't bother discussing anything, a sudden deterioration at his rear could mean anything. He was lifted into the vehicle well before 8am and we were on the road to the vet.

Poorly


When we arrived, he seemed a bit brighter. The clinic was empty, so we sat in the spotless waiting area while Pedro checked him over. About the only useful thing we could tell the vet was that Pippa's urine looked milky. As Pippa was lying on the floor with his head on Partner's boots, Pedro took a blood sample from his front leg. As Pippadogblog readers will know, he is such a docile dog, and didn't even move.

Then Pedro explained we would have to come back in a couple of days for the results which were being rushed to a lab in Barcelona. He gave me some tablets, and I looked at them puzzled - they were for osteoarthritis. I asked if he had arthritis. Typical medic, Pedro said he didn't know, but Pippa did have some pain in his stomach area, so he needed to take one of these a day.

By the time Saturday came around, Pippa had made a considerable improvement after taking the painkillers. I couldn't believe the difference - to be honest, I'd not expected to be taking him home with us.

Pedro explained the test results, but there was still one outstanding - erlichia canis. He gave me another ten days worth of painkillers, and some extra tablets - doxycyclin - one to be taken each day. When he got the final results through, he said he would contact me as I may need to double the dose of doxycyclin.

We asked what Pedro thought was wrong with him, and he said he thought it was an infection. 'Oh nothing serious then?' said Partner happily. Pedro looked worried and shook his hands in a very Spanish fashion which in this case, indicated that he wouldn't say that at all.

I couldn't see much point in pestering him with questions when he didn't have all the results and I could get back to Gib and do some research on the internet.

It was late Monday when he finally emailed me, apologising for the delay, and saying he had only just got the results through. I needed to double the dose of doxycyclin. The final results were attached as a PDF doc and showed that Pippa had tested positive for erlichia canis.


Blood test results

I was really impressed that these were waiting for us on the Saturday morning printed out for us to take home, and also that the final one was sent as a PDF. I don't think I've ever had so much info from a vet or medic in the UK. Perhaps things have changed?

Here are the key findings from the results. I've included the readings that are well outside the 'normal' range. The first figure is Pippa's reading, the next is the range that it should be within. As you can see, his readings were way too high.

Haematology
Leucocitos 24.96 5.95-17.2
Segmentados 18,620 3,380-11,530
Monocitos 3,245 100-1700

A sample of his blood examined under the microscope was normal.

Protein analysis
Total protein 99 52-76
Total globulins 86.3 20.6-50.6
Alfa-2 globulins 17.3 4.6-9.9
Gamma-globulins 48.3 1.2-20

Finally there were two specific tests.

1) He tested negative for leishmaniasis.

2) His results for erlichia canis were 1/1240. Values up to 1/40 could be produced by illness or some unspecific reaction. Any values higher than 1/40 were to be considered positive.

Before we'd received the final result I'd had chance to read up on his results and on erlichia canis. Classic indicators of the presence of erlichia canis were high levels of protein and leucocytes so it was no great surprise when the final result was a positive one. I should have realised that if it had been straightforward, ie negative, then the result would have been there with the others. Either it was borderline (which it clearly wasn't) or they wanted to double-check the result. In this case it was clearly a very high reading.


Erlichia canis and erlichiosis

So what is it? Technically, erlichia canis is a rickettsia which is an organism mid-way between a bacteria and a virus. It is spread by ticks which, when they bite the dog, spread the organism into the bloodstream, which then reproduces inside the white blood cells. Erlichiosis is the resultant illness. It has a number of different phases. The bad news is it can be fatal. The slightly better news is that it is treatable, and preferably caught sooner rather than later.

The disease has three phases.
1) Acute
2) Sub-clinical
3) Chronic

One thing I found interesting when I was researching on the internet, is that apparently German Shepherds are particularly prone to this disease. Pippa, as far as we know, is part GSD.

There is more than one tick disease - canine babesiosis is another one. I picked up a useful leaflet in the clinic which summarised the two.

Symptoms according to the leaflet:

Canine erlichiosis:

Apathy, vomiting, fever, loss of appetite, and finally, anaemia.

Canine babesiosis:

High fever, tiredness and red urine.

And, on this site here, is a list of all the symptoms under the sun. Whose dog has not suffered from any of these at some point?????

I know there are other tick-borne illnesses that affect dogs eg Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but I wanted to concentrate on erlichiosis, particularly as it is world wide - and it is the one I needed to know about. Once I had done the research, it seemed sensible to share it.


Treatment

Tablets


Firocoxib

Brand name - Previcox (also Equioxx for horses).

This is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), manufactured by Merial, which is a COX-2 inhibitor.

A lay explanation about NSAIDs is that they are mainly used as painkillers and as anti-arthritic drugs. Aspirin and ibuprofen are both NSAIDs.

NSAIDs inhibit the enzyme cyclooxygenase, which has three variants called COX-1, COX-2, and although not often mentioned, COX-3.

COX-2 inhibitors however, are a later generation drug and are selective, that means they only target the COX-2 enzyme. So they suppress the pain and inflammation associated with COX-2 while leaving COX-1 alone. Studies suggest, that by not inhibiting COX-1, there is a lower risk of the usual NSAID side effect - gastro-intestinal disorders.

With me? Pharmacology lesson for today is over anyway :)

Doxycyclin

Brand names - Proderma (Industrial Farmacéutica Cantabrica) and Vibricina (Pfizer)

This is an antibiotic and the first choice treatment for tick disease. Again, in lay terms, it prevents the bacteria from reproducing. Not much else to say about that.


Prevention/control

When we first moved to Spain and noticed a load of fleas and ticks, we started off with those little cheap collars for the dogs that prevent fleas and ticks. They didn't prevent either fleas or ticks. We spoke to our neighbours and they suggested the drops. Frontline, Spot-on, whatever you want to call it.

And once we learned about leishmaniasis, we bought leishmaniasis collars. The ones that protect against leishmaniasis for six months, ticks for four and fleas for two. Or something like that.

I read about the drops on the internet. Like all chemical products they can cause side effects. Skin irritations, or worse.

So then what do you do? Add extra chemicals to your dog? Six and two threes. Dose him up with chemicals, or risk infection with parasites, or horrid fleabites for us. Doesn't bear thinking about.

We tried to find a happy medium. Nasty chemicals in the damp warm weather of spring and autumn, leaving all dogs free in the height of hot dry summer and cold dry winter when the nasties aren't around.

In Gib, we have bought Advantix (Bayer).

The two main ingredients in this are permethrin, and imidacloprid. Both are insecticides and neurotoxins. Pyriproxyfen is an insect growth regulator (IGR) that prevents juvenile fleas developing.

In Frontline Plus (Merial) you get fipronil and S-methoprene. Fipronil is classed by the WHO as a Class 11 moderately hazardous pesticide. S-methoprene is the IGR used in the Frontline product.

There are natural alternatives, links below.

We tread a fine line when the lives of our animals and the quality of their lives are in our hands.


Update

We took Pippa back to Pedro after the ten days worth of tablets was finished. He prescribed another 20 days tablets. Although he was no longer taking Previcox as a painkiller, he was taking three capsules of doxycyclin a day. It can take some time to get rid of the organism, so it will be a few months before he has another blood test to see what improvements have been made.

'It's the disease of your pueblo,' added Pedro rolling his eyes.

'There are lots of animals,' I replied, thinking of the horses, donkeys, goats, sheep, pigs, buyo (draught oxen), cows, not to mention feral dogs and cats.

'There are lots of garrapatas (ticks),' he said Spanishly, succinctly cutting to the chase.

He is now doing boundaround for his breakfast, boundaround in the morning when he wants to go out onto his Spanish terrace, and has put on weight. So much so, that we are considering buying a new harness as the current one is extended to the limit. I am talking about Pippa here, not Pedro. I have no idea what Pedro does at breakfast time or whether he does boundaround.


Cost

Our total bill at the vet's was 116.50€ which included the lab analysis and consultation (70€) and the remaining 30 odd euros was for the first lot of tablets. I took a prescription to the pharmacy for the final 50 or 60 capsules, and the cost for those was around 14€.


Sources and links

A clinical article which provides a good summary of E. canis from a technical perspective

Another vet-type article

Written by a vet, but readable for lay people

A short but useful summary

Another good summary

Lots of detail about E.canis

Longer than my post and very good - worth a read, if pretty scary



Some wiki links about the chemicals

Permethrin

Imadoclopryd

Fipronil


Natural ideas

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Commonwealth Day 2011

Today is a bank holiday in Gib. A very rainy bank holiday to rival even the traditional British rainy bank holiday.

The sort of rainy day where you set off for the shops with Goretex jacket, leggings and walking boots and are wet within five minutes of leaving the house.

It was too wet to stop to take photos on the way down, but on the way back it had eased off somewhat. Typical. If only we'd waited ten minutes or so instead of being our usual early bird selves.

Irish Town


Main Street looking north


Main Street looking south


College Lane


Why is it a bank holiday?

Because it is Commonwealth Day.

While the Commonwealth may well be a legacy of Britain's imperial and colonial days, at least the work it does these days, and the messages given out every year, try to do some good for the people living in Commonwealth countries.

I wrote about it a couple of years ago here, and here is a link to the Commonwealth web site.

This year's theme is Women as Agents of Change. Very good, I say. As this is not my ranty blog, I shall confine myself to that. For now. I may write more elsewhere.

Poster produced by the Commonwealth Secretariat for this year's theme




I would also like to point out that the research undertaken by the staff of Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma leaves something to be desired. By which I mean his speech is inaccurate. Wrong in fact.

Around the Commonwealth, there are a number of bank holidays today. In Australia, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and Melbourne all have a hol, and there are also stock exchange holidays there.

Chittagong in Bangladesh has one to celebrate the World Cup Cricket Match, St Vincent and the Grenadines has Kingstown Bank Holiday to celebrate National Heroes Day, while Uganda has a Kampala Bank Holiday and a currency/stock exchange holiday.

Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, Virgin Islands and Gibraltar all have a bank holiday specifically to mark Commonwealth Day.

Now I have no idea about any of the others mentioned in the list above that have bank holidays today, whether for Commonwealth Day or other reasons, but I can tell you Gibraltar is pretty quiet. And the schools are not open.

Why do I mention schools? Because in his second paragraph Mr Sharma says:
"Commonwealth Day is celebrated on the second Monday in March, a day when every school in the Commonwealth is open,..."

No. Not here, they aren't sweetie. Give me a job.