Friday 28th September. I Have Arrived in the Dominican Republic. Graham's Keeping an Eye on the Bar

Friday 28th September

Olivia:

Hi, I have just arrived here in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. I have been Flying and travelling all day long. I left my bar on the Costa del Sol by taxi at 7am, took the plane from Malaga to Madrid (1 hour) and then my connecting flight took-off to DR at 12:30 pm, but I have gained 5 hours in time difference, so I have arrived in time for an hour or so on the beach before diner is served.

There are 14 of us all together, Spanish and Chilean family and friends from Marbella and Estepona and Chilean friends and family living in Canada, so diner tonight will be a great occasion in the resaurant.

The beaches here are really golden, with loads of palm trees. The sea is crystal clear (You can see the fishes.) and the bar service and waiter service on the beach is fantastic.

Graham:

Hi, I am home with Vincent whilst Inés is enjoying her well-earned holiday. We will be checking the bar every day making sure that all the fridges and freezers have power. I have put up signs to say that we will be closed and to apologize to our clients for any inconvenience.

I picked Victor up from school this evening and took him to a bar in Marbella for a nice ice cream, as Friday is really tough for him (No free periods.) We went back to our apartment and watched some telly together and then he went off to Puerto Banus to meet school friends and unwind from the week’s vigour’s.

It’s gonna seem really quite without Olivia around this weekend, but Victor has already chosen some DVD’s he wants us to watch together, so I have that to look forward too.

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

Closing the Bar to go to the Dominican Republic. Graham Collects in MaCauley's. Victor Heads for Tarifa.

Tuesday September 25th

Olivia:

Hi, I am really excited about closing my bar restaurant and forgetting about it completely for 9 days. Yes! I’m finally off to the Dominican Republic with my girl friends this Friday. I have to try my best to sell out of everything edible by Thursday night, so that I won’t have to worry about loosing food if there is a power cut whilst I’m sunning myself on the golden beaches of DR. Graham of course will be here not far from the bar with Victor, so they’ll overview the business in any case.

I’ve just received the news that a cousin of mine whom I have not seen for many years has also decide to come down from Canada to join our group, so there’ll be 14 of us sitting down for dinner each night, it should be a wonderful week.

Graham is planning a collection in McCauley’s (The bar next door.) for Deepana our rescued Street Child in Nepal and that will take place Friday night, as it’s their karaoke night. Graham will not be able to make the collection himself due to his chronic back condition, so he is searching for two young attractive ladies to do the collection. We already have the money to pay for another year in Boarding school for Deepana, but if we can raise a few hundred euros more, we’ll be able to pay for another child to be taken off the street for a whole year.

That’s it for now; back to running bar stocks down prior to my holiday. See you soon with all the news of the holiday!

Victor Hi,

I am hoping that my dad will find someone who can come with us to Tarifa this weekend to help him with the driving, as he can only mange about half the distance with his back. If he can’t come then I’ll have to take the bus down to Tarifa on the Saturday. It will give me a chance to check out some of the bars in Tarifa. I’ll spend the night in the campsite and have my Kiteboarding lessons on the Sunday. At the moment I am learning with Club Mistral.

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

Kiteboarding Lesson No.1 in Tarifa.

Monday 24th September

Victor:

Hi, We closed the restaurant a bit earlier than usual on Saturday night and all had a nice drink with friends in the bar just up the road, Windmill bar.

Sunday morning my mum got up early and went to our bar to cook sausages and jacket potatoes for a picnic. At around 10:30am Sunday we left the bar and drove the 75 min drive to Tarifa which is in the province of Cadiz, well known for its strong and constant winds. It has become a world-renowned centre for both windsurfing and kite boarding. It’s a lovely place and on arriving at Club-Mistral we had a coffee on their really lovely bar terrace and then went on to sign me up for KITEBOARDING lessons. YES! You did hear right. My godparents Lizzy and Russell have been really generous for my 18^th and bought me a coarse of lessons.

On Sunday, I had 2 lessons (2 hours) on the beach with a small trainer kite. It has all the same chords and harnessing as it’s big brother, but is much quicker to react, so if you can control the trainer kite, then you’ll be better prepared once they let you loose in the water, with a full blow kite. (But without a board at this stage.)

I am not going to lie to you it was very difficult, but once I got into the second hour, I was well away flying the thing more or less as it should be flown.

I talked to some people on the beach and they all told me that it’s vital to have the lessons first and also they told me that it is very tricky to learn to kiteboard. Anyhow I will try my best and if I don’t get the hang of it, I’ll change to windsurfing, which is perhaps just a bit easier to learn.

I hope that you like the pictures from Tarifa. I apologise for the poor quality, but they had to be re-photographed from the original bromides in order to meet the deadline for this blog.

Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Lease West-Marbella

Sponsored Haircut, Street Kids in Kathmandu, Graham has Interview with Maurice Boland on the Radio.

Maurice Boland


Graham before.



Graham after.

Friday September 21st

Graham:

Hi, Well after a lot of talk at the bar and on the blog, it was time to act today. Yes! The Sponsored Haircut day, but first a bit about what happened on Maurice Boland’s radio show last night (REM:FM) . I was actually quite nervous being interviewed on air, although it is the second time that I’ve done it. Maurice is a client in my restaurant in Marbella, that’s too say he pops in on his way to the radio station or to a gig. He’s always in a hurry though.

Maurice asked me all about our work raising money to take Street Children off the street And put them in the Buddha Memorial Children’s Home in Kathmandu. He also asked about the Sponsored Haircut I had decide to do and asked how people could make contributions:

All they need to do is come to Graham’s Pizzeria in the Centro Comercial Diana and ask for an envelope. Contributions of 5€ and upwards are welcomed.

Well today I went down to the bar dressed in a tee shirt. I had washed my shoulder length hair and brushed it out, too look as gruesome as possible I had on black shoes and my navy blue suit trousers, but the overall effect was one of scruffiness by design. I had my picture taken looking like that and then went into Pepe’s Hairdressers, which is very professionally run at exactly the prescribed time of 12:30 pm. A beautiful young lady washed and prepared my hair and then Pepe asked my which style I would like. I answered. “You have al the experience and creativity. Please cut it exactly as you think best.” 20min later I'd had my hair styled and donned my dress shirt and suit jacket and turned into a Bryan Ferry look-a-like or so I was told by all my friends and customers, who were waiting at the bar when I came out.

Olivia my partner, June and Dalene are very happy with how I look right now and so am I. The collection has reached 760€. If we can get it up to 1,000€ we’ll be able to sponsor another Street Child for a whole year. Please Help?

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

GCE A/S, A2 exams, Grade Boundaries, Re-Marks and Re-Sits

Thursday 20th September

Victor:

Hi, I went to the bar early this morning and put out the terrace and then my dad took me to school in the jeep. As soon as I arrived the head of upper sch. wanted to see me about a possible remarking of my A/S level Business papers. It’s all about grade boundaries. To get a grade “C” you need a total of 180 points from three exams, I got 171, so I thought that a re-mark might go my way and get me the “C” that I would be happy with. However the cost of having the three papers re-marked is 150€. I called my Dad who by that time was back at the restaurant and he said that 150€ was a rip-off, given that the re-mark could be either higher or lower than the original mark. In the background I could hear him using the coffee machine in the bar, so he must have been balancing the phone on his shoulder, but in the end he said that we should accept the “D” grade and think about paying for a re-sit instead, so you see how complicated all this A/S and A2 stuff is. It’s costing the government fortunes, as there are so many exams (On my course including predicted re-sits I will have to sit about 24 exams in just 2 years.) I have heard that Gordon B wants to drop the A/S, A2 system in favour of returning to the former GCE “A” level system.

Graham:

Hi, I have just had my first direct inquiry about the bar lease for sale. I have already replied to the gentleman who has expressed interest in our restaurant, so it just feels nice that all the work putting the bar up on the Internet has actually started to work for us.

Tonight at 7pm I’ll be on Maurice Boland’s live radio show on REM.FM 104.8 FM. I’ll be plugging my sponsored haircut, the collection will be made by people coming to the bar and donating 5, 10, 20€ etc. The collection is to help Street Children in Nepal. We send money to take them off the streets and put them into boarding schools, where they receive good food, make friends and get a good education, so that they can help their whole family later on once they start work.

If you want to donate, please come to Graham’s Pizzeria, Diana Comercial Centre Km 169, Estepona. (We’re just past the Benahavis turn-off on the N-340). If you want to send a cheque, just email me for details.

Graham.bullock2@gmail.com

(Every cent goes to the Street Children. Nothing is used for administration.)

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

Olivia Holidays at Hotel Riu Taino, Punta Cana, the Caribbean.

Tuesday 18th September

Olivia:

Hi, I laid the bar terrace out early this morning and shot off to Marbella with Graham to pay for and collect 4 tickets for our girl’s trip to Dominican Republic.

We are going to a 5 star hotel in Punta Cana. The hotel is called Riu Faino . I have been there previously and it’s absolutely fantastic. The rooms are spacious and beautiful. It’s a bungalow hotel where each suite is like a little Caribbean hut with a thatched roof. Really romantic.

Restaurants and bars: there are several fantastic quality indoor and outdoor bars and restaurants with a wide range of food and bar cocktails available all day long. Personally I spend most of my time on a sun lounger, on golden sands looking out to the clear blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. There are several beach bars and it’s all strictly waiter service. It’s a dream.

Sadly Graham can’t travel with his back pain and also he needs to be stay in Marbella to look after Victor and keep an eye on our bar restaurant.

The other 3 tickets are for; my sister Inelda, Yolanda and Gema who are 2 of my best friends. When we arrive in Punta Cana we will be joined by a whole group of Chilean friends coming from Canada to holiday with us.

Two of my best friends Veronica and James (He’s half Chilean and half Brit.) are coming. We are often in touch as they call me up in the bar and keep me up to date with the comings and goings of the Chilean community in Canada. They are bringing their daughters Vanessa and Johanna. Vanessa is in her 30’s and is bringing her 13-year-old daughter. Johanna is bringing her husband. Vanessa’s sister in law is also coming with her daughter, so they’ll be about 12 of us in all and if we don’t drink at least one of the bars dry, we will have failed miserably.

We are actually departing on the 28^th, so if you want to come and join us we’ll be either at a Caribbean bar or enjoying the golden sands and crystal clear Caribbean waters.

I simply can’t wait!

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

Good News from my Godparents, They're Sending me to Learn Kitboarding in Tarifa.

Monday 17th September

Victor:

Hi, My dad called me from the bar to my mobile this morning to say that my godparents in Devon had promised to send me the money for my kiteboarding lessons. This was a great piece of news, as at the moment I am working hard doing my “A” levels and also studying to re-sit one paper as well. Although Saturday night I did have a break and go to a bar in Marbella and a bar in Estepona to meet up with some friends, generally at the moment my life is all work and no play, so this news is just what I needed.

When I get back to the restaurant tonight, I’ll find out how much my present is and then I’ll be able to plan when I’ll be able to start my lessons. I am really happy with this present, as it is exactly what I want. My plan is to pass the practical part of my driving test and then I’ll be able to drive down to Tarifa on the Costa de la Luz to take my lessons. After each lesson I’ll be able to get to know new friends by chatting to other kiteboarding novices in the beach bars around Tarifa.

For those readers who don’t know Tarifa yet, it’s a wonderful old seaport town, which sticks out, on a peninsular into the clear blue water of the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. There are loads of restaurants, fast food places and great bars to meet new friends in. The town is very old and picturesque and visiting it is a must for people of all ages.

To the west of Tarifa there are miles and miles of golden sandy beaches, some with massive sand dunes forming their backdrops. As you move along these beaches you find some are just for bathers, whilst others are mainly used by water sports enthusiasts.

Accommodation: As I am a student I stay in one of the campsites, which are spotlessly clean and have all the necessary facilities, including bar/restaurant (I use the Camping Dos Torres mainly). For those who prefer hotels, which is just about everybody there are hotels to suit all pockets, the top one being the famous Hurricane Hotel, which is adjacent to my favourite campsite strangely enough. Occasionally when my parents are with me we go and sit in their garden bar and enjoy a cocktail amongst the subtropical plants and trees, it’s heavenly.

Oh well! Back to Chemistry revision.

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

Mountain Bikes, Kite Boarding Lessons and the Whelping Box.

Friday 14th September

Victor :

Hi, Today’s Friday so no college for 2 days. I have just stopped off at the bar restaurant to inform my Mum that I am going to Frances’s place now to spend the evening with him. Fortunately his Mum is driving us back there. It’s a lovely apt. but to get a place at a good price they had to buy right up in the foothills of the Sierra Bermeja (That’s the mountain range that is the back drop to the Costa del Sol and is responsible for the good weather in Fuengirola, Marbella, San Pedro, Diana and Estepona). Without a lift to my friend’s place, it’s a fair old hike up a steep winding road from the bus stop on the main road and by the time you get there, you are pretty well knackered. Even though I am turned 18 now, I still like to call my Mum at the bar when I arrive there, as she worries if I don’t. I am hoping that my parents will take me to Tarifa for my first Kite Boarding lesson on Sunday. I really hope that they can make it

Graham:

Hi, I picked up a nice cardboard box at Punto-Cash in San Pedro this morning, which I slung in the back of the jeep. Olivia had a lot of shopping to get there and also in Mercadona. On the way back we stopped at the Garage bar for a coffee. I used my folding bedchair for my back and Olivia sat and faced the sun, she never misses a chance to top up her tan. Sami sat on top of me, until I got fed up with her and put her in the shade beneath my chair.

We talked about what we would do next if we sold the lease on our bar restaurant and of course everything would depend on what Victor ends up doing, but Olivia did say that if he wants to get a job in London, once he has his “A” levels, then she’d be happy to live near him in the UK, at least until he became established. I don’t know if she realizes how cold, grey, windy and wet England is a lot of the time.

When I got back to the bar, I borrowed a carving knife and cut down the box to make a whelping box for Sami to have her puppies in. Apparently a cardboard box, filled with shredded news paper, changed regularly, is the most hygienic bed for the purpose and there is very little chance of the puppies suffocating in shredded news paper.

Olivia:

Hi, It was really chucking it down all day yesterday, but I was still pretty busy in the bar. Everyone wanted to come inside to eat at lunchtime, which is unusual, as normally it’s the staff that are in the bar and the customers are outside on the terrace. As people rarely come inside in any numbers, I had allowed both Graham and Victor to keep their expensive mountain bikes inside the restaurant. I got into a bit of a tiswas as I couldn’t put two valuable bikes outside and in trying to move them both into the corner of the bar at the same time, I managed to get them both completely tangled together. If you have ever tried moving 2 bikes in a small space you’ll know exactly what I mean. Bikes are designed to automatically tangle together. What a mess! I had pedals caught up in spokes and brake levers entangled in cables. At least it caused quite a laugh. Although, as soon as Victor arrived home from school, I sent him off to put bike straight in the garage. I suppose bikes are similar to kids in one respect; a lot of people can cope with one, but coping with two at the same time is a whole different ball game.

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

We Brought Jessica Over from Chile to Work in our Bar/Resaurant.

Thursday 13th September

Olivia:

Hi, About 15 years ago I brought a 16-year-old girl here from Chile. Her name was Jessica and she was my niece. Jessica worked with us in our bar in Estepona, West-Marbella for about 2 years. She was a hard worker, but very immature and very miserable, in fact I only kept her on because she was a relative and she really needed the job to support her family back in Chile. She was very poor in Chile and there are only really 2 choices open in such cases; the first is to stay where you are together with your family and remain poor, the second is to emigrate and earn good money to send back to support your family, but you must put up with and gradually overcome the dreadful home sickness that comes with leaving your loved ones behind.

When she had completed the 2-year contract in our bar she decided to go to Malaga city to try her luck there and broaden her experience. We kept in touch of course, but close we certainly weren’t. She found out quickly enough how cushy life had been working in our bar in Estepona in comparison with working in Malaga and within a year she was back with us. It was obvious that she still wasn’t happy with her life and eventually we sat down and had a heart to heart, she poured out all her tears and in the end it was decide that she should go to Madrid and work in a Pizzeria/bar. She very quickly found her feet staying at first with Maru another girl we had brought over from Chile a few years earlier. She enjoyed the hustle and bustle of big city life and quickly found a bar/restaurant job. Jessica’s job in the pizza/bar paid quite well and she was able to eventually pay for her Mum and dad to come to Spain along with her little brother Leo.

Jessica’s Dad Carlos started off life in Spain working part time in our bar and doing a bit of tennis coaching here and there, whilst his wife Isabel found a job in the kitchen of a large hotel and Leo was enrolled in the local school.

Carlos and Isabel have good jobs now, Leo is 17 years old and Jessica has been courting a guy in Madrid for several years. The whole family are so happy and Jessica has changed from being shy and miserable into a woman who is really happy with her life. Jessica visits me every few months and we get on really well these days.

In fact she came to the bar to see me yesterday, as she has a few days holiday and told me very proudly, that she has been promoted to manager of the pizza/bar in Madrid. What an incredible journey, from a little poor 16 year old in Chile to manageress of a busy restaurant in Madrid. Let’s all wish her a great future!

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

Dr Victoria a Great GP in the Diana Centre.

Wednesday 12^th September

Olivia:

Hi,

For that last few weeks I have had an uncomfortable feeling across the front of my body just below my rib cage. I have been too busy in the bar to get to the doctors, so I have tried keeping on a really healthy diet, eating a lot of fruit and keeping my meals small, but regular (every 4 hours.). The sensation has not cleared, so I went to see my GP who is one of the loveliest Doctors you will ever find. She is fondly known simply as Victoria by her clients, but her full name is: Victoria Chacon-Almeda and she’s easy to find, just above our bar in block 1 of the Diana Centre at Km 168.

Dr.Victoria sent me to have my stomach and abdomen scanned, which I did today. I Made sure that the bar was open and up and running, before Graham drove me to San Pedro. He waited for me in bar El Mastren whilst I went off to have my scan. They did it on the spot and handed it to me in an envelope addressed to Dr Victoria and then I went back to meet Graham in Bar El Mastren. It’s owned by Antonio, who is a really friendly guy, he has a great assistant behind the bar, who never panics no matter how busy the place gets, her name is Paqui and then there’s a very friendly, very professional waitress called Rocio and a waiter called Jesus who’s also very chatty and friendly, so all in all, it’s a great place to go for coffee and a bite to eat anytime you’re in San Pedro. He used to run an English bar in Spain, but this place is traditional Spanish and his menu really is good.

As soon as we’d had breakfast we came back to see Dr Victoria, who said that she thinks all I have is gastritis or ulceration. I have been worrying stupidly I suppose about Victors and his “A” levels and that coupled with his teenage moodiness and the fact that he hasn’t got a clue what he wants to do when he leaves college, has been making me feel nervous and stressed out.

The treatment; I have to take Omerprazol (Prilosec) every morning for a while to line my stomach and see if the problem clears up, so we were both very happy about the news. We returned to the bar, which was very busy, so I got straight down to helping Eli get the place under control.

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

Anti-Terrorist Squad Called-Out in Torremuelle.

10 th September

Olivia:

Hi, Sami has now mated twice with another beautiful Yorkie called (and I must correct the previously published name here.) Poki. She has been very relaxed since and needed a lot of attention. If she comes to the bar with Graham she simply lies under the table and chills. Whenever I come home from working in the bar and sit on the sofa for example, she immediately cuddles up close to me and almost seems to have a smile on her face. The vet came to the bar to see me and said that 28 days after the coupling we should bring her for a scan, to see if she is pregnant, but quite honestly I (think anyone with an ounce of common sense could readily see that she is pregnant by the way she is acting). Oh! And in the bar Renata has started a sweepstake based on guessing the exact time of birth of the first puppy.

Victor

Hi, Friday night I went down to Torremuelle on the bus to stay with my good friend Pablo. We had a great time at Plaza Major just outside Malaga. We all met up in a bar called El Cid in Fuengirola and then took the train to Plaza Major, where we did a tour of several bars there talking to lots of pretty girls. Unfortunately 2 young people who were with us, who started acting very stupidly, spoilt the great evening. There is a lot of talk in the media just now about Muslims who come to live in Britain, but do nothing to try to fit in to British society. We all have our individual views on this subject and normally we discuss such topical issues in a reasonable way, but 2 young people who were in our group making our way home to Torremuelle started acting in a very silly way, as I have already said we had been in quite a few different bars and they were probably a bit pissed. The time was about 1:30 am and these 2 individuals decide to throw 2 firecrackers into the garden of urbanization. Most of us felt that this was irresponsible behaviour, but as individuals we didn’t know how to get rid of these 2 kids and then to make matters worse they put white scarves on their heads and pretended to be Al- Qaeda terrorists. Of course in hindsight we should have just told them to F--- ---- and made an about turn separating ourselves from the people who were behaving stupidly, for instance we could easily have hailed a cab to get clear of them. It would have been expensive being after midnight, but there are times when trying to save money is not important.

We didn’t take contingency action and guess what? Yes! The police had been alerted by a taxi driver, who had said that he had seen terrorist like people, with explosives in the area and as soon as they arrived they surrounded our group of seven. They were very tough and rude with all of us. They kept us there shivering for about 2 hours whilst they waved sub-machine guns around. These guys were the real deal; armed to the teeth with grenades, stun grenades, CS gas canisters and powerful, sub-machine guns, equipped with lazar sights. They questioned all of us individually and then radioed thru to verify our stories. They called my Mum at 4:00 am to ask her to verify what I had told them. I don’t mind admitting we were all very frightened and glad to get back to our beds at around 5 am.

We have all learned a valuable lesson the hard way and I’ll be talking about the scenario in the bar all week, but of course a few detail will change, so that I become the hero of the story. One thing is for certain though; I will never get caught up with idiots like that again.

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

Will Elena be Tough Enough to Stay the A Level Course. Sami has to Do-It Again!

Monday 10th September

Graham:

Hi, Elena has started her A level course in Herts. and whilst she has found the Maths of a similar standard to that in Spain, she is finding the Bio. and Chem. MUCH harder. Her mum came to the bar to tell me that Elena couldn’t understand a lot of the language being used by the Bio teacher, so Olivia and I are going to buy her a little recorder, so that she can record each lesson and go over them again during her free periods. In fact we put in 50 Eur and our regulars at the bar overhearing our scheme, very generously had a whip round and doubled that some. Who ever said that people who enjoy a drink at a bar are not really lovely people?

Elena has a really tough job ahead of her, as during the first few months she will have to concentrate and work much harder than the other students, as she is a little behind them with the standard of her technical English. If she’s really persevering, she’ll make and catch-up to the level of the others. Let’s all wish her the very best and hope that she makes it!

I saw the vet this morning as he popped into the bar for a take away pizza. He told me that Sami and Boki should be encouraged to mate a second time, just to make sure that she becomes impregnated, so the 2 dogs are here together as I type. They’ve already done the necessary, so Sami should have some puppies 63 days from yesterday, about 9^th November I think. I have been reading up on the Internet how to help Sami at the birth.

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

Meeting with Victor's Head teacher. 2 Yorkies At-It!

Friday 7th September

Olivia:

Hi, Paqui came for a drink in the bar and we both agreed that the attempt to mate Sami with her Yorkie Duke was just not working, as he bites and cannot be put on a lead and generally cannot be handled.

Some good news though, Yesterday Graham was walking on an area of grass just in front of our bar with Sami on a lead, when he met a lady called Solidad who had a beautiful male Yorkie with her. Graham asked her if she would make her dog available to sire Sami and she readily agreed, so today at 5pm she is going to bring her lovely dog to our place for an hour. Eli is also coming to help, as she has some experience in this area. We have been told by an expert that as the male is smaller than Sami, we must put him on a large book and help him to do his thing.

Graham:

Hi, This morning Victor and I had breakfast in Bar Ricardo in San Pedro and waited for a call from his International College to tell us when we should come to have a meeting with his Head teacher. When we eventually did get a chance to meet the Head teacher we discussed how the school could get involved in helping Street Children in Nepal to be taken off the street and placed in charitably funded boarding schools.

Victor went into the meeting equipped with a folder showing Deepana the girl we have been sponsoring for 5 years now. He had pictures showing her each year since then. In the midst of the discussion Olivia called me to ask me from the bar to ask me to take Victor to keep Sergio company (He’s in a wheelchair and his Mum was at work and needed someone to pop in a see that he was OK.) I told Olivia that I would drop Victor there ASAP.

Victor had a great idea for raising money thru the school to support a child in Nepal for an entire year. His idea was that each child in the school should bring in a second hand book and then sell it to another child in his or her class for say 2 Euros. This scheme should raise about 500 Euros, enough to send a Street Child to school for a year and also pay for clothes and shelter. The head teacher was very impressed and said that although there are already about 15 charities snapping at the school's ankles it would have to choose just 10 of them to champion for the next academic year. The head also added that the school would give serious consideration to Victor’s proposal. Just to add a little more weight to his case Victor told the Head that parents would also be able buy second had English books from our bar restaurant in the Diana Centre San Pedro-Estepona and the money would be accredited to the school’s collection.

Running a bar restaurant you always have plenty of cash, so unlike most parents we paid for Victors entire year 2007-2008 in cash, so we can now forget about school fees for another year. All in all a productive morning, now let’s see how the dogs get on this afternoon!

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

Elena Arrives in England. Olivia Enjoys Brekfast in Gibraltar.

Thursday 6th September

Graham:

Hi, Well Chas just called me at the bar to say that he is now in England with Elena at his parent’s place in Herts. He is going to keep his daughter company and see her into her new 6^th form college this coming Monday, which will be great for 16 yr old Elena, as I know she is very nervous about leaving Spain to study for her A levels in England. My last few words of advice to her were; work very hard from day one and make sure you have an organized and systematic approach to both study and revision.

As an ex teacher I know so well that many children fail to get good grades, as they start A levels too casually, thinking that they are just a continuation of GCSE’s, but that’s a big mistake, as A levels are much more difficult and involve learning a lot of subject matter. If you just plod along for the first 6 months before you know what’s hit you you’ll be left behind and getting low grades in you’re A/S exams.

Elena could have studied for the Spanish Baccalaureate, but the state Institutos have very low achievement figures and the alternative private Institutos are too expensive for Chas and Noa to afford, as the have triplets to maintain. There is also another issue that Elena considers the A level to carry more weight internationally than the Spanish equivalent. She is hoping by hard work to get 3 good A levels: Maths, Bio and Chem. And then go on to study Veterrinary Sc . She knows that she can email Victor at the bar restaurant any time she has a problem with her Maths/Chem. homework, as he has just done those subjects at a private English college here in Marbella on the Costa del Sol.

Olivia:

Hi, This morning I’m not in the bar, as I am in Gibraltar instead with my son Victor, we are here mainly to withdraw money to pay for Victor’s final year at college in San Pedro, Marbella (his A2 levels). We keep some savings here, as we get better interest rates., although our main baking is done on the Costa del sol.

One of the nice things about a morning trip to Gibraltar is to sit down outside one of the bars on Main Street and really enjoy an English breakfast served with a nice piping hot mug of filtered coffee.

Well it’s 11:30 now so just time to stock up on some English Scones and English style bread and then head off back to my bar on an enjoyable drive through Manilva and Estepona.

Graham will meet me at the bar and I’m sure he’ll want a nice scone form Gib. along with his coffee.

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

16 yr Old Elena Leaves Us to Go to 6th Form College in England.

Wednesday 5th September.

Graham:

Hi, In August we had Elena working for us in our bar restaurant, as an extra waitress. She’s just 16 and doesn’t come with lots of bar experience, however she lives in the San Pedro, Estepona area and she was punctual, hardworking, reliable and made a real effort to fit-in and be helpful at all times.

For 5 years of my life I worked in an English comp as a teacher. One night in the bar after a typically busy shift, Elena and I were sitting at the same table when she suddenly poured out that she didn’t want to study in Spain anymore and would like to go and do her A levels in England.

The last couple of drinkers had just vacated the two bars that open onto the terrace so Olivia dropped the windows down for the night and came and sat with us. I told Elena that as she was hoping to become a vet, I thought that doing Chem. Bio and Maths at A level would prepare her better to eventually enter a British uni. to study Veterinary Sc.

Elena told me that alas it could only remain a dream, as she had no where to stay in England, so I told her that next time her parents Noa and Chas came to the bar, I would ask them if they would allow me to look for accommodation for her in the UK with one of our regular tourist customers at the bar. In due course I got the go ahead from Noa and Chas and we quickly found a lovely lady in Northwood, and who was only too willing to give Elena a room in her house. A few days later sitting at the same table outside the bar after Elena had met the kind lady who is called Elizabeth, she told me that as Elizabeth had three boys, between 19 and 24, she was worried that she wouldn’t fit in. An obvious disappointment to my partner and I, but as one door closes another one opens and hearing about our plan conceived at the bar, Elena’s grand parents changed their minds and said that they would be able to clear out the spare room for Elena.

Today Elena set off for Herts. She’ll be based with her grandparents and will be attending a highly respected 6^th form college.

We are all very Proud of Elena and her Parents taking this courageous step, which all being well will lead to a good career for Elena and to think it was all engineered from our bar restaurant!

>>Click Here! Bar Restaurant for Rent, Sale, Costa del Sol, Spain<<

Our little Yorkie Sami is 2 ½ years old and we want to mate her .

Tuesday September 4^th

Olivia:

Hi,

As we are now moving towards the end of the really busy part of the year in our bar restaurant, we have time to think a little bit about things other than work and grabbing time here and there whenever we can on the beach.

Our little Yorkie Sami is 2 ½ years old and we want to mate her once and then have her spayed. As she is in season right now we approached Paqui the handler of a beautiful male Toy Yorkie who lives in the same urbanization as us. Her dog is called Duke, pronounced “Duke-ay” We invited her for a pizza in our bar and asked her if she would be prepared to let her dog mate with our bitch. She said she would let us borrow her Yorkie, but there were problems involved. When we asked her what these problems were, she told us that Duke bites people who try to touch him; he has never worn a harness or collar and is generally an irritable little character. We thought about what she’d said and decided to go ahead with the scheme, as Duke is very small and a good example of the breed, plus we don’t know anyone else who has a really nice boy Yorkie.

Graham:

Hi, Yesterday around 5pm Inés called me down from the apt to the garden, as she had borrowed Duke. I took Sami and let her free. They were both immediately interested in each other, but neither of them seemed to know exactly how to do the deed, but it certainly wasn’t for the want of trying. 5 min or so passed and then we let the two by now very pally dogs go inside the apt block where Duke lives. I stayed out in the garden on my sun lounger to rest my back, whilst Victor went in and supervised the activity, Inés returned to the bar.

After about 15 min had passed Sami came running out to see me, completely knackered, followed not long after by Victor who was nursing a blood wound to one of his fingers. I have been bitten on the end of my finger by a Yorkie several times and I can testify that it is really painful for an hour or two. Victor however was really brave about it and simply went off to use the fist aid kit in the Pizzeria Bar to sterilize his puncture wound.

Victor:

Hi, Today’s a new day and firstly I am going to cycle to San Pedro sea front to see my mates who work as lifeguards there and then I plan to be back at the bar at about 5pm to meet Paqui and Duke, so that the two Yorkies can spend another hour or so together and then who knows? I hope that when I meet Paqui at the bar, she will be able to slip a harness over Duke. That will make life so much easier.

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