26 May 2006

Hi guys.

Still writing and still living the life of someone who has no job and no
cares and the only worry is when its going to stop raining as the tan is
fading.
Did you know I have been home for 2 weeks now. 2 Long weeks. Been pissed
many times though and have had some great fun as well.
The highlights really were the BBQ at Tonys after a night out in Oneils with
Tony, Glyn and Kevin resulting in much drink and laughter.
Sunday am was spent wondering who had visited the house in the night and
cleaned up and also emptied the dishwasher whilst eating breakfast at the
canal cafe and having a gentle sober me up stroll around Bradford on Avon,
which i fully recommend everyone to do when they have time.
I managed to burn my left hand on Thursday night so much that it still
hurts, leaks and needs attention daily. I burnt it on hot scalding hot fat
from one of the best meals I have eaten this year so it was not all bad.
Then I went to Spain with some very good friends and they played golf and I
wandered around as I cant and wont play the sport.
We flew from Bristol and landed at Malaga airport, hired some cars and went
off toward Marbella for a round of golf.
The car I had hired for me to drive was a Ford Focus automatic and so me,
rich and rushy got in that one and Dirt, Jas and Sean got in a very plush
peugeot 307 estate.
Good old rich never had a map which always helps someone who have not driven
on the right for a very long time and then that was not in spain but the US
and so the driving is completely different. So with Rushy not really pleased
I was driving and strads giving me lots of direction and then regretting it
we headed off on apparently the most dangerous road in spain as many people
die each year driving on it. Luckily Rich was so good at the directions that
we ended up in a quarry in the middle of nowhere on the top of a mountain.
Eventually we get to the golf course called santa maria and the place was
really well designed, tendered and had great views of the mountains and the
sea with the motorway running under the course.
As there was 5 golfers and 1 non player, Rich, Sean, Rushy and I set off
first ( I was golf buggy driver ) and the others paired up with a couple of
other people and off everybody goes.
It is important to note that I have had no sleep since thursday morning and
the rest of the guys very little so watching the guys play golf eventaully
made me tired so much so I slept almost through 2 holes or very nearly.
The game of golf lasted 6 hours, which again apparently is a very long time
to play normally 3 - 4 hours is the time it takes so at 7pm we were all
eager to get to the hotel and change and eat and see what sights port banu.
The heat never helped as it was really sunny and quite hot but not that hot.
(sorry guys it wasn't).
So we set off to Marbella with the invisible map which richard had with him
and his memories of the place when he went 2 years earlier (bless) and
through sheer miracle and the fact I had no idea what I was doing we got to
the place, circled the hotel we needed for 20 minutes and eventually got to
and booked into the hotel PYR. A very nice place full of hen, stag and
golfers with immaculate rooms, cheap beer and a pool.
The evening started with a meal and then we went to the bars and clubs
around the port, drinking sambuca and lager as we went and playing pool. We
possibly went to 8 different bars and then called it a night around 5am as
we had enough shouting, singing and drinking for the night.
At 10am we were having breakfast and then the guys went off to play golf at
1pm. I did not fancy the idea of that so I said my farewells and went to
look around the place.
Now this is a posh part of spain as the photos posted on ringo may or may
not indicate. The port habours many yachts, not the kind on lake windemere
but the ocean going 32 million a vessel kind with ferrari and merc and bmw,
range rover and other huge cars sat in front of them. Pretty amazing sights
really. The beaches were not full but had a fair few of spaniards and
english on. The sea cold so that dont help and the sand was rough and grainy
and grey in colour, still it was the seaside and the weather was good so
that was ok.
After seeing the sights of the harbour and the beaches I headed back into
town and found myself in a market. This market was unlike the ones in
Thailand excpet they were little more organised and less frantic. Watches,
designer handbags, cotton stuff, pictures, sun glasses, the lastest dvds
etc. The stalls were run my either africans or spaniards and they were ok. I
managed to buy a shirt and look about for an hour before I decided it was
time for gin (yes I still drink it but not everyday although maybe I should,
but I now do Gym ((not Jim jon)) but go to the gym daily to lose the belly
acheived by gin, so theres that circle complete)
I headed back to the hotel, brought the daily mirror, went to the bar sat
with my gin, san miguel, cheese and ham toastie and watched the girls lie in
the sun and did the crossword. Another excellent way to spend the afternoon
in the sun.
Eventually I felt the need to sleep so I went back to my room and passed out
for a few hours. By 8pm I was awake and had showered shaved and changed. The
boys were back from their golf.Dirt had one (jas won on Friday), callow had
a mare and the others played well i presume well, perhaps I should have
asked but beer and food were being ordered.
Another feckless evening, consisting of pool, killer pool, sambuka after
every lager, racing smirnoff ice and oh yes sambuka. So we drank and drank
and drank and eventually after much struggle and debate and noise and
laughter and those there know what I mean we got back to the hotel as it was
again getting light.
This time we were up and eating breakfast wearily headed around 11am,
sifting the sunday papers for not a lot and generally tired and worn out. Me
rushy and power wandered off to the rolex shops, the calvin klein shops and
all the posh posh ones that wont let me in in flip flops and eventually
found a bar and spent the day day drinking lager, useful as I was driving
back to the airport, so after my 5th pint I phoned strads and asked if would
mind me having a beer and could he drive and yes was the reply, hooray.
The journey back to airport was a journey back and malaga airport is very
nice.

The flight home was great. I got told off for talking by the cabin crew as
they did the old safety announcement, in fact they stopped the announcement
altogether and then told me off. The captain announced that the weather was
poor and Bristol Airport was challenging at the moment and he was right as
when we landed the planed bumped and skidded around eventually stopping just
by the 19th hole on the local golf course (only kidding, but it will one day
i am sure). So the plane journey was fine and the fact that easy jet made us
wait and hour and a half for luggage was helpful cos not only was i in flip
flops and t - shirt but it was pissing with rain, windly as ever and it was
1.30 in the morning.

That was the abridged version of my trip to spain, keeping short and sweet
currently so that when I get to Ecuador I can continue the trend. Spain is
great, its hot, its full of pretty girls and the clubs, bars etc are ace.
Its also expensive and full of english types and it felt like blackpool. But
it was a great adventure and if I had one I would take my hat off to rushy,
strads, powers, callow and dirt for keeping me entertained. I have not cried
with laughter for so long for so long, I cannot remember the last time 6
people made enough noise for 50 and the last time we were together being
that well behaved!!!!

I look forward to the legend golf tournament 2007 and I will attend as the
token buggy driver and evening drinker.

So thats that, my next letter hopefully will be on a island west of Ecuador
and part of the galapagos islands, failing that where ever i get time and a
pc to send you my stories of a life not yet lived, well maybe a little lived
now me thinks.

Cheers me dears and keep in touch

Luke