I (Ibiza) Day Minus 5

Well, almost a week has passed and we are both two stone heavier and have to start spending money on new larger size clothes!! It's not quite that bad but we do both feel like real lumps right now both swearing to join some sort of foodies AA (NOT the AA of vehicle recovery fame) perhaps called FA ( and not sweet FA either!)

"Hello, my names Richard and I'm a foodaholic"

On a more positive note though, meals at 36 On the Quay (Emsworth), Amberley Castle (Amberley) and Antonio's (Fareham) have all proved to be very good and by contrast the "typically English" roast and two veg at "Peter's" today at the Sir Loin of Beef was excellent and topped off the week very nicely.

Tea with Bridget was such a nice change too and all so very English - can we say that these days? We have been providing "PC" lessons for her although for me the mere mention of the word "pc" makes me rant and brings me out in a rash with Val comparing me to Victor Meldrew.

I am still mourning the loss of my dear old VW Golf and as will Val when parting with little Clio... I nearly shed a tear as my car was driven off but managed to restrain myself. However the sale of Val's Ercol table and chairs was a sad moment for her but this was tempered by the knowledge it was going to a good home in the West Country.

With the beds gone on the 26th we will find ourselves sleeping on the floor for a night which will be an experience which I am not sure we will enjoy very much.

The diet starts next week so it's bread and water for me until I have lost at least 2 stone.

Next week is so busy.......

Monday deciding what to carry and what to ship

Tuesday afternoon partial packing and loading

Wednesday final packing and loading

Thursday is completion on the house and then off to Gatwick for an overnight stay (in a bed OFF the floor) with a day in the hotel until we fly off on ...

Friday it's off we go... 22:25 from Gatwick arriving in Ibiza around 02:30

We are staying at the Hotel Lux Isla in Talamanca if you want to spot us in Google Earth.

So this will be our last blog before we depart and I am not sure when our next entry will be as that is dependent upon having the internet or being in an internet cafe.

So, to all our friends and family it's cheerio for now and lots of love to everyone until you hear from us again with an update on life in Ibiza. For those of you with mobile that I know the number of I will be texting our Spanish numbers.

I (Ibiza) Day Minus 12

Well, it's 12 days to go and we are now in the midst of eating and drinking our way through friends and family - well not literally I emphasize!!

So this week starts with me doing yet another clean out of papers, old tools, picture frames and several suit cases and various items of "hand baggage" that we were never going to use again. I am a regular visitor to the tip at Port Solent now and feel almost at home among the skips (I wouldn't mind that job when they get to sort through the bits and pieces looking for treasure!

Tuesday is me making yet more visits to the tip and to my Aunt Bridget (Who doesn't want us to go to Ibiza really ) then there's Val's retirement gift from Pall Europe of dinner for two at 36 On the Quay in Emsworth this is closely followed by lunch on Wednesday where I have been instructed to "wear a tie" Me!! A Tie... how long has that been since I donned a startling Duchamp tie??

Thursday is the day my sister Frannie arrives from London to say goodbye and on top of that Val's going the hairdressers for what she feels is her last civilized hair appointment......

Then on Friday another day of recovering and sorting clothes out for carrying with us and those that will go by road. In the evening we are eating out yet again and even more ironically we will be eating Spanish....

Another event this Tuesday is the loss of a bed..... Ebay is so good, I sold the bed for more than it was going to cost me to have it taken away by the council. I could find myself on the floor if Val decides she wants a really good nights sleep?

We are now in the thick of "investment planning" - the panic surrounding Northern Rock has been a bit of a wobble but we head for an "over 60's account" so that we fund our rental property the time we are house hunting in Ibiza. Alix is on the case madly negotiating a good rent that includes bills. The one so far is in Playa d'en Bossa which is fortunately dead in the winter which is better than the mad house it is in the summer. It's ground floor, four bedrooms and TWO bathrooms (one of Val's pre-requisites as she has to have her bath whereas I prefer a shower.) We can also use the excess space as storage for our stuff.

We have an extensive guest list now for those of our friends who have expressed a desire to visit us in the summer... God knows what we will do if they all turn up at once though.. well I will end up drunk most of the time I think.

On Saturday our small Ercol table and chairs is collected by our Ebay winner (Val has had the table for many years and is feeling a little emotional about it which I can understand) - We have a day with my Aunt and an early night while we catch up with sleep.

Sunday is our farewell lunch that has been organized to see us off with a traditional Sunday roast etc.

I will stop now and report back next week........

The talk will be....

• Recovering from the effort
• Selling cars
• Diets
• Hotels